Kachingo shareholder looks for more funding

By NZPA

Thursday 30th January 2003

Investment company Strathmore Group, a major shareholder in the Kachingo! customer loyalty programme, is trying to raise funds to bolster its working capital.

Chairman Phil Norman told t he company's annual meeting today that it had completed its aim of terminating executive positions and reducing overheads to a bare minimum of around $20,000 per month.

But after an unsuccessful rights issue in October last year to increase its stake in Kachingo!'s developers and boost capital, the company was seeking alternative forms of fund raising .

Strathmore, which owns a 16 percent stake in Global Online, Kachingo! developer and operator, reported a net loss of $4.2 million for the year to July 31 on operating revenues of $1.199 million.

The result involved a write-down on assets and re-structuring costs totalling $2.769 million.

It was looking at selling its $2.1 million interest in Soft Tech, a software developer for commercial joinery fabrication, which had returned to profitability during the year.

There were no plans to dispose of its Global Online stake, but its future growth would need to come from larger offshore markets, Mr Norman said.

"New Zealand had been an excellent proving ground for the technology and the way to take the programme to market but ultimately it will be international licensing agreements that generate the substantial revenue flows needed to provide the returns investors, Strathmore included, are all looking for."

Global Online had made strong progress in securing interest from several major national retailers in Britain.

But concluding such deals with "these very large prospective customers" would take time, Mr Norman said.

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