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IM SURE the directors do very well here ALWAYS jam tmw here for so many years . VERY .A lot OF cash involved in farming etc .Not saying it happens here but 9/10 it happens
They are directors of a large mining business, of course they do well. Did you expect them to be on minimum wage?
They've taken tons of shares in place of salaries and are major shareholders so they aren't doing half as well as they would if they can turn the ship around and see a meaningful recovery in the share price - so their interests are certainly still aligned.
When did they take shares instead of salary HarChris? That just isn't true! They have taken part in the placing and had one foray un the open market but that is the sum of it. They have awarded themselves options which are mostly worthless thanks to their stewardship. They are certainly not aligned with me as they receive huge salaries relatively irrespective of performance. I can see sub 2p 😥 as the market can see through BS. These directors should be falling over themselves to buy in the open market given the near 5% drop and their faith in the company but never gonna happen!
Options are often an alternative to salary/cash payouts rather than in addition to.
And yes they all bought in at that placing at 5p, so not exactly seeing good returns on that money. There's no argument to say that they aren't aligned with shareholders, they are. Do they still make a living if they are unsuccessful, yes, it's their job and I assume you have one as well. where you get paid a salary that isn't totally linked to performance... They earn from their job either way and gain/lose on their shares based on success or not - they have a huge amount of skin in the game so they are as incentivised as they can be, the poor performance so far won't be for lack of trying.
As for PO prices, at least they've broken through the 3800 barrier after a few weeks of trying.
HarChris - i get what you are saying - but the frustration is they have attempted to pull the wool over our eyes
- We say they have a huge amount of skin in the game? presumably because they have tons of shares (around 35% of total) - well i disagree because of that 35% only about 8% have actually been purchased (that's assuming they laid out capital at the start rather than fund raise - i actually expect they did not put cash in themselves but lets pretend they did) - the remaining 28% has all been given to them out of the 3rd party transactions - and i've made my views on them clear.
- The Board have done very well, due to the above, on the back of poor performance - whilst long term retail shareholders are 70% down - the board are up - the boards % shareholding has stayed consistent and market cap is up 40% - they are doing ok.
everything you note below id be in agreement with if wasn't for the above - i can take losses when it aligns to a board with integrity and genuine drive to deliver value - sometimes things don't work out, i can take that.
The board here haven't done that - they have looked to take the easy route - slapdash delivery, self interested transactions and a complete lack of integrity.
however - the positive is i think its reached the end of the road for them now - they have taken us for mugs for a much as they can - their interests now have to be aligned with ours - the market sees how this has operated to date and i don't believe it can work again for them.
and for whatever influence this board can have or my/our small voices - i am going to continually call them out on it
I bought in the IPO float in 2013 and sold out a few months ago though I did trade it a fair bit too so my loss was real and painful but not as big as it could have been. It was a good story back in 2013, setting up a new facility in Cote d'Ivoire, on time to budget (no doubt the then Asian co-owners made sure of that) and a 1m plants a year nursery to revolutionise productiveness in the area. Don't hear much about the nursery these days, nor the RPSO certification, nor Guitry, nor the company owned plantations that were going to tie production, nor the fertiliser programme... Plant has never run above about 30,000 tonnes a year, about half capacity with an endless list of excuses and jam tomorrow.
Cashews are years behind and there is not been any realistic explanation or honest forecast along the way, frequently implication was 'imminent'. The next news will always be much better. Shareholders have been taken for fools.
With the assets they have this, objectively, is not expensive but the debt has crept up and is a material risk. With a new set of directors this could be a good investment but the board now needs clearing out. 10 years of failure, but directors fared alright with salary, share issues and buying out related party assets. Certainly not going to waste any more time on this, the current directors have no credibility whatever. If even Rugs has (nearly) had enough that tells a story.
Good luck all.
HarChris, you don't get "it", do you?
HarChris
"the poor performance so far won't be for lack of trying."
I really wish I could believe that, I really do.
We really could do with a fundraiser/stacegibbs style very positive post right now!
Either that or a puff piece.
