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Hi Gang, let's talk some Titan.
Good news today. Animal tissue tests complete and "extensively validated". I thought it was a well-written release highlighting some key milestones management has recently accomplished. The market wants management to show that they're performing and can get this done.
I see that as one of the biggest reasons why we aren't trading closer to or above TRXC right now. As long as management continues achieving milestones, the next hurdle to get over is getting U.S. institutional support.
That said, management is not sitting by idly. We should get some more news shortly - the wheels are turning, changes are being made, and we're going to start seeing operations being ramped up.
I know I haven't been on lately, but it's been hectic these past couple weeks.
I completed the new article on valuing Titan and it was posted on SA today - Rise Of The Machines: Why A Robot May Be Your Next Surgeon, And How You Can Benefit
It got e-mailed to 926 people who get TITXF real-time alerts, 474,529 people who get Investing Ideas daily and 135,012 people who get Global Investing daily. It was also designated an "Editor's Pick". It was also syndicated on Yahoo! on TITXF & TRXC, as well as a number of other newswire services)I'm still trying to figure out how to get Google to pick it up, apparently there is a way to target the writing so that their algo picks it up, but I've yet to master that thus far). Every new investor counts and I only see this as positive for Titan.
I plan on giving it a quick touch up as well. I want to open discussing today's press release and also mention the Covidien buy-out.
I look forward to a good discussion if anyone wants to chat about it. Things are looking good the rest of the week for me so I plan to be on here quite a bit.
Long and strong.
Interesting, however I am not sure it makes much sense.
Firstly, you cannot value a company with zero revenue or earnings as you did at 5 X’s. You mention 5 times earnings, but Titan has none. When you forward forecast something like this, you use earnings (not cash in the bank only, which is incorrect) and then multiply the cash by 5 X’s. The cash is not revenue and does not grow.
Secondly, Titan has $40 million in cash, not $30 million.
Hang tight a few more days and I will give you my version of a valuation. I have reviewed many different U.S. reports on ISRG, TRXC and others. I have also had extensive talks with the analysts on both buy and sell side to understand how they value companies like this.
I used this information to come up with a model based on the potential of Titan getting their FDA. I will explain the forward revenue model before I discount it as well.
Stay tuned as it’s on its way in the next few days.
Loyalist Group earns $1.56-million in Q1
2014-05-28 07:04 ET - News Release
Mr. Andrew Ryu reports
LOYALIST ANNOUNCES RECORD REVENUES, EARNINGS AND CASH FLOW
Loyalist Group Ltd. today released record financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
First-quarter revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2014, was $15.7-million, an increase of 219 per cent over the same period in 2013. Income from operations was $1.7-million, a 68-per-cent increase over the same period in 2013, while net income was $1.6-million, an increase of 87 per cent over the same period in 2013. Cash flow from operations was $2.2-million compared with negative $895,883 a year ago.
Revenues continue to rise as a result of the acquisitions closed through March 31, 2014, as well as organic growth of $400,000, arising from higher enrolment and increased tuition fees. Net income and cash flow were adversely impacted by $500,000 of one-time acquisition, integration and restructuring costs ($200,000 in the year-ago period). Excluding these, operating income would have been $2.2-million and cash from operations $2.7-million.
"Of particular importance, the first quarter demonstrated that Loyalist can not only grow its top- and bottom line, but also generate strong cash flows from its school operations," said chief executive officer Andrew Ryu. "Ultimately, our long-term goal is to create cash with which to self fund acquisitions and, as the business matures, start to return cash to shareholders."
Speaking to the first quarter, Mr. Ryu added: "Our topline benefited from acquiring schools and from better execution in schools we owned or acquired. Our first-quarter 2014 results are in line with our expectations of the seasonal nature of the first quarter with net income at 9 per cent of gross revenues. The integration of our recent six acquisitions continues, and we expect that the next three quarters will show the results in the form of better profit margins.
"Our assets support our current run-rate expectation of $63.0-million for 2014. We continue to focus on integrating schools and improving the company's overall profitability. While our corporate costs more than doubled over the same period last year, we expect them to stay fixed, and perhaps fall, moving forward, while our revenue continues to grow, which will create the leverage needed to see meaningful profit and cash-flow growth.
"We will also aggressively pursue our student housing and franchise businesses. These are low-risk, high-margin pursuits that allow Loyalist to create greater shareholder value from its asset base. Our students collectively spend millions of dollars a year on rent, and we plan to capture a significant share of that spend over time."
Loyalist generated $120,000 of revenue from its student housing pilot program and modest initial franchise fees in the first quarter of 2014. The company expects both lines of business to accelerate.
The table summarizes and compares three-month results for the periods ended March 31, year over year.
Three months ended March 31,
2014 2013
Revenue $ 15,714,747 $ 4,932,219
Gross profit $ 6,555,981 $ 2,131,524
Income from operations $ 1,732,107 $ 1,030,155
Net income $ 1,562,658 $ 833,799
Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,758,028 $ 1,079,480
Loyalist has a number of fiscal goals in 2014:
To close on accretive acquisitions -- Study English in Canada and Upper Career College of Business and Technology closed with an effective date of Feb. 1, 2014;
Close on finance offerings to support the acquisition pipeline -- closed $10.01-million bought-deal private placement in January, 2014;
Centralize all accounting functions in the corporate office and roll out the company's custom-built ERP system to provide standardization of the various student databases, billing/collection and human resource functions across all schools.
With a cash balance of $3.1-million as at May 26, 2014, and anticipated profitability, the company has the funds to meet all of its operating obligations and to continue growing by acquisition without raising additional capital.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2014 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Loyalist Group earns $1.56-million in Q1
2014-05-28 07:04 ET - News Release
Mr. Andrew Ryu reports
LOYALIST ANNOUNCES RECORD REVENUES, EARNINGS AND CASH FLOW
Loyalist Group Ltd. today released record financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
First-quarter revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2014, was $15.7-million, an increase of 219 per cent over the same period in 2013. Income from operations was $1.7-million, a 68-per-cent increase over the same period in 2013, while net income was $1.6-million, an increase of 87 per cent over the same period in 2013. Cash flow from operations was $2.2-million compared with negative $895,883 a year ago.
Revenues continue to rise as a result of the acquisitions closed through March 31, 2014, as well as organic growth of $400,000, arising from higher enrolment and increased tuition fees. Net income and cash flow were adversely impacted by $500,000 of one-time acquisition, integration and restructuring costs ($200,000 in the year-ago period). Excluding these, operating income would have been $2.2-million and cash from operations $2.7-million.
"Of particular importance, the first quarter demonstrated that Loyalist can not only grow its top- and bottom line, but also generate strong cash flows from its school operations," said chief executive officer Andrew Ryu. "Ultimately, our long-term goal is to create cash with which to self fund acquisitions and, as the business matures, start to return cash to shareholders."
Speaking to the first quarter, Mr. Ryu added: "Our topline benefited from acquiring schools and from better execution in schools we owned or acquired. Our first-quarter 2014 results are in line with our expectations of the seasonal nature of the first quarter with net income at 9 per cent of gross revenues. The integration of our recent six acquisitions continues, and we expect that the next three quarters will show the results in the form of better profit margins.
"Our assets support our current run-rate expectation of $63.0-million for 2014. We continue to focus on integrating schools and improving the company's overall profitability. While our corporate costs more than doubled over the same period last year, we expect them to stay fixed, and perhaps fall, moving forward, while our revenue continues to grow, which will create the leverage needed to see meaningful profit and cash-flow growth.
"We will also aggressively pursue our student housing and franchise businesses. These are low-risk, high-margin pursuits that allow Loyalist to create greater shareholder value from its asset base. Our students collectively spend millions of dollars a year on rent, and we plan to capture a significant share of that spend over time."
Loyalist generated $120,000 of revenue from its student housing pilot program and modest initial franchise fees in the first quarter of 2014. The company expects both lines of business to accelerate.
The table summarizes and compares three-month results for the periods ended March 31, year over year.
