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The spinout re FCM is going absolutely fine Roger. The facts don't lie, the licences cost POW around £250,000 for those licences that are now housed in FCM. POW's FCM stake today is 19,033,802 shares @ 9.3p a share (mid price) = £1,760,000. All of those shares are also free to trade today. So POW's initial investment is up about x6 what they paid for it! How can you possibly complain about that?
Yet again you are scrambling for answers as to why the POW SP isn't moving and because you don't have an answer you just shout at comments like "POW must be performing badly" when in all honestly they are doing a lot of things right and the poor markets are just getting the better of the company.
Take Uranium for example, things are heating up in that sector over in Canada & Australia. With 17 Uranium licences in and around the prime Athabasca area, you could argue that in better market conditions, POW's 17 licences alone could be worth their current £15mil market cap. I'm personally a big believer that some sort of Uranium bull market has started and may last a number of years.
The RNS today from FCM isn't something out of the blue, Palladium One have been paying into that agreement for the past 12 months+. They have now paid enough for a 80:20 JV to become official. It was always going to happen at some point, the RNS today just confirms it. Of course, you don't look into that, you just simply look at SPs and if they are going up companies are doing well and if SP are on the decline then companies are doing poorly. Not always the case with POW being a prime example for me.
You are in a solid junior exploration company with POW if you ask me. A company that is valued at £15mil on paper and can account for every penny of that valuation on its balance sheet. The markets will come to POW soon enough and the share price will perform much better. If everyone else around POW was up 100% and POW hadn't moved, I'd be worried. But as 95% of POW's peers are experiencing a similar downfall in their SPs, its clearly market conditions at play here.
My question to those moaning now is if you bought POW at a £30mil valuation 2 years ago when they had almost nothing, why would you not want to fill your boots now when they have some serious exposure to multiple commodities, £2mil+ in the bank and just a market valuation of £15mil? To be fair its a rhetorical question because I'll continue to buy whilst everyone moans at a company that is doing a lot more right than its doing wrong.
New section of the POW website updated over the past day or so regarding their Saudi Arabia / Oman exploration plans. The section is still in progress but states the following:
"Power Arabia - A new website and more information is coming soon. Click here to sign up for latest news and information on our Arabian Shield programme."
All we know so far is that POW have consultants onboard who have expertise in the Arabian Shield as well as Non-Exec Directors of Owain Morton & Bill Brodie-Good (Bill bought POW shares yesterday) who both have extensive expertise in the area. Owain is currently working in prestigious position for Maaden in Saudi Arabia too.
Sean Wade the CEO is off on a business trip to Saudi Arabia in the Autumn as far as a I am aware so would be good to hear over the coming weeks/months some more concrete plans for that part of POW's vast portfolio of interests.
Are POW directors buying the shares directly off Thor?
Thor sold 6,000,000 POW shares last quarter at sub 0.8p a share per the Thor quarterly cashflow statement. Seems like they have show some recent intent to finish off selling their POW holding (17,118,920 POW shares remain as at 30/06/2023) even when POW's share price is at a 37 month low.
As at 30/06/2023 THOR hold 17,118,920 POW shares. They sold 6,000,000 POW shares between 01/04/2023 to 30/06/2023 at an average price of sub 0.8p so they are showing their intent to sell POW shares even at their 37 month low price.
Have the POW directors just taken another 5,000,000 of THOR? I guess we will know soon enough.
Director buys RNS just landed. 5,000,000 mil shares (£35,000) directors buys posted today. First non-placing director buys since Jan 2022.
Nothing showing on the daily trades so appears to be off market. Are they buying them from Thor Mining for example who are now close to finishing up selling?
Those that bought POW at 3p / £30mil 24months ago now see POW bizarrely as a complete failure at 0.7p / £14mil company. Yet during the past 24 months POW have actually acquired a decent bunch of solid licences and investments. I also thought the Tati Gold drill results have been quiet pleasing to date as well but of course just because the SP didn't rocket at the time of the RNS then that project must be a complete write off as well in the eyes of those who bought into the covid times hype.
Those that bought in when the market valued the company at £30mil when all the company had on paper at the time was about £3mil are the only ones moaning here as they now realise what they have done and scramble for excuses (the excuse is 95% market conditions related). Now you can buy in when the market values the company at £14mil, but the company is worth £15mil on paper plus a whole bunch of licences priced in at MINUS £1mil! I increase my position here most months at these prices.
Anyone here focusing on the shares in issue also has no idea what is going on in this (non-revenue generating) business. When I invested in 2021 there was 800mil shares in issue and the company was worth £3mil on paper. Now 2.1bil shares in issue but the company is worth £15mil on paper. The company has does a x5 on their balance sheet valuation by only issuing x2.5 in shares. That's good business from a company that doesn't generate revenue. The markets will catch up eventually.
