Millbrook Scientific Share Discussion Threads

[sg31] 14/1/2008 21:09

Not exactly a big spender is he.Buys a grands worth and now holds a total of £4000 worth.

[tara7] 14/1/2008 14:15

Director buying,keep it up, not going bust, so now a very cheap share.

[sand frog] 02/1/2008 14:31

A QUICK REMINDER WHY MBK IS A STRONG BUY THIS YEAR..


* Revenue of £1,052,516 (2006: £623,006):

*significant improvement over last year due to partial fulfilment of
previous year's order backlog;
*backlog of MiniSIMS ToF instruments now cleared although not all had
shipped in the first half

* EBITDA loss of £(149,830) (2006: loss of £(428,135)) - again an
improvement due to increased sales and some reduction in overhead;

*Note: change of method of computation of EBITDA - on previous basis,
figure would have been loss of £(38,096) (2006: loss of £(272,201))

* First release of the software upgrade for MiniSIMS ToF well in hand;
* Continued strong performance of sales of NanoTest instrument through the
year - further steady growth expected, currently limited by available space;
* Successful private placement completed 13 September 2007, raising
£400,000 of further equity before costs and enabling elimination of Group's
Net Debt; net cash balance at 14 December 2007 - £114k;
* Total Group sales for FY2008 plus outstanding orders £2.6m at 13
December 2007

*Order book for NanoTest remains strong;
*Order book for MiniSIMS is rebuilding after pause in new orders
caused by production and cash flow difficulties;

* Other priorities for the remainder of the Financial Year:

*Complete move to new NanoTest facility at Wrexham;
*Commence roll-out of software upgrade for MiniSIMS ToF;
*Complete improvements to production processes at Blackburn to ensure
production and quality targets are reliably met.

[sand frog] 02/1/2008 14:22

yes excellent stock here, little in free float and a great recovery play...when this hits the radars we should see a very nice return...

[tara7] 02/1/2008 14:18

up she goes

[sand frog] 02/1/2008 13:54

Possibly directors buying....MBK have certainly turned themselves around...Should be a good 2008 for all holders.

[tara7] 02/1/2008 13:51

300,000 buys just gone through, a smart investor, or other directors buying.? !!!

[sand frog] 02/1/2008 08:11

tara spot on....These are now looking excellent value...and none in free float..

[tara7] 02/1/2008 08:09

Director buy, just the first, these will fly, hang on tight.

[gearing9] 20/12/2007 23:10

Excellent RNS yesterday, expecting big things with the share price in the next 12 mths:)

[rich2006] 19/12/2007 13:30

Sp goes up and then lots of sells hit the market
sp dropping back again now
be lucky if share price is still up at the close

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 12:33

More good news to follow here... Still a giveaway at 2.5p..

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 12:33

* Revenue of £1,052,516 (2006: £623,006):

*significant improvement over last year due to partial fulfilment of
previous year's order backlog;
*backlog of MiniSIMS ToF instruments now cleared although not all had
shipped in the first half

* EBITDA loss of £(149,830) (2006: loss of £(428,135)) - again an
improvement due to increased sales and some reduction in overhead;

*Note: change of method of computation of EBITDA - on previous basis,
figure would have been loss of £(38,096) (2006: loss of £(272,201))

* First release of the software upgrade for MiniSIMS ToF well in hand;
* Continued strong performance of sales of NanoTest instrument through the
year - further steady growth expected, currently limited by available space;
* Successful private placement completed 13 September 2007, raising
£400,000 of further equity before costs and enabling elimination of Group's
Net Debt; net cash balance at 14 December 2007 - £114k;
* Total Group sales for FY2008 plus outstanding orders £2.6m at 13
December 2007

*Order book for NanoTest remains strong;
*Order book for MiniSIMS is rebuilding after pause in new orders
caused by production and cash flow difficulties;

* Other priorities for the remainder of the Financial Year:

*Complete move to new NanoTest facility at Wrexham;
*Commence roll-out of software upgrade for MiniSIMS ToF;
*Complete improvements to production processes at Blackburn to ensure
production and quality targets are reliably met.

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 12:25

I think by the start of trading Jan 2nd these will be 6p plus, i expect director buying anytime soon...looks excellent..

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 12:23

Hi, take a look at the website, they manufacture scientific instruments..i live locally and since the hiccup last year things are panning out nicely..turnover up 100% so far, cash to see them through and revenues from new orders... this imo is a winner.

