Chief Executive's Statement
NMT Group PLC
11 May 2000
NMT Group PLC
Annual General Meeting
Chief Executive's Statement
Key Points
-Validation of Sortimat 2 machine concluded
-Strategic importance of broadening product range
-Restructuring of Executive Board
-Additional funds required in the near-term
Introduction
At the Annual General Meeting of NMT Group PLC ('NMT' or 'the Group') to be
held today, the newly appointed Chief Executive, Roy Smith, will make the
following statement:
'Following my arrival at NMT as the new Chief Executive of the Company on 1
April 2000, I have spent the past month acquainting myself with the Company's
operations and the overall market opportunity in safety syringes. I am much
encouraged by what I have found in terms of the quality of the Group's
technology and the commercial opportunity for exploiting it. However, in the
short-term, due to limited sales to date, the Company will require additional
funds. We are currently in discussions with our advisers to evaluate possible
options in order to achieve our future business objectives.
I will today provide an update to shareholders in respect of manufacturing and
sales and marketing, and will also comment upon a restructuring of the
Executive Board, our strategy and the immediate outlook for the Company.
Manufacturing
During April, the Group concluded validation of the Sortimat 2 machine which
allows the manufacture of a wider range of 3ml syringes. This increased
product offering will be critical in achieving our sales objectives going
forward. During the last two months, the Group has undertaken an in-depth
analysis of all components utilised in the manufacture of a 3ml syringe and
remains confident that effective output will be achieved during the summer
months and, through productivity improvements, further progress will be
achieved for the remainder of 2000.
Delivery of the Mikron machine, which will widen the product offering to
include a 1ml syringe, is expected during June and will be in production
during Q4 of this year.
The Group is expecting delivery of a third Sortimat machine during June/July
2000. We are considering increasing the flexibility of this machine to
manufacture an additional size of syringe. This action will be particularly
beneficial in achieving our sales objectives in 2002 but will not affect the
forecast sales growth in the short term. By the close of 2001, the Group will
have the capacity to produce in excess of 150 million syringes per annum.
The Board remains confident that the Livingston facility will become an
efficient assembly plant for the syringe product range and this will continue
to receive professional management focus going forward.
Sales and Marketing
Legislation strengthening the requirement to utilise safety needles continues
to gain momentum particularly within the USA where nine states now enforce the
use of safe needle technology.
Within Europe the risk of needlestick injury is now receiving a higher level
of publicity. The UK, Italy and France appear to be showing particular
interest in our technology and will remain countries of focus.
With regard to the Asia Pacific Rim, we have recently signed a distribution
agreement for Australia and are at advanced stage of negotiations with other
leading medical devices companies in this region.
Furthermore, our new business development group has identified excellent
opportunities for joint venture agreements with major multi-national
pharmaceutical companies which have a major interest in HIV, Hepatitis and
Diabetes treatments and discussions with these groups are ongoing. We would
hope to have at least one joint venture agreement completed by the summer of
2000.
It is important to note that the majority of sales and marketing expenditure
is now being applied in the USA, where the feedback from our speciality
distributors and customer evaluations continues to be most promising. As we
obtain effective output levels during the summer months, it will be critical
to convert this interest to real sales. We have a high level of confidence in
achieving this objective.
Restructuring of the Executive Board
Today, Harry Bocker (Finance Director), Garry McGrotty (Commercial Director),
and Michael Brander (Corporate Director) resigned as Executive Directors of
the Group. The Board would like to take this opportunity of thanking them for
their efforts and contribution during their tenure within NMT. Their vision
and creativity has formed an excellent platform on which we can now build a
successful medical device company.
The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Anthony Fletcher as
acting Chief Financial Officer. He has in excess of 20 years experience as
Finance Director of several international companies, more recently as Group
Finance Director of Wellman plc. Tony will further strengthen the Board due
to his depth of experience in precision engineering which was core to those
businesses.
Strategy
The Group is aware that it must demonstrate to shareholders that it is able to
manufacture the current product effectively. We are confident that this can be
achieved.
However, it will also be necessary to create a broader product portfolio
within the medical safety arena to underpin the core technology that has been
created in Livingston.
The Group intends to undertake licensing activities of premium safety products
to provide our customers with a range that addresses the increasing demand for
safe needle technology and related fields of interest. The Group does not
intend to vertically integrate manufacture of these devices but would prefer
to in-license from a sub-contract manufacturer.
The Group recognises that the key to success in the sales of our syringe will
be driven by ease of access to the marketing channels of distribution. The
Group is undertaking activities to underpin this critical area.
In summary, the strategy going forward will be to provide a broad range of
medical safety products, the portfolio being provided by our in-house R&D
group and in-licensing where appropriate. We do not have strong ambitions to
vertically integrate design, development, manufacture and supply but will
concentrate on our core competence of providing premium quality safety
products through focused product development, sales, marketing and
distribution.
Financials
Having undertaken a thorough budget review throughout April and early May, the
Group will be reducing operating expenses for the remainder of 2000 by almost
£1.5 million from the previously planned levels of expenditure. This is
excluding any restructuring costs of approximately £750,000.
The major reduction in operating expenses comes from reduced headcount
compared to forecast and tighter controls of sales and marketing expenditure.
Outlook
Your Board is well aware that shareholders expect to witness dramatic
improvement during 2000 and, with the structural and financial changes in
place, we remain confident of achieving this objective. However, to deliver
shareholder value, the Group will require additional financing in the near-
term and, as stated earlier, the Board is currently evaluating several options
with its financial advisers to ensure that it is able to achieve its future
business objectives.
We believe that there is an increasing global demand for safety devices and
our current core technology will provide the platform to create a successful
Group in the years ahead.'
Enquiries:
NMT Group PLC Tel: 01506 445000
Roy Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Financial Dynamics Tel: 0207 831 3113
David Yates / Sophie Pender-Cudlip