4 Jun 2009 07:00
Amphion Innovations plc AGM Statement
London, UK, 4 June 2009 - Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP) ("Amphion" or the "Company"), the developer of companies in the medical and technology sectors, announces that the following statement will be made today by Richard C.E. Morgan, Chief Executive Officer, at the AGM at 10.00 am.
At the time of the preliminary results in March 2009, Amphion announced the continued progress made throughout 2008, reporting an increase in Net Asset Value per Share ('NAV') in sterling of 36% to £0.30 being $0.44. The Company also announced the progress of DataTern, Inc., its intellectual property management and licensing arm, with revenues of over $5 million as well as new products launched from Partner Companies, Kromek, Myconostica, and PrivateMarkets.
Since the announcement of our results in March 2009, Amphion and its Partner Companies have continued to make progress. Our total Net Assets at the end of March remained almost exactly where they were at the end of 2008. Certain of our individual holdings of equity may be revalued in a new round of financing and in the current climate those changes may be to be downward compared with most recent valuations. However, in this eventuality the overall impact on our Net Asset Value per Share is likely to be moderated by our holdings of convertible debt and by other assets that we do not believe would be impacted in this way. It should also be noted that Amphion's holding of intellectual property assets which are now valued at cost are producing sizable levels of gross income which we believe will continue in the future and could lead to an increase in value.
DataTern, Inc. continues to make good progress in its licensing programme and concluded three additional non-exclusive licenses of its key patents with three leading international corporations since the beginning of 2009. DataTern has now signed seven licenses since it commenced licensing this product in June 2008, generating total revenues of approximately $7 million.
Partner Companies
During the last few months Amphion Partner Companies have continued to make progress in extremely difficult economic and financial conditions. The almost total paralysis of the fourth quarter and early part of the first quarter seems to have been followed by an improvement in consumer and market sentiment and a good example of this change in mood can be seen in the PrivateMarkets trading activity. Following a period of minimal trading from the Spring of last year through to the early part of January of this year, trading activity on the PrivateMarkets platform has grown month on month and is currently progressing well above our 2009 plan.
On 3 June 2009, Kromek launched their second product, the 3-1-1 Scanner, at the Transec World Expo in Amsterdam. The 3-1-1 Scanner will scan 3-1-1 plastic bags as well as small packages. Kromek continues to make progress with their first product, the Kromek Bottle Scanner, which has shipped to Newcastle Airport and will begin trails this month. Harnessing its new generation digital colour x-ray detectors, Kromek's Bottle Scanner can identify and categorise liquids in bottles in less than 20 seconds. The system can be used for a wide range of security applications such as the detection of liquid explosives, screening for alcohol, and also for dissolved narcotics in other liquids. This can all be done without the need to open the bottle or sample the liquid.
In April 2009, Dr. Roddy Carter was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of WellGen. Dr. Carter brings a range of experience in medicine research and pharmaceutical development and commercialisation from leading companies including Merck and Pfizer. In May 2009, WellGen, Inc., a life science company using nutrigenomics to develop clinically-validated Medical Foods, launched its first consumer products, a line of nutritional supplements under the brand name Te Amé. The Te Amé™ line will initially be available in four different formulations, reflecting WellGen's research into a range of health and wellness benefits in the areas of exercise recovery, immunity, joint health, and stress management. Te Amé contains WellGen's proprietary natural compound, a unique black tea extract enriched with theaflavins. These natural compounds have demonstrated health benefits and are presented in significantly greater concentrations than available from brewed tea.
In February 2009, Axcess International, Inc., (OTCBB: AXSI), the leader in Micro-Wireless systems for automated identification, tracking and sensing, announced that it won a competitive procurement worth $3.54 million to provide security infrastructure solutions for the port at Trinidad's capital, Port-of-Spain. With the security successfully implemented, in April Trinidad hosted the Fifth Summit of the Americas Conference attended by over 30 heads of state of countries from North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
Richard C.E. Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of Amphion, said:
"We were very pleased to see DataTern's licensing activity get back on track in March and we believe that we should be on plan for the first half of the year. Our 2009 operating plan is predicated on a sufficient level of licensing income to cover most, if not all, of our administrative and operating cash costs, including the interest on our convertible promissory note should we reach the financial goal of $10 million target level. Importantly, this will enable us to use the proceeds from additional capital raisings by Amphion to support our Partner Companies and to maintain our ownership level when outside capital is being raised by the company. Despite the very difficult environment, our Partner Companies continue to make progress and our focus remains on ensuring they are adequately capitalised in order to fulfil their exciting potential."
For further information please contact
Amphion Innovations plc Charlie Morgan, Director of Communications +1 (212) 210 6224
Cardew Group Tim Robertson/ Jamie Milton/ Matthew Law +44 20 7930 0777
Charles Stanley (Nominated Adviser) Mark Taylor/ Freddy Crossley +44 20 7149 6000
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion (LSE: AMP) builds shareholder value in high growth companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK. Amphion has a significant shareholding in ten Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces, each in excess of $1 billion. Each Partner Company is chosen with the goal of achieving an exit valuation in excess of $100 million.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com