Yet another loss at Wellington Drive, chief exec resigns

ABOVE: In March last year, Wellington Drive - its shares already much-diluted - foreswore any more capital raising. But by November it was back at the trough, raising $8.4 million through a discounted rights issue that closed in February. Investors lost patience and the company's shares - already well-off their heyday of 85 cents, plunged 60% in a day. They have never recovered. Today, a 20:1 consolidation was announced. Chart courtesy NZX (click to zoom).

Energy saving motor company Wellington Drive Technologies (NZX: WDT) says its revenue for the four months to the end of April is 53 percent higher than it was a year earlier at $11.9 million.

The improvement was driven by US dollar revenue growth of 64 percent, and sales volumes growing 59 percent to reach a total of 420,000 units for the period.

But long-promised profit remains as elusive as ever for the Auckland-based company.

Wellington Drive's electricity saving refrigeration motors increased sales by 78% during the period, including the company's first ever sales month of more than 100,000 ECR motors.

Yet losses contiunued. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for the four months was a loss of $2.3 million.

Chief executive leaving
The company also said today that longstanding chief executive Ross Green would step down once a replacement is found.

Mr Green willl continue to have some kind of advisory role.

Share consolidation
A consolidation of ordinary shares is being carried out, with every 20 existing shares held in Wellington Drive on June 30 being consolidated into one share. The number of shares on issue in Wellington Drive will be reduced from 1.35 billion to 67.37 million.

$14.8 million loss
For the 2010 year, Wellington Drive's sales rose 25 percent from the year before to reach $28 million (well shy of the $40 million promised in its prospectus), with sales volumes up 31 percent to 887,000 units.

A net loss of $14.8 million was reported, a $1.9 million improvement from the year before but a bigger loss than had been expected. The result was due in particular to a weaker than expected gross margin performance.