Chris Heminway, Exec-Chair at Time To ACT, explains why now is the right time for the Group to IPO. Watch the video here.
Very interesting move by Argo. However, I would have preferred more detail in the RNS (and video).
Do we know what milestones need to be hit and when these new shares will be issued?
Do we know what the interest rate would be on the loan? He says it's very good... so why not say what it is?
Do we know how Argo plan to aquire miners (...the most important part of a bitcoin mining setup)?
Important details for any investor. Not up to his usual standards of transparency, that's for sure.
What AJP08 says.
I think the current production can support ~15x what they currently produce. And John Shaw has said that to increase production would be minimal investment.
Facilities and production are mentioned in this excellent presentation from July 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7HDRpjANNw
Interesting thread and good points. However, you are aware that Scania arent anti-hydrogen?
"Scania has invested in hydrogen technologies and is currently the only heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer with vehicles in operations with customers..."
And they are still investing in Hydrogen:
https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/newsroom/news/2021/Scania-and-Westport-Fuel-System-will-cooperate-in-hydrogen-research-project.html
Totally get that their approach at the moment is not a winner for ITM but it's early days and they could change tack, especially if (or when) costs are reduced:
"Repair and maintenance also need to be considered. The cost for a hydrogen vehicle will be higher than for a battery electric vehicle as its systems are more complex, such as an extensive air- and cooling system. Furthermore, hydrogen is a volatile gas which requires more maintenance to ensure safety.
However, hydrogen is a promising energy carrier; good way of storing energy over long cycles, and will play an important role in decarbonisation if produced in an environmentally friendly way. Scania looks forward to sourcing fossil free steel for its trucks as hydrogen will play a greater role in several industries."
OK, so for sure it's not a great update but reading these comments calls for a little perspective.
Sometimes if feels like I'm on a COVID denier forum... Folks... many, many stocks have been affected by COVID.
Now I'm, not saying anything is rosy but it would be good to hear some rational voices here. 2020 was the year VDTK started production .... during a pandemic. The factory was closed. Trump was in power and had left the Paris Agreement. This was a very tough market for solar.
Yes they need big sales. Yes they need a better comms team.
But they have 1MW product. £1.7m in the bank. No debt. Biden in power and signing back up to the Paris Agreement. The first proper working "proof of concept" in the remote oil sector. The first major integration with diesel fuel in the mining sector.
Thing that makes me chuckle is how many on this board moan and groan constantly about this company. If you don't like it ... just sell up. Please. You'd be doing everyone a favour.
Haha.
I'm just trying to get a balanced view of this company before I buyin (or not). On some boards, informed comment and good info comes a lot easier let me tell you!
Although, on this... "He has promised a lot and delivered nothing."
I'm interested to hear what it is that he actually promised?
Delivered nothing...? Really?
Rob took over in May 2020 when there was already a global pandemic. The factory in Italy closed production.
Furthermore, a few contracts in 2020 include:
June 2020, an order from oil & gas EPC company SAF for solar modules for an off-grid application at an oil infrastructure installation camp in ****stan. Here, Verditek panels were installed on the roofs of the prefabricated office containers, providing power for the interiors (air con etc.) during daylight hours. Two months after the installation went live, Verditekwas awarded a much larger follow-on contract by the same company for six PV modules with a combined output of 1.5MW, worth USD2.2m. Verditekfollowed up its success with SAF with an order from Italian oil & gas EPC company Endecofor deployment in Oil & Gas maintenance camps in Libya.
In July 2020 that it had been awarded its first contract in the mining vertical, with Black Tulip Minerals placing an order for EUR0.2m worth of solar PV modules. This will be used as part of a diesel-hybrid system at a mining camp in Los Lomas, Peru. The combination of PV panels with diesel generators is set to significantly lower fuel consumption.
July 2020 a contract win for solar PV panels for installation on the roofs of agricultural structures located at some distance from a grid connection.
In September 2020, they announced their first order in the Australian mining sector with a contract to supply 75kW of lightweight solar PV as part of a diesel-hybrid solution at InterGroup’s gold mining exploration operations in Queensland.
Now, it might not be as much as you'd hoped Verditek would deliver (in their first year of production which also happened to coincide with a global pandemic) but its not "nothing" is it?
Thank you all for all your posts today. Some interesting stuff for sure.
