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Press release on launch on Lucid’s website as of yesterday. Start taking US orders in Sept at almost $300k per vehicle: seems like it could be big sales, and decent shop window for our brake tech. If US investors pick up on this shares could fly, but then again, I’ve been hoping for that for ages.
Terrific PR for SCE in this new article about the "madcap bonkers" Lucid Air Sapphire, with deliveries beginning next month:
Https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a44755999/2024-lucid-air-sapphire-preview-drive/
"2024 Lucid Air Sapphire Delivers Face-Punching Performance
There's no way to prepare yourself for the mind-blowing and nose-crunching acceleration of a 1234-hp electric supersedan.
By Elana ScherrUpdated: Aug 8, 2023"
"The whole car sits lower on wider wheels and tires—20-inch wheels in the front and 21 in the rear, both wrapped in a just-for-Sapphire Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tire that uses a firmer compound in the center and a stickier rubber for the shoulders to optimize grip in corners and rolling resistance in a straight line. The wheels are an open-spoke design specific to Sapphire and come with removable carbon-fiber aero covers.
Although who would want to hide those massive carbon-ceramic rotors? They look like small planets orbiting behind the wheels—16.5-inch rotors with 10-piston calipers in the front and 15.4-inch rotors with four-piston calipers in the rear. Lickfold says that the team tested several variants of rotor before choosing discs from U.K.-based Surface Transforms, a company that specializes in carbon-ceramic made from longer strands of fiber for better thermal management. If you're going to make a street car that runs a 9.0-second quarter-mile time, it's good if it can slow down at the finish line. Repeatedly."
Yes, andypa, and they continue to guide to existing 2023 revenues which are £20M I believe. As H1 only delivered £3.3M, that is over £16M for H2. The key over the next five months is to get over that cash hump. It’s clearly still reducing until they reach the point of profitability which must be in this period as they still expect a profit in H2. But they also plan to spend £3.5M on capex to achieve the resilience needed to cover the customers needs when there are stoppages in production for whatever reason.
The new CFO will probably arrive just as cash is crunching into its pinch point before profits start to be generated. What fun for her and good luck.
I hold plenty!
"Customer arrears have been reduced over the past six weeks. Accordingly, the Board maintains its 2023 revenue expectations."
Since the last update in June production has continued to improve - forecasts are still in place.
Cash is obviously getting tight. They may have to take on some short-term debt, but nothing significant, as long as production rates continue to improve. This is a high-margin business, so increased sales will quickly help to improve the cash position.
I do agree that the cash burn is slightly alarming, and a raise would be a disaster. However the fact that the volume of brakes manufactured has increased by >80% gives me some encouragement that the capacity ramp up is working, albeit behind schedule and I think they should be able to mop up the overspend.
The new CFO and COO should help keep things on track as well.
Plus, exciting to have the titbit of further contract announcements dangled in front of us! If customers are prepared to place orders, well that's the ultimate endorsement really.
Mildly positive update. At least they avoided another pointlessly downbeat update; after the comms debacles of recent updates that’s something to cheer. However, I am concerned about the cash figure, which has run down substantially. Another cash call would be disastrous for managements damaged reputation for competence, and frankly it can’t be ruled out… not surprised sp marked down. We need a string of positive contract wins to lift the shadow over the company imho.
Good stuff, with the production improvements continuing without a hitch and cash being managed prudently.
And a nice hint of news flow to come:
"The Company is continuing its work with customers on converting its prospective contact pipeline into firm orders with further announcements expected in the current financial year"
Oops, shouldn't rely on IC's arithmetic! Apologies.
Nd
Nearer to £400k.
Nd
Well, fevered anticipation abounds here, for sure.
Update run to the wire, Monday it is then. Hopefully, its because they will be providing a positive narrative and want to maximise the market response from a full week's trading.
The company have said there are always production problems but they are normally resolved quickly, the reason it has been such an issue is the new energy efficient furnaces fitted to bring capacity up to £20M were breaking down due to the linings failing after a couple of weeks when they were designed to last at least six months. This problem came to light at the end of last year when supply chain issues were much more prevalent so finding a solution and companies to provide the materials was problematical. This was solved in house with help from the OEMs who were informed of the production problems when they occurred.
It took about 4 months to find a solution but the linings at the time of the AGM were still functioning and may well outlast the expectations of the originals. The furnace problems happened at a time when ST had no spare capacity so with new equipment bringing capacity up to £50M progressively this year i'm hopeful and reasonably confident of things going well at the moment.
£300k = things are now on track and production issues are being resolved.
Either FOMO is suddenly rampant, or the imminent update will be better than hoped - or at least as expected, which would be a result in itself. Hopefully, things are going well.
Talk about practicing what you preach! Huge show of co-ordinated confidence
Four non-execs have bought £300,000 of shares between them - each increasing prior holdings substantially.
