Chinese appointee leads Jetpack board
Martin Aircraft Company is steering closer to Chinese control following the resignation of two Kiwi directors, staff reductions, and other cost-cutting.
Lifeline funding has been provided by majority shareholder KuangChi Science, with further capital raising likely to take place in China, shareholders were told at the company’s annual meeting in Christchurch.
Martin Aircraft chairman Jon Mayson and director Steve Bayliss stepped aside.
The new chairwoman and KuangChi appointee is Dr Lin Luan, who joined Dr Liu Ruopeng and remaining New Zealand director Hamish Bell on the board.
The two directors resigned even though the search for replacements ‘‘with global aviation and capital-raising experience’’ was still under way.
Staff numbers have been reduced from 89 a year ago to 64, and the company will consider cutting expenses by reviewing its listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, chief executive James West said.
Martin Aircraft only had sufficient money to keep going until the end of October.
However, the company has a $10 million loan agreement with KuangChi Science, West said, and the first request of $2.6m is expected to be received soon.
As a result directors have signed the annual accounts on a ‘‘going concern’’ basis even though they wrote off $17.6m as an impairment of intangible assets, contributing to a $24m annual loss.
The loan is contingent on further capital raising, and it is expected the money will come from Chinese investors.
The company’s immediate strategy is to continue new engine development for its Series 1 Jetpack, which has a conditional certificate of airworthiness. The Jetpack will be used in demonstrations in China as part of the capital-raising programme.
Martin Aircraft shares have been in a shallow dive for the past three years and are currently trading at 4 cents each.
Voting results at the meeting show Lin received 201 million votes, with 11 million against, while Ruopeng received 221 million votes, with 101,476 against.