In terms of the CEO, I think what they've looked for is someone who has a good amount of experience in both sales, and the Oil and Gas sector. Verditek say .. "A key area for Verditek’s solar products is the off-grid solar market. This is typically where there is no electric grid, or where the cost of connecting to the grid is too high to be economically viable (e.g. remote base camps for the extractive industries of oil & gas and mining)."
Verditek has moved from the R&D stage to one of commercialisation and for that, as you all know, they need sales. They are primarity focussed on the Oil and Gas market because that is what they belive will be the easiest, and most profitable in the short term. For that, they need someone with experience in both sales and the Oil and Gas sector.
Rob Richards (self declared on LinkedIn) experience...
Chief Executive Officer - Technical Services Division
Ecolog International Full-time (9 mos) United Arab Emirates
"Targeted sectors were Oil & Gas and independent power producers with a focus on renewable and hybrid power solutions."
---
Regional Director - Asia Pacific
Penspen (3 yrs 6 mos) Thailand
Full profit and loss responsibility for Penspen's Asia Pacific Region.
"These projects were both on and offshore projects for the Oil & Gas sector for either FEED or Detail Design stages of a project."
---
Chief Operating Officer
KNM Process Systems Bhd (2 yrs 4 mos) Malaysia
Full Profit and Loss responsibility for the EPC and Process Equipment Division of KNM and reported into the Group CEO/Chairman.
"KNM was was mainly focused on the Oil and Gas sector."
---
At Siemens (7 yrs 10 mos)...
Sales Director - South America
Sales Director - Asia Pacific
Head of LTSA's (Siemens Small Gas Turbine fleet.) - Global
Now, he may well be useless in the long term but the focus at this point is to get the "easy" sales, and up production. The board may well have plans for another "better" CEO before too long once cash is coming in*. Who knows?
*(gross speculation on my part)
Thanks Saseefeldt.
In wonder if you could expand on your points... I'm genuinely interested in knowing why you think the board are so terrible?
This is the second time you've slandered Rob and I wonder why you're so against him personally?
What you actually expect the next RNS to contain?
They've just done a placing ... are you telling us that they'll soon run out of the £3.5 mil raised?
Thanks again, both for your comments and for revealing the true strategy behind your posts. Is it to continue to post dismisive comments about this company until you can afford to buy in at the 3-4 pence mark?
Indeed it would be good to get an update direct from the company/BOD.
Would a shared facility be a good thing or a bad thing? And what do you mean by 'manufacturers'?
Interesting post. Thanks.
I agree with you on the commission only basis but that route seems to have gotten some sales this past 6 months. Perhaps with this cash they might look to strengthen their inhouse sales team. Would certainly get my vote.
Do they have a factory in Germany? I thought it was in Italy...
"With manufacturing based in Lainate Italy, we have developed renewable power solutions for our customers, that drive solar energy into applications previously unachievable. ..."
I'm not sure what the problem is here... at this stage a sale is a sale is it not?
And how do you know they are not focussing on the UK and Australia?
I appreciate your frustration but it helps everyone if we try and remain rational and stick to facts.
...taken from:
https://twitter.com/Verditek_PLC/status/1352224699393179649
"Since June 2020, Verditek has received multiple commercial orders. To date, the Company has received EUR 2.6m of orders (c.2MW) and projects have been delivered to multiple countries (****stan, Libya, UK, Thailand, Philippines and Australia)."
So a half a year of sales has generated £2.6m Euros revenue. I'd say this was really positive news. As to this not feeling like "real news" ... might that be because it's not been released as an RNS ?
I cant recal John Shaw (or company releases) mentioning dividends before but I'm by no means the fountain of knowledge here.
My opinion* is that this is a company which would pay a dividend should they turn enough profit to do so. The reason is that John Shaw knows that the shareholders saved this company. Last year, they had cash for a couple of months, debt, and although they had orders , they didn't have the capital to sustain production. The placing changed everything.
One of the reasons I'm invested here is that having been so close to collapse (okay, going private and perhpas getting sold off cheap), they've learned a lot and now appear to be running a very tight ship. They'll be making profit before you can learn to say poly itaconate (without pause) and my feeling is they'll reward those that bought in during dark times.
*Complete unfounded opinion disclaimer
An interesting conversation with George Katzaros, founder of solar energy company Verditek and co-founder of sustainable housing provider Zero Watt Homes, about his career to date. They also discuss developments and trends in the clean technology and housing markets.
https://pca.st/episode/bb2c435f-cef5-4124-b234-c2cb64737f14
Thanks Saseefeldt,
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on "crap company, leadership and product."
What makes the company crap and why do you say the same about the product?