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Dasut, Thank you very much for those comments and sharing you expertise. What you say makes prefect sense to me as a non geologist but with the benefits of my conversations with management. I am sure that you are right that no announcement is imminent, but I would love to be proved wrong. Be in no doubt that the management understand what a game changer it would to commence the construction of a mine in a second country, although Sukari is truly a world class resource which cannot be matched elsewhere.
Dasut, I`m not a geologist but I have talked to the directors before about BK and I have got the impression that the geology is potentially more complex and the resource more spread out with the likelihood of trucking being involved. So there has been some uncertainty concerning the configuration of facilities that would be best suited. Therefore the decision to go ahead with Doropo followed by ABC.
Spot, It is 19p. As I say prior to Mifid they used to give a break down by broker. How these EU bureaucrats think its good to restrict info to private investors I don`t know. 19p seems to be too high but the research that Morningstar are getting from brokers is probably much reduced.The response to Sparkle from the company is about what they expected. It would be difficult from them to endorse a source that is effectively providing weekly production figures. I think queries like this are probably best made orally. I believe like others that giving the go ahead on a mine in W. Africa would have a big impact on the share price. However, they can`t give the go ahead until all the necessary drilling etc. has been done. I feel it was therefore important to name where the first mine would be, which indicates that they are quite a way down the track.
Went to AGM last week and asked Andy Pardew which would be the first mine in West Africa. The answer is Doropo and second the ABC project. This is good news that they have sufficient data to make that statement. Secondly, the consensus earnings figure on the Morningstar subscribers website is 19p for 2018. Thanks to the Mifid nonsense Morningstar no longer provide a breakdown of forecast eps by individual brokers. 19p if achieved is a stonking figure particularly as the company is committed to distribute the whole of annual earnings as dividend. Thanks to all who are working to provide gold shipment figures. It is very helpful but I am not sure that the company should formally issue an RNS providing this info on a weekly basis. Just think it`s too short term. Like a manufacturer issuing weekly production figures. Also last year when the work was done on the open pit weekly figures were low on a weekly basis to begin with, but the company still beat its guidance for the year. That`s the important thing. The company have a mining plan which they are following and if that is likely to exceed or fall short they need to alert the market.
Yes, it is unsatisfactory to say the least that the Egyptian government reneged on the fuel subsidy and nothing is happening. However, a complete settlement of this matter would amount after profit share to a refund of around 5p per share. It would be very good indeed if the court case re Sukari was rightly kicked out but there seems to be no way the company can expedite this. The commencement of a mine in West Africa would have a material impact on the share price and transform the stigma of being a producer in only one country. Management need to be full steam ahead on this one.
Downhill, well done. I`m in a similar position to you. Started buying at 7p. So last year I was getting a return of 100% plus in dividend income on that first investment. I have to confess that my total divis from cey even exceed 220k. However, I have to pay high tax rates on my dividends and I much prefer to have capital gains. I strongly believe that a buy back program of shares for cancellation would be in the best interests of all shareholders. Cancelling those shares would further drive up the future earnings per share of the company which we know are already on a rising trajectory. The alternative is for the company to continue earning 1% interest on around $300m of cash. It does not make sense to carry that dead money. I am happy with the company`s overall strategy and would not favour them using the cash on a risky acquisition. Using the cash to buy back shares is making an investment in asset which we all know is undervalued - Centamin itself.
Cey has been using its cash to finance exploration elsewhere but building a mines in West Africa would have a higher price tag and more likely to attract comment. Fortunately, Cey is a comparatively low cost producer and in a lower gold price environment would still be generating substantial margins and cash flow. The share price is currently depressed and the implementation of a buy back program is I think likely to be an effective anecdote without jeopardizing the prudent financing of the company.
Uncertain, You are right we don`t know when West Africa will be developed but the company has indicated they will use debt. Maybe they don`t want to be seen as using Egypt`s money to develop prospects in other jurisdictions. If debt was used it would be comparatively cheap in the current environment. The buy back for me is a way of using cash that is getting a negligible return to get a bigger share of an asset that has a strongly rising earnings profile.
Uncertain, You make a good point but I am not unhappy with the company`s strategy. As you rightly point out the company is constrained in Egypt and I support their strategy in West Africa. However, the company has $300m sitting on the balance sheet year after year and not put to any profitable use. I don`t want to see the company looking for acquisitions for the sake of it. A buy back is a way for shareholders returns to be strongly enhanced by getting a bigger share of a rising earnings profile.
I`m not talking about reducing the dividend. The issue is that there is around $300m sitting on the company`s balance sheet year after year and it is probably earning 1% interest. It is clearly surplus to the company`s requirements. The best possible use of this money would be to buy back the company`s shares for cancellation. The return on this expenditure would be considerable for shareholders as the earnings per share, which are rising significantly would be boosted further as there would be fewer shares in existence.
If the company did adopt this strategy. It should give no indication of the quality that it might buy in any period. The fact that it had the fire power to buy 150m would make any shareholder think twice before selling. Their decision to sell could be made to look very stupid very quickly.
Yes, but the dividend is some 5%. I`m much more concerned about the impact on the share price if 150m shares were bought by the company and cancelled. This I am sure would have a material impact on the share price and would be a great kicker to the eps, which is on a rising trajectory anyway.
Cowichan, I think a point worth making is that the shares should be bought back for cancellation. Quite a few companies buy back to be held in treasury.I consider this a pretty pointless exercise as the company can at any time just offload them into the market.