Ben Richardson, CEO at SulNOx, confident they can cost-effectively decarbonise commercial shipping. Watch the video here.
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Prepare to be disappointed. Blinkx have continually stated that they don’t give forward guidance. I also noticed you didn’t answer any of Wouterius’s questions. Actually, none of the anti share buyback brigade have given any arguments that hold up to scrutiny. Buying back shares once you’ve proved growth and profitability is what one refers to as ‘missing the boat’. You want to secure value by purchasing shares on route to profitability, not once you’ve got there (the share price will be multiples of what it is now and there’ll be no value to gain). Of course you need to be sure you’re going to get to there before making the commitment. The problem with Brian giving any kind of upbeat statement on the 17th May is that he’s got a credibility issue. He’s the CEO who cried wolf, so the market is going to have trouble believing him again. Rather than waffling on about the integration of front-end turnkey solutions and other blah blah nonsense he should just say ‘we’re on our way back to growth and profitability, we are under-valued as a company and have therefore earmarked $10 million for a share buyback program’. Before handing the microphone to Dan and Ed to complete the rest of the Conference Call. Knowing the little about Brian that I do, I’m not sure he is capable of saying something so unambiguous and succinct as the above, but I’ll settle for something more convoluted but with similar meaning. A buyback is a very effective way to increase shareholder value. In 6 months, if we aren’t any further along the road to growth/profitability than we are now it’s game over anyway…
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/#5685d7b49876 https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151229/08111133184/gq-forbes-go-after-adblocker-users-rather-than-their-own-****ty-advertising-inventory.shtml will you pay or turn the ad blocker off? i'm cheap so turn it off to see
I am not expecting anything great in May other than slightly better numbers than the trading update. What I am looking for is a great deal of granularity and some proper guidance to fy17, so we can all focus on their ability to deliver against a plan next year which we also know! I am sick of management beating their own expectations which we are not privy to and means nothing. If the communication is more of the same and delivery continues to be pathetic then all shareholders patience will run out. The Company knows this. I do believe operationally they have made significant strides, so while in last chance saloon, they have 6 more months to demonstrate they have got it right
apologies all - I meant April 16 not April 17! My point is that I don't think there will be any great announcements in May on H1 performance outshining previous quarters! I am expecting more of the same old ................!
Scorpion, I am not convinced that in May, blinkx will be able to deliver any visibility on how they will perform April 16-Sept 16 (their H1 performance you refer to?) as they will only have one month's figures to look at April 17? If I am reading your post correctly?
Scorpion, it all sounds quite sensible what you are saying. The problem has been that Blinkx's financial performance has been weak over the last few years - this has been the real problem. There are many companies out there that don't have great products but still produce decent enough profits. I don't know if blinkx actually has a good product or whether it can deliver decent profits. I hope for everyone's sake we see something tangible soon and we get the share price recovery that everyone has been waiting for. We all live in hope - which is not a great investing strategy I am afraid - unfortunately it's all we have been left with!
I have had some sensible chats with people better informed than us - all above board and based on facts in the public domain. Don't get me wrong. They have to deliver but I was sufficiently encouraged to reserve judgement until the results and agm. That makes me a holder not a buyer. Clearly past communication and delivery has been shocking. I do however now think that some sort of corner has been turned. So I guess I am now marginally half glass full than half empty hence the change of emphasis of my posts. May is critical. Failure to exhibit clear certainty of 17 profit based on h1 performance and then a takeover and/or termination of management become inevitable. Any diminishing of cash from hereonin is a total red flag
I get the award for being totally lame today. I actually put a "v" into bull5hit rather than a "u", thinking this would get past the "naughty language police". I suppose "thinking" was not the proper term to use above.
Scorpion, Given past bvll**** pronouncements by mgt. of inflection points, missed guidance, going big time after mobile with no results to show (for many years now), poor products poorly launched, etc., I have no idea why you expressed so much confidence in your post. This begs the question: since you are expressing so much confidence, I trust you are "filling your boots" at these levels. Are you?
Scorpionwinger. I'm intrigued. What has happened to change your view so dramatically on transparency? Today: "The company is well aware that it needs to beat expectations in its May results with proper transparency. I am confident they will do both." Your previous post (5th April): "Time for Tosca to effect their takeover and kick this board of slime-balls into touch. Their statements are random, inconsistent, untransparent and downright misleading."
The company will not do a buy back. A buy back is useful to enhance earnings per share. Until there are positive earnings it will not improve metrics. To effect a buy back you need liquidity, which would only be provided by disgruntled private investors selling at today's depressed prices, which hardly achieves a return objective. I would rather the company stewards the money on a more accountable business to get profits flowing and then return excess capital, if appropriate, via a tax efficient special distribution. The company is well aware that it needs to beat expectations in its May results with proper transparency. I am confident they will do both. Then they need to refresh their whole broker/pr team to re-energise the story, sort out their shareholder communications and do more to provide a credible board link to shareholders. Again I am confident this will happen Over-riding all this is what are the expectation for 2017 and 2018. Again, I am confident the operational corner has been turned. I still have residual concerns that the market shifts and advertising demand trends are significantly more volatile than management hopes and they will be in a state of catch up rather than being ahead of the game. Time will tell. That said, I do expect small profits to be made in 17 and the biggest question which will drive value is if ebitda can be heading back to £10m for 18. If progress towards that goal can be proven through 2 decent quarters - the current quarter is usually their second best - then a steady appreciation to beyond 50p is on the cards. If there is consolidation, I don't think the board will want to support a sale much below 75p and will not be bullied into a fire sale. The big institutions are patient and my understanding are in for the long haul and supportive. Share price weakness therefore is driven by pi's winding each other up and selling into an illiquid market. While no investor wants to be under water for years, I think direction of travel is positive. You only need to look at the take out price of Internetq relative to pre bid approach to figure out how wrong the market can be on AiM. Tosca are not fools.....
