Member Info for catonahottinroof

Still no sign of Biopalm being shown on the list of shareholders, despite being told at the AGM that this would be corrected. Disappointing.

The 150,000 shares trade @2.62p today is my buy, though it is reported as a sell. I've taken the opportunity to average down at this low price. The last RNS hit the shares, but as far as I can see it is a delay only. Once the company is set up for higher volumes, I expect a significant rebound in the share price. With a market cap of only £8m, there is plenty of upside potential here.

Philpot, my understanding is that, all being well, the dividend next year would increase by 10%. As it was 500k this year, I would expect it to be 550k next year. Anything they wish to pay out above that would probably be paid as a special dividend. The company needs to ensure that their dividend policy is sustainable, and given the expansion plans for Guitry and potential acquisitions, they may wish to put funds towards that instead at this stage of the company's development.

FK1 - good to meet with you and Rugs again yesterday. It was an interesting meeting and you have summarized it well, as usual. On Guitry, my understanding is that DKL will initially set up a nursery there, as already announced, whilst assessing how much product is likely to be available from local smallholders. A mill will be then built to accomodate the expected product from smallholders (perhaps 15,000-30,000 tonnes pa). The land can then be planted, which will take 5 years or so to produce fruits in quantity. The mill can be expanded in time. This will be an expensive process, and will require a partner. Given the ethical way in which DKL has operated, finding a suitable partner should not be a problem. The mill can be expanded in time to accomodate the increased volumes. The large area of land at Guitry, once planted, will be a very valuable asset in the event of someone looking to buy DKL. The only thing I would add to FK1s excellent summary is that the company is looking to add further storage as it is extremely beneficial in high season, allowing best prices to be obtained. The cost of adding storage is relatively small.

It all seems too difficult to do, especially as some online brokers don't seem to allow Scrip dividends, which is a pity. Does anyone know what price the Scrip shares are being priced at? That should have been determined some days ago but I can't see it anywhere on the Dekeloil website.

Hi Scottie, Thanks. I think TD do something similar under their Drip (dividend re-investment) option, which is to use the divi money to buy shares in the market, at market price. As I understand it though, Dekeloil is offering a Scrip option, which is to take the dividend in the form of newly issued shares directly from the company at a predetermined price. Depending on this price, it may be financially beneficial to take the Scrip option, particularly if the SP has increased since the price was determined. I don't know what the Scrip price is, so can't determine what the best option would be, even if TD gave me that option.

I use TD Direct as an online broker. I have not seen anything about the option of receiving the dividend as shares (Scrip) or what price these are. I have just checked, using TD's help facility, and they do not appear to offer the Scrip option, only a Drip (Dividend re-investment) whereby the dividend cash is used to buy shares in the market, with any relevant transaction/stamp duty costs, rather than take newly issued shares at the price determined by the company. I wasn't aware of this and wondered if anyone else had come across this. Not sure what the Scrip price would be compared to the market, but it is disappointing that TD do not appear to offer this as an option. If anyone else is with TD and think I have got this wrong (entirely plausible) please let me know as I would like to take up the Scrip option (subject to the price).

Agreed Beamer, looks like a good opportunity to buy. Quite a few takers today at these prices. Even with these delays, the business is profitable at EBITDA level, and its good that they are continuing with their restructuring and pricing model. It may be a bit later than hoped for, but I can see decent profits ahead.

Hi Phil, I'm expecting Q2 figure next week. As you say they are a little later now than in previous years, possibly as they now give more information on sales as well as production. My average is a little higher again than yours or Rugs', at 11.75. Hopefully we will soon have a flurry of activity - Q2 figures, Norpalm, AGM . Any guesses on Q2 production. I am going for 16,500t of CPO.

Hi Smart, I agree that the issuing of shares to consulants/suppliers can be irritating, but the number of shares issued in this way is relatively insignificant. The only larger scale one that I am aware of was last year to a supplier of FFBs, which was at a price equivalent to 15.2p - very much favourable to Dekeloil as it has turned out.

I've just booked my train tickets from Devon for the AGM. Is anyone else planning to go? I'm hoping the situation on the Norplam acquisition may be clearer by then and it will be interesting to get to understand the development plans there and also at Guitry. Philpot - I also averaged up last week by buying at 12.5p. Clearly I was a bit early and should have waited, but it is hard to believe we are back at these prices again given all the improvements made in the business.

If the Norpalm transaction is close, it makes sense to defer the AGM date slightly. It must be a pain to get all the directors over to London for the meeting. I presume there will need to be an EGM to ratify the acquisition, so best to do it all in one meeting than to have two meetings in quick succession.

I can't see why the Norpalm transaction, if it happens, would cause the SP to fall. They have said that it would be funded from internal resources, debt and possibly an equity partner at project level, ie another joint venture. That being so, there should be no further issue of shares and no dilution. Maybe the SP fall is due more to the declining CPO prices. Having said that, they are still above those of last year. I am fully expecting a rebound in the SP unless the Q2 production figures are poor, which I am not expecting. I am still looking for profit around €8m for this year, based on CPO prices of €600 for the rest of the year. For me the Norpalm transaction would give us wider geographic coverage and would make us a more desireable takeover target in time.

I wonder if we will see an RNS today on the potential Norpalm acquisition. The Norwegian owner is expected to make an announcement after a meeting today, I believe, so Dekeloil may also have to put out an announcement. Exciting times. This could kick start expansion of the business at a good price and at a time when the business in Cote D'Ivoire seems to be performimg well. Equally interesting will be to see, if they proceed with a Joint Venture at the Norpalm project level as suggested in an earlier RNS, who the partner would be.

http://bora.uib.no/bitstream/handle/1956/10650/133448976.pdf?sequence=1 This is a link to a case study done on the Norpalm operation in Ghana and gives some useful information about the industry background in Ghana and specific issues for Norpalm. It is a large document and I have only briefly read some of it, but it does give good information about the land ownership issues and some of the consequences of that. It makes me quite confident that, if the land issues can be resolved by payment of the compensation due to the original land owners, then this would be a great deal for Dekeloil, who have a good record in their dealings with smallholders and who could then develop company owned land more fully than Norpalm.

It seems to me that the SP has been slowly drifting down for no reason other than a few small sells, probably caused by investor boredom, due to lack of newsflow. I've added another 150,000 shares this morning, and am very pleased with the price at a shade under 4.2p.

FK1, I think they must be close to the Nordpalm deal and hoping that this will happen by the AGM date. Managed to get a 2nd tranche of 25k shares later this morning. Still a persistent seller keeping the price down though. It will be good to hear if the BOD have any ideas to get the SP up to where it should be. One for the AGM.

Just tried to buy 50k of shares at 12.5p, but had to settle for 25k. Tried to buy a second lot of 25k, but unable to do so. If small quantities such as this are not available, I would expect an uplift in the SP before long.

Looks like 5 lots of 100k share sales today, with only a small drop in the SP. Presumably an unreported buy to come later.

Tricky - Yes, to me the SP fall yesterday was most disappointing. Hopefully it was just sellers anticipating the figures, but who knows?