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Wonder if we will see any news coming out of HUM or Corica tomorrow - the 28 day deadline set by Corica on the 17th March following their official notification to HUM ends today so if there is any merit to that deadline then I would have thought some form of formal update would be forthcoming.
They have clearly got an issue with managing and overseeing mining contractors - from memory they have fallen out with 3 at Yan and now 1 at Kor - there appears to be a real lack of operational nous and contingency planning at the senior management level. The lack of a COO makes that abundantly clear. As does the lack of an experienced Chair to guide the management team and hold them to account.
Well that’s now 3 weeks and counting since Corica downed tools - doesn’t look like a speedy resolution is on its way. With the Q1 update typically in the third week following quarter end (which would be next week) I now wonder whether we are likely to see an RNS before that Q1 update is issued?
Their comms on this, as on everything else, continues to be reactive and poor.
Thankfully the AGM is less than 12 weeks away. There are 4 directors up for mandatory re-election. I wonder if they still have the confidence of CORIS? If not then we could see some change come the AGM.
With this significant setback, unfortunately the latest in a long line, the Board are going to have a very tough time convincing shareholders to re-elect the 4 directors expected to be up for re-appointment at this years AGM in June (D Betts, T Hill, E Nutter & A Roux).
It has been a poor performance from the Board since Dan took on the Interim Chair role nearly 2 years ago (production target misses, multiple subcontractor management issues, ballooning AISC, Kouroussa ramp up delays, liquidity challenges, increased indebtedness and two emergency equity raises)
The latest crisis once again highlights the lack of an experienced Chair to steer the Board and hold the executive team to proper account.
Under the terms of HUM’s articles of association, four of the board, including the CEO and CFO will be up for reappointment at this years AGM - so all shareholders (including CIG) will have the opportunity to make their feelings known via their votes then. The four are Dan Betts, Thomas Hill, Ernie Nutter and Attie Roux.
No not bored - lost patience with repeated under performance, lack of governance and lack of accountability. I’m invested here because of the assets (which can’t be changed) and not because of the management (which can)
So the CEO and interim Chairman didn’t participate in the open offer - if he didn’t see value in it then how could he expect others to participate. Clearly more interested in getting his free through the various incentive schemes that will no doubt payout despite this 3rd emergency fund raise in 12 months.
I voted against resolutions 7 & 8 (general blanket resolutions providing authority to allot additional shares without further subsequent shareholder approval). Per the circular they intend to use these to grant options to management and / or in the event of needing to raise further funds. Firstly, no bonuses or options should be granted this year given the severe dilution suffered by shareholders. Secondly, if they need to raise further funds above and beyond this latest fiasco the Board should be forced to come back to shareholders to a) explain why and b) get approval for what would be significant further dilution. I for one am not willing to give them any wiggle room on this.
Ducked the difficult questions.
Exploration funding to my mind is a smokescreen to make this equity raise more palatable - this could and should be funded from H2 2024 internal cash flow not from an equity raise.
No answers as to whether management will be paying themselves bonuses from these funds or whether the ridiculously generous founders equity alignment plan still survives despite all this dilution.
No mention of any internal actions they are taking to preserve cash and minimise the equity ask.
Really needs a non exec chair in there to hold the management team to proper account.
Jam tomorrow as always - but the bread is beginning to look pretty mouldy
The content of the interview is useful and reassuring: YAN at top of or better than full year 2023 guidance, reconfirming 2024 production @ 200k+, giving a first indication on 2024 potential ASIC ($1250-1300) and saying no risk re short term funding but…..his attitude in the interview is shocking - came across as petulant and defensive. He could have done this interview at the time of the interim release and been on the front foot. This came across as very much a rear guard and reactive action to negative sentiment and a raft of investor queries.
Really need an experienced Chair in place to guide this mob.
The problem is there is a lot of short term debt that is scheduled to be repaid in H2 2023. I am hoping that the reason for the delay in the Interim results is that they are busy negotiating a refinancing of the short term debt due in 2023 with Coris bank. That will be a test of how supportive and strategic an investor Coris is. In any event we will know by the end of next week
On the debt side of things - from the annual report there are essentially medium term and short term facilities
1) 2 x medium term 4 year facilities which have an 18 month repayment holiday and then quarterly repayments over a 30 month period thereafter - there is $100m drawn on this type of facility with $70m of that due to start repayments in Q3 2023 and $30m which seems to start repayment in Q1 2024
2) short term 1 year or less facilities which seem to have bullet repayments at the end of the term - there is $4m due for repayment this month (June), $15m which appears to be due for repayment in Aug/Sept this year and $10m due for repayment at the end of the year (December)
There may also be debt drawn this quarter from undrawn facilities which if drawn will be short term.
All the debt appears to be between 8.5-9% interest. There is more detail in the financial statements note 19.
Takeaway is that based on the current facilities there are significant debt repayments over the next 6 months unless they refinance the short term facilities - highlights the need for strong cash flow generation over the next couple of quarters and for finding a mechanism to release the VAT receivables.
Excellent news - fantastic milestone to reach, credit where it is due for delivering on time and on budget.
Look forward to the Q2 results and an update on what this means for 2023 revised guidance.
If all goes smoothly then 2024 will be a transformational year for cash generation, debt reduction and consequent balance sheet strengthening which should deliver a strong re-rate. Fingers crossed that’s when long term patience is rewarded.
The info from the investment platform just gave the date (29th June) and a very general location of “London”. I’m sure the HUM investor relations site will post the full notice shortly - surprised it’s not already uploaded.