Bglobal optimistic despite losses
SMART meter technology firm Bglobal has seen losses widen during a major period of upheaval which led to the ousting of its chairman.
But management is optimistic of the Darwen-based group’s prospects after stripping out £1m of costs and putting the metering arm up for sale.
In the six months to the end of September revenue was up 6% to £6.1m but losses widened to £2.1m from £800,000.
KPMG was hired to conduct a strategic review after founder and executive chairman Peter Kennedy was ousted by investors amid concerns over the AIM-listed firm’s strategy and a 40% plunge in the group’s share price this year. Mr Kennedy was also at odds with chief executive Tim Jackson-Smith and other key stakeholders.
Group chief executive Tim Jackson-Smith said: “Following the strategic review carried out by KPMG, we have already taken significant cost out of the business (approximately £1m on an annualised basis) and strict cash management procedures are now in place.
“We believe that a third party may be better placed to develop the potential in our metering business and take it forward to the next phase of its development allowing the board to focus on its software and services businesses of Utiligroup, Nutech and Bsmart.”
The new chairman John Grant said: “One conclusion I have drawn so far from work on the strategic review is that our business remains undervalued. Utiligroup alone produced EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] in the period of £460,000.
“Our Nutech Training business remains poised to capitalise on the need to develop the skills required to support the Government’s carbon-reduction programmes. Our end-to-end solutions continue to find new applications and Bsmart has grown organically to a point at which it is soon to reach a monthly breakeven position and feedback from Bsmart customers has been positive as typically they save over 20% on their utility bills.”
