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Cordlife&rsquo s operation licences renewed for one year
It has also requested for lifting of trading halt
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife&rsquo s : P8A 0% cord blood banking service and human tissue banking service licences have been renewed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) for one year, with effect from Tuesday (Jan 14).
&ldquo The company is committed to meeting all applicable regulatory requirements and compliance measures, before considering the full resumption of operations in Singapore,&rdquo said Cordlife in a bourse filing after market close on Tuesday.
Cordlife added that at the current stage, it is unable to assess the impact on its fiscal performance for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2025.
Previously, MOH allowed the company to resume its cord blood banking service operations &ldquo in a controlled manner&rdquo , restricting its operations to not more than 30 units per month of new cord blood from infant donors, until Monday.
In a separate filing, Cordlife requested for a lifting of its trading halt. It called for a trading halt before market opened on Tuesday.
Cordlife&rsquo s Teo Tong Kooi resigns as chairman Zhai Lingyun steps up
Teo will remain on the board as an independent director
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife Group announced on Wednesday (Jan 8) that Zhai Lingyun, the company&rsquo s non-independent non-executive director, has been appointed as its new chairman.
This follows the resignation of Teo Tong Kooi, who stepped down from the position of chairman with immediate effect on Tuesday to &ldquo focus on other commitments&rdquo , the group said in a bourse filing.
Teo, who became chairman on May 23, 2024, will remain on the board as an independent director. He will also retain his roles as the chairman of the nominating committee and the remuneration committee, as well as a member of the audit and risk committee.
Zhai will also continue to hold his post as the group&rsquo s non-independent non-executive director, in addition to his new role.
The group said the decision to appoint Zhai as chairman was made after its board of directors took into consideration the nominating committee&rsquo s recommendation and reviewed his qualifications and work experience.
Zhai was appointed as non-independent non-executive director in December 2019 and was re-elected in April 2023.
Prior to joining Cordlife, he was vice-chairman and general manager of Anhui Xinhua Media, a China-based company engaged in publishing, distribution and sales of books, audio-visual products and teaching materials, from 2015 to 2018.
He is also presently the chairman of two subsidiaries of Cordlife&rsquo s substantial shareholder, Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store &ndash of which he was also the chairman until 2024.
Nanjing Xinjiekou was one of the parties involved in Cordlife&rsquo s boardroom shakeup in March last year, where two of its substantial shareholders separately called for the removal and appointment of several company directors amid the scandal surrounding its mishandling of cord blood units.
Its nominee Phillip Securities on Mar 14, 2024, had called for the removal of several board directors and the appointment of three individuals to the board &ndash one of whom was Teo. Days later on Mar 18, another substantial shareholder TransGlobal Real Estate Group requisitioned the rejection of Phillip Securities&rsquo proposals and the removal of two non-independent non-executive directors.
Teo and the two other individuals proposed by Phillip Securities were elected to the board in May 2024.
Zhai was arrested on Jul 25, 2024, in connection with investigations into Cordlife&rsquo s alleged breach of disclosure obligations, before being released on bail. He has not been charged or convicted of any offence.
At that time, Cordlife said its board viewed it in the company&rsquo s interest for Zhai to remain on the board as he was &ldquo overseeing and providing guidance&rdquo on investigations addressing the lapses identified by the Ministry of Health &ndash which in November 2023, discovered that Cordlife had inappropriately stored cord-blood storage tanks at temperatures above acceptable limits.
Following this, the group was suspended from collecting, testing, processing and/or storing new cord blood and human tissues for six months, but was subsequently allowed to resume some cord-blood banking services in a &ldquo controlled manner&rdquo from September 2024.
In its latest earnings update, the group was in the red with a S$1.6 million net loss for its third quarter ended September 2024.
Cordlife posts S$1.6 million Q3 net loss on revenue decline
Revenue falls 31 per cent to S$10.1 million from S$14.7 million
CORDLIFE remained in the red for the third quarter ended September 2024, after having fallen into a net loss position for the first half of the fiscal year.
