eChoice shareholders vote for delisting
eChoice shareholders have voted in favour of a resolution to remove the mortgage company from the Australian Securities Exchange. The company expects to have trading in its shares suspended on August 9 and for the shares to be delisted a week later.Chairman Greg Pynt told eChoice shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday that the business was sound but its potential was being hampered by the burdens of ASX listing.eChoice shares are not liquid and its share price has been weak for some time. The company's view is that the share price is not an accurate indication of the company's value and this limits its access to capital."Furthermore, there are considerable costs and regulatory burdens for a company listed on the ASX and those costs must be weighed against any benefits of remaining a listed company," Pynt said."As an unlisted public company eChoice will have access to that class of investors which invests in unlisted growth technology companies and which we believe will be attracted to the company's potential and its reputation for innovation."eChoice (which changed its name from Firstfolio last year) had a difficult few years after taking on too much debt to fund acquisitions. The company has completed a business restructure and is looking for funding to pursue a number of developments.The company's most recent financial report shows that it made a loss of A$1.6 million for the six months to December, compared with a loss of $3.7 million in the previous corresponding period.Revenue from continuing operations was $30 million - up 3.8 per cent. Loan settlements increased by 10.8 per cent over the previous corresponding period to $1.7 billion.The value of the loan book fell by 2.7 per cent to $16.8 billion. The company said this was due mostly to an ageing wholesale book in run-off.