WideCells tumbles following disappointing set of first-half results

Shares in healthcare services outfit WideCells tumbled on Thursday after the group turned in a disappointing set of first-half results due to "slow sales".

For the six months ended 30 June, WideCells losses widened 330% to £2.03m and revenues fell 28% to £17,929 as income from several recently signed contracts took longer than expected to materialise.

WideCells was hit with a one-off £390,000 charge stemming from the aborted acquisitions of two stem cell banks in Brazil, three separate attempts to raise capital and other reorganisational costs.

The AIM-listed firm's non-executive chairman Peter Presland, said: "It gives me no pleasure to report that the first half of 2018 has been a very difficult time for the group."

"We have undertaken a thorough review of the group's operations and are undertaking a number of corporate changes to better streamline our structure and strategy so that we can position ourselves for profitable growth."

Presland assured investors that WideCells would undertake a number of cost-saving initiatives and ensure that all resources were focused on growth opportunities. He also revealed the firm was in talks to restructure its education and training division Wideacademy as part of its cost reduction efforts.

Elsewhere, WideCells locked in a £2.7m financing agreement with the European High Growth Opportunities Securitization Fund in order to support the company's cash flow needs for the next 12 to 18 months.

As of 1130 BST, WideCells shares had crashed 62.61% to 0.71p.