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And something else to think about is this. A lot of you seem to think these deals/orders if successful are extremely large. Well for KMK and us they are but for the US government they are small beer. The USA is the 8th largest importer of military equipment in the world. Its defence budget for 2017 was $611 Billion Dollars. It is expected to rise to over 1 Trillion Dollars by 2020. The US government has KMK as sole supplier for their type of equipment. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. GL.
You know Miton and Gervaise Williams have quite a good reputation and following in the city. So much so that other funds invest in Mitons small cap funds rather than have to do the hard work of finding good investments themselves. Gervaise invests heavily his own money in all his funds. They are doing rather well. He is nobody's fool. He does not invest and take a 20% stake in any company on a whim. I suspect he is pretty confident regarding KMK. I dont blame him.
But I strongly urge people to do their own research into the company and to phone and speak to directors to get their current view of the share price (grossly undervalued 'quote') and future expected or hoped for revenues and deals (as posted by me below ) And dont buy if you have a low risk tolerance.
Ok lets put this to bed for once and for all. First of all Scot. I cant prove what was said in a conversation , well I can as I was not alone but I cant prove it on here ok. But you are free to phone the company and ask. Why dont you ? When I was chatting in my quite long call I was told in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to share the info of the phonecall/chat the director concerned was more than happy for me to do so. I did not ask this it was offered to me . I had pointed out that we were fed up not getting news or info and I think thats what prompted his willingness for me to share with other shareholders what he had to say. Every single word of everything I have posted is 100% factual and correct ok. Now.............it is possible the director was being over enthusiastic. I personally dont think he was if anything he was being circumspect. But just 1 tenth of what he described would see the share price and company value here rocket , just one tenth of it ok. The deals do sound rather large but Im afraid thats the deals they are targeting and currently negotiating as far as I was made aware. I am keen that others speak to the company themselves and then they might get a better idea of what I was led to believe. I dont think I was lied to , I think most directors would be positive and enthusiastic about their company if asked and certainly a bit biased. But the facts I was told are mostly out there already. The director concerned was keen to point out to me that he could not indeed tell me anything he shouldnt and was careful to try nd not to but at the ame time give me an idea of where they are heading. This is not an easy balancing act to do and he may have told me more than intended as its hard to not do so in such a conversation. But I am also 100% certain he did not tell me things he could have if allowed. Overall he was circumspect and stuck to the rules. What I have posted is 100% accurate reproduction of comments and quotes etc of that conversation. Why not phone and put the numbers to them and see what they have to say. Thats all I can possibly say on this matter as I have said it several times now. No point asking me again I have made myself pretty clear I think. GL if you hold.
Vasc the company cannot for obvious reasons name which city. The product this company makes is highly secretive and they are limited a great deal as to what they can say. All my comments re numbers are direct quotes or as near as , made to me by the company. Instead of you all asking me you should be asking THE COMPANY. 01740 626 060 KMK.
In that case you are saying that the company director are liars. I was quoted these exact figures verbatim. But here is an idea. Phone 01740 626 060 and ask the directors yourself. An $800 million order is whats being pursued It may come in stages or bite sized chunks I have no idea but thats whats being sought and negotiated. Also think on this. Thats the initial amount. The amount required around the world would be many many multiples of that number. If successful. GL.
And your right there have been false dawns before which is why I didnt invest until I felt certain they juice is about to flow. I know its a cliche but this is one that will move suddenly on news. Id rather be holding and bumping up and down until full throttle rather than risk it being marked up before opening bell one day. GL .
Ok Vasc its like this. Lets say you were told certain things and you posted it on here. It could be lies it could be fantasy it could be exaggerated truth, the reader would never know the truth unless they spoke to the company themselves now would they. What if say they said------- 'this company is hinting for Elephants and Bears not Rabbits and Hamsters. What we mean by that is the contracts we are chasing are large.They require a lot of negotiating.I am negotiating.We are negotiating.I think if you look at the info released that the USA are looking to roll out the detectors in 23 main cities across the country and another 4 or 5 are being added.To put that in some kind of perspective we think each city is worth about $10m to KMK. Thats $10m per city. We are sole supplier. The detectors are currently being trialed in a Major European city. Darpa are assisting us with that. Then there is the handheld units for soldiers in the field. An estimate could be 200'000 units at a rough price of $4k per unit. Im sure you can work it out. Its intended to market it in Europe and Asia . In the current climate of terrorism and war around the globe right now it is astonishing that our share price is so low and I consider it significantly undervalued.' Now, none of that happens to be a lie nor is a single word of it fantasy or exaggerated but you only have my word for that. You must do whats best for you but I would urge speaking to them ;) I dont expect they will get all the orders ....well I do actually but I expect them to be dripped in on an ongoing basis. One order alone doubles revenues more or less. Thats one of the $10m est city deals. With more cities coming into play and excluding Europe and Asia we are talking $300 million for starters. And also think about this. 1 dirty bomb released anywhere in the world will see these shares hitting infinity x 10. Nobody wants to see that happen but if it does then KMK are the go to company for detectors for radiation. Oh and MI5's official historian Christopher Andrew wrote recently in the Times that its a matter of WHEN not IF. So take my info as you see fit. In fact ignore it and go and see if you can get your own info and then see if it matches mine. It will. GL genuine holders.