A balance sheet is key to any longevity in a business and gives businesses financial options down the line as we will see from POW in the next few years. Not many UK juniors do this because they are all lifestyle companies with horrific boards running the company. Those that think the balance sheet model isn't working simply because the SP hasn't reacted positivity are also from the same bunch of overleveraged investors who bought into the covid times hype in my opinion.
Finally, on the warrants point, there are circa 800mil options/warrants outstanding with an average conversion price of about 2.4p which would bring about £19mil in to the company. If that happened today you've got 2.9bil shares in issue with a £34mil balance sheet (circa 1.2p a share balance sheet value) consisting of mainly liquid cash too. I'd take that scenario tomorrow! Anyone moaning about warrants is clueless as they are not even an issue until the current price moves about x3 from current levels.
POW doing many things right here. If the SP doesn't reflect that solid performance then for me its at least a hold but I personally see it as a really solid buy opportunity at present. Could markets continue to decline, possibly, but with POW's balance sheet value of £15mil acting as a nice base, its a far less risky punt that almost all their peers valued at £15mil or below.
Another very good post Donkey. Those buying at 3p were buying a £30mil company worth £3mil on paper due to hype & market sentiment. Those same people are now complaining about a £15mil valued company that is worth £16mil on paper. It is nothing more than frustration from those who bought in whilst the markets were flying and have now overleveraged themselves and cannot take advantage of the bargain that is now on offer. The same can also be said about many other AIM listed companies.
POW's warrants position today (which is always regularly updated and on their website) is as follows:
Shares in issue today = 2,080,106,256
Options/Warrants outstanding = 887,621,242
Fully converted position = 2,967,727,498
The 887,621,242 outstanding options/warrants have an average conversion price of around 2.33p. Fully converted it would bring in another £20,700,000 into the POW bank account.
Take the circa £16mil balance sheet today, add the £20.7mil in cash from warrants/options (if fully converted) and you have a £36.7mil balance sheet with almost 3bil shares in issue. Your balance sheet is now worth 1.22p a share alone. POW can prove they can take £1mil and turn it into £2. Those warrants funds could allow POW to turn £20mil into £40mil for example.
Most of these warrants need the share price to be above 2p for conversions even to begin. Therefore the price needs to almost triple from current prices in order for warrants to even be a discussion point. If POW can get their SP to 2p, the warrants/options flow of cash would finance the business for several years moving forward in addition to POW selling down their investments down the line.
Many don't understand a balance sheet as most companies who trade on AIM simply don't bother to build one and have financially irresponsible boards of directors. Many on this board seem to be waiting for the market to reactive positively before they can buy into the balance sheet model. I say you've missed your chance at that point. The accounts each year (2023 progress is stalling a little) prove it is working or at least it certainly isn't failing and that's more than enough for me to add to my position here. When the hype/sentiment returns to this sector, POW will be at the forefront in my opinion.
Exactly Donkey, very good post (also very optimistic may I add!) but proves the extra shares in issue point that many are moaning about is not an issue in POW as I have said many times. Like it or not, that is the POW model here! Raise £1mil, turn it into £2mil. Then turn that £2mil eventually into £5mil and so on until they are turning £10mil investments into £20mil etc. It's slow painful progress in poor markets, its rapid progress in good markets.
Those that want high risk exploration are not going to see it in POW. POW will be taking the less risky option of building strong large stakes in other companies who are looking for commercial finds. If those investments elsewhere come in, then POW will have more than enough cash to throw in some large scale high risk exploration on their own projects.
The market took POW to a wild overvaluation back in 2020/21 and loads bought in based on potential and hype alone as the financials I've posted prove. Now the market has taken it down to a wild undervaluation in my opinion and nobody wants it. Strange.
More raises will happen here in POW and 2023 has been relatively poor for them as their growth has halted somewhat as poor markets have really taken their grip on the company. As long as POW can keep up their solid record of creating more value than the amount they raise via placings, then long term holders will eventually reap the rewards I feel. Eventually the company will have enough of an investment portfolio to effectively become self-sufficient. Until then, POW just need to keep grafting away as they are and management are doing a good enough job for me.
Incorrect for me Pete, those complaining here just bought "hype" in the past. Now there is no "hype" priced in but nobody wants to go near POW.
See my table below which takes into account all dilution to date. Simply shows the company share price vs what the company is worth on paper based on the financial statements / interim results. On 30/09/2021 for example, you were buying a share at 2.03p when all the company could show for that price was 0.475p of actual tangible value. The remaining 1.555p was pure hype & potential because markets were more buoyant and covid handouts provided liquidity.
Now on 10/08/2023 the company share price is 0.725p (mid price) and they can provide tangible value for all of that share price and even a little bit more!