On Thursday (Nov 15), the embattled cord-blood bank reported a S$1.6 million Q3 net loss, from a net profit of S$1.4 million in Q3 FY2023.
Revenue fell 31 per cent to S$10.1 million from S$14.7 million on lower contributions from Singapore, which recorded only 15 days of operations for the period.
Cordlife announced that it resumed its cord-blood banking services in &ldquo a controlled manner&rdquo from Sep 15, following an extended suspension of new sample collection activities in Singapore, directed by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
For the nine-month period, the group recorded a net loss of S$13.9 million, from a S$3.6 million profit in the prior year. Revenue declined 55.1 per cent to S$19.3 million from S$43 million previously.
The group said it remains focused on achieving full resumption of its Singapore operations, having improved its processing and storage facility in Yishun by increasing laboratory and technical personnel, and by strengthening operational protocols.
Group executive director Chen Xiaolong, reporting that Cordlife now has &ldquo more robust capabilities and stronger operating procedures&rdquo , said the company now follows strict operating protocols, and &ldquo is working to regain the full trust of all stakeholders&rdquo .
Group chief executive Ivan Yiu said: &ldquo Having met MOH&rsquo s criteria to resume our cord blood banking services in a controlled manner in Singapore, we are confident the group is on the path to rebuilding our business foundation to drive business recovery.&rdquo
Cordlife says directors committed to waive fees for FY24 defends choice of auditor ahead of EGM
Meeting being called to appoint new auditors and approve directors&rsquo fees
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife said that its remaining directors have committed to waive their directors fees for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, in response to questions raised ahead of the company&rsquo s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Nov 14.
The EGM is being called to appoint new auditors and approve its directors&rsquo fees.
In a bourse filing on Sunday (Nov 10), the company said that non-independent non-executive directors Zhai Lingyun, Yiu Ming Yiu and Chow Wai Leong will not be receiving directors&rsquo fees.
However, Chen Xiaoling, who was redesignated as group executive director as at Jul 17, 2024, will receive her remuneration for the role.
She will also not receive any directors&rsquo fees as long as she serves as group executive director, the company said.
Cordlife added that further consideration may be made in due course as to whether Zhai, Yiu and Chow will continue to waive their fees after FY24.
They will take into account factors such as time spent and the effort and individual responsibilities of each director, as well as the financial condition of the company, it said.
On why the company was &ldquo downgrading&rdquo to a smaller audit firm, PKF-Cap, after KPMG did not seek reappointment, the company said that it only received two fee proposals, the other of which came from another mid-sized audit firm.
The company added that audit partner Lee Eng Kian has 29 years of experience auditing listed issuers such as USP Group, Bromat Holdings &ndash formerly known as No Signboard &ndash and Zico Holdings.
Cordlife Group has been receiving sign-ups from new customers since it was allowed to resume collecting new cord blood in a " controlled manner" .
Cordlife&rsquo s business reset may give minority shareholders the best chance to bail out fast
Shares of the company closed flat at S$0.15 on Friday (Nov 8), before the filing was made.
Cordlife to hold EGM to appoint new auditors, approve directors&rsquo fees
The proposed appointment will allow the group to save about 30% in audit fees
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife : P8A 0%will hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) next month to appoint new auditors and approve its directors&rsquo fees.
The EGM will be held at Great World City East on Nov 14 at 10 am, during which Cordlife will seek the appointment of audit firm PKF as its external auditor until its next annual general meeting.
In evaluating PKF&rsquo s suitability for the appointment, Cordlife said that its audit and risk committee had considered, among other things, the adequacy of the firm&rsquo s resources to undertake the company&rsquo s ongoing audits.
It also took into account the track record of incoming audit partner Lee Eng Kian, who has 29 years of experience.
The proposed appointment will allow the group to save about 30 per cent in audit fees, compared to aggregate audit fees of about S$698,000 incurred in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, it added.
Cordlife&rsquo s former external auditor, KPMG, gave notice in April that it would not seek reappointment.
