Ventracor gets Standard & Poor thumbs up

Artificial heart company Ventracor (ASX: VCR) has been selected by Standard & Poor as one of its basket of standard stocks used to gauge market activity.

The inclusion of the company in the S&P/ASX listing is something of a seal of approval for the company's performance over the last year, according to Tim Eisenhauer, health services sector analyst at S&P index services.

"The method we use when selecting our 200 representative stocks is based on liquidity and market capitalisation, how much the stock trades, and the overall size of the company. It usually follows that somebody has been removed from the list too, making a space," he added.

Eisenhauer said any listing indicated that a lot of people had been happy to invest in the company, and that it was likely to be in the market (and hence the Index) for some length of time. Ventracor's almost-ready for market heart implant technology has soaked up $AUD5.23 million over the six months to end 2002, with R&D spending increased 56 per cent to $4.7 million. The company said this reflected a rise in activity associated with commercialisation of the VentrAssist heart implant, but added this had been offset by the sale of the company's eHealth division in January for $3.5 million.

Ventracor managing director and CEO Michael Spooner said the company's listing was welcome.

"We are well positioned to [obtain] a significant share of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) market, which is expected to grow to between $US7.5 billion and $US12 billion annually in the next few years," he said.

Eisenhauer noted that the S&P listing "could be perceived as a plus" as it often brought a considerable amount of market attention and resulting financial trading as a result.

"The fund managers will definitely take notice of us now," noted Ventracor's manager of corporate communications, Julie Meldrum.