Clinical Computing Plc, the London specialist in medical information systems has yet to make a single pound of profit since its flotation back in February 1994. Shares are currently trading at an 89 pence discount on their issue price of 124 pence. Clinical has had another bad period, with net losses for the year to […]
Clinical Computing Plc, the London specialist in medical information systems has yet to make a single pound of profit since its flotation back in February 1994. Shares are currently trading at an 89 pence discount on their issue price of 124 pence. Clinical has had another bad period, with net losses for the year to December 31 amounting to 2.1m pounds, up from losses last year of 715,000 pounds. Revenue has fallen by 10.1% to just 1.8m pounds and the company blames a difficult UK market together with delays in US orders, which pushed 1996 sales into 1997. Clinical has also failed to secure the additional financing it says it requires to turn its bargain purchase, Armstrong Healthcare Ltd, into a going concern. Armstrong develops robotic systems for various health-care applications. It was purchased from the receivers in early 1996 having run into cash flow difficulties. But with no external financiers making themselves available, Clinical has been forced to sell it on. Armstrong has contributed nearly 800,000 pounds of losses to the 1996 group results, combining operating losses with a 300,000 pound loss on its disposal. Looking towards future periods, Clinical has developed a new Oracle-based renal dialysis system for analytical applications and other projects are up and coming. The board is acutely aware of Clinical’s dependence on dialysis products and is continuing a policy of diversification into general health care by researching and testing new products. The research and development spend doubled to 1.0m pounds this year. Needless to say, there is no dividend.
