Commercialising breakthrough technology (eg Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, etc) is never easy, even at the best of times.
The important bit is not to get dispirited by setbacks, but instead adapt to challenges, learn from past mistakes, and crucially, remain positive. It's only possible to the change the future - and so during tough periods, the Board need to provide optimism, leadership, passion, and clarity of vision in order to continue engaging with the hearts and minds of all key stakeholders.
Take Belluscura (BELL) , a next generation developer of portable oxygen concentrators (POCs), which has experienced its fair share of problems over the past 2 years.
This morning, the company released its Dec FY'23 results (adjusted EBITDA of -$6.3m on sales of $825k vs $1.4m), which as previously indicated had been impacted by funding issues and delays in completing the all-share £5.8m acquisition of TMT. However, that's in the rearview mirror, and a successful turnaround now appears to be taking shape.
CEO Bob Rauker, commenting: "The Group made substantial product, operations and regulatory approval development progress in 2023. Plus with record sales of the X-PLOR POC in May'24, the Company is starting to gain good traction in the US. In addition, with the initial Direct to Consumer launch of DISCOV-R in June, Belluscura is well positioned to deliver substantial growth and we look forward to the future with confidence."
Indeed, the new DISCOV-R device should be "transformational", underpinned by "very strong" demand and pre-orders worth 6,500 units. On top, a major competitor has left the market, whilst the two other rivals have larger, more bulky products compared to BELL's smaller and lighter POCs. Moreover, most of the development and capital costs for the DISCOV-R have already been incurred.
Finally, in July 2024 BELL expects to raise up to $3m via a combination of equity and convertible loan notes (CLNs, subject to shareholder approval). In fact, last Monday the Board said it had already "received significant interest" for its proposed £2.4m placing of 5-year 7% CLNs.
Things definitely seem to be moving in the right direction.
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