Powerfilm Share Discussion Threads

[shroder] 29/11/2011 22:34

Not new but interesting coverage all the same,

see main index here

Experimental solar shade in Djibouti provides constant power

[wetdream] 25/11/2011 18:22

Perhaps director buys?

[shroder] 24/11/2011 13:31

Someone's keen, nearly 200k at just below the offer

[shroder] 24/11/2011 12:47

wetdream,

I don't think you will see any PR until they are back in the black again, they are deliberately keeping a low profile until this is achieved which is no bad thing.

Their products are unique as is their manufacturing process, this is what separates them from the other solar companies which are selling a commodity.

That said no one is going to see the value until they start selling the end product or at least have embarked on commercialisation.

The most likely near term announcement could be with HP for a new factory, now that would get things moving.

One other thing to consider is their cash balance which equals 27p per share, it's ear marked for building but not restricted so they could pay a handsome dividend as per their policy.

[wetdream] 22/11/2011 15:37

Shroder,

fair points, but AIM stocks have been mullahed over the last few months and the solar powered market's bubble's been punctured, so PFLM's doubly screwed!

IMHO they need some serious financial PR.

[shroder] 22/11/2011 14:24

Their nett loss is narrowing each financial period, it wouldn't surprise me if the last 6 months to December they turned cash positive - this has been a long term goal of their's and may attract new investment.

If the factory with HP goes ahead then you should see a revaluation, the sale of the self powered display to the military could also add significant revenue upside.

They could also license out the tech to screen manufactures or commercialise it themselves, again could add significant revenue streams.

Lastly BPIV with Ferrari, ok it's been delayed but it looks as though this is the only fault they found and maybe the last boxed to be ticked prior to receiving approval.

[wetdream] 21/11/2011 18:16

I'd think that a lot of PIs would have mentally written this co. off by now.
Astonishing to think the share price was over £4 in the past!
Must be costing the co. money to stay on AIM for very little benefit nowadays, and with the founders holding 60% of the stock, it wouldn't cost them much, at say, 10p per share to buy out the rest and wave AIM goodbye.

[shroder] 21/11/2011 07:28

I did wonder that myself and asked around June time, although it's not ruled out completely it's not on the cards at the moment -

Main focus is a return to profitability which looks very possibly given the economies of scale offered by the new production facilities.

They have also bumped up sales on all fronts and I hope the appointment of Wes will bear fruit soon with military related orders.

[wetdream] 19/11/2011 09:02

How long before they go private?

[shroder] 18/11/2011 13:16

Yup, taking longer than expected BPIV but quietly optimistic overall.

[qwazi] 18/11/2011 12:23

I was just about to say that things had got very quiet here, and then a 320,000 trade prints @ 20p. First significant activity we've had in a while.

[shroder] 01/11/2011 10:24

HP to Keep PC Division

Continued combination of HP and its Personal Systems Group expected to deliver
greater customer and shareholder value

Business Wire

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- October 27, 2011

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced that it has completed its evaluation of
strategic alternatives for its Personal Systems Group (PSG) and has decided
the unit will remain part of the company.

"HP objectively evaluated the strategic, financial and operational impact of
spinning off PSG. It's clear after our analysis that keeping PSG within HP is
right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for
employees," said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. "HP is
committed to PSG, and together we are stronger."

[shroder] 23/9/2011 15:17

Military green investments could hit $10B by 2030


"solar tarps on tents to power lights, and solar panels to power mobile command centers and computers."

[timely4] 11/9/2011 17:56

Interesting.

[shroder] 11/9/2011 17:30

HP are still in the print business which this technology is more aligned to.

SAIL or self aligning imprint lithography produces a flexible lightweight display along the lines of Kindle e-ink without the weight.

It may well be that HP sees this as their 'killer' app having spent the last 6 years perfecting the process, if so this could see a significant step up in investment as they seek to regain market advantage.

That said the army contract is separate to HP and non dependant due to Phicot having licensed SAIL from HP for this purpose.

[timely4] 10/9/2011 12:51

It does sound pretty amazing technology. The question now is how will they go about commercialising it if HP pull out and timescales.

[shroder] 07/9/2011 10:50

Ok, a quick summary.

A very solid set of numbers back by a healthy cash position, they have made good progress with the flexible display's and appear to have submitted prototypes to the army for evaluation.

What's amazing is the three core businesses are valued at zero with the companies market cap around the cash balance.

This to me is a very significant paragraph;

The flexible display demonstrations feature the world's first and only backplane array technology for a flexible display made using a full roll to roll process.

The technology has been developed by PowerFilm, Inc.'s majority owned subsidiary Phicot, in collaboration with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). PowerFilm has licensed HP's self aligning imprint lithography (SAIL) technology.

PowerFilm has received essential funding from ARL to develop a self powered flexible display for soldiers that uses both PowerFilm's flexible display technology and also one of PowerFilm's solar panels, so it is self-powered.

PowerFilm's core roll to roll manufacturing expertise for semiconductors, developed for its PV products has been expanded to develop flexible electronics. Phicot is focused on developing that part of the business. In collaboration with Hewlett-Packard (HP), Phicot has developed a flexible backplane driver to be integrated with a front plane driver to create the full working display.

A backplane driver is an array of transistors that turns individual pixels on a display on and off, according to instructions from a computer.

The advantages of this technology, compared to current display technology and other technologies in development which are not true roll to roll processed, is that the backplane driver itself is thin, lightweight, nonbreakable (plastic not glass), conformable, and is made using a low cost manufacturing process at scale.

The technology is revolutionary not only from a technical manufacturing standpoint but also in terms of the products it has the potential to offer to the military, consumers, and commercial users: new, next generation electronics that are thin, lightweight, nonbreakable, and conformable. In the future, this will allow the production of a computer screen that is thin, lightweight, and made of plastic so it will not break if dropped.

Additional potential future applications include other military applications such as a ruggedized deployable briefing board and other display screens, E books, other consumer electronics devices, and billboards.

The technology has been developed in the USA, where the working prototypes also have been made. PowerFilm has been active in the area of roll to roll flexible electronics for a decade, with the past 5 years focused on the development of flexible display technology.

The Company is active in the flexible electronics industry and in 2010 PowerFilm and HP were awarded the FlexTech Alliance's R&D Archievement Award.

[timely4] 07/9/2011 08:04

From a quick read looks as though they are making headway towards a profitable business. The implications of HP's change in direction, and the uncertainty it creates need some unpicking.

[shroder] 07/9/2011 07:46

Solid set of results with smaller than expected loss.

Looks like sales momentum picked up towards the end of first half which if continued will see them profitable this year.

Quite a bit to digest, will post later.

[wetdream] 04/9/2011 20:46

Solyndra files for bankruptcy:

[timely4] 27/8/2011 11:22

Not to the best of my knowledge. I think it is very unlikely to be powerfilm involved in this, given the places mentioned (nowhere near Iowa), but would obviously like to be proved wrong.