The firm had previously submitted a disclaimer of opinion in its independent auditor&rsquo s report dated Apr 24, although this was not raised as the reason for its decision to retire as Cordlife&rsquo s external auditor.
Cordlife said that the disclaimer of opinion raised by KPMG will be taken into account for PKF&rsquo s existing audit approach.
Vote on directors&rsquo fees
During the EGM, the company will also seek unitholders&rsquo approval for Cordlife&rsquo s directors to be paid up to S$135,000 for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024. This is to be paid quarterly in arrears.
At the company&rsquo s last annual general meeting on May 14, the proposed resolution to approve directors&rsquo fees of up to S$450,000 for the same period was not approved. To date, no director has been paid fees for the 2024 financial year.
Cordlife&rsquo s business reset may give minority shareholders the best chance to bail out fast
There is much uncertainty for the company&rsquo s minority shareholders amid substantial shareholder dispute, possible lawsuits
CORDLIFE Group has been granted a reprieve, following the Ministry of Health&rsquo s (MOH) notice on Aug 29 that it could resume some cord-blood banking services in a &ldquo controlled manner&rdquo from Sep 15.
Although this signals that things could be getting back on track, some upcoming personnel departures show that the company is not quite out of the woods yet &ndash and investors may need to look for an exit, fast.
The counter has been in dire straits since Cordlife&rsquo s Singapore operations were suspended for six months from collecting, processing, testing or storing new cord-blood units in December last year.
This comes after seven of its then 22 storage tanks were found to have been exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits since November 2020.
The group was subsequently slapped with an additional three-month suspension, which took effect from Jun 15.
In total, the Singapore operations of the private cord-blood bank have been unable to collect new cord-blood units for nine months. The suspension sent the group into the red &ndash it reported a net loss of S$12.4 million for the six months ended Jun 30. While Cordlife does have operations regionally, such as in Hong Kong and India, Singapore brought in the bulk of its revenue.
As a result, the stock has generally fared poorly over these nine months. On Nov 30 last year, shares of Cordlife closed at S$0.455. On Wednesday (Sep 18), they ended at S$0.173.
As at Wednesday, Cordlife was trading at a 62 per cent discount to its book value, based on Bloomberg data. It has total returns of negative 56.2 per cent year to date, compared to the benchmark Straits Times Index, which garnered 16.2 per cent total returns over the same period.
Following rectifications made under MOH&rsquo s guidance, Cordlife&rsquo s suspension was partially lifted. It can now collect up to 30 units of new cord blood each month from Sep 15 to Jun 13, 2025.
Cordlife also announced on Tuesday that it had upgraded its laboratory monitoring system, hired more senior staff, and improved its processes.
Indicating that confidence could be returning, the group said that it has already started receiving sign-ups from new customers. After the news, its share price jumped 17.7 per cent to S$0.173 on Wednesday.
However, the optimism surrounding this has been dampened by announcements of key personnel departures.
Cordlife announced in late August that its group director of brand development, Woon Geok Peng, will be resigning from her post in October to &ldquo pursue personal interests&rdquo .
On Sep 9, the company said that Tan Huiying, group director of quality and operations, is leaving in November for the same reason.
Woon and Tan have held these posts since July 2016. By their last day, the pair would have spent seven years each in their current roles. Cordlife said it will fill these positions before the departures to ensure &ldquo a smooth transition&rdquo .
Shareholder uncertainty
With two resignations of long-time staff occurring within such a short period, uncertainty continues to hang over Cordlife&rsquo s prospects. On the corporate governance front, there has also been much upheaval.
From March to May this year, the company was embroiled in a dispute between its substantial shareholders, TransGlobal Real Estate Group and Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store.
According to Cordlife&rsquo s annual report, TransGlobal has a 27.9 per cent stake in the company, while Shanghai-listed Nanjing Xinjiekou holds about 20.2 per cent interest. Nanjing Xinjiekou is affiliated with Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group Corporation.
