Why haven’t you made a formal statement on the recent decline in the stock?
Answer:
Management is focused on building a Company, not managing the stock price in the short term. We cannot control the price of the stock. Rather, we must remain focused on building a base of revenue and eventually profits to support long-term shareholder value. We don’t definitively know why the price of the stock is down. We’ve heard a number of potential reasons. Some have speculated that it was due to the delay of the France decision. We do know that the broader markets were significantly down on the day our stock dropped the most. While we typically don’t trade with the market, this was in fact one of the worst days for the market this year and it makes some sense that nervous investors would take some money off the table in a down market. In addition, short sellers comprise a sizeable portion of our public float, and accordingly it is challenging to predict what our stock will do on a day-to-day basis. Finally, since the price decline occurred so close to our third quarter earnings announcement, and close to the scheduled decision in France, we were not able to make any public comment about our stock price. In reality, we are unlikely to comment on short-term price fluctuations, even those that are significant, going forward. Instead, we will remain focused on the long-term valuation of the Company, and accordingly, we will concentrate on building our business.
Where do you stand regarding the infringement suit in Germany?
Answer:
We continue to work with our legal team to build this case. We believe this is a time for us to move prudently and cautiously. Our first goal is to work out a mutually beneficial settlement with the ECB and security printers in Europe. We are, however, prepared to move forward with infringement suits if we cannot reach such an agreement. Keep in mind, even if the ECB appears unprepared to negotiate, other potential defendants, including security printers and those who provide software to this industry, may be more willing to come to the negotiating table. Shareholders should not mistake a lack of news for lack of activity. When there is news to report, we will certainly make public announcements, but we will continue to be cautious about what we say publicly as it impacts our legal position. |