Very encouraging news:
Https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/surface-transforms-SCE/share-news/Surface-Transforms-PLC-Director-Dealing/91609216
Encouraging for SCE to see proposals that cars should be taxed by weight, with tax incentives for smaller electric models.
As we know, SCE's CC brakes are some 70% lighter than iron brakes:
Https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tax-cars-by-weight-says-think-tank-k586z8d60
"Tax cars by weight, says think tank
The fashion for bigger, heavier cars is increasing the demand for metals needed in electric vehicle batteries, a green transport group has warned.
Buying smaller cars could cut forecast demand for battery materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and manganese by almost a quarter, according to the Transport & Environment think tank. It is calling for the government to impose “a new weight-based tax on the heaviest and largest vehicles” and to introduce tax incentives for smaller electric models.
About 44 per cent of electric vehicles sold last year in Britain were sports utility vehicles. The bigger and heavier the vehicle, the larger the battery that typically it needs to achieve the same driving range. “This trend towards larger, heavier vehicles needs to be halted to lower the embedded emissions of vehicle production and reduce demands on the electricity grid,” Transport & Environment said.
etc"
AIM stocks normally drift downwards on no news at the moment, so the gentle upward pressure over the last few days suggests you might be right in your assessment.
Many of the buys have been going through below mid price but there are some obvious sells at or fractionally above bid price. The unusual thing is since Tuesday there has only been one market maker on the bid (ZEUZ). They went on the bid at 30p when there had only been one trade of 10,000 share above 30p all day. Since then they have taken on a lot of stock without moving to the offer in fact they moved their price up to 31p about an hour before the close so they still have the best bid price after (SING) moved their bid price to 30p this afternoon.
SCE have 8 market makers and you would normal see them changing from one side of the order book to the other on relatively small volume, it looks likely that (ZEUZ) are taking on stock for someone
For the last 2 or 3 days every trade shows as a sell. Obviously most are buys !
Extensive coverage of the new Bohema hypercar with a great namecheck for SCE:
Https://thebrakereport.com/alcon-part-of-braking-force-for-praga-bohemia-hypercar/
"Alcon Part of Braking Force for Praga Bohemia Hypercar
July 11, 2023
TAMWORTH, U.K. — Praga will debut its Alcon-equipped its road-legal, race car-inspired Bohema hypercar at Alcon’s stand at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, all part of the brake company’s 40th anniversary.
Alcon’s powerful six-piston calipers are key to the Bohema’s on-track performance that has been tested to the full by Ben Collins on track at the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa program earlier this month.
In targeting GT3 race car lap times and road car comfort the Bohema feels as at home through Eau Rouge as it does in front of Goodwood House and will be on display on stand #98 with Alcon.
Jan Martinek, Chief Engineer at Praga Cars, said: “When we were developing the Praga Bohema we knew that the choice of braking system would be vital for the car’s performance and safety. Alcon provided us with the ideal caliper for our application and worked with us to suit our bespoke application. We are extremely pleased with the result, and for me personally, the braking performance of the car is the highlight of the Bohema’s unique driving experience.”...
Surface Transforms
Another key to the Bohema’s stopping power – which has been highlighted by its test drivers including Romain Grosjean – is its lightweight construction (targeting 982kgs, wet) backed by the Surface Transforms 380mm carbon ceramic brake discs.
The U.K. company, that supplies many of the world’s leading supercar and hypercar manufacturers, provides the ideal combination of lightweight yet durable components, perfectly complimenting the Bohema’s lightweight, high-performance philosophy.
Mark Harrison, Managing Director, Praga Cars UK, commented; “While Praga is a proudly Czech company, we have an international outlook and the Bohema is a great showcase for the quality of the U.K.’s specialist automotive manufacturing and technology industry.
“These partners were chosen solely based on the results from testing, and as a result, we’re confident that these partnerships will deliver the unique experience we are targeting for our customers, whether driving on the road or track.”
Ben Collins, Praga R1 racer and Bohema test driver, said: “A car is only as good as the sum of its parts – be that the team behind its development or the key components that deliver its performance.
“I have been blown away by the Bohema on track – driven by its aero package, light weight and, crucially, powertrain and braking performance. It’s not surprising that we are getting close to lap records and race car lap times in testing when world-leading partners like Alcon, Hewland, Litchfield Motors and Surface Transforms come together in a package with 700 horsepower and below 1,000 kilos in weight. It’
They had 4.91% previously, but nonetheless it is positive news
I was just reading that. Did Janus have any shareholding before and have just crept over the 5% line, or have they splashed out £4m?
Looks like SCE have a new major shareholder - Janus Henderson Group PLC have declared going above 5% with a 5.18% holding and 12,517,500 shares:
Https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/surface-transforms-SCE/share-news/Surface-Transforms-PLC-Holdings-in-Company/91502002