For but I mean BUY ( back ) At people who paint, perpetually a rosy picture of this company, then say its wrong to buy at less than 18p. Bloody hell, how low do you expect it to go ???
Why Apple’s $14B Stock Buyback Works http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/3a6bed26-1e9e-46c4-b8a6-6ac46e46cbc2
At people who paint, perpetually a rosy picture of this company, then say its wrong to but at less than 18p. Bloody hell, how low do you expect it to go ???
selling opportunity for disgruntled shareholders. What planet are you on pensioner. We have well and truly missed that. Here to the bitter end whatever that may be. And if the price drops from these already shocking levels then we are totally donald ducked.
"If the company were to buy back shares it would temporarily raise the share price. This would be seen as a selling opportunity for many frustrated shareholders. Mass selling would result and the company would be left with less cash and a lower share price. With fewer shares there would be greater volatility. This is the ideal scenario for the shorters to return." Now THAT is a short term view. What you are essentially saying with your undertone logic, is that you have no faith that the company is going to do as it says and earn any profits and that shorters will come back in and take advantage and we'd be left with a company that has less cash and thus is worth less in a sale.... but the Mgt team have told us they are now on the road to profits and when this happens the share price will rise significantly. It's better for the shares to rise with less shares on the market, as what you have as a shareholder will be worth more. Ah, unless you don't REALLY believe what they're telling you Pensioner ;) If Blinkx truly believe (knows) they are on the road to growth and profits they would actually welcome shorters coming in and driving the price down as that would allow them to come in and buy stock at cheaper prices. They wouldn't buy all 40 million shares the day after the announcement, no, they'd buy them over the course of the year. With the company stepping in and buying back it's own stock at opportune moments, it would actually benefit price stability, not make it more volatile like you suggest. Ultimately, a buyback is a statement to everyone - Shareholders and Mr market alike - Blinkx - who knows its business better that anyone else - regards itself as being fundamentally undervalued. It would also finally draw a line under the 3 miserable years we've just had to endure.
Hear hear pensioner. We would no doubt have a bounce in the price, but if history is a guide, the price would be manipulated back down and we would have less cash. My view is that the most reassuring action would be for the directors to buy a few shares, using their own money, rather than being awarded free shares paid for by shareholders. Regards
If the company were to buy back shares it would temporarily raise the share price. This would be seen as a selling opportunity for many frustrated shareholders. Mass selling would result and the company would be left with less cash and a lower share price. With fewer shares there would be greater volatility. This is the ideal scenario for the shorters to return.
If there was a share buyback and there were plenty willing sellers I agree price would be stagnant. If ( as I believe ) the big swings in share price and spread are caused by very low volumes then the mere fact we have a buyer on one side would allow shares to be bought at a initially cheap price. I believe that this in turn would send a message to the market that they do actually believe in the company. If and when profitability eventually does come then that will in turn lead to a change in the share price fortunes. The shares dont need to be bought and cancelled they could be held in treasury and eventually sold back into the market at a much higher price ( hopefully ). I am not in favour of a share buyback that stops the company from potentially growing. In fact quite the opposite. I would like the company to flourish and start making "real profit". I dont want dividends as this will take the money out of the company which may be used to help expansion. It is now really time to deliver, or at least prove they are capable of delivering.
I don't suggest a buyback for the benefit of some short term price spike. In fact I wouldn't want too much of that once (if) they announced they were going to go ahead with it as I'd want them to mop up as many shares on the cheap as possible. The rational is that they believe what they're telling us - the company after the restructure is now primed for growth and profitability thus they are going to take advantage of an undervalued SP and plan to increase shareholder value via a buyback. If they really believe they have what they say they have then this is a very good opportunity to take advantage of an undervalued share price. Reducing the free float will help shareholders achieve greater value once the company starts reporting profits as some of the slack is taken out and what's left is worth more. It's not a short term stance I'm taking like Pensioner suggests - it's quite the opposite actually.
Brachiopod, or "to whom this may concern": We break a lot of rules over here. Ask George III, he'll back me on this. Chalk it up to provincialism (albeit a rather large province).
The only reason the BOD has given for not doing a buy back is to have the cash to hand, in case an opportunity to buy another company comes along. The $100M in write downs on the past 5 purchases pretty much puts that excuse to bed. Criminal if they don't get on with it.
Interesting discussion guys. I am surprised at your vehemence Bouncy, particularly as you have usually offered interesting and informative insights into the industry. I guess, like the rest of us, you are frustrated at finding that BLNX were not 'a cut above', for whatever reason, and that maybe Edelman was more sinned against than sinning. I have been frustrated by BM from the word go, particularly his uncanny ability to mix the mangling of the English language with a fractured style of delivery. Not ideal attributes for the CEO of an advertising tech company to demonstrate, particularly given the importance of both clarity of thought and delivery. The TU is detailed in terms of work undertaken and certainly we, as shareholders, have seen offices close and have commented favourably on 1R. The Quantcast figures ( the preferred measurement of the BLNX management team) seem to be moving in the right direction. Given the cash in the bank I am hoping that going bust is not an early option. So, for me, BM now has six months to start to show that he can drive the numbers in the right direction. He is certainly being paid enough. I do not favour a buy back as I think the company's reputation is so damaged that it would likely, at this point, have no positive effect whatever.
If foot is used as an adjective it should not be put into the plural as there are no plural adjectives in English.
Everybody friends And all singing on the same hymn sheet. Just need to give Brian a copy and for him to act on it.