Manufacturer’s share price falls by half to end disastrous year
Versarien’s practically-worthless shares fell 50% this morning after the struggling manufacturer revealed more bad news to end a disastrous year.
The advanced materials specialist expects to report annual operating losses of more than £3m.
Hoped-for and much-needed income from the sale of some assets has proven hard to come by.
The company today revealed the sale “has not progressed as expected”. It said there continues to be interest in its South Korean assets and IP, but “any transaction is not expected to complete until next year and is likely to raise less cash, at least initially, than was first anticipated”.
The AIM-listed company has endured a terrible 2023 with its share price down 96% even before today as it battled to keep any value in the business.
Versarien’s turnaround strategy is showing small encouraging signs and Versarien’s board is now forecasting it will return to operational profitability in the second half of 2025.
In a statement to shareholders, Gloucestershire-based Versarien said it “now has a pipeline of opportunities that could result in an improvement in the financial condition of the company in the short to medium term”.
It has won 28 new contracts since 21 July, worth £1.0m over the next 18 months, and has 69 other opportunities valued at £1.05m.
Versarien is holding a general meeting on January 10 for shareholders to approve a share capital reorganisation.
This is needed because companies cannot issue new shares at a price less than their nominal value. Versarien’s nominal share price is 0.1p but its shares were trading at just 0.16p this morning, and any equity fundraising would be dilutive and therefore be priced at a discount.
