Nasdaq offers firm a reprieve

TARPON SPRINGS -- MagneGas Corp. will say on the Nasdaq exchange after company officials stabilized share prices above $1 again.

Nasdaq had threatened to remove the Tarpon Springs alternative energy company after shares dipped below the dollar mark in late October. MagneGas was given until this month to bring its shares back to minimum standards, which it started again May 15 when prices jumped from 91 cents to $1.45 in heavy trading.

MagneGas share prices have stayed there since, thanks in part to a series of announcements talking about new customers and partners. Shares closed Thursday at $1.27. The company trades under the symbol MNGA.

The boost in share price comes despite MagneGas reporting a quarterly loss of $2.2 million, or 6 cents per share, on revenue of $546,000 for the period ended March 31. However, that revenue was up significantly from the $192,000 a year before. Then, MagneGas losses were $1.4 million, or 5 cents per share.

MagneGas got some unwanted attention in April when an explosion at its Tarpon Springs facility killed one person and injured a second. The company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a filing that the explosion happened during the gas-filling process.

So far, no fines or violations have been issued against the company from the explosion, MagneGas executives say. No customers have terminated agreements with the company because of the explosion, but the financial impact of the accident still remains unknown. MagneGas says it will discontinue gas production until the middle of June, while the root cause of the accident is determined and potential operational changes are put in place.