The company recently lost client Australian Air Express, thought to have been its last major print management account. The work was worth $1.9m for the nine months to 30 March 2011. This followed the loss of Tabcorp to Blue Star in February.
The 50-staff company appointed McGrath Nicol as administrator on 31 May.
It has ceased to trade on the ASX, where its shares had fallen below 2c. Its 52-week high was 11c, and it was trading at 27c when it floated in February 2010.
A representative from McGrath Nicol told ProPrint that it had not yet set a time and date for the first creditors meeting and the administration was still in its infancy.
“At this stage all we can confirm is that we have been appointed and that we have been out at the Sydney site today assessing the situation there.”
Moore chief executive Ralph Stonell told ProPrint the root cause was a series of poor financial results. “Losses created uncertainty and the uncertainty caused us to lose the support of clients who weren’t sure if we would be around in the future; hence us losing major contracts with Tabcorp and Australian Air Express”.
Moore is 41.9% owned by Leo Moio’s Print Media Group, and Ralph added: “We were burning cash, and burning a hole in his [Moio’s] pocket, and he did not want this to continue.”
The fall into administration comes just two weeks after Moore’s company secretary, John Lee, responded to a ‘please explain’ from the ASX over its dire financial position.
On 17 May, Lee wrote: “The company will continue to reduce staffing numbers in coming months and is looking at further ways of reducing its cost base and returning Moore to profitability.”
Lisa Stark, general manager of sales & marketing at Print Media Group described the administration as “a crying shame for a 100-year-old company”.
PMG recently took over what is believed to have been one of Moore’s most lucrative contracts when it acquired the Western Australian arm of the business for $450,000.
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