The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Just a little example of past bubbles. Sorry if it's a little off topic.
Back in the day, 1643 to 1637 to be exact, the Gouda/Tulip Bulb index exploded from 1 to 60 and then in 1637 crashed back down to something like 10c . That's a proper bubble for you!
I definitely don't think the green bubble will be like that BTW but I do think that green investment will get an enormous boost in the near future and lets hope AFC can profit from it.
Any business buying AFC for £1 would be getting the bargain of the century IMO. After a confirmed sale of equipment the SP should be quite a lot higher than today's price, 40p, 50p, ....... who can tell? There would be huge prospects ahead and I suspect any bid would have to be substantially north of £!. It would be a complete travesty to let this beauty go on the cheap.
Listening to the vine show today talking about EVs . Total misconceptions about the benefits of fuel cells and the battery issues. They even interviewed a motoring A golden opportunity missed for someone to mention AFC's ability to produce clean green hydrogen and rapid charging. Public perceptions matter. The "general population" and "potential customers for AFC" are not mutually exclusive sets. I thought public relations was about promoting the business and getting the company's name out there. All publicity is good and whoever AFC are paying to do that is woefully inadequate in getting news stories out there IMO!
Surely one of the reasons to talk to supermarkets for off grid charging is that they need to be able to supply their shops and their on line customers in all eventualities. If that is the case they cannot afford to be without transport if the grid is down or can't cope. Supermarkets will inevitably be looking to deliver using EVs. Local authorities have a similar issue as does the police.
I hate to be picky, and don't get me wrong I applaud the RNS initiative after so long without an update, but couldn't they have managed a slightly more snazzy paint job on the Tesla? It could be a weeny bit more eye catching I think!
England may survive outside the EU bt I personally doubt it will prosper. I think we face Stagflation, the loss of our manufacturing base particularly the car industry which will inevitably be reduced to niche products and small time producers. I cannot think of any reason for a foreign manufacturer to locate a factory in the UK any more when they could easily locate in any continental country without friction to trade. British manufacturers if they are to stay afloat need access to the "single market" which Johnson has set himself against. The future doesn't look rosy to me I'm sad to say. Just my opinion of course.
I'm as impatient as anyone on this board for us to get some sales reported in an RNS. However, I feel the company needs a little slack. I thought we might get an order in January but I do realise this is not selling tins of beans or washing machines or cars. AFC are selling to big operators and these organisations are demanding and cautious in their spending decisions. How long does a contract to supply major hardware take to complete in the Public Sector for example? It's a huge commitment and public money is at stake. People may be waiting for a lead from Government. I'm jumpy yes but I recognise things may take a little longer to come to fruition. Mid February and I'll start to get really nervous!
If AFC want to participate in cooperative EU research and development projects let alone tender for contracts on the continent I wonder if we could relocate manufacturing to an EU country, Holland or Germany. It possibly would open up a lot of opportunities for the company. I'm pretty sure all the components could be sourced on the continent.
Every critical government utility is going to need off grid charging if they are going for EVs. They need to be able to run their services in times of national crisis and cannot rely on the national grid. That is not just in the UK but all over Europe, indeed all over the world.
There is a market for the smaller units I think. I noticed a piece in the Times today about utilising pub car parks for charging vehicles for example. You would probably ideally like a pub chain to get on board. They would probably initially be thinking of on grid facilities but maybe if some locations are more rural there would be a market for off grid. Just speculation of course.
Talk about "hiding your light under a bushel " AFC should be shouting to the rooftops about their products. I get the bit about niche marketing but surely a progress report or program of promotional activities doesn't cost a lot and the lack of news almost seems like they're trying to keep their programme secret. That looks like the antithesis of good marketing to me! I thought they were employing a PR company!
To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson ...... " Make a better mouse trap ........ and the world will make a beaten path to (your) door. " You would have thought that our AFC "publicity machine" would be making waves in the mainstream press by now. I have patience but its sure being stretched at the moment. We have a solution to some of the big climate change challenges, lets hope we're putting our story out there!
P 16 business section for anyone who missed it. Article emphasises the desire of Volvo the to make the car manufacture cycle carbon neutral and the cut as much carbon out of production and running the car as possible. Worth a read IMO.
P36 and 37 of today' s Times newspaper for anyone that's missed it is about replacing old style petrol stations and the challenge of more electricity demand. No mention of Hydrogen or AFC sadly. The article puts a very interesting perspective on developments in the UK and a map of the number of currently available charging points nation wide.
Along the lines suggested by DerSack get car dealerships to host the event on their premises and use the opportunity to promote EVs. The dealer could pay for some advertising and promotion - get the name AFC out there!
Given that I believe a couple of weeks before Christmas was a pretty daft time IMO to launch a new product on the market, (after the festive season might have had more impact!) , I am not surprised we haven't hear anything about sales. CEO's rarely commit to signing orders for expensive new equipment whilst downing festive bubbly and stuffing themselves with mince pies - two weeks lost IMO. However, it is now well over a month and we really ought to be getting something this week or next. As others have pointed out the silence here is deafening.
I just wonder is it realistic to expect CEOs to make important investment decisions over the Christmas period. It's only this week they're back to normal operations I would think and anyone in Government is going to be tied up in a drawn out decision making process before final orders for something like investment in EV charging could be made. However, I agree that some updates are well overdue!
I like many here would like to know how sales are going. Just a clue! If AFC sold a couple of units to a private car park or something small scale like that; I suppose that wouldn't be price sensitive. For an RNS it would have to be a big order to a state utility or a major company, I imagine that takes a long time. However, I don't actually know if we've sold anything to anyone at the moment. Does anyone think we might get a monthly update at least?
The potential for a big order is very tenable given the list of interested parties. If for example the postal delivery service wanted to go electric for local deliveries it would surely need off grid charging available at each depot. Similarly Fire Ambulance and Police. These organisations are part of essential national infrastructure and cant risk being put out of use by power cuts. That's potentially a lot of chargers in the long term. Any order from one of these types of operators would be very encouraging IMO.