[3frog] 19/12/2007 12:17

From one frog to another. Dont know anything about this co, whats its new product and who will be interested in it?

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 09:48

Orders up 100% and increasing, multibagger here, expect director buying shortly

[tara7] 19/12/2007 09:42

Company, will see offers comming in around 5-10M pounds, in my view. Thats 6p + per share. They have a good idea of its value, cash in hand, and a great product.

[rich2006] 19/12/2007 09:37

Still along way to go before MBK are out of the woods.
Only " net cash balance at 14 December 2007 - £114k "
Going by previous years this will not last the next twelve months
The moving of the wrexham facility has still to take place (production disruption).
Seems to be alot of other changes in the pipeline also.
Sales side of things seem to be doing o.k but MBK have to start making a profit in 2008 or face going under i am afraid.
DYOR

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 08:59

Hardly any free shares in issue here, .. Should see us now start climbing back towards 10p.

[blackfox] 19/12/2007 07:59

Like I said getting rid of PS was the best thing ever. Good luck to all.

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 07:55

MBK was priced to go bust, but looks like the company is really turning things around.

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 07:54

WOW excellent results, first buy through at 2.5p..These should fly today..

[sand frog] 19/12/2007 07:51

Millbrook Scientific Interim Results




RNS Number:2089K
Millbrook Scientific InstrumentsPLC
19 December 2007





Millbrook Scientific Instruments plc

("Millbrook" or the "Company")

Interim Results

Millbrook Scientific Instruments plc (AIM:MBK), the designer and manufacturer of
innovative scientific instruments that measure nanoscale properties of thin
films and coatings, announces its Interim Results for the six months ended 30
September 2007.
Overview

Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2007 2006 2007
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£ £ £
Revenue 1,052,516 623,006 1,891,482
EBITDA (redefined) (149,830) (428,135)) (518,271))
Operating loss (196,962) (398,141) (470,667)

Basic Loss per share (in pence) (0.235p) (0.746p) (0.901p)

* Revenue of £1,052,516 (2006: £623,006):

*significant improvement over last year due to partial fulfilment of
previous year's order backlog;
*backlog of MiniSIMS ToF instruments now cleared although not all had
shipped in the first half

* EBITDA loss of £(149,830) (2006: loss of £(428,135)) - again an
improvement due to increased sales and some reduction in overhead;

*Note: change of method of computation of EBITDA - on previous basis,
figure would have been loss of £(38,096) (2006: loss of £(272,201))

* First release of the software upgrade for MiniSIMS ToF well in hand;
* Continued strong performance of sales of NanoTest instrument through the
year - further steady growth expected, currently limited by available space;
* Successful private placement completed 13 September 2007, raising
£400,000 of further equity before costs and enabling elimination of Group's
Net Debt; net cash balance at 14 December 2007 - £114k;
* Total Group sales for FY2008 plus outstanding orders £2.6m at 13
December 2007

*Order book for NanoTest remains strong;
*Order book for MiniSIMS is rebuilding after pause in new orders
caused by production and cash flow difficulties;

* Other priorities for the remainder of the Financial Year:

*Complete move to new NanoTest facility at Wrexham;
*Commence roll-out of software upgrade for MiniSIMS ToF;
*Complete improvements to production processes at Blackburn to ensure
production and quality targets are reliably met.

Chairman's Statement

Revenue for the six month period ending 30 September 2007 was £1,052,516 (2006:
£623,006). The increase in revenue compared to 2006 was mainly due to the easing
of production difficulties at Blackburn enabling fulfilment of a large part of
the backlog in orders for the MiniSIMS instrument which are referred to in
detail below and were highlighted in the trading updates released by the Company
on 19 April and 25 June 2007. The Operating loss for the period was £(196,962)
(2006: £(398,141)). This improvement was almost entirely due to the improvement
in sales referred to above; as previously announced, steps have been taken to
reduce overheads but the benefit of these will not be fully realised until the
second half.

As announced on 31 July 2007, the Company hit cash flow difficulties caused by
the on-going production problems at Blackburn but exacerbated by the unforeseen
damage to an instrument in transit to a customer. A shareholder update was
issued on 22 August 2007 and an EGM was held on 24 August 2007. Thanks to the
support of a small group of shareholders led by YFM Private Equity ("YFM"),
managers of The Northwest Business Investment Scheme, our largest shareholder,
and three of the directors, the full amount of £400,000 was raised enabling the
immediate crisis to be weathered and the elimination of the Group's Net Debt.
The fundraising was completed on 13 September 2007.

