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Odyssey searches for good news

The marine exploration company,which lost millions last year, is looking for ways to reverse a disappointing spell.

By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published May 6, 2006

TAMPA - Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. lost $15-million last year, hasn't uncovered a treasure-laden shipwreck since 2003, and can't say when its dry spell will end.

But company leaders expressed cautious optimism during their annual meeting Friday at the appropriately named Quorum Hotel in Tampa. So did several shareholders.

"I'm still optimistic," said Diane Galuski, 69, of St. Pete Beach.

Much of the news Friday was of the glass-half-full, glass-half-empty variety:

n Odyssey officials said the company's bid to recover a high-value shipwreck in the Mediterranean, the HMS Sussex, remains tied up in high-level diplomatic negotiations but should be resolved positively.

n Though not actively recovering any shipwrecks, Odyssey crews continue to search the globe for specific treasures.

n The company is skeptical about recovering additional coins from the SS Republic, a wreck it found off the Georgia coast in 2003, but may try again with more advanced equipment.

n Odyssey's New Orleans shipwreck exhibit continues to lose money, but it is drawing feedback that could aid future shows.

It's the nature of the business, co-founder and co-chairman John Morris said: Make a big find, get the best equipment and people, and make do until the next one comes about.

Some Odyssey investors appear to accept the tradeoff. Two of the company's biggest shareholders recently invested more money in a private placement. Odyssey's stock price rose about 41 percent in 2005 and remains well above the amount it fetched just before the Republic's 2003 recovery. It has fallen 8 percent in 2006, closing Friday at $3.25.

Not everyone is content. Morris said a growing number of short-sellers are betting that the company's stock price will fall. Some shareholders sought answers to why Morris and co-founder Greg Stemm, the company's vice president of research and operations, received healthy bonuses in a year in which Odyssey's net loss exceeded total revenues by roughly 50 percent.

Even loyal investors like Galuski, who had hoped that Odyssey's stock would provide a nest egg for her 12-year-old granddaughter, Gracie, are growing a tad impatient.

"When are we going to make money?" she asked during a question-and-answer segment Friday.

Port Richey resident Robert Hutchinson remains calm. The 67-year-old retired Air Force pilot invested in Odyssey four years ago and said he thinks the company is well-managed and has integrity.

The possibility of a juicy find also keeps him aboard.

"It's the intrigue," he said.

Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.

[Last modified May 6, 2006, 08:20:05]