Three months ended March 31,
2014 2013
Revenue $ 15,714,747 $ 4,932,219
Gross profit $ 6,555,981 $ 2,131,524
Income from operations $ 1,732,107 $ 1,030,155
Net income $ 1,562,658 $ 833,799
Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,758,028 $ 1,079,480
Loyalist has a number of fiscal goals in 2014:
To close on accretive acquisitions -- Study English in Canada and Upper Career College of Business and Technology closed with an effective date of Feb. 1, 2014;
Close on finance offerings to support the acquisition pipeline -- closed $10.01-million bought-deal private placement in January, 2014;
Centralize all accounting functions in the corporate office and roll out the company's custom-built ERP system to provide standardization of the various student databases, billing/collection and human resource functions across all schools.
With a cash balance of $3.1-million as at May 26, 2014, and anticipated profitability, the company has the funds to meet all of its operating obligations and to continue growing by acquisition without raising additional capital.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2014 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Loyalist Group earns $1.56-million in Q1
2014-05-28 07:04 ET - News Release
Mr. Andrew Ryu reports
LOYALIST ANNOUNCES RECORD REVENUES, EARNINGS AND CASH FLOW
Loyalist Group Ltd. today released record financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
First-quarter revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2014, was $15.7-million, an increase of 219 per cent over the same period in 2013. Income from operations was $1.7-million, a 68-per-cent increase over the same period in 2013, while net income was $1.6-million, an increase of 87 per cent over the same period in 2013. Cash flow from operations was $2.2-million compared with negative $895,883 a year ago.
Revenues continue to rise as a result of the acquisitions closed through March 31, 2014, as well as organic growth of $400,000, arising from higher enrolment and increased tuition fees. Net income and cash flow were adversely impacted by $500,000 of one-time acquisition, integration and restructuring costs ($200,000 in the year-ago period). Excluding these, operating income would have been $2.2-million and cash from operations $2.7-million.
"Of particular importance, the first quarter demonstrated that Loyalist can not only grow its top- and bottom line, but also generate strong cash flows from its school operations," said chief executive officer Andrew Ryu. "Ultimately, our long-term goal is to create cash with which to self fund acquisitions and, as the business matures, start to return cash to shareholders."
Speaking to the first quarter, Mr. Ryu added: "Our topline benefited from acquiring schools and from better execution in schools we owned or acquired. Our first-quarter 2014 results are in line with our expectations of the seasonal nature of the first quarter with net income at 9 per cent of gross revenues. The integration of our recent six acquisitions continues, and we expect that the next three quarters will show the results in the form of better profit margins.
"Our assets support our current run-rate expectation of $63.0-million for 2014. We continue to focus on integrating schools and improving the company's overall profitability. While our corporate costs more than doubled over the same period last year, we expect them to stay fixed, and perhaps fall, moving forward, while our revenue continues to grow, which will create the leverage needed to see meaningful profit and cash-flow growth.
"We will also aggressively pursue our student housing and franchise businesses. These are low-risk, high-margin pursuits that allow Loyalist to create greater shareholder value from its asset base. Our students collectively spend millions of dollars a year on rent, and we plan to capture a significant share of that spend over time."
Loyalist generated $120,000 of revenue from its student housing pilot program and modest initial franchise fees in the first quarter of 2014. The company expects both lines of business to accelerate.
The table summarizes and compares three-month results for the periods ended March 31, year over year.
Three months ended March 31,
2014 2013
Revenue $ 15,714,747 $ 4,932,219
Gross profit $ 6,555,981 $ 2,131,524
Income from operations $ 1,732,107 $ 1,030,155
Net income $ 1,562,658 $ 833,799
Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,758,028 $ 1,079,480
Loyalist has a number of fiscal goals in 2014:
To close on accretive acquisitions -- Study English in Canada and Upper Career College of Business and Technology closed with an effective date of Feb. 1, 2014;
Close on finance offerings to support the acquisition pipeline -- closed $10.01-million bought-deal private placement in January, 2014;
Centralize all accounting functions in the corporate office and roll out the company's custom-built ERP system to provide standardization of the various student databases, billing/collection and human resource functions across all schools.
With a cash balance of $3.1-million as at May 26, 2014, and anticipated profitability, the company has the funds to meet all of its operating obligations and to continue growing by acquisition without raising additional capital.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2014 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Loyalist Announces Record Revenues and Record Income from Operations
V.LOY | April 30, 2014
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 30, 2014) - Loyalist Group Limited ("Loyalist") (TSX VENTURE:LOY) today announced record financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Revenue for 2013 was $31 million, an increase of 126% over 2012. Net income was $1.8 million, while income for operations was $3,120,034, a 17% increase over 2012.
Revenues continue to rise as a result of six acquisitions made during 2012 and 2013, as well as organic growth arising from higher enrolment and increased tuition fees. Net income was adversely impacted by $2.1 million in one-time acquisition, integration and restructuring costs.
"2013 was a year of aggressive growth," said CEO Andrew Ryu. "Our top line benefited from buying new schools and from better execution in schools we owned or acquired. Our gross profit - revenue less the school-level costs of teacher salaries, rents and so on - almost doubled, but was lower on a percentage basis because we acquired a big school, KGIC, late in the year. The fourth quarter is always the slowest in our industry because of the Christmas holiday, so revenue falls but salaries and rents must still be paid. This lowers our gross profit. We expect gross margin percentage to bounce back for 2014, when we'll report school results for the whole year."
"Our assets support our current run-rate expectation of $63 million for 2014. We expect to focus on integrating schools this year, improving the company's overall profitability. While our overhead or corporate costs, more than doubled last year, we expect them to stay fixed, and perhaps fall, moving forward, which should create the leverage needed to see meaningful profit growth. We therefore expect to see margins improve this year."
"We will also aggressively pursue our student housing and franchise businesses. These are low-risk, high-margin pursuits that allow Loyalist to create greater shareholder value from its asset base. Our students collectively spend millions of dollars a year on rent, and we expect to capture a significant share of that spend over time."
Our long-term objectives are intact: top-line growth of 20% per year and normalized profit margins of 15%.
The following table summarizes and compares full year results, year over year:
2013 2012 % Change
Revenue $ 30,682,269 $ 13,657,914 +126
Gross profit $ 11,028,527 $ 5,803,672 +92
Income from operations $ 3,120,034 $ 2,782,493 +17
Net Income $ 1,845,444 $ 2,232,156 -17%
Adjusted EBITDA* $ 3,702,947 $ 2,925,305 +29
The company notes that had it owned all its schools as of January 1, 2013, revenues would have been over $54 million for the full year.
As previously reported Loyalist attained a number of its fiscal goals in 2013:
Closed six acquisitions: Urban International School (Toronto), Pan Pacific College ("PPC" Vancouver), MTi Community College ("MTi" Vancouver) and KGIC/KGIBC (Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria);
Closed on $13,190,237 in gross proceeds through two private placement finance offerings;
Closed on a $5.2 million 5-year convertible debenture;
Established the corporate office in downtown Toronto and Vancouver;
Centralized all accounting functions in the corporate office and started the roll out of the Company's custom built ERP to provide standardization of the various Student Data bases and billing/collection and human resource functions across all schools.
With cash balance of $6.0 million as at April 29, 2014 and anticipated profitability, the company has the funds to meet all of its operating and promissory note obligations and to continue growing by acquisition without raising capital.
About Loyalist
Loyalist Group Limited (the "Company") owns and operates private English as a Second Language (ESL) Schools, Career Colleges and Community Colleges in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Halifax.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information and statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Corporation's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Corporation's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken, "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information contained herein includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to prospective financial performance, anticipated capital funding and sources, proposed or potential acquisitions, estimated operating and sales costs, estimated market drivers and demand, business prospects and strategy, new markets for growth and financial position. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Corporation is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results, including but not limited to: risks related to any of the Corporation's announced or proposed acquisitions failing to close or becoming delayed before closing; the Corporation's reliance on its South Korean contract; carrying on business and activities in international jurisdiction where Canadian laws do not apply; any loss of certain key personnel; levels of student enrolment; delays in rolling out the online education programs; competition in the educational services market; and currency fluctuations. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking information or statements contained in this press release. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Corporation does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is contained or referenced herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward looking information and statements attributable to the Corporation or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.
