Frontier IP Group, a London-listed intellectual-property specialist, has experienced an 11% decline in shares following the revelation that it lacks the necessary funds to sustain its operations for the next year. This raises doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern. Additionally, the company reported a swing to a pretax loss for the fiscal year 2023.
As of 1019 GMT, shares were down by 5.0 pence, reaching 41.50 pence.
To mitigate the financial shortfall, Frontier IP Group plans to obtain cash from its investment in Exscientia, a valued asset amounting to GBP2.3 million. This injection of funds should cover the company’s financial needs for the forthcoming year.
As part of its strategic adjustments, nonexecutive Chairman Andrew Richmond will be resigning during the annual shareholder meeting in December. Richmond’s service spanned over 11 years, and he will be succeeded by Julia King, a Senior Independent Director who joined the board in October 2021.
For the fiscal year ending on June 30, Frontier IP Group incurred a pretax loss of 4.4 million pounds ($5.4 million), marking a significant downturn from the GBP10.9 million profit achieved during the same period the previous year.
The company also experienced an unrealized loss of GBP966,000 due to the revaluation of investments, compared to an unrealized gain of GBP10.9 million in the prior year. Furthermore, Frontier IP Group disclosed that the fair value of its portfolio dropped by 17%, reaching GBP33.0 million.
Despite these challenges, Frontier IP Group remains optimistic about the future. Nevertheless, it acknowledges the difficulties presented by the current high levels of market uncertainty.