Relevant to SIGA shares....
Nexia Announces Third Quarter 2006 results, Provides Corporate Update
Thursday April 13, 2:48 pm ET
(in Canadian dollars)
EDMONTON, AB, April 13 /CNW Telbec/ - Nexia Biotechnologies Inc. (NEX: NXB.H) today released financial results for the nine-month period ending February 28, 2006 and its Management Discussion and Analysis.
CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS
In January 2006, the Board of Directors determined to implement a corporate reorganization strategy. Nexia has made significant progress with this initiative. These steps should allow management to focus more time and resources on the development of remaining assets.
On March 14, 2006, PharmAthene, Inc. and Siga Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGA - News) announced that they had entered into a term sheet providing for the merger of those companies. If this transaction is completed, it will result in Nexia's investment in PharmAthene shares having a readily determinable, liquid value. In addition Nexia was advised by PharmAthene that communications continue with respect to Protexia(R) and the U.S. Department of Defense's Request for Proposal.
On March 30, 2006, Nexia announced that it had entered into an Arrangement Agreement that, when completed, will result in Nexia becoming an emerging oil and gas service company. The new management team has extensive industry experience and the originating Board of Directors is comprised of individuals with impressive credentials. This transaction, if approved by our shareholders, will give Nexia's shareholders direct exposure to the oil and gas service sector, currently one of the best performing sectors on the TSX. Nexia's existing assets will be transferred to a new company that will be owned by the current Nexia shareholders. Additional information regarding this initiative is available at www.sedar.com. It is expected that trading in the shares of Nexia will remain halted until the plan of arrangement is complete. The completion of the arrangement is subject to a number of conditions and to regulatory and shareholder approval. Updated information regarding the progress of the transaction will be provided as it becomes available.
Management's next objective is to pursue development opportunities with respect to BioSteel(R), towards the ultimate goal of achieving a commercial product. Nexia is in discussions with various parties who have shown preliminary interest in Nexia's transgenic technologies for the production of recombinant spider silk (BioSteel(R)) protein for product applications. Management intends to expend sufficient research and development capital to advance commercialization of BioSteel(R) via joint developments and believes additional business and investment opportunities are available to Nexia.
THIRD QUARTER 2006 FINANCIAL RESULTS
The loss for the quarter ended February 28, 2006 was $215,000 ($0.01 per share) compared to a net loss of $1.80 million ($0.08 per share) for the quarter ended February 28, 2005. For the nine-month period ended February 28, 2006 the net loss was $530,000 ($0.02 per share) compared to a net loss of $6.08 million for the nine-month period ended February 28, 2005. The substantial variance was due to the reductions in spending, across all categories as a result of substantially reduced operations, after the completed, previously disclosed, asset sale transaction with PharmAthene Inc. In addition, the nine-month period in 2005 included a one time write-down of fixed assets and intellectual property related to BioSteel(R) in the amount of $1.1 million. |