Over these months, the two shareholders sent letters requisitioning resolutions to remove directors from Cordlife&rsquo s board. Bourse filings revealed that Nanjing Xinjiekou&rsquo s nominee directors &ldquo expressed reservations&rdquo about the appointment of Cordlife&rsquo s group chief executive Ivan Yiu, who has familial links to TransGlobal.
Nanjing Xinjiekou also filed an injunction against Cordlife to cancel a private placement that would have raised S$8.2 million.
The spat culminated in the removal of three directors, including Cordlife co-founder Ho Choon Hou, during the company&rsquo s annual general meeting (AGM) in May. Nanjing Xinjiekou&rsquo s nominee directors took up these places on the board.
The group also redesignated Nanjing Xinjiekou&rsquo s senior associate president Chen Xiaoling, who was already on the board before the AGM, to the position of group executive director.
In August, Nanjing Xinjiekou said that it was no longer considering increasing its stake in the mainboard-listed cord-blood bank, despite previously expressing interest in making an offer for shares of Cordlife it does not already own.
An entity linked to Nanjing Xinjiekou also dumped its 10 per cent stake in Cordlife in early August. The group did not disclose who had bought these shares.
TransGlobal has been quiet since the AGM, although its nominee directors remain on the board.
For the moment, it appears that there is an uneasy peace between the two largest shareholders.
Difficult decision for minority investors
With uncertainties at every turn, minority investors can&rsquo t be faulted if they were to consider exiting. But the current share price is still a long way from where it used to be, and they face a difficult time finding their way out.
It also possibly faces looming class-action lawsuits from furious customers, with at least two known groups working on gaining compensation. Such uncertainty will weigh on the company for some time to come.
Some bright spots, such as MOH&rsquo s latest notice, could give investors hope. However, Cordlife still needs to work on fully resuming its collection of new cord blood and restoring confidence among investors and customers.
Perhaps what the group needs is a white knight investor who could throw a lifeline to minority shareholders still invested in Cordlife. However, investors who do not have the patience to wait for that turnaround should consider cutting the cord on Cordlife, or risk being left in the cold.
I am sure they have learnt their mistakes.
Buy because it is bombed out and things should get better (lawsuit aside)
Buy because it is bombed out and things should get better (lawsuit aside)
Its not the system.. its the integrity of the mgt !
Dyodd
Dyodd
Cordlife upgrades monitoring system, tightens operational protocols
The company is receiving new sign-ups as it resumes cord-blood banking services in a controlled manner
CORDLIFE Group announced on Tuesday (Sep 17) that it is improving operational protocols and upgrading the laboratory monitoring system at its processing and storage facility, as it resumes cord-blood banking services in a controlled manner.
The new monitoring system tracks the temperature of 27 cryogenic storage tanks and other critical equipment, thus ensuring round-the-clock surveillance both on-site and remotely, said the company.
Cordlife management highlighted that the new system was put in place after the Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a suspension. It declined to reveal the exact cost, but noted that the capital expenditure incurred was &ldquo not material&rdquo due to its upgrades being an &ldquo ongoing process&rdquo .
Group executive director Chen Xiaoling said: &ldquo We keep enhancing our equipment and our facilities, so it will be difficult for us to (specify) an amount&hellip we keep investing.&rdquo
The system improvements include a centralised monitoring system that can track the temperatures of all the equipment in Cordlife&rsquo s laboratory, as well as the environmental temperature and humidity. For example, storage tanks have temperatures between -180 and -190 degrees Celsius (deg C), while the ultra-low freezers have a temperature between -70 and -80 deg C.
It also sends alerts to technicians, supervisors and management personnel through various channels, with procedures in place to escalate issues to senior leadership if necessary.
If there are any abnormalities in the equipment sensors, staff would receive a phone call, an SMS and an e-mail. The alerts go up to the lab supervisory level and eventually to senior management, said Cordlife during a media tour of the facility.
To ensure that operations continue under any circumstances, the system runs on its own power source, while other equipment in the facility is supported by multiple power supplies and a backup generator.
