Member Info for Ezzz

If you go back and look at Proventec interim results announcement of 27 Nov 2006 the Proventec Chairman's statement says: the "Board has resolved after careful consideration to postpone penetrating some [...] markets through alternative routes, such as licensing, as it believes an aggressive acquisitions and partnership policy offers a more distinct and total concept that will create market leadership and a clear competitive edge with superior returns which will enhance shareholder value. The inevitable consequence of this decision has been a delay in sales in some areas, but I expect to see a rapid upturn in sales once we have secured footholds in target markets through our acquisition strategy." This would suggest that Proventec's sale of its HDD stake is related to its own need to raise cash and not the fundamentals of the HDD business. Unfortunately, I used up my spare cash by buying some more shares in HDD last Friday. However, if you are considering buying a stake in HDD, now is probably a good time for a speculative punt. To the extent that the market had been notified of Proventec's prospective sale that would have had the potential to act as a drag on the price. Now that that overhang is gone I guess there is possibly greater potential for the shares to bounce higher on positive news (hopefully in HDD's March interims).

Not altogether surprised by Proventec selling down its whole stake. Proventec said it would do so on 27 November 2006. They had agreed not to sell down before Dec 2006. Then they said they would sell “when market conditions permit and subject to support of [Hardide’s] brokers and advisors”. Presumably that support has been forthcoming. The sell-down may be more about Proventec's need to raise cash for its core projects rather than lack of belief in HDD's medium and long-term prospects. It may also suggest that Proventec believed there was risk of further near-term share price weakness and wanted to exit while it could still do so at a profit. The biggest negative of the sell-down I think is probably the corporate governance implication of the chairman (proventec's nominee) resigning. Who will take his place?

Hardide's website posted the launch of its product to the autosport industry at Autosport International (11-12 January 2007). It says the product is "particularly suitable for auto applications such as crankshaft journals and cylinder linings". I suppose the expansion of the industries it is targeting (ie, oil and gas and aerospace) with its product is a good thing. The announcement also interestingly says that the product is being used in the chemical, power and food manufacturing industries. There's nothing else of particular note in the announcement. I've loaded up some more at the current price.

I see that there has been considerable buying activity of this share today. Is this in anticipation of an announcement? I had a go at using their online poker software (pokerwize) and am very impressed by it. I even managed to win a tournament with the help of their statwize software. I'm not currently invested in this stock but am mulling over investing my poker winnings in it.

Interim results for year to Oct 2006 will be released on Wednesday next week. Previous news released on 8 November 2006 was very positive. I quote: "The Group expects to announce its financial results for the year to 31 October 2006 on 10 January 2007.2006 Growth Storms Ahead of Market Expectations: The Board of Research Now is pleased to announce that both turnover and profit before tax for the year to 31 October 2006 are expected to be significantly ahead of current market forecasts. Group profit before tax is expected to treble to at least Ј1.6m (2005: Ј0.52m). Group turnover is expected to be around Ј9.6m (2005: Ј3.64m) and the Group's cash balance rose to around Ј2.3m by 31 October 2006 (2005: Ј1.43m)." After the Nov 8 announcement the stock doubled and the rise is continuing presumably in expectation of a further boost next Wednesday.

CEO has bought yet another 250,000 shares at the current low price. Probably worth following his lead

I bought this stock in the summer and since then its almost doubled. Seems to still have a fair bit of growth left in it judging from the company's news. Anyone else following or have any thoughts on this one?

The CEO's share purchase today at 8.25pence should put a floor on the price at that level until the next results announcement.

A mixed set of results out today. Increased losses and increased sales. To put the increased sales figures in perspective at the time of the Company's original admission and placing Hoodless Brennan released a research report saying the Company should hit a target of £2 million by end of 2005 and £4 million by end of 2006 to justify its valuation then. You can find the Hoodless Brennan report somewhere on the internet. Obviously the Company's sales of £1.7 million are somewhat behind those predictions. However, the Company is upbeat and the new coatings facility should give sales a boost, plus with management now more focused on sales (rather than construction of the Houston coatings facility)I reckon we may see better interim results figures reported in March. Anyway I'm holding on to my shares for time being as a medium term hold and I would recommend the shares as a speculative buy in the coming months.

On Monday 27 November 2006 Proventec (a 21.5% shareholder in Hardide) issued an interim results announcement. In its announcement it confirmed following: - Proventec booked a half million pound profit on its disposal of HDD shares in summer of 2006. - management of Proventec intends to dispose of Proventec’s non-core holding in Hardide “when market conditions permit and subject to support of [Hardide’s] brokers and advisors” and; - Proventec has agreed not to dispose any further shares before December 2006. My interpretation: - the prospect of a significant disposal by Proventec in next twelve months may weigh on the HDD price. - any placing by Proventec may be accompanied as before by further fund-raising by Hardide depending upon its cash requirements. The warning about a client de-stocking and its effect on revenues and cash-flow remains a key risk. According to HDD’s RNS of 27 December Preliminary Results for the 12 months ended 30 September 2006 will be announced next week on Monday 4 December 2006.

Hardide posted a news announcement on its website today about it "winning the Small Business Award 2006 in the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards presented by Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne MP at a gala dinner at the Wentworth Club, Surrey on Thursday 23 November 2006. The awards, which are in their 12th year, recognise the ‘best of business’ in the Thames Valley region. Hardide won the Small Business Award which is open to companies with up to £3 million turnover which are at least two years old. The judges assessed turnover and profit; customer, supplier and employee relationships; planning and management of growth; and innovation and creativity." It would be interesting to know when the judges made their assessment. Was it before or after the de-stocking warning in the summer?

HDD announced on 11 Oct opening of its new $5 MILLION COMPONENT COATINGS FACILITY IN HOUSTON. Large stake building by institutions in few weeks prior to that. Now the share price has dropped again on low volumes. Could be worth a punt at current level as a medium term investment.

Seems that risks (1) and (3) in my previous post have materialised. Check out the following link on the BBC news website from last night about latest efforts of US House of Representatives(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5171034.stm). Therefore, this stock could be in for a bit of a further rollercoaster until November. However, medium term neteller can still succeed without gaming related revenues.

Since mid-May the price has fallen by about 30%. Some of the fall may be justified. If the value of the Dollar continues to fall then HDD's revenues from its soon to be opened US coating facility would be affected when converted into GBP. However, insofar as the new US coating facility could be used to supply other markets (eg, companies working on developing Canada's oil sands) then a lower US currency could give HDD's new facility a competitive boost. Assuming the new US coating facility opens in Houston on time in September of this year then that will give a big boost to the stock provided that HDD can win contracts to its new production line busy. All in all, I think the stock has been oversold, which is why I guess Fidelity has taken an approx $1m position in the stock (approx 6.9% of its share capital according to the RNS announcement). Investors Chronicle put a "buy" recommendation on HDD stock on 12 May when it was up at 15pence. Apart from the general market turbulence that has weighed down on all stocks since then the fundamentals for HDD do not appear to have changed.

I see the following risks for this stock: (1) some US legislators are seeking to impose legislation restricting online gambling - legislative noise will increase as US elections approach although the likelihood of legislation being passed in the immediate future will decrease (2) continued fall in US Dollar - US trade deficit still large / US interest rates are close to peaking and other countries will soon be starting their rate increasing cycles (3) slowdown in growth at poker/gambling sites (eg, PRTY, 888, etc) - summer is the slow season for them so their trading statements in September may surprise some investors (remember PRTY's profits warning last year). None of the above risks are going to clear up in the next month or so.