Esperite N.V. is confident in its future and successes
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
ESPERITE N.V. is confident in its future and successes
Esperite comments on FD article
Zutphen, The Netherlands - 31 January 2016
On 30 May 2016, Esperite's share price plummeted with approximately 36%. This
enormous drop appears to have been triggered by an article in the 30 May edition
of Dutch financial daily Het Financieële Dagblad (FD).
The article does not provide any new information on the company, and appears to
be solely based on the company's financial statements that were published in
April.
As at the accounts date - 31 December 2015 - Esperite had a cash position
amounting to ?1.4 million and management acknowledged in the financial
statements the free cash available to be insufficient to execute the Group's new
strategy. In accordance with the accounting rules, the company disclosed these
uncertainties in the going concern statement, in which management gave a
detailed explanation why it considered it appropriate to assume that the company
is able to continue as a going concern. Also in accordance with the accounting
rules, EY as reporting accountant in its audit opinion referred to these
uncertainties and management's disclosures - in a so-called "emphasis of matter"
paragraph - and, as it considered the disclosures sufficient, issued an
unqualified audit opinion. In fact, the auditor's statement in the 2015
financial statements was the same as the one in the 2014 financial statements -
which also included an emphasis of matter paragraph.
The abovementioned disclosure in the financial statements in April has now -
more than four weeks later - led to the FD claiming that the company is in
financial distress, and (in a subsequent article in the FD's 31 May edition)
"fighting for its life" and that the accountant is warning investors about the
company's survival. In the opinion of the company, these suggestive claims are
completely inappropriate and unbecoming from a renowned financial daily such as
Het Financieele Dagblad. Whilst the company's cash position needs to improve -
a matter on which management has been transparent in the financial statements -
the company's existence is not at stake and management is confident about
Esperite's prospects.
A second element in the FD's 30 May publication that attracted much attention
and also seems to have led to the enormous drop in the share price is the FD's
incorrect claim that EY has questioned the EUR 0.9m convertible loan note issued
to the company's CEO Mr. Amar in 2015. This related to the conversion of Mr.
Amar's current account - payment obligations that the company had towards him
relating to remuneration and pre-paid investments and expenses - into a
convertible loan note bearing 7% interest, which is equal to the interest on a
convertible loan issued to a 3rd party during May 2015. The convertible loan was
a key audit matter as it regards a related party transaction and related party
transaction come with a risk of not being at arm's length terms or in the
ordinary course of business. Consequently, the convertible loan and its terms
were carefully reviewed by EY. However, opposite to the FD's claim, this review
has not lead to EY questioning the convertible loan or qualifying it as
(potentially) not at arm's length or otherwise inappropriate. EY standard
procedure regarding related party transactions did not lead to any concerns or
remarks, and this transaction is not disputed by EY. Unfortunately, the FD did
not contact the company prior to making its 30 May publication - had it done so,
management would have no doubt been able to take away FD's incorrect
understanding about the convertible loan and EY's findings and opinion regarding
the same.
The FD's publications have been severely damaging to the company and its
shareholders. Esperite will engage with the FD to discuss the matter, also with
a view to better educate FD on the company so that inappropriate and ill-
informed communications can be avoided in the future.
About ESPERITE
ESPERITE Group, listed at Euronext Amsterdam and Paris, is a leading
international company in regenerative and predictive medicine established in
2000.
To learn more about ESPERITE Group, or to book an interview with CEO Frédéric
Amar: +31 575 548 998 - ir(at)esperite.com or visit the websites at
www.esperite.com and www.genoma.com.
Esperite NV is confident in its future and successes:
http://hugin.info/143308/R/2016662/748037.pdf
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Esperite N.V. via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#2016662]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 31.05.2016 - 08:58 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 474480
Anzahl Zeichen: 5746
contact information:
Town:
Zutphen
Kategorie:
Business News
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