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Edinburgh airport is also a Menzies client
MB, I really don't know how you managed it.
I mean, to link a totally irrelevant story to the award of an airport security contract takes quite a stretch of the imagination ;-) . Another word for it is guessing.
Anyway, let me have your address and I'll mail you your prize. A wooden spoon ;-) Better luck next time!
Oh, and don't give the day job up :-)
“This has so far been logged as the ALL-TIME RECORD for Tema Port and may certainly be by far the best on the West African Coastline.MSC LIVORNO is flying the German Flag and among a fleet of Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) “
Confirms exactly what I said a few days ago. Tema has the competitive advantage of being capable of handling the largest ships and with the shortest turnaround times. Bodes well for the future expansion in activity up to 3.5m TEUs.
One thing I would say, if Miller & Carter have branded them, that ain't going to be just one outlet doing it off their own bat . That looks to me like it will be right across their chain.
Miller & Carter is part of Mitchell’s & Butler’s, so it would be interesting to know if the contract is with Miller & Carter or M&B. If the latter that would open up opportunities to sell into around 1,700 pubs and restaurants across the U.K.
And I’d also add the African contract into that mix too. It’s been a long time since that was signed by us, over 18 months, so many have written it off as not happening. Assuming my location is correct, then local media still shows that reorganisation as ongoing, so I am certainly not writing it off yet.
Absolutely AIMing, I made that exact same point about the (assumed) Blackrock contract back on 14 July. Likewise the Menzies trial in Stockholm wasn’t RNS’d until June, I doubt there Is anything in H1 for Menzies, so plenty of upside in H2 for that as well.
Yes it was MOS. They all moan why doesn't the company tell us anything,? why don't they announce stuff via an RNS Reach.? Then when they do, they moan about that too. Personally I like to hear this stuff, shows that things have still been happening despite the lockdown and the restrictions that has brought. Shows that the business is doing all it can to position itself to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. Hope all is well with you MOS.
Not on a daily basis H&N, although I did pick up that they gained a new record when the MSC Virgo, an Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) Sailed away from MPS Terminal 3 at Tema Port on 4th of August with over 12 thousand TEUs onboard.
This is what I was on about yesterday, Tema is able to handle the largest container ships, enabling it to operate at huge scale and giving it a major competitive advantage over smaller ports.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/another-record-breaking-meridian-port-services-tema-mohamed-samara
H&N, it isn’t just the adding of a list of contacts to the rolodex that the training gives us, but the chance to show them how good we are. With our airport security training being rated as outstanding by the CAA it gives us a great marketing opportunity.
Disappointed? yes and no. Obviously I'd like to have to seen a number of MSCs signed in a non COVID world, but would I want to see us sign up to an airport MSC with an initial capex outlay with an uncertain PAX level given the pandemic? No, not unless minimum revenue clauses were included.
But what I am very pleased about is that the team have been agile enough to adapt to uncertain and challenging conditions and focus on CV19 tech until they can make progress on the MSCs. Not only have they managed to keep the wolf from the door, but have expanded key areas of the business to provide a more than creditable revenue and profit growth, and that is despite losing Lunghi revenue for more than 3 of the 6 months.
Don't under estimate the potential of a deal with Menzies. A huge opportunity to sell into any number of 200 airports around the world, major ones too. The airline industry is suffering, it needs solutions to enable the CV risks of air travel to minimised. Our trial was first with Air France and then rolled out to other airlines. Hard to imagine it being rolled out for further trials if Menzies or Air France hadn't been happy first time around. Longer term it gives us the potential for introductions and an opportunity to impress in many airports around the world. The longer term benefits could be huge.
As I see it, WSG is a relatively safe stock, with plenty of CV19 tech upside if there is another severe wave of COVID again over the winter months, and huge upside via MSCs once the pandemic abates. We know that Vincent was advertising for staff pre-pandemic, so it looks like a Francophone MSC is well progressed. Then we have the African contract . I suspect they're will be a few crying into their beers when they realise they missed the opportunity to load up at these prices when that lands. And then the potential jewel in the crown, KSA. With the pedigree and connections of our JV partners in KSA we have a fantastic opportunity ahead of us.
HB, excellent post. One thing though, you mention a 40% margin in respect to Tema. I suspect you have way under cooked that. The 40% gross margin was that of the Group, we have known for some time that manages services have tended to provide higher margins than the technology side of the business. You did however highlight a key point, that Scanport are now employing the staff. Don't forget that WSG didn't provide the equipment either, so you have to ask what exactly are the costs we are bearing? Obviously there are some, but I suspect that margins at Tema are probably nearer double the figure you have quoted as a result.
Fully agree with your sentiments re PF and the team. To pull a 24% increase in revenue out of the bag following a 63% increase in revenue in 2019, during an global pandemic, whilst losing all revenue at Lungi for more than 3 months is nothing short of an outstanding performance from the whole team.
A global average, where some ports will do better and some worse than the average.
Tema is a new port with state of the art equipment, which gives it the competitive advantages of expediting turnaround times for vessels in harbour and to be able to receive the largest vessels. As a result it stands to become a key port in West Africa. No co-incidence that Hapag-Lloyd, the world's world's fifth largest container carrier declared Tema Port as trans-shipment hub less than four months after opening the new terminal. Being built by Maersk , who have been the world's largest container ship and supply vessel operator in the world for the last 25 years, puts the new Tema Port in an enviable position to expand operations from 1m to 3.5m TEUs over the next few years.
I thought the first one was pretty easy tbh. Of course the answer is 2.
That's a tough one AIMing, can I have one on sport instead please?
I can see why Bozo wants to get you all back to school as soon as possible.
How have you come to the conclusion that the business is in the best shape it has been for years if the webinar, as you put it, was such a disaster?
Guess we can just add you to that long list of traders talking it down for your own purposes.
Ahh, so you think the whole purpose of such announcements is to enable those that have never invested in the company to buy in just before the contract announcement so they hold them for the shortest possible time before selling them again, so that they make all the capital gains, not those that have actually invested in the company and who actually might like to know what progress is being made on their investment?
I'm not making excuses, I'm merely pointing out the commercial realities which sadly you seem completely oblivious to.
I'll ask again, what exactly do you think the staff we have had out there have been doing during their time in country?
FW, you’re really not getting it are you. Let me try again. Not having an entity doesn’t stop them from scoping, negotiating and winning business. They just need it to formalise contracts. Having the entity in place 12 months ago wouldn’t have miraculously caused contracts to be signed any earlier. It would just have resulted in additional costs of maintaining a legal entity in country .
Out of interest, what exactly do you think the staff we have had out there have been doing during their time in country? Twiddling their thumbs waiting for a legal entity to be set up and PF to blindly fax a contract bid and hope that it accepted before they do any work!