The co-founder of aerial photographer Spookfish has sold a chunk of shares just as the company appears to be on the cusp of making money.
Simon Cope sold $108,000 of shares, reducing his stake in the company from 2.4 per cent to 2.3 per cent.
Spookfish (ASX:SFI) makes geospatial imagery technology — effectively very high resolution cameras that can be attached to aeroplanes.
Its US partner EagleView placed its first order in July.
However, Spookfish has been cagey on the details, refraining from elaborating on the size of the order or the size of the deposit paid by EagleView — or when it will start seeing revenue from its product.
Spookfish has been contacted for comment.
EagleView was expected to take delivery and start using the cameras this quarter.
In the third quarter it was due to launch operations with older models it had been testing.
However, modifications required to attach the cameras to aircraft need to be given clearance from Australian and US air regulators — a process that started in November last year.
Spookfish said in May that Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority had given its latest “camera pod” the okay. It’s still waiting on the US Federal Aviation Administration.
It has not given any updates on when full approvals will come through, necessary for commercial use.
But it does suggest revenue might be around the corner, a welcome nod for shareholders in the until-now R&D company.
In the half-year to June 30, Spookfish took a $5.9 million hit, a rise by 59 per cent from the $3.7 million loss it saw last year, after blow-outs in employee and share-based payments costs.
It did still have $11.2 million in cash though, thanks to a $9.3 million placement in April.
EagleView joined the register as an investor, increasing its stake to 12.2 per cent in June when an agreement to start using the camera system triggered the rollover of convertible debt into equity.
As a result, speculation is rising that it could be a takeover target for the American.
Spookfish closed flat a 8.5c on Monday, slightly up from the 8.6c that Mr Cope sold at on Friday.
Shares are trading at the top end of its 52-week range of 5.1c to 10.5c.