Kromek’s rebound potential - Simon Thompson7 Oct 2020 20:30
Kromek being able to prove a shipping date. It is unable to provide this at present, hence the £13.1m write-down to AROC in the accounts.
However, all the stock remains on Kromek's balance sheet (and in its UK facilities) ready for shipment and delivery in the future, hence why the directors still expect the position to reverse, at which point Kromek can book a hefty exceptional credit. I am not sure investors have fully grasped
this accounting point.
Kromek’s rebound potential
I am not sure they have grasped that a rebound in the 2020/21 financial year is on the cards either.
Firstly, Kromek has now started delivering on a delayed seven-year Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) contract worth US$58m (£45m) to provide its cutting edge CZT detectors and advanced electronics in state-of-the-art medical imaging detectors. The contract should deliver revenues worth “millions of dollars” in the current financial year, says Mr Basu. The same is true of another delayed contract from the 2019/20 financial year.
Secondly, the company continues to win new contracts in other parts of the business. Kromek was awarded $1.1m worth of contracts to add technical innovation capability to its D3S ‘dirty bomb detectors’ by US government agencies. They are proving popular in Europe, too, with the European Commission and Irish Civil Defence also using them. Given the heightened terrorism risk across the world, the 22 countries currently deploying the technology is likely to grow.
Thirdly, Mr Basu reassuringly notes that Kromek’s revenue is now back to pre-Covid-19 levels following the disruption of the first quarter to 31 July 2020. That’s important as it means that concerns over the company’s cash position should now ease, another reason for the share price fall since May. Finance director Derek Bulmer says that the company had gross cash of £9.4m at 30 April 2020 and gross debt of £5.6m. Since then it has strengthened its gross cash reserves by over £2m and varied bank covenants on its HSBC facility. Given that revenue has returned to pre-Covid-19 levels, and stocks are now being delivered on delayed contracts, the company should have the funding in place to operate without the need to tap shareholders. This may not have been made clear to investors.
The bottom line is that the 40 per cent share price discount to net asset value of 13p should reverse when investors cotton onto the huge commercial opportunities for Kromek's ground breaking DARPA airborne pathogens technology that is being piloted. Buy.
MY NOTE...... Seems investors AGREE