Measurement technology developer eyes US listing

Glenn Milnes, managing director of ikeGPS, with the firm's Spike device which attaches to a smartphone.

IkeGPS, the laser measurement tool developer, is mulling a US listing but is first looking for a cornerstone shareholder from its major market.

The US-based company told shareholders at yesterday's annual meeting in Wellington that it's actively seeking US investors and didn't rule out a possible secondary listing there. The company has appointed specialist investor relations advisory firm MKR Group to help find US-based strategic investors.

The firm's shareholders include New York-based Sterling Grace which holds 5.4 per cent, according to NZX data.

"Certainly the option of looking at a listing is something we're considering, but there's a huge amount of analysis that needs to go into that before we progress things," said chief executive Glenn Milnes. "In terms of bringing those US investors, one barrier has certainly been being NZX-listed only for a large proportion of that market, not all of that market."

Blair Abraham, an assistant investment analyst from Harbour Asset Management, which NZX data shows holds a 5.2 per cent stake in the company, sought reassurance from the company that shareholders' stakes wouldn't be diluted by a major new investor.

"The board is obviously looking to maximise the value for current shareholders through any kind of transaction," Milnes said.

Chairman Rick Christie said the board was looking for a US cornerstone shareholder before any secondary listing.

"One of the precursors before actually doing any floats in the US logically could be getting a cornerstone there and then moving on from there," Christie said. "We don't quite know how this is going to play out, but certainly the intention of the board is to grow our investor base in the US and we're going about that in a professional way."

IkeGPS shares listed at $1.10 each last July in an initial public offering that raised $25 million, and closed unchanged last night at 66c, having never traded up to its original issue price. The stock was punished earlier this year, touching a low of 62c, after the company said it would miss its 2015 revenue prospectus guidance because sales of Spike were running three months behind schedule.

One shareholder asked if the company was too optimistic when forecasting revenue and how much confidence the board had in its present revenue figures, while another shareholder said the share price would be thrashed if expectations were missed.

Christie said the board was confident with the figures.

The chairman said the decline in IkeGPS shares wasn't all down to missing expectations. The tech sector had come under pressure as a shift in global sentiment led to investors reassessing valuations of tech-based, momentum stocks.