The update issued on 22 August 2007also stated that further Resolutions
authorising the Directors to allot shares and to disapply pre-emption rights
only within certain specified limits would be proposed at a second EGM. I
confirm that this remains our intention.

During the period under review, sales and orders of the NanoTest instrument have
progressed most satisfactorily. Continued steady growth is expected but the
constraints of space at the existing facility in Wrexham have been severe. A
move to nearby premises was agreed in September but legal issues held up
progress until recently. It is now expected that the move will be complete
before the end of the Financial Year. Our thanks are due to our employees at
Wrexham who have worked tirelessly in increasingly difficult conditions.

The Board has commenced a fundamental business review which is expected to be
complete by the year end. However, certain conclusions were obvious and required
immediate attention. Production space at Wrexham has already been mentioned.
Improvements to production and quality processes at Blackburn were equally as
important to ensure as far as possible that instruments could be produced in a
predictable timescale and that they passed quality tests first time. Staff
changes have taken place to enable this to happen but results will not be
instantaneous. Furthermore, the MiniSIMS ToF had been sold and shipped with an
existing software release on condition that a new release, which had been
specified, would be retro-supplied. Completion of this work in-house was a
priority and is now well in hand. Supplying this software as well as completion
of the MiniSIMS alpha version is now a priority.

Clearly the non-availability of the new software and then the public
announcement of the production difficulties and associated cash-flow problems
hampered the efforts of the MiniSIMS sales team. Nevertheless new orders have
been achieved such that total group sales for FY 2008 to date plus outstanding
orders at 13 December 2007 are £2.6m.

The Board has previously disclosed a figure for EBITDA which was struck before
amortisation of certain costs but after capitalisation of similar expenditure.
It is considered that a more appropriate measure, closer to the cash generation
by the business, can be struck by adding back net movement on that expenditure
thus taking into account expenditure on Research and Development whether or not
capitalised. For the period to 30 September 2007 EBITDA on the new basis was a
loss of £150k (half year 2006 - loss of £428k).

My thanks are due to all the employees at Blackburn. Change is always difficult
to embrace under any circumstances but they have done so willingly despite the
difficult financial position in which Millbrook found itself until recently.

This financial period has also seen significant changes at Board level. I paid
tribute to my predecessor as Chairman, Peter Stefanini, at the AGM. He stepped
down from his Executive role on 19 April 2007. Simon Cleaver of YFM stepped down
as non-executive director on 31 July 2007. Thanks are also due to him as well as
YFM whose support has been unstinting and most valuable. The other executive
directors have had to shoulder the burden, none more so than Paul Grasske, the
Group CEO as well as acting FD, and they have all risen to the challenge. These
changes at Board level as well as other changes within the Group will result in
cost savings mainly in the second half. However the administration and finance
side of the business is running too lean at present. Steps will be taken to
address this as soon as the Board is confident that trading conditions permit.

Committees
The Audit and Remuneration Committees met once each in the period under review
under the Chairmanship of Malcolm Fortnam. My grateful thanks are due to Malcolm
for carrying out this role as well as for his sterling contribution to the Board
in general.

The Remuneration Committee had the important task of refreshing the Group Option
scheme. I referred to this in my Letter dated 31 July 2007 and the refreshment
will be effective by the end of January 2008. Existing option holders who are
still employed will have the exercise price per share reduced to 3.125p,
significantly closer to the existing share price. Certain employees will receive
additional options; in particular Paul Grasske's options will be increased to
1,500,000 shares. The total number of shares under option after this grant will
represent 8.25% of the total issued share capital.

The Audit Committee also met to consider the implementation of IFRS. The
committee was briefed by the Auditors and individual members of the Committee
have attended numerous workshops and briefing sessions by other organisations.
These accounts are the first to incorporate adoption of IFRS. The Committee also
undertook a detailed review of existing accounting policies. This led to
clarification and formalisation of certain policies including revenue
recognition but no changes other than those mandated by IFRS and which are
detailed below. Our thanks are due to Edwards Veeder LLP, our auditors, for
their help during this transitionary period.

Other Advisers
A difficult year puts pressure first on directors and employees but second on
professional advisers. Seymour Pierce, our Nomad, have provided first-rate
advice and support. George Davies LLP, who were our legal advisers for a number
of years, stepped down after the AGM with the Board's thanks for their efforts.
Thereafter our new legal advisers, Halliwells LLP, provided excellent support
and advice through and beyond the September fund-raising.