Period End SP (p) Shares in Issue Market Cap (£) Net Assets (£) Net Assets per Share (p)
30/09/2020 1.100 818,316,542 9,001,482 2,394,000 0.293
30/09/2021 2.030 1,257,058,787 25,518,293 5,966,000 0.475
30/09/2022 1.500 1,614,654,921 24,219,824 13,757,000 0.852
31/03/2023 0.925 1,739,033,678 16,086,062 13,991,000 0.805
10/08/2023 0.725 2,080,106,256 15,080,770 15,594,845 0.750 *
*The 10/08/2023 figures are estimated based on knowledge available from the company.
Its additional shares in issue but its only dilution to me if you have nothing to show for it. When I invested in POW (with just a small position) there was 800mil shares in issue and the balance sheet was worth £3mil I think. Now there are 2.1bil shares in issue and the balance sheet is worth £16mil ish.
So POW have increased their shares in issue by a factor of about 2.6x but their balance sheet is up by over a factor of 5x. Not dilution for me. That's shareholder wealth growth from a financial perspective. Most likely one of the key reasons Rick Rule jumped in on the latest placing and certainly why I doubled my POW position in 2023.
"exposure doesn’t mean a thing, unless you can sell the goods." - POW can sell their goods in the short, medium and long term with this model. They have £2.5mil in cash, £2.5mil in tradeable investments today (KAV & FCM), over £4mil in locked in investments (GMET) and over £7.5mil in pre-IPO investments which have been earmarked to go live in the short term. Then you have a whole bunch of exploration licences (Lithium, Uranium, Tati Gold, Molopo Farms, Silver Peaks etc.) which have no price (or a very minimal) valuation on their balance sheet.
Bottom line is in late 2020 & 2021 the market was flying on increased liquidity in the sector due to covid handouts, people had more time to invest etc. The valuation in Jan 2021 was absolutely ridiculous at £39mil for a company with £500k in the bank and a couple of licences. But so many other companies had overpriced valuations too and the sector was on fire for 9-12 months.
Now in 2023 you have the opposite happening. POW being valued at £15mil at a time that they can prove £16mil of that valuation! When the markets kick back into life (no idea when that will be!) that POW are positioned when the markets go into "overvaluation mode" again. And this time it could be a whole lot more than £39mil and that's why I am invested and remain very confident and add to my position quite often at sub 0.75p prices.
POW had a balance sheet worth almost nothing in 2021 which was just pretty much the value of cash in the bank. The POW balance sheet is now worth about £16mil per my calculations today (which includes around £2mil to £2.5mil in the bank).
So POW have gone from a balance sheet of say £1mil to £16mil in 2-3 years. That's an additional £15mil in value created. Have POW raised less than £15mil to get to that position? The answer is yes, that is not dilution, quite the opposite in fact! Dilution is when you raise £1mil, stick it in ground exploration and have nothing to show for it at the end.
Stronger market conditions at play in 2021 hence the £39mil valuation back then with nothing tangible to back it up. Weaker market conditions at play in 2023 hence the market valuation of £15mil with £16mil in balance sheet value to back it up!
When stronger conditions return, the balance sheet will swell to £50mil+ I would imagine even if none of their investments find a bean. At that point things get interesting for POW investors and the market will really take note. Whilst poor market conditions are around, POW are going nowhere but they are quietly building a mammoth portfolio ready for a swing in sector sentiment in my opinion.
Agree POW has massively under delivered from a short term "share price performance" point of view but so have 95% in this sector over the past couple of years. If you look at the financials, the balance sheet model is slowly working even in poor sector conditions. For example, POW have proved multiple times that they can raise £1mil in cash and turn it into £2-3mil in balance sheet value even with markets against them. That £2-3mil investment can quickly become a £10mil+ investment in better conditions. All POW are doing here are positioning themselves ready for the next uptick in market sentiment. POW just need better conditions to come along. If they don't come, then you were pretty much going to lose in investing in this space anyways.
Everyone loved this stock in 2021 and it had absolutely nothing to back up its valuation apart from £500k in the balance and a couple of licences. Now it has a solid £15mil balance sheet which is equal to its current market cap and no one wants to go near it.
I completely disagree with your point "POW doesn't need to diversify risk beyond this point". If you want to expose yourself to the unbelievably risk "potential x100 bagger" which comes around once a decade, POW is not your company and neither would I want to invest in that sort of company. If you want a company which focuses on building a balance sheet, has a decent eye on the financials which will swell in better market conditions, and you want a company looking to always reduce their risk, POW should be on your radar.
POW setting themselves up well for the long term and have access to more routes to capital with their investments that almost any junior valued at £15mil on the UK markets at present. Let the investments pay for everything and do the exploration and POW will still reap a good chunk of the rewards down the line and the blow is softened if things go wrong.