It's noteworthy, too, that funds controlled by Gervais Williams' Miton Group (MGR:38.5p) acquired 31.25m of the placing shares to take its stake to almost 19 per cent. I rate the company's fund managers highly, and so too do other investors, which is why its profits have been rising strongly. Indeed, I recently upgraded my target price on Miton's shares to 50p ('In the ascent', 23 January 2017), having first advised buying at 23p ('Poised for a profitable recovery', 4 April 2015). I also note that funds controlled by Katie Potts' well regarded Herald Investment Trust picked up 10m shares to take its stake to 5.35 per cent, and Diverse Income Trust acquired 8m shares for a stake just over 3 per cent. Funds controlled by Schroders and Killik own around 9 per cent of the equity between them.
Follow the money It's reassuring to see the board have significant skin in the game, including chief executive Dr Arnab Basu MBE, who owns 1.14 per cent of the share capital. Mr Basu has a PhD in physics from Durham University, specialising in semiconducting sensor materials, and previously held senior management positions in his family business, which manufactured materials for the electronics industry serving major telecom and consumer electronics manufacturers, including Siemens . Non-executive director Dr Graeme Speirs is clearly confident of the company's prospects as he subscribed for 7.5m shares in the placing, a cash investment of £1.5m. Mr Speirs is an experienced entrepreneur and owner of an investment company focused on UK start-ups in the technology, life sciences and energy sectors. He has a PhD in molecular physics from Aberdeen University, and is an expert in the design and manufacture of polymer composite products. Including beneficial interests, Mr Spiers owns 9.2 per cent of the 259m shares in issue.
In addition, a few months ago Kromek was awarded a $1.6m contract by the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency to build on, and enhance, the technology platform to develop a high performance isotope radiation detector capable of use in military and other harsh environments. This represents a major opportunity to adapt its technology base and supply into the US military and security agencies. Closer to home, the company won a $430,000 contract with the UK Ministry of Defence for the supply of nuclear radiation detection products. There are strong growth opportunities in medical imaging, too. For instance, Kromek has now commenced delivering on a five-year contract, valued at $12.6m, with a long-standing OEM customer. The company's detector modules, which are incorporated into the customers' systems, produce some of the most accurate imaging to diagnose the strength and health of bones. This allows clinicians to accurately detect, monitor and treat osteoporosis in patients. I also understand that Kromek has been awarded repeat contracts by three of its current OEM customers to supply its CZT-based detector modules. The value of these contracts was double that of the customers' previous orders, highlighting the potential for growth in recurring revenues. Furthermore, Kromek has also entered an agreement for the supply of CZT-based gamma radiation detectors with an existing medical customer, and this order has a minimum value of $560,000 over the two-year agreement.
Sales momentum continues to build The decision to tap investors appears to be already paying off as Kromek announced last week that it has been awarded a five-year contract, worth at least $3.1m, by an existing US-based customer that is an emerging leader and global company in the homeland security marketplace. Kromek has developed key components to be incorporated into the customers' new generation security screening system for the detection of explosives. This equipment has regulatory certification and provides advanced capability for screening current threats, and is ideal for the detection of homemade explosives. There is an even bigger prospect in the US homeland security, too. That's because Kromek has already shipped 10,000 personal radiation detectors (D3S) to the US Department of Defence as part of that body's SIGMA programme aimed at preventing attacks involving radiological "dirty bombs" and other nuclear threats in the US and globally. Having successfully developed and demonstrated a network of these smartphone-sized mobile devices that can detect the tiniest traces of radioactive materials in trials across New York, Washington and New Jersey, there is potential for Kromek to participate in the roll-out of the programme across up to 23 cities in the US. Analysts at Equity Development believe each deployment could be worth somewhere between $10m and $15m. Given that President Trump has made homeland security one of his top priorities in the fight to counter the threat of dirty-bomb attacks from international and domestic terrorists, a roll-out of the programme now looks like a distinct possibility.