My tone and narrative will certainly change if i see a change - believe me - i'm not here to make losses.
but im not though going to pretend reality is different to what it is - Dropside has nailed it below - the promises (some of which id even forgotten about) that were made to what has materialised is pitiful - this business can work - but it needs better leadership.
But none of your complaints are in anyway unique to DKL whatsoever. The BOD could have received full salaries in cash or split it between that and options. If the former had happened they'd have received far more remuneration by now and would have limited skin in the game. You can stretch the definition to whatever you want but the fact remains that by taking newly issued shares rather than raid the limited company coffers (as most executives do) they are now fully aligned with the success or not of the company. The difference between this failing as investment or reaching say 10p is tens of millions of pounds to the BOD - that is motivation. I'm not sure they have done that well in relation to the positions they hold, they certainly aren't being specifically rewarded for failure however as salary isn't directly performance linked they obviously still get paid for running the company. Investors fund fat cat salaries first and foremost, that's a simply fact.
As for your other points i'm sure they are valid.
Great Post! You were lucky you exited. Even 3p is probably unrealistic. Seems like the BOD are happy to just limp along. It is all a cabal so poor performance has no consequences like sacking someone who under delivers. The company policy seems to be just muddle along and hope it will come right in the end. Shambolic!
Dropside. Tks yours !
Am sorry to say but I think you have hit the nail on the head.
I was just thinking that in all the DKL RNSs I have seen and all the interviews, I don't recall ever hearing of any of the directors actually visiting Cote D'Ivoire. Or have I missed something, happy to be proved wrong? Directors of other companies like to be photographed, samples in hand visiting the overseas mine or factory, or stand next to the drill or truck with local workers. Stand to be corrected but has there been one photograph?
If i was a director, I may not be an expert in process machinery (actually I am but never mind) , but I would be out regularly seeing the issues and what needed to be unblocked. When Oltremare were failing I would have been camped out in their factory every day, drinking from their Lavazza machine and being a nuisance until they performed just to get rid of me.
Where is the energy from this board of directors?
I sometimes wonder if they have not fancied flying out to Abidjan at all!
Dropside, I believe Shai Kol lives there (he's always there in the conference calls) and Lincoln seems to visit a few times per year.
2magpies on the other side sums it up quite nicely:
"When prices are high, they have nothing to sell.
When they have lots of feedstock, the machinery won't work.
When they order new machinery, it is delayed.
When they take delivery of machinery, there are parts missing (or unsuitable)."
WH Ireland retain 9.5p target.
"October production update: Well positioned for strong end to year in palm oil
This morning’s October production update from DKL further underpins strong expectations from the group’s palm oil business this year, with crude palm oil (“CPO”) production tracking ahead of the prior year for the 8th consecutive month. Positively, the company also report a promising start to November, with CPO production expected to be ‘materially higher’ than FY2022. Approaching year end, we remain confident of a very good performance from the palm oil business in FY2023E, validating expectations of a close to record financial performance from the palm oil mill driven by a combination of solid volumes and strong pricing. On the pricing front, we note the decrease in CPO pricing on both a monthly and YoY basis in line with international price movements; however, prices remain significantly higher than historic averages and at levels providing a strong return for DKL’s palm oil mill. Dekel is an increasingly diversified agricultural group with operations in West Africa, comprising a fully operational, sustainably sourced palm oil business alongside its recently inaugurated cashew processing activity. While the group did not update on the latter this morning, we highlight the significant upside this project presents as the group continues to ramp up production going into next year. With a strong showing from the palm oil business this year and expectations of a step change in profitability as the cashew project is bedded in, we retain our current fair value target of 9.5p."
That target has been in place for almost 2 years.
Today’s price 2.1p (another 4% down).
It’s misguided, meaningless and totally unprofessional.
Anyone who’s invested based on that recommendation when it first came out is way, way under water.
There is also no guarantee that the company isn’t going to issue more shares which will dilute the value more or that they start in another project (also announced years ago) that will waste more time and money.
Completely meaningless!!