When the market closed on December 31 2015, tech company 1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG) ended the year with a market capitalisation of around $400 million. Things were looking quite positive for the company which develops and markets software products for human resources departments.
But fast forward just over seven months to today and 1-Page's share price has lost almost 90% of its value, leaving it with a market capitalisation of just $42 million.
What went wrong for this promising tech share?
Unfortunately for shareholders, 1-Page has been unable thus far to deliver on expectations and has been burning through its cash reserves with little to show for it. In the quarter ended April 30 2016 it reported receipts from customers of just $94,000, compared to $5.2 million of operating expenses.
In my opinion this is nothing short of a disaster. $5.2 million in a high interest bank account would arguably produce a better result than 1-Page.
Investors have unsurprisingly been heading for the exits in their droves, dragging the share price down with them. In fact, in the last five trading days its share price has continued to trend lower and dropped 13%. With its quarterly results just around the corner it would appear that investors are pessimistic of a turnaround coming soon.
This is despite management's optimism that things will improve and its belief that there is a $500 billion opportunity for the company in the global recruitment market. Like the investors which sold their shares, I am doubtful the company will be able to capture a meaningful slice of this potentially lucrative market to justify an investment today.
Although its platform promises to shorten the hiring cycle and reduce the time recruiters spend searching for qualified talent, 1-Page appears to be struggling to convince recruiters to use its services.
The company has enough cash to sustain its endeavours for some time to come, but if it fails to turn its spending into sales then I feel it won't be long until a capital raising becomes necessary.
In my opinion the Australian Stock Exchange has a number of high quality tech shares for investors to invest in. Unfortunately, 1-Page isn't one of them. Instead I would suggest investors take a closer look at Touchcorp Ltd (ASX: TCH), Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX), and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).