Loyalist Group Limited
David McAdam
VP Corporate Development
(604) 961-3513
dmcadam@loyalistgroup.com
Loyalist Group Limited
Andrew Ryu
CEO
(416) 969-9800 x222
aryu@loyalistgroup.com
Loyalist Announces Record Revenues and Record Income from Operations
V.LOY | April 30, 2014
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 30, 2014) - Loyalist Group Limited ("Loyalist") (TSX VENTURE:LOY) today announced record financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Revenue for 2013 was $31 million, an increase of 126% over 2012. Net income was $1.8 million, while income for operations was $3,120,034, a 17% increase over 2012.
Revenues continue to rise as a result of six acquisitions made during 2012 and 2013, as well as organic growth arising from higher enrolment and increased tuition fees. Net income was adversely impacted by $2.1 million in one-time acquisition, integration and restructuring costs.
"2013 was a year of aggressive growth," said CEO Andrew Ryu. "Our top line benefited from buying new schools and from better execution in schools we owned or acquired. Our gross profit - revenue less the school-level costs of teacher salaries, rents and so on - almost doubled, but was lower on a percentage basis because we acquired a big school, KGIC, late in the year. The fourth quarter is always the slowest in our industry because of the Christmas holiday, so revenue falls but salaries and rents must still be paid. This lowers our gross profit. We expect gross margin percentage to bounce back for 2014, when we'll report school results for the whole year."
"Our assets support our current run-rate expectation of $63 million for 2014. We expect to focus on integrating schools this year, improving the company's overall profitability. While our overhead or corporate costs, more than doubled last year, we expect them to stay fixed, and perhaps fall, moving forward, which should create the leverage needed to see meaningful profit growth. We therefore expect to see margins improve this year."
"We will also aggressively pursue our student housing and franchise businesses. These are low-risk, high-margin pursuits that allow Loyalist to create greater shareholder value from its asset base. Our students collectively spend millions of dollars a year on rent, and we expect to capture a significant share of that spend over time."
Our long-term objectives are intact: top-line growth of 20% per year and normalized profit margins of 15%.
The following table summarizes and compares full year results, year over year:
2013 2012 % Change
Revenue $ 30,682,269 $ 13,657,914 +126
Gross profit $ 11,028,527 $ 5,803,672 +92
Income from operations $ 3,120,034 $ 2,782,493 +17
Net Income $ 1,845,444 $ 2,232,156 -17%
Adjusted EBITDA* $ 3,702,947 $ 2,925,305 +29
The company notes that had it owned all its schools as of January 1, 2013, revenues would have been over $54 million for the full year.
As previously reported Loyalist attained a number of its fiscal goals in 2013:
Closed six acquisitions: Urban International School (Toronto), Pan Pacific College ("PPC" Vancouver), MTi Community College ("MTi" Vancouver) and KGIC/KGIBC (Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria);
Closed on $13,190,237 in gross proceeds through two private placement finance offerings;
Closed on a $5.2 million 5-year convertible debenture;
Established the corporate office in downtown Toronto and Vancouver;
Centralized all accounting functions in the corporate office and started the roll out of the Company's custom built ERP to provide standardization of the various Student Data bases and billing/collection and human resource functions across all schools.
With cash balance of $6.0 million as at April 29, 2014 and anticipated profitability, the company has the funds to meet all of its operating and promissory note obligations and to continue growing by acquisition without raising capital.
About Loyalist
Loyalist Group Limited (the "Company") owns and operates private English as a Second Language (ESL) Schools, Career Colleges and Community Colleges in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Halifax.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information and statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Corporation's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Corporation's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken, "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information contained herein includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to prospective financial performance, anticipated capital funding and sources, proposed or potential acquisitions, estimated operating and sales costs, estimated market drivers and demand, business prospects and strategy, new markets for growth and financial position. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Corporation is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results, including but not limited to: risks related to any of the Corporation's announced or proposed acquisitions failing to close or becoming delayed before closing; the Corporation's reliance on its South Korean contract; carrying on business and activities in international jurisdiction where Canadian laws do not apply; any loss of certain key personnel; levels of student enrolment; delays in rolling out the online education programs; competition in the educational services market; and currency fluctuations. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking information or statements contained in this press release. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Corporation does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is contained or referenced herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward looking information and statements attributable to the Corporation or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.
Loyalist Group Limited
David McAdam
VP Corporate Development
(604) 961-3513
dmcadam@loyalistgroup.com
Loyalist Group Limited
Andrew Ryu
CEO
(416) 969-9800 x222
aryu@loyalistgroup.com
Loyalist Announces Record Revenues and Record Income from Operations
V.LOY | April 30, 2014
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 30, 2014) - Loyalist Group Limited ("Loyalist") (TSX VENTURE:LOY) today announced record financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Revenue for 2013 was $31 million, an increase of 126% over 2012. Net income was $1.8 million, while income for operations was $3,120,034, a 17% increase over 2012.
Revenues continue to rise as a result of six acquisitions made during 2012 and 2013, as well as organic growth arising from higher enrolment and increased tuition fees. Net income was adversely impacted by $2.1 million in one-time acquisition, integration and restructuring costs.
"2013 was a year of aggressive growth," said CEO Andrew Ryu. "Our top line benefited from buying new schools and from better execution in schools we owned or acquired. Our gross profit - revenue less the school-level costs of teacher salaries, rents and so on - almost doubled, but was lower on a percentage basis because we acquired a big school, KGIC, late in the year. The fourth quarter is always the slowest in our industry because of the Christmas holiday, so revenue falls but salaries and rents must still be paid. This lowers our gross profit. We expect gross margin percentage to bounce back for 2014, when we'll report school results for the whole year."
"Our assets support our current run-rate expectation of $63 million for 2014. We expect to focus on integrating schools this year, improving the company's overall profitability. While our overhead or corporate costs, more than doubled last year, we expect them to stay fixed, and perhaps fall, moving forward, which should create the leverage needed to see meaningful profit growth. We therefore expect to see margins improve this year."
"We will also aggressively pursue our student housing and franchise businesses. These are low-risk, high-margin pursuits that allow Loyalist to create greater shareholder value from its asset base. Our students collectively spend millions of dollars a year on rent, and we expect to capture a significant share of that spend over time."
Our long-term objectives are intact: top-line growth of 20% per year and normalized profit margins of 15%.
The following table summarizes and compares full year results, year over year:
2013 2012 % Change
Revenue $ 30,682,269 $ 13,657,914 +126
Gross profit $ 11,028,527 $ 5,803,672 +92
Income from operations $ 3,120,034 $ 2,782,493 +17
Net Income $ 1,845,444 $ 2,232,156 -17%
Adjusted EBITDA* $ 3,702,947 $ 2,925,305 +29
The company notes that had it owned all its schools as of January 1, 2013, revenues would have been over $54 million for the full year.
As previously reported Loyalist attained a number of its fiscal goals in 2013:
Closed six acquisitions: Urban International School (Toronto), Pan Pacific College ("PPC" Vancouver), MTi Community College ("MTi" Vancouver) and KGIC/KGIBC (Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria);
Closed on $13,190,237 in gross proceeds through two private placement finance offerings;
Closed on a $5.2 million 5-year convertible debenture;
Established the corporate office in downtown Toronto and Vancouver;
Centralized all accounting functions in the corporate office and started the roll out of the Company's custom built ERP to provide standardization of the various Student Data bases and billing/collection and human resource functions across all schools.
With cash balance of $6.0 million as at April 29, 2014 and anticipated profitability, the company has the funds to meet all of its operating and promissory note obligations and to continue growing by acquisition without raising capital.
About Loyalist
Loyalist Group Limited (the "Company") owns and operates private English as a Second Language (ESL) Schools, Career Colleges and Community Colleges in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Halifax.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information and statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Corporation's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Corporation's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken, "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information contained herein includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to prospective financial performance, anticipated capital funding and sources, proposed or potential acquisitions, estimated operating and sales costs, estimated market drivers and demand, business prospects and strategy, new markets for growth and financial position. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Corporation is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results, including but not limited to: risks related to any of the Corporation's announced or proposed acquisitions failing to close or becoming delayed before closing; the Corporation's reliance on its South Korean contract; carrying on business and activities in international jurisdiction where Canadian laws do not apply; any loss of certain key personnel; levels of student enrolment; delays in rolling out the online education programs; competition in the educational services market; and currency fluctuations. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking information or statements contained in this press release. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Corporation does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is contained or referenced herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward looking information and statements attributable to the Corporation or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.
