Allied Minds (ALM) stretched its investment reach even further last year, more than doubling the number of US universities and federal laboratories in its partner network to 160. The group created four new companies and ramped up investment in companies created in late 2013 and 2014. New businesses included ABLS, a partnership with biopharmaceutical group Bristol-Meyers Squibb, which has since entered into licence agreements with Yale, Harvard and New York University to treat diseases including prostate cancer. As a result, research and development expenses shot up to $49m (£34m), compared with $22m in 2014.
The delay in regulatory approval for RF Biocidics' chemical-free food disinfecting equipment resulted in a 43 per cent decline in the value of Allied Minds' stake. This contributed to a halving of group revenue. Management points to a high level of interest and some early orders at the start of this year and expects "at least modest improvement" in the business's revenue.
The good news is the adjusted value of Allied Minds' 23 portfolio businesses increased 10 per cent to $536m. The standout performers were prostate cancer diagnostics developer Precision Biopsy and cloud-based network provider Federated Wireless.
Prior to these results analysts at Jefferies forecast an adjusted loss per share of 28¢ for 2016, in line with 2015.
ALLIED MINDS (ALM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 387p | MARKET VALUE: | £834m | |
| TOUCH: | 387-389p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 700p | LOW: 239p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 75¢ | NET CASH: | $105m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0.43 | -22.6 | na | na |
| 2012 | 1.18 | -34.4 | na | na |
| 2013 | 2.94 | -42.7 | -24 | na |
| 2014* | 7.72 | -57.7 | -24 | nil |
| 2015 | 3.30 | -98.0 | -36 | nil |
| % change | -57 | - | - | - |
*Company listed in June 2014 £1=$1.44 | ||||
