Good Morning, well for most, as there's a dreaded manflu and
virus is here!
REM (Rare Earth Minerals) increases
strategic holding in Bacanora Minerals to 14.37%. Doesn't bode well for
Bacanora, based on past performance. With Graham Edwards having (or
potentially) having an interest in 24+% it will be interesting to see how
voting goes at the EGM.
The developmentss at Petropavlovsk (POG) are
becoming a circus with an update..
So the board believe their proposal is better than Sapinda's that
is allegedly at a higher share price than that being
underwritten. Surely those underwriting the current proposal don't what the apple cart
rocked, with belief that is very high risk of insolvency in the event POG board and bond holders don't get their way. Sapinda should outline their proposal with all necessary paperwork
including evidence of funding sooner rather than later.
For those with an interest or following of PVR (Providence
Resources), Sapinda are involved in Sequa Petroleum whom are rumoured to be the farm-in partner for PVR (EMC
Sequa and share sale) and are currently alleged to be raising the
necessary cash to fund this deal. So are POG correct in their
analysis about the ability of Sapinda to raise the cash? Over to Sapinda to up
the ante or better yet, ante up!
PDL (Petra Diamonds) have come out with very
positive results and a paying down a significant proportion of debt in
their interim
results. The numbers are healthy, in fact higher than what the EMC
expected. Having recently been short (EMC) across the sector for the play. We are
becoming more positive after PDL's interims so a review is needed as financing
is coming back into Antwerp via the Middle East (EMC GEMD + Antwerp Bank.)
Russia is impacting on precious stone sales in 2015, the
contraction should have already been felt. PDL believe prices
have stabilised. And with a few new lenders in the market, they'll be cautious
about over leverage. Israel may just surprise us yet with a new diamond fund,
but don’t expect too much price appreciate in the short-term (if any).
There's been some gossip in recent days about Centrica (CNA) acquiring Smart Metering Systems (SMS), could the wires have been crossed? With SMS’s contracts with major
energy companies would not necessarily have any added value added in acquiring
SMS, more so its likely to be a negative.
With CNA results out today,
one cannot see them making too many acquisitions whilst they slash the
dividend. They have announced a small contract with Total Gas & Power Limited (TGP), with the potential for
an uplift in the order size. It would certainly fit with Centrica's longer-term
plans, but perhaps not SMS and certainly not now! A logical fit would perhaps be Melrose and
incorporate SMS within Elster.
No need to comment too much on CNA’s final results. An Oil & Gas + utility company disappointing the
market. Revenues up, debt up, profit down, group investment down a whopping 68%
with a further 40% cut in E&P capex by 2016, as a result they've 'reset' the dividend. CNA could just be the Tesco of
the energy sector...? Over to London to push those close to the margin to spin
the Canadian interest in CNA into the rumour mill.
Atb Fraser
Fraser- Hi- sorry to hear the lurgy is back-- ibuprofen and Berocca was the magic remedy for me (with no alcohol...) so hope that's helpful. Perhaps your solution will be based on gin, gin and more gin... good luck. I may short Fevertree if no tonic is now needed at your end :-))
ReplyDeleteRe BCN- I wont bet against Big Dave joining the BCN board- REM made it clear by carrying out lithium drilling without informing BCN at all that they are desperate to move the lithium dev forward whilst Colin Orr Ewing has a 3% royalty (with RIOs 3% royalty) on the borate project, and the capex is tiddly with the borate project so BCN are keen to move this forward now and bring in some cashflow. This is clearly too slow for Big Dave and his pals, so we have some boardroom moves together with REM buying. V interesting- perhaps the solution will see REM get 100% of some of the lithium assets and leave BCN to their own devices.. Lets see.
Re POG- The Sapinda letters make it clear that they are at a v early stage re their plans, whereas POG have the bondholders onboard re the current restructure. What do they say about a bird in the hand v a bird in the bush... No position for me but I would vote for the current deal if I was a shareholder in POG-- the alternative could be liquidation clearly. V dangerous times still for POG if the shareholders get greedy.
Re PDL- yes, nice numbers today and exceeded my expectations too. PDL is one of my long/stale/forever holdings and the cashflow over the next 5 years could well be off my charts, given the major capex is now behind them. A class act with old De Beers mines and good management. (Fatal last words, no doubt).
Cheers. The Leggie