
A series of unfortunate events: Biosensors refused to declare any dividends
The string of bad news doesn't end there.
"A bad day" is an understatement as far as Biosensors is concerned. With core profits crashing almost 60%, revenue dropping 3.7%, and a refusal to declare dividends, its newly appointed CEO has lots of tables to turn for the company.
According to OCBC, Biosensors International Group’s (BIG) operational performance took another hit in 4QFY14, with revenue and core PATMI dipping by 8.0% and 63.7% YoY to US$81.6m and US$10.8m, respectively.
Here's more from OCBC:
For FY14, revenue slipped 3.7% to US$323.8m, forming 97.9% of our forecast. Core PATMI fared worse, slumping 59.2% to US$45.5m, missing our forecast of US$48.2m, which was the second lowest on the street.
Another disappointment came from BIG’s decision to not declare any dividends (FY13: maiden DPS of US$0.02) despite its strong balance sheet (net cash balance of US$222.2m as at 31 Mar 2014).
Contrary to BIG’s previous practice of providing topline guidance, management decided against doing so for its FY15 outlook.
This was attributed to the weak earnings visibility as market conditions are expected to remain challenging in the near-term given price pressures and intensifying competition.
Meanwhile, BIG also announced that it has appointed Mr. Jose Calle Gordo as its new CEO, and this will take effect from 1 Nov 2014. Mr. Calle has over 25 years of broad business and management experience in the medical devices industry, having served in various vice president and managerial roles at Abbott, Eli Lilly, and Guidant.
BIG’s current CEO Dr. Jack Wang has been re-designated as the new Chief Technology Officer.