The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
The market continues to express its view of the Tailwind deal. Is a hostile takeover too late?
Upomega, yes this PM might be more honest than Johnson (not hard) but I wouldn’t trust any of them. Related to this, remember that Labour will probably be in charge in 2024/25.
Norma, SQZ might not have performed too badly relative to some other UK O&G shares, but as far as I know no other company has reached negative EV yet. I think this reflects sentiment about the TW deal. If it does go through, I hope Mitch will be able to justify it to the market quickly after completion. This is his responsibility as CEO.
Indeed use it to our advantage. And look on the bright side... a 10% drop now is only half the financial loss it was 6 months ago. Far less stressful! :-)
Mcap £559m.
CoH must be around the same.
Zero debt.
We are about to enter negative EV!
"Inmho not a bad investment for any would be investors."
Yes, that's what I've been thinking for quite a while, but the SP just keeps tumbling. I've lost faith in this company and I'm just waiting for an opportunity to sell at a loss which isn't too painful. I've given up hope of recovering my capital.
Mitch, if you believe you're doing such a fantastic deal, why aren't you and your fellow directors snapping up shares at this rock bottom price?
Market cap £621m
Cash on hand c. £500m
Debt £Nil
PE ratio 7.3
I keep telling myself this can’t go any lower.
Then it goes lower.
Nice one Mitch.
Norma, I hope you're right, but I fear this government (and the next one) are not rational. They've set ambitious net zero targets without formulating a proper energy strategy or defining a transition plan to achieve them.
Even when they've made solid agreements with industry, such as the North Sea Transition Deal, they don't hesitate to renege on them as soon as they hit the slightest obstacle.
With growing pressure for rapid decarbonisation from NGOs, lobby groups, left-wing media and no doubt Gary Lineker, they're getting increasingly desperate, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't see the collapse of our oil and gas industry as collateral damage.
In a few years, we'll be importing all our gas from the US and Qatar.
FCF going forward isn't all that interesting when 75pc of profit is confiscated in tax. I hope TW tax losses can be used to dramatically reduce tax liability for the combined company, and I hope there's a proper update on this in the near future.
This is like death by a thousand cuts. Confidence in this company seems to be ebbing away.
Thanks to Sunak and Hunt, earnings must be reducing fast. Hardly "windfall" territory.
If there's no positive news in this budget, we should start pulling out of the UK.
CNR's announcement makes a material difference to the TW deal. If the deal isn't pulled, it certainly needs to be renegotiated. The BoD must act in the interest of shareholders.
It doesn't really matter what MPs think. Most senior cabinet ministers are on the same side as Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves who would like to see an immediate end to oil and gas, regardless of consequences for the UK.
In a rational world, intrinsic value would matter. In the current climate for oil and gas companies, with punishing taxation, uncertainty about future taxation, delusional net zero groupthink and growing geopolitical risks, it’s almost irrelevant.
Makes a lot of sense. Energy should have a dedicated government department and BEIS is neither fish nor foul.
With the SP dropping day by day, we really could do with an update. OK, a 45pc drop in 6 months isn’t entirely down to the Tailwind deal - market prices and tax are largely responsible - but I’d like to hear more about our current position and the strategy going forward.
"Big after hour trades - things looking up?"
This has been happening most days. SP rises in the morning then reverses and continues its downwards journey in the afternoon, usually closing down.
Not much evidence the market is latching onto the excellent Tailwind deal just yet.
I'd like to believe there's a stream of fantastic acquisitions lined up, but realistically how many can a company like Serica handle in quick succession? Oil and gas mergers and acquisitions are complex and divert attention from normal business, especially for small companies. I don't believe they'll have teams of people available to work on integration.
Well, Shell is listed on the FTSE and has its HQ in the UK having left NL for tax reasons. Our ConLab government could impose an extra special corporation tax of 100pc on the holding entities of evil oil companies.
I agree that Shell NS assets might be a good fit for enlarged SQZ alongside ex-Shell Tailwind assets. Wouldn't be surprised.