Praemium shares fell 1.8 per cent yesterday after the technology group reported a $6.3 million half-year net loss.
The managed accounts administrator closed with a share price of $0.55 after revealing a deficit for the six months to December 2007 that was almost double the $3.4 million loss in the preceding period.
Revenue from ordinary activities remained strong, jumping 57.4 per cent to $3.3 million but failed to match the previous corresponding period’s 95 per cent revenue increase to $2.1 million.
At 31 December, 2007, the group said it had no debt, net assets of $12.4 million and $10.3 million in cash.
Funds under management on the group’s flagship separately managed account (SMA) platform, V-wrap, were $323 million.
Chaired by former Deutsche Bank chief economist Don Stammer and run by Melbourne businessman Arthur Naoumidis, the group has spent the past 18 months investing heavily in the company’s products and infrastructure and expanding into the United Kingdom.
A share placement on May 17, 2007, raised $10 million at $1.05 per share to launch its UK operations.
Last October, the company reported a drop of $17,000 in revenue for the September quarter, which it attributed to client invoicing.
At the end of January it disclosed a net operating outflow of $970,000 relating to employee costs and expenses involved with its new UK operations.
Praemium shares peaked at a high of $1.25 on March 30, 2007.
The company this week announced it would run a joint trading system for managed funds with fellow administration specialist Ausmaq.
It supplies online portfolio administration services, market data and SMA technology to wealth managers, financial planners, accountants, stockbrokers and self-managed superannuation fund administrators.
Portfolios under administration on V-wrap increased by 40 per cent to 32,160 over the period.