Loyalist Group Limited
David McAdam
VP Corporate Development
(604) 961-3513
dmcadam@loyalistgroup.com
Loyalist Group Limited
Andrew Ryu
CEO
(416) 969-9800 x222
aryu@loyalistgroup.com
Theralase testing shows PDC curbs tumour regrowth
Ticker Symbol: C:TLT
Theralase testing shows PDC curbs tumour regrowth
Theralase Technologies Inc (C:TLT)
Shares Issued 66,580,642
Last Close 5/28/2014 $0.25
Thursday May 29 2014 - News Release
Mr. Roger Dumoulin-White reports
THERALASE DISCOVERS ANTI-CANCER MEMORY RESPONSE
In preclinical animal testing performed at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Theralase Technologies Inc. discovered that its lead photodynamic compound, intended for the destruction of cancer, has demonstrated an ability to render animals immune to repeated exposures of the same cancer. This initial data has been accepted for presentation at the 37th Annual American Society for Photobiology taking place in San Diego, California in June 2014.
In previous research conducted at UHN by Theralase, mice were injected with 350,000 colon cancer cells (murine cell line CT26.CL25) to produce tumours that were allowed to grow to approximately five millimeters in size. They were treated with an intra-tumoural injection of Theralase's lead PDC (3 mg/kg TLDOsH2IP) and then illuminated by Near Infrared (NIR) light (808 nm, 600 J cm-2) to activate the PDC. The vast majority of tumours were completely destroyed, with the PDC treatment demonstrating prolonged tumour regression.
In this latest research, the same mice who received the initial, successful Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT) were re-injected with the same number of colon cancer cells, 13 to 23 days later. With no further treatment intervention, mice in these experiments, demonstrated either a small tumour regrowth, which quickly regressed, or in the majority of animals, no tumour regrowth at all, suggesting a short-term immune-mediated (immune "memory response") tumour rejection.
To further prove the resilience of the PDT treatment, these same animals were then injected a third time with an additional 350,000 colon cancer cells at ten months post PDT treatment. None of these animals showed any sign of tumour regrowth, even at 3 months post follow up, suggesting the presence of a long-term anti-tumour immunity, responsible for complete tumour rejection. To strengthen the data, control experiments were conducted where age matched mice without prior tumour exposure or PDT treatment were injected with the same number of colon cancer cells, where the majority of these mice proceeded to develop tumours and did not survive more than 1 month following the injection. These initial results are now being further researched by Theralase and UHN scientists to confirm the immune-mediated (immune "memory response") tumour rejection in additional subject animals. This potential short term and long term anti-cancer memory response suggests a major breakthrough in cancer research and may provide substantial treatment benefit and survival advantage to cancer patients. Technology that is able to rapidly and effectively destroy "patient-specific" cancer cells, prevent their recurrence and provide long lasting protection against local and distant metastasis, offers immense clinical benefit to cancer patients and the facilities that treat their disease.Dr. Arkady Mandel, Chief Scientific Officer of Theralase stated, "This is one of the first preclinical trials to show that it's possible to generate a long-term anticancer memory response. For the first time in our research program, we have demonstrated that NIR PDT leads not only to long standing clearance of colon cancer cells, but also provides long lasting protection against further tumour cell challenge in young (eight to ten weeks old) and older (ten to eleven month old) mice. It is our first step toward the long-term goal of developing an affordable and practical vaccine to prevent cancer recurrence. The next steps are to further validate this research with additional animals and then find the best way of translating this research into a human clinical trial. To complete our preclinical and clinical development in this ground breaking work, we are collaborating with experts in medical biophysics, immunology and clinical oncology at UHN and with other internationally acclaimed clinical research institutes to further advance this remarkable platform technology."Dr. Lothar Lilge PhD, Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network stated that, "We are delighted that we were able to partner in the preclinical research for this ground breaking discovery. The ability to effectively destroy cancer and simultaneously stimulate the immune system to target micro metastasis beyond the initial treatment volume is necessary to provide long term disease control. We will now proceed to confirm these findings for a range of induced and spontaneous animal tumour models."Dr. Michael Jewett MD, clinician investigator and uro-oncologist at UHN stated, "I am excited about the possibilities of this discovery. If this newly discovered characteristic of the Theralase PDCs can be replicated in humans and demonstrate the same efficacy that it has in small animals, then the implications to the war on cancer could be immense. I look forward to furthering this preclinical work to the clinical stage to validate its efficacy in humans."Roger Dumoulin-White, President and CEO of Theralase stated that, "If our PDC technology is proven effective in cancer patients, the implications of this discovery are nothing short of game changing for both Theralase and for cancer patients. The ability to destroy the original cancer and also program the body's immune system to prevent its recurrence, after only a single treatment, is nothing short of miraculous. Born a technical person at heart, I have always marvelled at the complexity of the human body and regarded it as the single most complex and intricate machine ever devised. The opportunity to bring technology to market that could help preserve the integrity of the human body and destroy such a deadly disease as cancer, fills me with hope and a great sense of accomplishment. The scientific, clinical and engineering teams at UHN, Acadia and Theralase are all fully dedicated to bringing the Theralase anti-cancer PDC technology to the forefront of clinical success, as soon as possible, in order to help eradicate the world of cancer and assist cancer patients stricken with this deadly disease."
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2014 Canjex Publishing Ltd.
Frankly, I don’t want Beverly near it. We all know that Beverly has accomplished nothing during her tenure with Titan. The sooner that management recognizes that, the better off we'll all be. Beverly is a good person, but doesn't bring anywhere near her value of $7,000/month.
My friend has already personally informed Titan of the article and they too are excited about it.
My friend is on top of things, and I trust that the article will be distributed to the right people and the right places.
Before I finished the article, I actually started working on another, also on Titan - my personal valuation and the methodology of how I derive it.
This has been done with lots of consultation with financial professionals and will be the way that U.S. analysts look at such technologies.
I hope I don’t upset any of you with what I come out with, but understand that I’m basing my valuation purely on the next 12-months. In that time frame, to ballpark it, I’m looking at $7 - $10 / share right now. I know some of your say $25, even $100, and those are not unrealistic figures, I hope that we see them - if that’s the case we can all retire off Titan - but will be determined over time by sales. I want to excite people, but I want to be conservative at the same time.
The article that will come out tomorrow is roughly 4,000 words. I expect by the time I complete the valuation article it will be at least that length, perhaps much, much longer. I've put together a lot of very detailed and difficult-to-acquire materials, as well as primary research and academic studies to really delve into things.
I just wanted to check-in and give everyone an update.
Firstly, thank you to everyone on this board for their positive comments and never ending effort to complete Titan due diligence.
Second, I created a Seeking Alpha account and submitted my article which has now been approved.
After a bit of back and forth with some minor edits, the article was selected for exclusive publication as a PRO article.
The article is now live for SA PRO subscribers - How Titan Medical Is Going To Revolutionize The Surgical Robotics Industry - and will become available to all Seeking Alpha users for 30 days following an initial 24-hour embargo.
After the embargo period is up (sometime tomorrow afternoon) it will be accessible via the quote page and other places on the website. I think that it may also be syndicated via Yahoo!, Google and other distribution services that SA has partnered with.
A link to the article will also be sent to 806 investors as a real-time email alert (many ISRG and TRXC investors), and to 469,773 subscribers of the Investing Ideas daily newsletter.
So hopefully we'll get a little more exposure from this - It feels good to be published :)
Long and strong.
Theralase's PDC may help treat low-oxygen tumours
Ticker Symbol: C:TLT
Theralase's PDC may help treat low-oxygen tumours
Theralase Technologies Inc (C:TLT)
Shares Issued 66,580,642
Last Close 5/26/2014 $0.275
Tuesday May 27 2014 - News Release
Mr. Roger Dumoulin-White reports
THERALASE ANTI-CANCER TECHNOLOGY VALIDATED IN PRESTIGIOUS US CHEMISTRY PUBLICATION
Theralase Technologies Inc.'s latest research on photo dynamic compound technology, proven effective in the destruction of bacteria and cancer, has been peer reviewed and invited to be published in the prestigious U.S. Elsevier publication, Coordination Chemistry Reviews.
