Value Comparison13 Jul 2017 13:08
A friend of mine is invested in Sound Energy. Oil and gas pricing is in the doldrums with no real forward visibility on the same, assets are being sold, investment is way down, lending to fund such projects is down. Set up costs post regulation approvals is high, explorations costs and risk are very high and frequently at the expense of the retail investor and decommissioning costs at the end of the project are high as well.
All of that said, Sound Energy multiplied 6 times in just 3-4 months in 2016, based on oil and gas finds, with income of less than £1 million for 2016 and no gas field or oilfield yet up and producing. It is only the story and the progression towards production that has enabled that price rise, plus the CEO's constant communication to PI's (some may say reassurance, support and education). 55%+ of their shareholder register is Retail, their expenses are massive in comparison to Eden, as it their debt, they are not as close to revenue and profit as Eden, more exposed to commodity prices, unlike Eden. I believe they have an MCAP of around £330 million+ and we all understand the cost and timeline of bring oilfields and gas fields to production. Oil and Gas is also an overcrowded market, unlike bio pesticides and Eden has built-in patent protection. It is clear from reading the forums, the Company's website and the Investor section that expectation is clear. Undoubtedly, this keeps investors invested. I also note from their website they were awarded "Best AIM Company 2016"
www.soundenergyplc.com
Eden by comparison, has no debt, cash on hand, is regulation approved, is patent approved, has commercial contracts with global majors, will deliver a bigger revenue this year than Sound Energy's £800,000, will post a profit if it so chooses from revenues received and relatively fixed outgoings.
It is in a forward moving market, namely biocontrols, is on message and politically correct, has regulation on its side with the clamp down on chemical based pesticides and others and arguably a sector that sells on greater P/E ratios than Oil and Gas. It has no high set up costs from here, it has no end of year life (decommissioning) costs either.
Finally, Eden is to some further degree, more de-risked for its retail investors now that an industry player, SIPCAM, has taken a 9.9% strategic stake in Eden and will be appointing someone to the BoD, all for the purpose of collaborating together for new products and to also protect their existing patented products by blending their active ingredients with Eden's natural active ingredients. Sipcam is in this for an exclusive licence on Eden's products, creating new products, exploring the use of Sustaine, Eden's technology AND for the increase in the MCAP of EDEN from which they will benefit
Given that and accepting it is two different business sectors, my own personal view being that Eden's sector has the positive advantage, a like market cap would s