Elite Diagnostics could be in the Junior Market TOP 10 by the end of 2018.
Elite Diagnostic initial Public offer that was put off due to errors in the prospectus seems set to open this week, according to the brokers for the issue an advertisement in the Sunday Gleaner states.
According to the advertisement, the issue will open on Monday February 5 and is scheduled to close on February 12. The updated prospectus is expected to be posted on the Jamaica Stock Exchange website this Monday.
The issue was slated to have opened on January 22 at a price of $2 per share with the share and was scheduled to close on January 29 for a total of 70.68 million shares being offered to raise $141 million. Omission of depreciation charge from the profit statement, resulted in an overstatement of the profit for the September quarter resulting in an addendum to the report being released. The addendum did not address errors in the balance sheet relating to fixed assets and some other items, resulting in the cancellation of the opening of the issue. IC Insider.com gathers that the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Commission were reviewing the report last week to ensure that it reflected the correct position.
Of the shares available for subscription in the IPO, 18 million units are reserved for subscription at $2 each. The company currently has 282 million issued shares. The proceeds of the IPO will put the company in a position to repay a substantial part of the debt due lenders amounting to $202 million.
For the financial year ended June last year, the audited financial statements show revenues increasing to $263 million and net profits moved to $44.2 million from $29 million in 2016. Gross Profit margin is very attractive at 67 percent for the 2017 fiscal year with administrative expenses at 31 percent of revenues, excluding depreciation.
Notwithstanding the errors in the interim figures, Elite shares remain BUY RATED with IC Insider.com forecasting profit of 22 cents per share for the current year to June and 35 cents for 2019. The shares are expected to be listed on the Junior Market.