The new research presents how Theralase's new class of PDCs incorporates systems that act as dual Type I/II PDCs (able to work in oxygenated and non-oxygenated tissue), opening up the possibility of treating hypoxic (low oxygen) tumours with Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT). These PDCs are remarkable in-vitro centromere binders (localizing to the nucleus of a cell) and photocleavers (ability to damage nucleus), thus destroying cells when exposed to light. They also exhibit no nucleic damage in the absence of light, supporting their high safety and tolerability. This PDT effect translates effectively to animals and has proven superior to the FDA approved PDC Photofrin(R), in this research. The ability to activate the Theralase PDCs from visible to Near Infra Red (NIR) light marks an unprecedented versatility that can be exploited to match treatment depth to tumour target depth, giving rise to PDCs for multi-wavelength activated PDT.Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT) is an elegant method for destroying cancer cells. PDCs accumulate in cells intended for destruction and when light activated destroy the intended cell; hence, PDT is best described as a combination therapy that offers selectivity through local interactions between a PDC, light and oxygen. Briefly, light absorption by the PDC produces a reactive excited state that can participate in electron (Type I) or energy (Type II) transfer to ground state molecular oxygen forming either superoxide radical anions or cytotoxic singlet oxygen, respectively. The production of a cytotoxic (cell killing) burst of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), notably singlet oxygen has proven effective in eliminating tumours and/or tumour vasculature. The primary advantage of light-based approaches in treating diseases, such as cancer, is that guided light delivery confines drug activity to malignant sites; thereby, reducing collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Consequently, due to the high photostability of the Theralase PDC, very low drug doses can be used (nanograms) with activation at higher light doses, simultaneously eliminating the side effects caused by conventional systemic chemotherapeutics, such as cisplatin. Dr. Arkady Mandel, Chief Scientific Officer of Theralase stated, "A number of successful efforts have been made by Theralase's research team to satisfy the clinical requirements and to improve the pharmaceutical and therapeutic properties of the original PDCs. The results of our collaborative research with Dr. Lothar Lilge's scientific team at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health (UHN) and Dr. Sherri McFarland's chemistry team at Acadia University (Acadia) reveal an unprecedented versatility and efficacy of the Theralase's PDCs. The research data published in the high impact journal Coordination Chemistry Reviews may lead to development of the first-line of patient specific PDT. I am delighted that Theralase has established a very strong partnership with UHN and Acadia to progress this pivotal technology to the next milestone, the completion of an orthotopic animal model for bladder cancer. Together with clinical guidance by Dr. Michael Jewett, a Professor of Surgery (Urology) at the University of Toronto and one of the lead clinician investigators and uro-oncologists at UHN, our research provides excellent preclinical support to Theralase to finalize the regulatory submissions and prepare us for a Phase 1/2a human clinical trial to evaluate the technology in patients inflicted with bladder cancer."Dr. Lothar Lilge PhD, Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network stated that the, "Publication of our research in Coordination Chemistry Reviews validates the importance of the efforts of Acadia University and UHN, with the fully committed support of Theralase, in developing a novel approach for the destruction of solid tumours, preferably in a single administration, thus significantly improving the quality of life of cancer patients. The results obtained to date provide strong support and encouragement to complete the small outstanding preclinical work at UHN to properly position this exciting technology for human clinical studies at the earliest feasible point in time."Dr. Sherri McFarland PhD, Professor of Chemistry at Acadia University stated that, "I am delighted to work with a strong partner such as Theralase in the development of these PDCs that I originally invented and optimized with the support of my partners. These PDCs have proven to be very potent compounds in the destruction of cancer cells in very small doses and I am excited to lead the development of the PDCs and be part of the team completing the preclinical work in 2014 to support human clinical studies in early 2015." Roger Dumoulin-White, President and CEO of Theralase stated that, "Coordination Chemistry Reviews is a highly renowned publication known for publishing chemistry research of the highest calibre. It is an honour for this cutting-edge research to be recognized in a publication of this level, further lending credence to the importance of the cancer research we are undertaking with our partners, UHN and Acadia. Targeting cancer cells regardless of tissue depth, enables Theralase to customize its patented technology to be "patient specific" to destroy cancer regardless of where it may reside in the body."
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2014 Canjex Publishing Ltd.
Hi everyone, just checking in to a very predictable day.
Stock is down to a lack of US support since the US markets are closed today. Not to worry at all.
Have a great day.
Long and strong.
Should be a fairly quiet day tomorrow as US markets are closed for Memorial Day.
Long and strong.
Obviously this is the Titan board, but since some have brought it up, I just wanted to quickly touch on Theralase.
I still really like Theralase Technologies and own quite a few shares. I am absolutely not saying to sell Titan and go out and get Theralase - it is much, much further away from commercialization, although for what it is and the current price level, I do like them.
They have an interesting story and have achieved some impressive results in the lab. The real story there is that they potentially have a cure for cancer (they're initially targeting bladder cancer). It's patented and the lab results have been impressive. The cold laser aspect of the company is merely a channel of revenue to fund the research that they are currently doing. Most small caps like Theralase need to raise capital to get funded, and while they do, at least the cold laser division partially supplements their research. It is also endorsed by the world-renowned Dr. James Andrews, who, if you ever watch sports, you surely have heard about.
I haven't been posting much on Theralase lately because I have been so focused on Titan.
I just wanted to take a few minutes and reassure some folks on here who have invested in Theralase. I've gone down to their head office and sat down with Roger and feel confident that we are going to see results from his team at some point in the future. I expect to see some real movement Q1 2015.
AGM Q&A Segment
Q: At what point does Health Canada approve this product? And is there a risk they don’t approve it for Canadians?
A: There has traditionally been cross-over between FDA approval and Canadian approval. They expect the US data can be used for Canadian approval. One of the sad parts of the robotic surgery marketplace is that in the US there are currently about 2,000 units, compared to about 22 in Canada today. So the marketplace is much smaller. That said, Titan is a Canadian company. They will be pursuing Health Canada approval, but it subsequent to the EU and FDA approvals.
Q: Have you considered a portable model that could be used for example in emergency evacuation situations where instead of having it tethered to an electrical outlet, you could run it off a battery pack and take it to MASH units or emergency hospital settings?
A: John – “Yes.” It has been discussed internally. Some of the team Titan members just recently took a trip to Washington, D.C. to the Pentagon and sat down and discussed what if’s and looked at future possibilities. If you look at the today’s US military, a significant portion of their efforts and budget have been put into robotics. To quote one of the Generals, “Maybe it’s time we had the robotics take care of the good guys instead of the bad guys”
I had a chance to speak with John afterwards and not only does his family have a prestigious military background, but also an extensive network of military connections. I was very impressed with what he had to say here.
Q: With the new crop of surgeons coming up, are the medical schools training them on this technology with da Vinci machines in their classrooms? And is selling to medical schools another method of raising revenue?
A: No, not in medical schools. Post-graduate training, such as becoming a surgeon takes place after med school. And increasingly, there are opportunities for young surgeons in training to learn to use the robotic technology. ISRG is now selling dual-console robotic platforms where the senior surgeon and the trainee and work on the same robot for training purposes. And those are all under consideration by management. In fact, the software designed to test the hardware will be slightly re-tooled and used for training.
An anecdote was then recalled how this particular doctor, a urologist, started using robotics in 2004. At that time, only about 10% of prostatectomies throughout the country were done robotically. Today’ it’s well over 90%. And during that time, as more as more residents have been taught, generally speaking, as they’re finishing their training programs, they would not go to a recruitment position until they’ve had access to a robot. So times have changed.
My friend then went off a respectful, yet critical diatribe. He specifically explained to them that he was in full support of the company NOT putting out any news that might compromise them and provide information to competitors. But he then asked if they had begun the FDA process – to which the answer was “Yes.” At that point he tried to explain to them that this was material information that should have been press released. Why is this information in their prospectus and their PowerPoint on their website where only a handful of people go and not in a press release? The competition probably has full time lawyers reviewing this information. Somewhere is the range of 65% to 70% of Titan shareholders are retail investors. Of this large number, 90% or so don’t go to the company website or read a prospectus so they don’t know the company has started to work on the FDA applications. So, the people they most want to keep the information from are in fact the most informed – aside from a group like us who shares such information.
I can tell you for certain that the management team is not out of touch, rather they are totally unsophisticated with the markets and what they need to keep shareholders interested. This point was really driven home during the Q&A and (if they weren’t aware previously) management has now been well-informed of their lackluster performance with respect to this matter.