The facility&rsquo s cord-blood processing laboratory is also equipped with four units of the AXP II system, an automated platform for processing cord blood. The system has been validated under the supervision of an expert panel from MOH, said Cordlife.
Cordlife has also assigned more technicians to be on duty after office hours.
Alongside system improvements, the group has increased its laboratory and technical manpower, adding four senior staff. It now has 23 laboratory and technical staff, in addition to four quality assurance staff.
The group has &ldquo expended considerable human resources&rdquo to improve processes and upgrade the skills of its staff, it said in response to The Business Times&rsquo queries.
Group chief executive Ivan Yiu noted that the company will recruit more experts and professionals to further improve operations and service standards.
Resuming in a &ldquo controlled manner&rdquo
The launch of the facility, which spans 5,400 square feet, comes after Cordlife accepted a notice from MOH earlier this month regarding changes to its cord-blood banking service licence.
As part of the agreement, Cordlife will not collect, test, process and/or store more than 30 new cord-blood units a month from infant donors from Sep 15, 2024, to Jan 13, 2025, unless sooner approved by the director-general of health.
Chen noted that the company has already received a number of new sign-ups since the partial resumption. However, Cordlife has yet to collect the samples from these new customers, as expecting mothers tend to sign up in the last trimester of their pregnancies &ndash the births will only happen later this year.
Cordlife had also not signed on any new customers during its suspension. &ldquo We strictly followed the directive from MOH,&rdquo she added.
Cordlife was previously told to stop the collection, testing, processing and/or storage of new cord blood for a period of six months from Dec 15, 2023. This came after MOH said seven of Cordlife&rsquo s then 22 tanks had been exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits at different periods from November 2020.
In the latest, Cordlife said it has been engaging with clients affected by temperature excursions in two storage tanks and a dry shipper.
The company said it will refund the customers annual fees received from the start of the incident and waive subsequent fees until the service agreements mature when the child turns 21. A &ldquo significant number&rdquo of affected customers had accepted the offered refund or waiver &ndash depending on payment plans the customers had chosen, said Cordlife.
&ldquo One or two customers&rdquo whose cord-blood units were stored in the affected tanks had also elected to terminate their contracts &ldquo for personal reasons&rdquo , said Cordlife&rsquo s management.
The company has also not received official requests from customers for the transfer of their cord-blood units to other cord-blood banking providers.
Cordlife&rsquo s group director of quality and operations Tan Huiying resigns
Move comes four months after she was appointed to her current position
Embattled cord-blood bank Cordlife&rsquo s : P8A 0% group director for quality and operations, Tan Huiying, will resign from the company effective Nov 4, four months after she assumed her current position.
In an announcement on Monday (Sep 9), Cordlife said that Tan was leaving to pursue her &ldquo personal interests&rdquo and that her resignation had been accepted by the company&rsquo s board of directors.
In her role, Tan is responsible for the group&rsquo s operations, information systems and technology and business development activities. She is also responsible for ensuring that the group&rsquo s quality standards in service and product offerings are maintained according to applicable standards.
Her resignation comes about two weeks after the Health Ministry said Cordlife will be allowed to resume cord-blood banking services &ldquo in a controlled manner&rdquo from Sep 15.
Tan joined the company as a business development and technical executive in June 2006. Prior to her current position, she served as business unit director for the diagnostics team from January 2014 to June 2016. In this position, her role involved developing and implementing growth and product strategies for the group&rsquo s diagnostics business to meet financial and non-financial goals.
Even had their mistake reported in Straits Times. What a mess.
Embattled cord-blood bank Cordlife&rsquo s group director for quality and operations, Ms Tan Huiying, has resigned from the company effective Nov 4, four months after she assumed her current position.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/cordlife-s-group-director-of-quality-and-operations-tan-huiying-resigns
Embattled cord-blood bank Cordlife&rsquo s group director for quality and operations, Ms Tan Huiying, has resigned from the company effective Nov 4, four months after she assumed her current position.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/cordlife-s-group-director-of-quality-and-operations-tan-huiying-resigns
cmengchan ( Date: 10-Sep-2024 14:07) Posted:
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Looks like Cordlife just posted a correction.