Roger65 - You are invested in the wrong company here then based on your comments below. As POW have stated for the past 12-18 months, they will be focusing on their planned IPOs, taking 50%+ stakes in active exploration companies with their own capital. The exploration work within POW will be kept to a minimum in the short term as POW are slowly focusing on reducing their risk.
When the sector wakes up, POW could have exposure to £50mil+ in listed investments. Things then get very interesting if POW sell some of those investments down into stronger markets, they could have a large pool of capital to deploy on some directly owned POW project at that stage. Enough capital, and huge drill campaigns and dividends become a possibility.
I understand you are well underwater with your POW investment and your emotions are on some sort of wild rollercoaster, however, POW have set themselves up nicely for when conditions improve.
In 2021 POW were a £40mil valued company at one point when there was liquidity in the sector with £500k in the bank and about 3 projects and no investments. Now they are a £15mil company with a £15mil balance sheet and 10s of licences in prime commodity ground. Absolutely no future progress is priced in here. I understand it feels to most investors like things are never going to get moving again in this sector, but the markets will wake up again at some point. POW very very well positioned in my view.
Link to RNS showing Sean Wade Subscribing for £100k shares @ 0.85p (11,764,705 share holding) in the most recent placing in May 2023:
https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/POW/placing-with-a-company-controlled-by-rick-rule-hjuht8wu0toj7s3.html
"Sean Wade, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has committed to subscribe for 11,764,705 Placing Shares."
Good post Bumble.
1) Get all the planned IPOs live
2) Give the IPOs time to grow (most will fail but some may succeed)
3) Sell down the investments (after lock in periods allow) and bring cash back to POW
4) Use the investment proceeds to finance POW direct exploration projects and get further IPOs off the ground.
5) Any excess funds to be distributed as dividends
So yes, dividends are a long long way away. But with time and a bit of luck you never know.
As POW need their IPOs to grow and most of the fireworks will come from the IPOs in the short & medium term, POW simply need better market conditions to arrive. If they do, POW could quite easily have a £50mil+ investment portfolio.
As each IPO is completely different, I would imagine some POW holders will even cut some of their POW holdings and move those funds over to the IPO vehicles as and when an IPO goes live that appeals to that individual shareholder. You will then get shareholders invested in the IPOs returning back to POW if they do well and POW have possible dividends on the table after a solid investment has been sold.
I think the more savvy investors with the deeper pockets such as HNW investors / institutions etc. will take their stake mainly in POW as the low risk parent company once the market recovery begins. We have seen Rick Rule do this to date (and most likely a few of his contacts through the 3% that the Bank of New York have in POW).
POW have now setup a model for the medium/long term which has plenty of longevity in it as opposed to the standard junior exploration plays on AIM that can get diluted to death after a couple of poor results.
As most can tell, I am very optimistic here but the markets are just too pessimistic at the moment for POW or any of the POW IPOs to get any traction. Things should hopefully change for the better with the markets soon enough.
If you invest directly in GMET you get the pure Tungsten exposure. If GMET do well, you will make more money through your GMET investment most likely if they eventually get bought out for example by a large US producer. If they don't do well, then your investment is significantly reduced but I guess they do always have the Tungsten JORC to fall back on so it isn't as risky as some really early exploration juniors out there. Simply put, higher risk / higher reward.
With POW you get exposure to circa 50% chunks of numerous different IPOs that all cost POW nothing once they are up and running. POW effectively have a reduced interest in several projects but in return it costs them nothing. Simply put, Lower Risk / Lower reward.
All POW need is for one IPO in the next few years to do well. Whilst we are talking about GMET, I'll use them as an example. Lets say GMET get some solid US government funding, extend their Tungsten JORC and a producer gets interested. I'll assume at that point GMET is a £50mil company and maybe POW hold a 50% stake at that point due to a bit of dilution. That's worth £25mil to POW. POW have several options then. They could sell down and take the cash back to POW as the parent and suddenly dividends are on the table. Then you have a world of potential new investors looking at POW because not only are they offering dividends, but they have proved their successful balance sheet model and suddenly every POW IPO has potential.
Ultimately depends on your risk appetite. Mine is to have as low risk as possible in an already unbelievably risky sector so I take my GMET exposure on a cash free ride through POW and I am very happy with the start GMET have made to PLC life and Oliver is a very knowledgeable guy with lots of contacts in the Nevada area which is key. At this moment in time and looking at the pipeline of POW IPOs to come, I feel GMET has arguably the most promise out of anything in POW's portfolio.
Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJiTgKlmvUc&t=3s
Latest interview with Sean posted today, discusses the following:
- Update on a few upcoming IPOs
- Update on the US OTC listing proposed
- Influence Rick Rule is having on the business as the largest POW shareholder (4.5% holding)
- Brief update on ongoing exploration at Athabasca & Tati
- Update on general corporate activities across the business including multi party talks regarding the Molopo Farms Nickel Asset