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Paragon Urges OPT Shareholders to Disregard CEO Phillip Stratmann’s Continued Misleading Statements and Calls on Mr. Strattman to Substantiate His Claims to Shareholders
Paragon Urges OPT Shareholders to Disregard CEO Phillip Stratmann’s Continued Misleading Statements and Calls on Mr. Strattman to Substantiate His Claims to Shareholders.
About this update from Paragon Technologies, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"EASTON, PA / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2024 / Paragon Technologies, Inc. ("Paragon"), a diversified holding company, owning approximately 4.8% of the outstanding shares of Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. , ("Company") ("OPT"), calls on CEO Phillip Stratmann to immediately substantiate his misleading statements about OPT's future made in the Company's January 17, 2024 press release.Mr. Stratmann now claims, "OPT expects that recent meaningful contract wins…. will enable [OPT] to reach profitability during calendar year 2025 using current capital resources." Yet the supporting slide presentation states that OPT expects to be "EBITDA breakeven, excluding extraordinary expenses, in calendar 2025."Mr. Stratmann, is it profitability or EBITDA breakeven in 2025? These are not equivalent terms. Or is that your way of covering yourself given the increasing financial disaster you have created as CEO?Mr. Stratmann, how will OPT finance itself in 2025? With less than $19 million in cash, and quarterly expenses of $6 to $8 million, OPTT will likely have NO capital resources by the end of 2024. Mr. Stratmann has failed to announce any numerical transparency cost reductions and as we have stated previously, a modest decline in expenses from current levels will likely not be enough to generate any profitability.As shareholders, we call on Stratmann to explain and demonstrate to shareholders precisely how OPT will indeed reach profitability in 2025 with the current capital resources. Stratmann has yet to announce a numerical and quantifiable cost cutting strategy or provide any projections reflecting how the company plans to achieve what the company is now claiming.Stratmann also says, "Now that OPT's research and development phase has been substantially completed, we have reallocated headcount towards execution and commercialization…. we have built a cutting-edge suite of products that… will help drive profitability in calendar year 2025…."In case Mr. Stratmann has forgotten, here are figures taken directly from OPT's SEC fillings:FY 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 $ millions Sales $ 511,00 $ 632,000 $ 1.7M $ 1.2M $ 1.8 $ 2.7M R&D $ 4.3M $ 5.0M $ 4.3M --- --- --- Expenses $ 7.0M $ 7.6M $ 6.9M $ 12.5M $ 21.5M $ 28.3M After Mr. Stratmann became CEO in 2021. OPT st...