The date of appointment is not 01/07/2024.
The corrected date is now 01/07/2016.
She has been appointed more than 12 years, not 4 months.
Their internal controls are still messy to make such a mistake in announcement.
The date of appointment is not 01/07/2024.
The corrected date is now 01/07/2016.
She has been appointed more than 12 years, not 4 months.
Their internal controls are still messy to make such a mistake in announcement.
I think that was not the role she wanted, but took it since company in crisis.
moonsun ( Date: 09-Sep-2024 19:15) Posted:
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Cordlife?s group director of quality and operations Tan Huiying resigns
Move comes four months after she was appointed to her current position.
Means ???
Move comes four months after she was appointed to her current position.
Means ???
Cordlife to resume cord-blood banking service &lsquo in controlled manner&rsquo from Sep 15
The Ministry of Health bars it from collecting, processing or storing more than 30 units of new cord blood each month between Sep 15 and Jan 13, 2025
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife will be allowed to resume cord-blood banking services &ldquo in a controlled manner&rdquo from Sep 15, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Aug 29).
However, to safeguard the interest of its customers, it will not be allowed to collect, test, process and/or store more than 30 units of new cord blood each month, from Sep 15 to Jan 13, 2025, said the ministry.
MOH&rsquo s notice on Thursday is pending Cordlife&rsquo s written representations.
To recap, the cord-blood bank was told to stop the collection, testing, processing and/or storage of new cord blood for a period of six months from Dec 15, 2023. This followed MOH&rsquo s announcement comes that seven of the 22 tanks at Cordlife had been exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits at different periods from November 2020.
After six months, the suspension was extended by an additional three months on Jun 15 for Cordlife to complete the validation of its new cord-blood processing method.
Follow-up audits by MOH showed that Cordlife had met the essential requirements to resume its provision of cord-blood banking services, said the ministry in its statement on Thursday.
&ldquo For example, Cordlife has validated its new cord-blood processing method, implemented a new temperature monitoring system with acceptable temperature monitoring practices, and streamlined its incident tracking and escalation workflow,&rdquo added MOH.
The ministry has asked Cordlife to adopt &ldquo a carefully calibrated approach to gradually ramp up the provision of its services&rdquo to ensure customer welfare. MOH also noted that Cordlife has undergone &ldquo significant changes&rdquo in its governance, manpower and processes.
The ministry will continue to monitor Cordlife&rsquo s operational stability, staff capabilities and continued compliance with regulatory requirements, up to its next licence renewal on Jan 13, 2025.
I am sure they have learnt their lessons. The fact that MOH has finally relented is the first positive move.
The new Shareholder that came in to buy 9.96% from another SS bought at $0.18
In short in my humble opinion this stock has bottomed......Strong buy
The new Shareholder that came in to buy 9.96% from another SS bought at $0.18
In short in my humble opinion this stock has bottomed......Strong buy
SmallSmall ( Date: 30-Aug-2024 09:10) Posted:
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The start of the recovery. Bombed out. BUY
The Company wishes to update that it had on 29 August 2024 received a letter from the MOH, giving notice to the Company that it is able to resume its cord blood banking service operations in a controlled manner, with the proposed modifications to the conditions of the Company&rsquo s cord blood banking service license that the Company shall not collect, test, process and/or store more than 30 units per month of new cord blood from infant donors (including through any person appointed to provide the aforementioned services on behalf of the Company) from 15 September 2024 to 13 January 2025 (both dates inclusive), unless sooner approved by the Director-General of Health (the " Third Notice
The Company wishes to update that it had on 29 August 2024 received a letter from the MOH, giving notice to the Company that it is able to resume its cord blood banking service operations in a controlled manner, with the proposed modifications to the conditions of the Company&rsquo s cord blood banking service license that the Company shall not collect, test, process and/or store more than 30 units per month of new cord blood from infant donors (including through any person appointed to provide the aforementioned services on behalf of the Company) from 15 September 2024 to 13 January 2025 (both dates inclusive), unless sooner approved by the Director-General of Health (the " Third Notice
Cordlife shareholder Nanjing Xinjiekou calls off plans to buy over remaining shares
It still remains &ldquo fully committed to leveraging on its expertise and resources to help the company navigate through its current challenges and rehabilitate the group&rsquo s business&rdquo
THE substantial shareholder of Cordlife : P8A -2.86% has called off plans to buy over the remaining shares of the embattled cord-blood bank.
