Decorize won’t appeal AMEX delisting

AMEX issued a notice to the home furnishings producer April 12 stating it would file a delisting application with the Securities Exchange Commission to remove the company’s stock. The exchange first filed a delisting notice in 2005, but later accepted a plan of compliance from Decorize that said the company would comply by March 29, 2007.

That deadline passed, and Decorize had not complied with the $2 million minimum stockholder equity requirements, according to a company news release. It also failed to maintain stockholders’ equity in excess of $4 million after it sustained losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years, and it has not paid any listing fees for 2007.

“Decorize has recently achieved profitability, is generating positive cash flow and our year-to-date financial results clearly illustrate the tremendous progress we have made,” said CEO Steve Crowder, in the release, referring to the company’s first quarterly operating profit of $52,000 reported in February. “We do not believe that it would be in the best interest of our shareholders to raise equity just to meet the AMEX requirement.”

Earlier this year, Decorize sold nearly 1.3 million shares of company stock to two private investors in exchange for $550,000 in capital that is funding expansions at the company’s Asian facilities.

Decorize officials expect to be removed from AMEX by April 27, according to the release. The company is in the process of applying to be listed on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board, which it had been pursuing before it received the most recent notice from AMEX. Officials say moving to the OTCBB “would provide sufficient liquidity for its shareholders and … the company would obtain savings from not having to pay significant AMEX listing fees,” according to the release.

Though the company is trying to accelerate its move to the OTCBB, officials don’t expect it to be complete by April 27. Decorize will continue to file reports with the SEC.

As for a long-term plan, Crowder said in the release that the company has set a goal of $50 million in annual sales and will consider listing on other exchanges when that is reached.