Jojo, Welcome back. This UK order is certainly good news....

Jojo, Welcome back. This UK order is certainly good news. However the announcement left many unanswered questions. If we do not know Peter Cook and his mates, then it is ok to give them the benefit of doubt. Unfortunately Peter Cook performances as the CEO of OEC (and in BTA) is one long unbelievable saga.

First to the details missing from Peter Cook’s announcement. The time period for the contract is missing and from all indications it may not be for this financial year as it is not clear how the UK Government is going to finance the purchases. This UK order had been flagged about for more than 6 months.

What we can imply today is that the widely reported Japanese plan to purchase Relenza is still a rainbow in the sky which explains Peter Cook’s silence.

Peter Cook can be judged by the announcements he made in the past. Lest we forget:

After Roche reported a slump in Tamiflu sales, Peter Cook told shareholders how good Relenza is and how Relenza sales will not be affected. Less than 24 hours later, the GSK sales report proved Peter Cook to be an idiot.

When Relenza sales continued to plummet, Peter Cook announced that the slump was expected due to the weak Northern Hemisphere seasonal flu season contrary to the fact that Relenza sales to the seasonal flu market were always close to zilch.

Peter Cook crowed with pride how he settled the GSK law suit and the audacity to announced that the BTA financial year loss would have been a bumper profit had it not been for the legal expenses for the law suit that was commenced by Peter Molloy. It was only through good mana that an insider leaked the $70M + costs offer to the press. Even then Peter Cook treated shareholders with complete contempt by giving nonsensical excuses to justify the settlement. Many people believe that movements in some Swiss bank accounts could explain the settlement.

In the AGM Peter Cook LIED to shareholders on the cash per share backing.

The Chairman told shareholders he will vote for the election of Dr Montato to the board only to pull the plug at the last minute. Even if it was legal, such misleading and deceptive behavior is usually associated with thieves and robbers rather than company chairmen.

They ignored the fact that shareholders had voted down a resolution to reward Peter Cook in the AGM. They showered Peter Cook with LTIOs and engaged in a company shares buyback by stealth.

Put plainly, Jojo BTA shareholders are unlikely to see any reward with Peter Cook and his mates at the helm.

The coming GSK sales report will provide a true picture of Relenza sales.