My friend has been in Titan since Day 1. He isn’t a broker, rather he is probably one of the largest individual shareholders (not institutional). On top of his personal holdings he has a significant broker network that owns lots of Titan.
Dr. Fowler added that divulging a lot of this information, from management’s perspective , exposes Titan’s timeline to the competition and allows them to strategize better. As a matter of fact, they believe that some of the Intuitive releases regarding their SP, have actually been based off of information gleaned from past Titan disclosures. He seemed extremely concerned about not exposing the company timeline and technical results to Intuitive or Transenterix.
Q: We haven’t heard much from the CE simulators, there was an agreement about working more closely on that. Does that still exist, or is it back burner for now?
A: That specifically is back-burner for now. Having said that, Titan is very focused on training and the use of simulation for training. There are a lot of extremely talented groups out there which Titan will be engaging and re-engaging. CAE may be a part of that, but they are exploring different possibilities.
Q: Has Corey been working on integrating Internet I/P into any of the work that he and the Ximedica team are doing?
A: At that time, Reiza stepped in and joked that they just put tape on Corey because his being an engineer is too valuable. He acknowledged that there is a demand for long-distance communication, especially with defense applications and in dangerous environments. That being said, it is definitely doable but they want to keep the first-generation product very simple and get it to market. So that might be a second generation product feature, but at this time, it is not.
I personally think that there's huge revenue potential here with future product generations. More diverse product offerings and price-points will make the SPORT appeal to an even larger marketplace. I find the internet I/P potential very fascinating and very real.
Q: This is a world-wide product. We’re kind of isolated here in North America. But do you have any affiliation with hospitals and specialists throughout the world that you could comment on?
A: Yes, there is a surgeon on the Surgeon Advisory Board from Seoul, Korea who is probably the company’s first serious contact in Asia. Developing relationships with various places in Europe – nothing finalized. Target countries are the southern and middle part of Europe, where there is a lot of technological interest. Titan gets requests from surgeons and hospitals more than once a week from Europe wanting to partner. As they sign on board, we’ll get press releases.
Q: Some people in here who watch CNBC and CNN have probably seen ads on TV, ads which law firms have put big money behind, informing viewers of the class-action lawsuit against Intuitive, potentially perverting the robotic surgery industry. What are your thoughts on that?
A: Reiza fielded this answer, and stated that it was a very good question. I’ll paraphrase, but give the gist of what he had to say. He acknowledged the class-action against Intuitive and said that they were well aware of it. It was for a failure of their electrical conduit. When a current is passed through an instrument, it needs to be insulated throughout the instrument, all the way to the tip. Intuitive’s instrument was not insulated properly, which caused the arcing of current in inappropriate places where the surgeon did not mean to burn the tissue. Resulting in serious injury in some cases, and even death. Intuitive did not report this to the FDA until approximately 6 months to 1 year late and have now been caught up in it, resulting in the lawsuit. It isn’t a fault of robotics per se - it could have been any instrument robotic or not robotic that could have had that defect. Why Intuitive didn’t report this is beyond Titan management, because in their opinion, it would have been easy to clean up that production cycle and re-send out the units.
Q: How much cash will the company have once all of the warrants have been exercised?
A: The outstanding warrants will generate close to $80 million when exercised. If they go to term, about $18 - $20 million.
Q: What are your intentions of uplisting to the NASDAQ or doing a reverse split?
A: They’re going to evaluate and listen to all opportunities.
Management didn’t seem interested in doing the r/s, but seemed confident that the NASDAQ listing will eventually happen.
Q: In regards to protecting the IP, management isn’t too concerned about the daily PPS and lack of news flow? The focus is on getting to commercialization?
A: Fowler responded stating that, indeed the focus is on getting to commercialization and protecting the IP as much as possible during that process.
Reiza then added that they’re very pleased with being fully funded now, those issues were a very real concern before, especially in regards with raising capital, but now the daily fluctuations are not as much of a concern.
It’s a very delicate balancing act between keeping investors informed, disclosing sensitive timeline and scheduling information, and protecting intellectual property. Management knows for a fact that ISRG has a team of people watching every move that Titan makes.
And while I can’t validate this fact, I was told that ISRG staff might own around 4,000,000 million shares of Titan. They’re watching the value of their own portfolios and share price fall, all the while saying, look at how many Titan shares we can get – many have pulled the trigger.
Q: In your timeline, when do you foresee starting to take on orders? Going out and getting sales?
A: Probably late-2015 as far as Europe is concerned, and then it will be a blended process. There is an unmet demand out there that Titan is still trying to define, and that will take a significant effort from a sales perspective. When you look at the metrics for potential installations in hospitals and surgical centers for SPORT, you will find them to be quite attractive.
Q: Are you inadvertently building anything that would be applicable outside of the industry? Maybe something to do with delicate robotics?
A: John touched on the robotics industry, stating that there is often an overlap in functionally which can be dispersed in many ways, and Titan will continue to examine all of the work they do and look at it from multiple perspectives.
I'm currently working on making everything a little cleaner around the edges and publishing all of the info. I gathered from the AGM on Seeking Alpha. The idea was much appreciated, hopefully we will get a little more publicity and notice.
Long and strong.
We will see more movement upward with more news coming, getting Theralase more deserved attention that is need here.
At the risk of sounding like a pumper, start buying. If it drops a little more, buy a little more.
Same as last time when it moved people were in shock and missed the boat.
Make no mistake about it, these guys have everything under control.
CUIN2, you are right on the money.
Your last sentence summarized it up perfectly. You have a right to let management know how they are doing.
My friend specifically told Hargrove he (and Titan) have done an amazing job in their development, their financings, the way they run the company…..however, he (and the rest of the Titan team) need to know their weaknesses. They have to step up the way they share information to the shareholders, they need much more seasoned and sophisticated IR/PR (Brooks is weak and should not be there- she is way over her head for such a good company) and they need to be doing more dog and pony shows in the US – but don’t forget Canada.
Long and strong
Management is well aware of our concerns. They are hearing it directly from everyone.
They are not ignoring anyone either. Although they are wrong about their approach to date, I think you will see a slight change (at least I hope so).
I think after the AGM, the point was made clear to them that there are certain things they can release to keep us shareholders informed that will not tip off the competition…….their excuse so far. FYI, this is not just Hargrove as we all thought originally, it is Fowler too. I think the whole Titan team understands the need for better communication.
Actually my friend has been one of the biggest critics to date and he speaks to them directly. You are correct in that he feels the same way we do.
He specifically had conversations with them after the meeting and explained to them that somewhere is the range of 65% to 70% of their shareholders are retail investors. Of this large number, 90% or so don’t go to the company website or read a prospectus so they don’t know the company has started to work on the FDA applications…. He explained to them that all this information is clearly on the their web site and in the prospectus and that the competition probably has full time lawyers reviewing this information…so the people they most want to keep the information from are the most informed – aside from a group like us who shares such information.
Regarding the current shares taking a dump, he is cool as cucumber. It does not bother him – however let's be realistic, he much preferred the share price when it was trading at $2.70 per share versus $1.70 per share. He has been in Titan since day one so he understands what is going on and is now more pumped than ever. Although he already has a substantial position he said he is going to increase it more.
Summary, he liked $2.70 better than $1.70 but after the AGM and the discussions afterwards and after talking to Valvo, Hargrove and Fowler he is more confident than he ever was.
I have been putting extra time and also burning the midnight oil on Titan lately however I have been hearing some rumblings again on Theralase. I have not sold any and am not concerned about the drop either.
Be patient and give me a few days as Titan is currently the focus as I am being asked many questions still both on the board and directly to my inbox.
Actually that guy looks a lot like a younger Hargrove!!!
Actually my sentiment is mid-term bullish.
I predict this will be $7 or more by end of the year and if I am wrong by a quarter give me the leaway of Q1 next year.
The sell off as I have already mentioned is simply momentum guys re-allocating their funds and the remaining hedge guys who played the warrant game with the recent financings.
Long and strong
Just relax and stay calm. The PPS volatility is frustrating, but I look at this big picture, and ultimately within a relatively short period of time I see Titan easily as a $1 billion company.