In a bourse filing on Monday (Aug 26), Cordlife said that it received a seventh letter from SAC Capital &ndash on behalf of Nanjing Xinjiekou &ndash that the shareholder is discontinuing pursuing a potential offer as the current circumstances may present risks that are not aligned with its investment criteria and business strategy.
However, Nanjing Xinjiekou, which owns a 20.3 per cent stake in Cordlife as at Mar 20, 2023, remains &ldquo fully committed to leveraging on its expertise and resources to help the company navigate through its current challenges and rehabilitate the group&rsquo s business&rdquo .
The seventh letter from SAC Capital comes after several earlier letters indicated that Nanjing Xinjiekou was still interested in a deal to buy over Cordlife&rsquo s shares it does not own.
The private cord blood bank is currently suspended from collecting or processing new cord blood, with the latest directive by the Ministry of Health (MOH) extending the suspension by up to three months from Jun 15.
Investigations from MOH uncovered lapses in the company, where it was found that seven of its 22 storage tanks were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits at different periods since November 2020.
The company recently posted a net loss of S$12.4 million in its latest earnings, largely due to the suspension of the group&rsquo s Singapore activities.
&ldquo The ongoing investigations by MOH, along with the fixed costs being incurred during the suspension of the Singapore operations of the company and its subsidiaries are expected to continue to have a negative financial impact on the group&rsquo s Singapore operations, which had been the group&rsquo s largest revenue contributor,&rdquo said the filing.
Cordlife is also currently embroiled in a shareholder dispute, with two substantial shareholders separately requisitioning to remove directors from its board.
Cordlife reverses into the red with S$12.4 million H1 loss, loses accreditation with blood banking body
Revenue for the half year is down 67.5% at S$9.2 million
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife Group : P8A -2.72% on Thursday (Aug 15) posted a net loss of S$12.4 million for the six months ended Jun 30, compared to a net profit of S$2.2 million year on year.
This came as revenue fell 67.5 per cent to S$9.2 million from S$28.3 million in the previous corresponding period, largely due to the suspension of the group&rsquo s Singapore activities.
The decline includes around S$9.7 million in costs that arose due to the waiver of subsequent fees for active clients who stored their cord-blood units in tanks at high risk affected by storage lapses, as well as the recognition of contract liabilities related to future storage obligations of affected clients.
To recap, seven of Cordlife&rsquo s 22 storage tanks were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits at different periods since November 2020. The lapses were uncovered by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which suspended the cord-blood bank from collecting or processing new cord blood for six months from November 2023.
The group was subsequently slapped with an additional three-month suspension, which took effect on Jun 15.
Loss per share for the six months was S$0.0482. The group had earnings per share of S$0.0087 in the first half of FY2023.
The group noted that its Singapore operations had been its largest revenue contributor, adding that it is likely to continue being affected by the ongoing suspension and investigations.
Cordlife said it stepped up its rectification efforts during the period under review, establishing an oversight committee in May, comprising certain directors and management, that will address the group&rsquo s current challenges, such as appointing a new audit firm.
It also created a medical and technical advisory board to provide guidance and insights to its medical and technical teams.
Since July, Cordlife has engaged Shandong Qilu Stemcell Engineering Co to guide and assist the Singapore team during the rectification period.
The Shandong-based company is a subsidiary of Cordlife&rsquo s substantial shareholder Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store, and has around one million cord-blood units in its cord-blood bank, said Cordlife.
