The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Results seem to be going in the right direction. But very slow going. And it's good to see a tighter spread than last I looked.
Auditors only audit after the event at the year end. The fact that two partners of the large firms may yet to spot these issues is irrelevant - who knows what they may have been told at this early stage, and by whom. Of course AZ could always release an accounting opinion signed by one of these firms to support his view - he has declined to do so. No surprises there.
@weathergeek, good to have you back. What does your model spit out if there are no customers and no funder? Which would appear to be the much more likely scenario. Given that they've been trying to flog this proposition for a year now.
@holly14, I've actually quietened down on the accounting problems. I know it doesn't work - but I also now think this will fall apart before companies need to worry about how to account for this. The problem appears to be funding related - and the timing of the greensill collapse has been very unfortunate (although was probably the problem regardless).
Of course it would make no sense for the funder to recognise stock. Stock that it never sees, never takes possession of, nor has any control over (unless the client company unexpectedly doesn't "repurchase"). This is a financing transaction - and needs to be accounted for as such (by both parties).
@luckybob23, potential customers have only signed heads of terms agreements, which does not commit them. There is no indication they have paid fees. The accounts suggest that syme has just booked a receivable (whether auditor will sign off on this is an unknown).
We have no idea who AZ has been talking to from a funding perspective.
Let's see how much has now been monetised in the upcoming RNS.
The press reported that the profitable greensill business (approx 500 clients) was potentially going to be sold to Apollo for £100million (the deal fell through). This was an established business with a model that worked (for a time). Syme market cap is currently £160million - and this is a business model which is unproven and yet to secure it's first customer. It makes you think.
I thought it was quite telling when a certain poster this morning stated they would be buying more shares. This individual had, during suspension, been very concerned about the situation and to his significant exposure to this one company - to the extent that others on this BB were concerned about his mental state and had admirably provided kind words of support and asked him to contact them to discuss his anxiety.
Not one poster this morning warned this individual about taking on further exposure here. In fact many recommended his post. It just shows how hypocritical many are on this BB. Those individuals who hurl abuse at anyone who expresses concern and warning about this company and its business model need to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror.
@hartlebury, thanks for the reference. I can see that this may be an expectation rather than a legal requirement. It's normally hard for a regulator to object to companies disclosing information like this - transparency is generally viewed as a good thing. Of course correspondence etc could well be confidential.
@spotify, I certainly don't align myself with TW. I suspect that his knack at spotting frauds may be due to his own dubious background. Although I am basing any knowledge of this dubious background on what has been posted on this BB - and I am very wary of the accuracy of much that is posted here. Given TW likes to focus on shares that are over valued I can see why many investors would be very abusive towards him. He would have a much easier time of it if he just posted promotional fluff like Zak Mir does.
Hopefully when the next RNS comes out AZ will explain what issues the FCA have raised. For example if the FCA is insisting on audited accounts for the period through December before suspension is lifted he should just explain this.
It would be extremely disappointing if suspension was finally lifted and investors did not know what had caused the delays. Questions would remain over how serious the issues were and whether the FCA still had concerns but there was a lack of evidence for them to pursue.
I think AZ would get credit from investors if he was upfront and open. What really frustrates investors is where there is no communication. They end up expecting the worst. AZ's previous RNSs have suggested he never wants to give any bad news. He just wants to suggest that all is well. He would get more credit if he was open - even if there was initially some bad news to share.
@londoninvestor and shareguy, if you read the statement carefully there is no clarity on what is being looked at (aside from general reference to the financial statements). To state that the FCA will have "looked into the company fully" is absurd. They may only be looking at the £125m inconsistency in the accounts. We really have no idea.
SH helps to prove the concept. Given they have been working on that for almost a year they need to get it done. If they can't it really indicates the concept is broken.
I do agree that the Middle East is very important. Accounting practices in the ME (and in Italy) tend to be less rigourously applied than in UK and US. But don't get me started on the accounting problems again.