I look at this as perhaps our last opportunity to accumulate before a steady stream of news – FDA submission, Alpha Prototype completion, US road show and marketing efforts, tissue validation study, CE mark application/approval followed by limited commercial European release, human trials in the US, FDA 510(k), commercialization.
I can’t say for certain when the selling will dry up, or how low we’ll go. But this is an opportunity to build another base of new investors and for ourselves to add cheapies to our own portfolios.
More and more people are hearing about Titan’s robotic surgery technology every day. CNN had a feature on the class-action lawsuit against Intuitive the other day. They just had a terrible last quarter. More and more stories like the anecdote John told. Transenterix has a competitive price point, but a far inferior product technologically.
Titan is going to displace these competitors and capture a significant portion of the market share. Go back and look at my posts on the market – the metrics are extremely impressive and compelling. I underestimated the extent of their reach for placement of the SPORT unit.
It’s just a matter of time. The fact that management has continued to meet targets is extremely encouraging, and I feel very good after spending the afternoon at the AGM that with John being in charge of Titan we are in good hands.
Long and strong.
I'll work on getting this information on Seeking Alpha within the next 24 hrs or so.
I'll also finish transcribing the rest of the meeting into more notes to share.
That is something I will be working on personally.
I am going to see what I can do to further the exposure.
Barefootin, I look forward to the celebration with the bottle of bubbly.
You are welcome and long and strong
CUIN2, it was my pleasure.
It simply took a little time, that’s all.
Long and strong
Slick, you and the board are welcome. I feel I get tons from all the medical people here so if I can contribute now and then I will.
I have no idea if the price will rebound. Why? Generally I feel I have a decent grasp of the markets and understand the dynamics, however I don’t know if the flippers/hedge guys have finished their selling. I truly believe this has been a significant reason why we are where we are. Due to their selling, the momentum traders begin to sell, holding the price down as well. Is the selling over, who knows?
Should it go up, YES.
I am hoping yesterday’s blow off was the last of the selling.
In my opinion this price will increase again to $2.70 and higher and it will not take 5 years as someone stated yesterday. You could see this in 6 months or less.
You might even see the turn around begin today.
Others join in as well please...
Akrez, just send an e-mail to Hargrove, Randall and Brooks saying that next year you would appreciate if they would arrange a call-in number for the AGM.
Simply suggest it now and hopefully they will be prepared for next time.
Great idea. Adding on these unwarranted dips always makes sense – assuming you can afford the ups and downs both financially and mentally LOL.
Yesterday’s price action was simply as I stated earlier yesterday momentum traders moving out since the price is simply not moving up. Alternatively it’s the remaining flippers who did the warrant game.
This is all due to the fact that both groups thought let's wait until meeting and see if Titan comes out with some gangbuster news to drive it to $3.00. When this did not happen, they decided to exit. They will be wrong.
You can tell it’s the flippers who participated in the new issue game for the following reason as well. Notice how the warrants have not really moved on any volume? It's only the stock moving down. There has been no movement in the warrants. Only because people are not selling. In fact, the warrant pricing indicates much more optimism than the share price currently reflects.
The flippers/hedge guys took down the new issue, expected the stock to rise to $2.70 again and it did not, so they are taking a small loss which is mitigated by the value of warrants…..
Let them sell out, the new buyers will make lots of money.
Let’s look at yesterday’s price action as a bit of cleansing (I will take it as the glass is half full). How is that for my positive spin. Of course I would rather see $2.70 or higher but after yesterday’s meeting I know we will be there.
Long and strong
My friend was the guy standing virtually alone on the right side of the room if you faced the front (looking at Hargrove and Rayman). He is the guy who made the point about the lack of new releases to be clear.
He is not a broker, rather he is probably one of the largest individual shareholders (not institutional).
On top of his personal holdings he has a significant broker network that owns lots of Titan.
I'd like to provide my key takeaways and get to the questions that I and others asked during the Q&A after the presentation but it's either very late or really early depending on how you look at it and I have to get up in just a few hours.
I'll finish posting and answer some more questions tomorrow.
Long and strong.
AGM Summary Notes
Robotic surgery market opportunity for SPORT
- Opportunity to target various surgeries: Cholecysectomy, Appendectomy, Bariatric, and Benign Hysterectomy
- Currently $3.2 billion, expected to grow to $19.9 billion by 2020
- Hospitals have shifted to ‘clinical efficiency’ models
- Looking for mobility, flexibility, affordability, agility, and versatility
- And at the end of the day: ROI clinically, financially, and operationally
- ‘Perfect Storm’ right now in the U.S. with the move to clinical efficiency, and the Obamacare encouraging accessibility, coupled with affordability
The company “Scoreboard”- stock performance, financials, and development Y/Y
- Shares price up 245% Y/Y today
- They were extremely disappointed and concerned this the PPS and volume in November 2013, but are quite satisfied with how the shares have been trading throughout 2014
- This time last year there was only ~8 months of cash remaining, as of April 30th, 2014 Titan has over $40,000,000 cash or 30+ months of funding
- No need for any further financing
- Development never wavered, management achieved all milestones and is on track for future success
As far as the Business Model is concerned:
Composed of three key revenue drivers –
1) System Sales (One-time)
- Currently about 6,000 hospital placement opportunities in the U.S., and probably as many if not more ambulatory surgical placements in U.S. That’s not including Europe or the rest of the world
- They estimate the unit cost of SPORT to be ~$800,000
2) Disposable Instrumentation
- They estimate that each SPORT unit could generate ~$400,000 per year
3) Service Agreements
- They estimate 10% of the capital costs
I’m not familiar with the projected operational life-time of each SPORT, but I don’t think that ultimately generating $5 million from each unit is unrealistic whatsoever.
- They played yesterday’s video (the chicken video) while Dr. Fowler explained the technology
- The only new detail I took out of it was the fact that the instruments can be swapped out in mere seconds
- Joe Taloricco then discussed the opportunity of the SPORT unit, elaborating on the various surgical procedures I previously listed and their future capabilities of the SPORT unit
- Joe went on to introduce the Ximedica team, and like I commented in a previous post, mentioned that there are 40 full-time employees (software engineers, biomedical engineers, electrical engineers, etc.) all dedicated to SPORT
- SPORT was nothing more than a concept on a piece of paper roughly 24 months ago. The video released yesterday was the culmination of 24 months of work.
Management is extremely pleased about the speed, efficiency, and means by which they’ve placed the product in 24 months - virtually unheard of in the medical equipment industry
Corey from Ximedica discussed the Product Development Strategy (including many of the technical aspects of the development and design and the entire pathway to commercialization and beyond)
- Having a clearly defined strategy is very important – they’ve spent a lot of time ensuring this has been done correctly
- I didn’t take any photos (just audio for notes) but there was a good Image of it:
TIER 1 –
Instruments
Controllability
Visualization
TIER 2 –
Integration and clinical functionality
Less critical surgeon and user interfaces
Lens cleaning
Strength and reprocessing
TIER 3 –
Aesthetics
Mobility and adjustments
Custom instruments
Current Instruments:
- Needle driver
- Hook cautery
- Curved dissector
- Atraumatic grasper
- Developed controllability benchmark system
- 3rd generation camera lens
- 2nd generation portal design
- 1080p
- 3D image
Corey pretty much elaborated on each of those items. If anyone wants any further details, feel free to ask
Reiza then gave general updates on Titan
Some comments I took out of his discussion:
- Initiation of tissue testing
- Titan, led by Dr. Fowler, has begun the clinical/pre-clinical regulatorary approval process with the FDA and the notified bodies for Titan’s countries of choice in the EU
- Next year, plans to initiate outside US approval process and commericial launch (lead by Hargrove, given his background with JNJ) and is well underway. On track to submit the FDA 510(k) in the 2nd half of 2015 and have a product done and ready to go to market in the US
Moved on to discussing the competition:
Transenterix Surgibot
- Inferior vision system (2D glasses)
- Much less dexterity
- No longer a computerized console
- Worse ergonomics (among other things, users must stand)
- Cost should be about the same as SPORT, but management believes it offers a lot less value proposition
- Targeting end of 2015 launch
Intuitive Surgical da Vinci SP (single-port)
- Announced April 11th, 2014 the launch of the unit – quite an unusual announcement as historically, the customer has only ever known when the product has been for sale
- They just went through a bad quarter, sales were down 24%
- Timeline for commercialization is at least a year from now
- The very small size of the camera raises questions whether it was deliver comparable vision to its MP unit
- Will it be compatible with older models and technology?
