News of a licensing deal with Yale University to treat diseases such as prostate cancer sent shares in Allied Minds (ALM) up 6 per cent on the back of these half-year results. The development was evidently eye-catching enough to distract investors from widening pre-tax losses, as the business incubator - which floated last year with the support of star fund manager Neil Woodford - continued to back itself to make the next breakthrough in life sciences and technology.
Group revenue nearly halved in spite of a $0.3m (£0.2m) grant from a state-funded clean energy agency in Massachusetts. The chief culprit was a 77 per cent slump in sales at RF Biocidics, which develops equipment that can disinfect food from insects and pathogens without using chemicals. Management blamed the slide on delays in product modifications and obtaining regulatory approval. The equipment has since been validated in California, and management is confident that mounting regulatory pressures will boost consumers' appetite for chemical-free food.
But for a group like Allied Minds financial results are less important than commercial developments. Of these, the most significant was at specialist computer memory developer Spin Transfer Technologies, which agreed its first contract with a major electronics company.
Broker Numis Securities expects adjusted pre-tax losses of £76.2m, giving losses per share of 27.4p (from losses of £57.7m or 24.4p a share in full-year 2014).
| ALLIED MINDS (ALM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 458p | MARKET VALUE: | £985m | |
| TOUCH: | 458-460p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 725p | LOW: 255p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 110¢ | NET CASH: | $115m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2.9 | -27.2 | -14.0 | - |
| 2015 | 1.5 | -39.1 | -14.0 | - |
| % change | -49 | +44 | - | - |
