Microsaic Systems PLC (LON:MSYS) Chief Executive Officer Glenn Tracey caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss their successful fundraise and what investors can expect in 2018.
Q1: First off, congratulations on raising new funds, can I ask what these will be used for?
A1: I think really two key areas, clearly the first is that it’s going to strengthen our balance sheet, that helps to really give our partners, that we’re working with, confidence that we’ve got the runway to complete the projects with them, in particular, we often refer to the continuing development of our partner in bioprocessing so that’s really important. The second is the fundraising is going to allow us to continue to enhance what we call ‘our point of need instruments’ to ensure our continued competitiveness in the short term as well as that, put us in a stronger position when we negotiate our commercial partnerships.
Q2: Was this supported solely by existing Microsaic investors or did new institutions come on board?
A2: We’re very fortunate to have extremely supportive institutional investors who have been with us quite a while and continue to like our vision and business model particularly now that we’re focussed in the bioprocessing market in the medium term. Additionally, we managed to gain some levels of investment from new institutions as well.
Q3: What was the rationale for using PrimaryBid as well as an institutional placing?
A3: We really value the considerable retail base that we’ve got, and we wanted to extend the placing to them, really on equal terms to our larger institutional investors and this is the first time actually we’ve done this, and I’m delighted that PrimaryBid were very successful. Really, I’d just like to offer them my sincere thanks to our retail investor base for their continued support as well.
Q4: What can investors expect from Microsaic Systems in 2018?
A4: So, we’re on target to have outsourced all of our manufacturing this year and I think, as I said before, this allows us to scale up our capacity in line with growth plans. We’re going to be putting a lot more investment into research and development in line with our strategy in bioprocessing but also to bring to market some nice technology that we know our customers are going to like in the shorter term. Lastly, but maybe more importantly, more OEM distribution deals so, I’ve said this before, sales this year are going to remain modest over 2017 but the fact we’re signing more agreements from a much wider customer base will position us well I hope for 2019.
