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| Sunday, May 17, 07:43:42am | [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ] |
| Subject: ERG plays last minute smart card--Geoff Elliott | |
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Author: MARCH 27, 2003 |
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Date Posted: Monday, March 31, 08:39:16am In reply to: Newspapers reporting result--March 7 2003 SMH 's message, "Noteholders have tickets to ride" on Thursday, March 06, 08:38:56am Posted by: dynamite Mar 31 2003 7:30:53:420AM Reply to post # by Go to Post # ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG plays last minute smart card Geoff Elliott MARCH 27, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------- PERTH technology company ERG is in the middle of a cash crunch but has managed to fend off the bailiffs again with an 11th-hour deal to raise as much as $60 million. ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG said it had sold its Belgian-based subsidiary Proton World, which made smart card technology, to microchip maker ST Microelectronics. ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG said it sold the company for $110 million but would bank $60 million cash after paying inter-company accounts and allowing for a 20-year licensing deal that allowed it to continue to access Proton technology. ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG said it expected settlement of the transaction in April. ----------------------------------------------------------- Smart cards let commuters use public transport, for example, and have the fare automatically deducted from their card. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last month, ERG won a reprieve from investors and bankers when it was finally awarded a $320 million contract to introduce smart card technology on the NSW public transport system. ----------------------------------------------------------- The contract had been held up for more than a year, after contractual disputes with a rival tenderer. ----------------------------------------------------------- Earlier this month, ERG revealed a $124.9 million net loss for the December half and was forced to release heavily qualified financial statements in which directors questioned its ability to continue as a going concern. They said new funding and asset sales would have to be completed for the company to survive. ----------------------------------------------------------- ERG has forecast $113 million cash in the bank at the end of the financial year. It needed the Proton sale to help meet this forecast. ----------------------------------------------------------- "The sale is part of our strategy to bolster ERG's balance sheet," chief executive Peter Fogarty said yesterday. ----------------------------------------------------------- He said the deal would improve ERG's operating results by eliminating about $15 million in annual goodwill amortisation charges, and removing the need to fund Proton research and development. ----------------------------------------------------------- [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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