- Will probably cost around $2 million / unit
Hargrove, who is the CEO definitively (for those who were wondering), had a few compelling comments which I think we can all appreciate
-He discussed the actual size of the market, which I personally underestimated
- There are 6,000 hospitals in the US
- 2,000 currently have a da Vinci unit & 4,000 are underserved and can’t afford one
- As many if not more ambulatory surgery center placements in the US
The implications for these numbers are where the value really is. Today’s market cap for ISRG is $14 billion. Assuming all goes according to plan and the milestones are achieved, taking 10% of Intuitive’s market cap should be simple. Not to mention all of the negative publicity now hitting the mainstream media regarding the class-action lawsuit against Intuitive (I saw a feature on CNN a couple of nights ago). Now consider the additional 4,000 hospitals in the US that were previously underserved because they couldn’t afford a da Vinci unit. And consider the 6,000+ ambulatory surgical centers that Titan can market the SPORT to.
So, say they sell 1,000 SPORT units year 1. Factor in life-time revenue of $5 million / unit and apply a standard industry metric, I would give them a $1 billion valuation all day long. Conservatively.
When I look big picture, compare the Surgibot and the da Vinci SP to SPORT, I would say that Titan has 2 years from when SPORT goes to market before anyone else can compete
Back to Hargrove…
-Referred to the current market opportunity as the “perfect storm”
- Affordable Health Care Act (“Obamacare” now in full-motion)
- People currently have a lack of healthcare options
-Told an anecdote about a case study with a group purchasing organization that bought a da Vinci unit for $2.1 million
- Once it was installed in the surgical room, it was there to stay – it’s not mobile
- The year before, the room did 4 procedures a day, 260 workdays a year, or 1,040 procedures (94% efficiency)
- The year after installation, the room only did 160 procedures
- That’s a displacement of 880 patients
In my opinion, Titan is developing a very exciting Product Line.
-Drive future revenue
- Already being planned
- Had a brief discussion about military applications (John is a West Point man and was recently at the Pentagon discussing Titan technology). Also discussed the possible application to deploy with MASH units)
- Hepatic feedback
- Adding an arm
- Internet I/P
I expect this to have piqued the interest of many, it certainly got my attention.
Financials
As at Mar. 31st, 2014
Cash: $15,584,466
Burn Rate: $452,350 - $633,290
Market Cap: $166,524,701 ($179,416,755)
Management Ownership: 7.9%
As at April 30th, 2014
Cash: $40,384,108
Burn Rate: $452,350 - $638,890 (Going to start ramping this up shortly)
Market Cap: $177,608,000 ($182,825,312)
Warrants
- If all of the warrants get exercised, that will generate ~$80 million
- $18 - $20 million if they went to term
Financials
As at Mar. 31st, 2014
Cash: $15,584,466
Burn Rate: $452,350 - $633,290
Market Cap: $166,524,701 ($179,416,755)
Management Ownership: 7.9%
As at April 30th, 2014
Cash: $40,384,108
Burn Rate: $452,350 - $638,890 (Going to start ramping this up shortly)
Market Cap: $177,608,000 ($182,825,312)
Warrants
- If all of the warrants get exercised, that will generate ~$80 million
- $18 - $20 million if they went to term
Hargrove, who is the CEO definitively (for those who were wondering), had a few compelling comments which I think we can all appreciate
-He discussed the actual size of the market, which I personally underestimated
- There are 6,000 hospitals in the US
- 2,000 currently have a da Vinci unit & 4,000 are underserved and can’t afford one
- As many if not more ambulatory surgery center placements in the US
The implications for these numbers is where the value proposition really is. Today’s market cap for ISRG is $14 billion. Assuming all goes according to plan and the milestones are achieved, taking 10% of Intuitive’s market cap should be simple. Not to mention all of the negative publicity now hitting the mainstream media regarding the class-action lawsuit against Intuitive (I saw a feature on CNN a couple of nights ago). Now consider the additional 4,000 hospitals in the US that were previously underserved because they couldn’t afford a da Vinci unit. And consider the 6,000+ ambulatory surgical centers that Titan can market the SPORT to.
So, say they sell 1,000 SPORT units year 1. Factor in life-time revenue of $5 million / unit and apply a standard industry metric, I would give them a $1 billion valuation all day long. Conservatively.
When I look big picture, compare the Surgibot and the da Vinci SP to SPORT, I would say that Titan has 2 years from when SPORT goes to market before anyone else can compete
Back to Hargrove…
-Referred to the current market opportunity as the “perfect storm”
- Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare” now in full-motion)
- People currently have a lack of healthcare options
-Told an anecdote about a case study with a group purchasing organization that bought a da Vinci unit for $2.1 million
- Once it was installed in the surgical room, it was there to stay – it’s not mobile
- The year before, the room did 4 procedures a day, 260 workdays a year, or 1,040 procedures (94% efficiency)
- The year after installation, the room only did 160 procedures
- That’s a displacement of 880 patients
In my opinion, Titan is developing a very exciting Product Line.
- Drive future revenue
- Already being planned
- Had a discussion about military applications (John is a West Point man and was recently at the Pentagon discussing Titan technology). Also discussed the possible application to deploy with MASH units
- Hepatic feedback
- Adding an arm
- Internet I/P
I expect this to have piqued the interest of many, it certainly got my attention.
Reiza then gave general updates on Titan
Some comments I took out of his discussion:
- Initiation of tissue testing
- Titan, led by Dr. Fowler, has begun the clinical/pre-clinical regulatory approval process with the FDA and the notified bodies for Titan’s countries of choice in the EU
- Next year, plans to initiate outside US approval process and commercial launch (lead by Hargrove, given his background with JNJ) and is well underway. On track to submit the FDA 510(k) in the 2nd half of 2015 and have a product done and ready to go to market in the US
Moved on to discussing the competition:
Transenterix Surgibot
- Inferior vision system (2D glasses)
- Much less dexterity
- No longer a computerized console
- Worse ergonomics (among other things, users must stand)
- Cost should be about the same as SPORT, but management believes it offers a lot less value proposition
- Targeting end of 2015 launch
Intuitive Surgical da Vinci SP (single-port)
- Announced April 11th, 2014 the launch of the unit – quite an unusual announcement as historically, the customer has only ever known when the product has been for sale
- They just went through a bad quarter, sales were down 24%
- Timeline for commercialization is at least a year from now
- The very small size of the camera raises questions whether it was deliver comparable vision to its MP unit
- Will it be compatible with older models and technology?
- Will probably cost around $2 million / unit
Corey from Ximedica discussed the Product Development Strategy (including many of the technical aspects of the development and design and the entire pathway to commercialization and beyond)
-Having a clearly defined strategy is very important – they’ve spent a lot of time ensuring this has been done correctly
- I didn’t take any photos (just audio for notes) but there was a good Image of it:
TIER 1 –
Instruments
Controllability
Visualization
TIER 2 –
Integration and clinical functionality
Less critical surgeon and user interfaces
Lens cleaning
Strength and reprocessing
TIER 3 –
Aesthetics
Mobility and adjustments
Custom instruments
Current Instruments:
- Needle driver
- Hook cautery
- Curved dissector
- Atraumatic grasper
- Developed controllability benchmark system
- 3rd generation camera lens
- 2nd generation portal design
- 1080p
- 3D image
Corey pretty much elaborated on each of those items. If anyone wants any further details, feel free to ask
- They played yesterday’s video (the chicken video) while Dr. Fowler explained the technology
- The only new detail I took out of it was the fact that the instruments can be swapped out in mere seconds
- Joe Taloricco then discussed the opportunity of the SPORT unit, elaborating on the various surgical procedures I previously listed and their future capabilities of the SPORT unit
- Joe went on to introduce the Ximedica team, and like I commented in a previous post, mentioned that there are 40 full-time employees (software engineers, biomedical engineers, electrical engineers, etc.) all dedicated to SPORT
- SPORT was nothing more than a concept on a piece of paper roughly 24 months ago. The video released yesterday was the culmination of 24 months of work.
Management is extremely pleased about the speed, efficiency, and means by which they’ve placed the product in 24 months - virtually unheard of in the medical equipment industry