MPTV Inc. Is Removed From Nasdaq SmallCap Index

Nasdaq has removed the stock of a Newport Beach time share development firm from its SmallCap listings because the company failed to meet ongoing minimum financial requirements needed to remain active on the market.

MPTV Inc. was delisted following the close of trading Wednesday after its stock failed to maintain the $1-a-share minimum bid price required for the SmallCap market, according to Nasdaq and MPTV officials. The stock closed that day at 12.5 cents a share and has traded at less than $1 for nearly a year.

MPTV stock now trades on the OTC Bulletin Board, a dealer-driven system for thinly traded issues. The stock closed at 8.25 cents on Monday, down 1.25 cents a share.

MPTV Chairman James Vellema expressed surprise and disappointment at Nasdaq’s decision to delist his company’s stock when the firm is just weeks away from marketing its first major time share development. Vellema said sales of vacation weeks at MPTV’s Lake Tropicana resort in Las Vegas should boost revenue and earnings and drive up the value of the company’s shares.

“We will be back on the Nasdaq when we get all the pieces together, and we know we can stay there,” Vellema said.

MPTV posted a 1995 net loss of $8.4 million on revenue of $891,000. In addition to the Las Vegas project, the company is developing time share resorts in Rancho Mirage, Calif. and Reno, Nev. The company also produces television infomercials for the travel industry.

To qualify for initial listing on the SmallCap exchange, a firm must possess total assets of at least $4 million and stockholders’ equity of $2 million. The company must also have 100,000 shares of stock in public hands carrying a bid price of at least $3 a share.

After that, a company must maintain total assets of $2 million, shareholders’ equity of $1 million and a bid price of at least $1 a share to keep its SmallCap listing. In 1995, Nasdaq delisted 490 companies from its SmallCap Market for failing to meet ongoing financial requirements.

Nasdaq spokesman Reid Walker said most companies that lose their Nasdaq listing must achieve the higher, initial financial standards to be listed again.

However, Vellema said Nasdaq officials have indicated that if the company can lift its stock price above $1 a share in the next 60 to 90 days, it won’t have to meet the higher standard.

“But if we don’t achieve what we set out to do, it’s back to square one,” Vellema said.