The group also intends to grow its regional operations &ndash for example, its Philippine unit intends to offer a range of diagnostic tests and routine prenatal screenings. Cordlife&rsquo s group chief executive Ivan Yiu said: &ldquo We are also exploring new business opportunities in other markets to mitigate the impact of our Singapore operations.&rdquo
Accreditation withdrawn
In a separate bourse filing, Cordlife said the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) has withdrawn Cordlife&rsquo s AABB accreditation for cord-blood activities &ndash collection, processing, storage and distribution.
This was after the company provided an update to AABB at the organisation&rsquo s request that MOH had issued a notice to Cordlife barring it from collecting, testing and storing new cord blood for three months from June.
AABB sets standards for blood banking, transfusion medicine, blood management and cellular therapies.
AABB has notified Cordlife that the association can accredit it only after MOH permits the company to resume its business, that it has fully resolved all quality issues, and has several months of records available for on-site inspection.
AABB&rsquo s notice to Cordlife stated that the current continued closure of the company&rsquo s cord-blood banking services &ldquo makes it impossible for AABB to identify non-conforming products, processes and events, as well as successful implementation of corrective measures supporting the AABB accreditation standards&rdquo .
AABB said Cordlife can seek accreditation once MOH reinstates the group&rsquo s operations, and will undergo the same accreditation process with a self-assessment, followed by an on-site evaluation of the efficacy of the company&rsquo s quality management system.
Upon the receipt of approval from MOH to resume operations, Cordlife will evaluate the feasibility of seeking AABB accreditation at a suitable time, said the group.
Use of private placement proceeds
In a third bourse filing, Cordlife said it intends to reallocate the remaining funds it has from a private placement proposed in 2013 of 26.8 million shares at an issue price of S$1.25 per share.
At the time, the placement raised gross proceeds of S$33.5 million.
Cordlife said about S$23.5 million of the funds had initially been intended to support the group&rsquo s operations in connection with its geographical footprint, and fund additional strategic investments or opportunities deemed appropriate by its board. Around S$9.4 million was used for working capital purposes.
As at Aug 14, the company has used around S$27.2 million of the proceeds and has S$6.3 million remaining.
The company has since reviewed its cash flow requirements for the refund and waiver of fees for cord blood in the high-risk tanks, the rectification efforts taken in relation to the suspensions and brand-rebuilding efforts, and the board determined that it was &ldquo in the best interest of the company&rdquo to reallocate the remaining funds to be used for these purposes.
Cordlife also announced in a fourth filing that the claim lodged in February against the company in the Small Claims Tribunal has been withdrawn by the claimant.
Cordlife warns of H1 net loss amid MOH investigations
The company says there is no certainty on the outcome of the ongoing inquiries
CORDLIFE Group has issued a profit warning saying it expects to report a net loss for the first fiscal half of the year versus a net profit in the prior year, based on a preliminary review of the group&rsquo s draft unaudited H1 FY2024 results.
More details will be disclosed when the group announces its unaudited first half results on or before Aug 14, said the cord-blood bank on Monday (Aug 12).
While Cordlife will recognise the financial impact of refunds and fee waivers related to high-risk tanks for the latest period, the group maintained that investigations &ldquo are ongoing and there is no certainty on the outcome of the Ministry of Health (MOH)&rsquo s ongoing investigations&rdquo .
In June, Cordlife reported a net loss of S$11.6 million for the three months ended Mar 31, reversing from a net profit of S$1.2 million in the corresponding quarter the year before.
Its Q1 revenue had reversed to minus S$240,000 after accounting for the financial impact of refunds to its customers, whose stored cord-blood samples were compromised as a result of not being stored at the correct freezing temperature.
Cordlife was issued its first notice to stop collecting new cord blood and human tissue on Nov 30, 2023, after MOH checks found that some of the company&rsquo s cord-blood storage tanks were kept at temperatures above acceptable limits.
On May 27 this year, the ministry issued a new notice extending the suspension for an additional three months upon conducting further inspections.