Crime-Fighting Pallet Maker From Remote Welsh City Soars 377%

(Bloomberg) -- RM2 International S.A.’s stock price more than quadrupled on Friday after the maker of “smart pallets” that aim to reduce mishandling and theft of goods during distribution said it might finally make a profit.

RM2, based in St. Asaph in north Wales, the second smallest city in the U.K. by population, surged as much as 377 percent in London after the update, in which it also said the sale of an office building in Switzerland had helped secure short-term financing.

The company is backed by famed British investor Neil Woodford, whose asset management business owns a 37.7 percent stake, and troubled U.K. outsourcing firm Capita Plc, which holds 23.3 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Both invested in 2014, which was followed by a 90 percent decline in the stock’s value.

Even after Friday’s huge jump, RM2’s market capitalization of 18.8 million pounds ($26.1 million) is still far below a peak of 316 million pounds after the company’s 2014 initial public offering.

RM2’s board of directors includes Paul Walsh, the former chief executive of Diageo Plc, and Stuart Rose, previously chairman of Marks & Spencer Group Plc.

The company has been riddled by delays in manufacturing since the IPO. Problems at a factory in Canada also required an expensive relocation of production to Mexico and China. But it now expects to report positive Ebitda in 2019, according to Friday’s statement.

--With assistance from Kateryna Hrynchak

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Lee at slee936@bloomberg.net, Paul Jarvis

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