Kiwi tech investor Powerhouse Ventures saw its cash receipts drop by about half this quarter ahead of a move into Australia.

The company’s (ASX:PVL) fourth quarter numbers, released this morning, show it collected $NZ49,000 in cash receipts in the three months to June 30, compared with $NZ97,000 in the March quarter.

The business did curb its burn rate this quarter, however – running through $431,000 in Q4 compared with $903,000 in Q3.

One reason for this was a cut in staff costs of more than 40 per cent – the company spent $270,000 on staff this past quarter, compared with $484,000 in March.

In a statement provided to Stockhead, Powerhouse chief executive Paul Viney said the business had undertaken a “modest” restructure of operations in New Zealand.

“Powerhouse has implemented a modest restructure of NZ corporate operations as it prepares to operate with Australian based staff for the first time in the next couple of months,” Mr Viney said.

“Up until now, Powerhouse has been operating in Australia on a fly-in/fly-out basis. Powerhouse has commenced screening technologies from CSIRO and has commitments to engage with a number of Australian Universities going forward.”

Powerhouse has just over $1 million in the kitty and estimates it will spend $1.3 million in the next quarter.

The business invests in a range of companies in the clean tech, medical and ICT spaces.

It has faced a number of challenges over the past 12 months, including writing off off a 30 per cent investment in the company Solarbright to nothing and launching legal action against the founders for allegedly transferring IP out of the company.

It has also written off a $7 million investment in HydroWorks, and reported a $10 million annual loss in 2017.

In April, Powerhouse announced a $5.8 million capital raise but then cancelled this after two unnamed institutional investors pledged $1.35 million. 

Powerhouse Ventures (ASX:PVL) share price, past 12 months

The share price has fallen around 70 per cent over the past year, from 62c to 19c.

Stockhead has contacted management for further comment.

 

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