Sales are starting to gain momentum as Kromek's results in December revealed a near 20 per cent rise in revenues to £3.8m in the six months to end-October 2016. Moreover, with operating costs under control, and gross margins holding steady at 53 per cent, half-year pre-tax losses narrowed from £3m to £1.8m. The order book is robust, so much so that analysts Hannah Crowe and Paul Hill at research firm Equity Development believe that revenues can grow from £8.9m in the 12 months to end-April 2017 to £12.5m next year, an outcome that would mean Kromek hits cash profitability. Interestingly, they calculate that £7.2m of that £12.5m revenue forecast is backed fully by a flow-through of the order book, a further £3m is supported by repeat or expected orders, and only £2.24m is being factored in as new shipments. In other words, if Kromek can persuade customers that it is fully funded to support much larger orders, then there is potential for an accelerated move to cash profitability. This explains why £17m of the net proceeds of the £20m from the fundraise will be set aside to provide comfort to these third party customers and a further £3m will be used for working capital to enable the company to both support contracts, and continue its investment in product development.
Kromek has done pretty well so far, winning $38.6m (£31m) of orders since the summer of 2015, but some customers have expressed "concerns about its financial strength and ability to supply significant quantities of its core cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) technologies". This has dissuaded them from signing on the dotted line, something that Kromek's directors wanted to rectify given the potential for sales to ramp up sharply. They have a point as this is an exciting business segment to be operating in right now given the geopolitical backdrop. That's because the company's products provide high resolution information on material composition and structure and are used in multiple applications, ranging from the identification of cancerous tissues to hazardous materials such as explosives, and the analysis of radioactive materials. The business model provides a vertically-integrated technology offering to customers, from the growth of CZT crystals to finished products or detectors, including software, electronics and application-specific integrated circuits.
Every day I scour the London Stock Exchange regulatory news feed looking for investment opportunities that are worthy of further investigation in my small-cap hunting ground. Not all make it into print immediately, as sometimes I adopt a watching brief with the intention of initiating coverage when the risk:reward ratio is more heavily skewed towards achieving a favorable outcome. Bearing this in mind, last month's placing and open offer from Sedgefield-based Kromek (KMK:25p), a radiation detection technology company focusing on the medical, security and nuclear markets and one I have been patiently monitoring for sometime, really caught my eye. The company raised net proceeds of £20m at 20p a share in an oversubscribed placing and open offer not because it needs the money to fund the business - gross cash at the October half-year-end was £3.8m and only £1.7m of a £3m revolving credit facility was drawn down - but because the board wished to bolster the balance sheet to strengthen its position when negotiating contracts with government bodies and OEM customers.
Remember folks , there is going to be a STEP CHANGE in revenues this year and significant gains are expected. The company told me this and they also RNS'd it. "The Group's products continue to gain traction in all its business segments from the increasing adoption of CZT-based technology and other products. The Group expects to continue to win new customers and, together with the momentum of contract wins, it expects a step change in revenue growth in the new financial calendar year." If you are in any doubt , you should phone the company and ask. 01740 626 060
Mr Williams holds Kromek in several of his portfolios and Miton is its largest shareholder, with about 19pc of the company. He has a large proportion of his own wealth in the funds concerned. Arnab Basu, Kromek’s chief executive, owns a stake worth about £800,000; other directors have smaller holdings." Questor says: buy
They are not the firm’s only products. The medical imaging division is in talks with large scanner makers such as Toshiba and Siemens about supplying components that would increase image quality while cutting costs. The other division, which supplies airport scanners, has recently won a $3.1m, five-year contract with a US-based customer. Kromek was born out of research at Durham University and originally called Durham Scientific Crystals. It listed on Aim in 2013 at about 60p and the shares rose to about 80p within months before falling to 27p yesterday. “This is a company that came to the market with expectations that were too high. Investors were then disappointed by the lack of instant results,” said Gervais Williams, a fund manager at Miton. “But even without new orders it is on the point of breaking even on the 'Ebitda’ measure. R&D accounts for most of its costs, meaning that profit margins are high, so any turnover should lead quickly to profitability and then cashflow. “Once cash starts to flow a virtuous circle begins and the shares will respond. I think they are at the turning point and see potential for the price to rise very substantially, by 100pc or more, over the next year or so. I am very excited about this stock.”