Investors boost MobileFuture's coffers

The majority of the additional capital is being provided through an 8.5% loan stock which expires in 2006 and follows an admission by the company in August that it was running out of cash as it failed to make any headway in significantly growing sales.

The company, which raised 4.7m when it floated on AIM in November 2000, reported total sales of 0.3m, an operating loss of 2.6m, an after tax loss of 3.1m and a cash balance as at June 2001 of 1.3m, which will be boosted with the extra funding.

Mobilefuture previously announced that it had been badly affected by the uncertainty surrounding the mobile telecoms industry regarding the costs and future profitability of 3G technology and the degree to which 3G services can be offered with existing technologies; an area in which it specialises.

MobileFuture chairman Robin McFarlane said: “The mobile data market has suffered over the last year from confusing messages, such as the over-hype of the deliverables of these new systems, and the industry has now started to recognise that the value of the mobile internet is about delivering effective services today, and not relying on tomorrow 's technology.”

MobileFuture was able to report two new contracts - the Woolwich, which has taken MobileFuture's recently launched Managed Modem service, on which Woolwich's banking service is being re-launched and a deal with the Professional Footballers Association to enable members and employees to access and receive information from the PFA using specially designed applications. The value or duration of these contracts was not disclosed.

Shares in the company were unchanged at 20p, valuing it at 4.3m.