FIRST 1/4 RESULTS
The first 1/4 results have been posted on Sedar. As many investors expected, myself included, Empower continues to operate at a major loss in spite of the AIC acquisition.
Deficit: $32,302,964 [since the company was formed in 2000]
1st quarter 2014 loss: $199,017
Shares outstanding at the end of 2012: 56,745,279
Shares outstanding as of March 31,2014: 66,475,279
[an increase of over 10 million shares which includes 3 million shares to acquire AIC over the past 15 months]
Consulting Fees: $147,052.
I found this to be a very interesting item. These fees are being paid to "certain directors and officers of the company." There are only 4 officers and directors: Paul Leung, Amy Chan, Kenneth Ho and Edward Bagg.
Leung doesn't break down who receives these consulting fees or how much each of them gets paid. Being a public company this should be completely broken down for all investors to understand.
One or more of them split $48,000 per month for accrued or paid "consulting fees." This is in addition to salaries and benefits of $38,050 and "directors fees" of $18,000.
Some or all of these 4 people recieved directors fees and consulting fees. Does Leung consult with himself? Does this sound ridiculous to you? It does to me.
Inspite of the fact that Empower is now 15 years old it is still essentially a start up company that is deeply in the red. In spite of this fact, some or all of these 4 people are IMO grossly over compensated. I don't expect any of these people to work for free but when you consider the fact that it is their work that has lead to this financial disaster they should be taking an absolute minimum salary for their efforts. Empower has caused many people tremendous financial loss and yet they pay themselves this much? Leung and his wife, Amy Chan form 2/3 of the board. They can make whatever decisions they like.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
There was a time in the early days of this company when there was a full board of directors. I think there were about 6-8 in total. Over the years one director after another left and I don't recall any of them being replaced. That has left Leung and Chan in a position where they can never be over ruled. We have seen where this has lead.
HANDWRITING PATENT:
On page 2 of the 1st quarter, 2014 MD&A Leung reports Empower US is continuing to consult with legal professionals in Canada and the US to determine the best practices to enforce the patent. This consultation process was first announced by Leung on May 21,2013 so its now been over 1 year since the process began. I also note that for the first quarter of 2014 less than $900 dollars were spent on legal fees. Are these legal professionals working for free? You might believe this statement by Leung but I don't. Any law firm that specializes in patent law would be able to provide a complete assessment and make recommendations within a month or two. It does not take over 1 year for a law firm to complete this task.