Altitude Share Discussion Threads

[northwards] 26/9/2017 07:14

Should be blue today ... And perhaps some director buying?

[nw99] 26/9/2017 07:13

Great news on the results and the channel tie up

[thebigshortfella] 25/9/2017 21:23

I am waiting with bated breath. ;-)

[dave4545] 25/9/2017 20:25

Somebody is confident of good results with 2 x 25,000 delayed buys which are printed
as sales.

[nurdin] 25/9/2017 16:49

Id buy if I only understood what they actually do!

How do they make money? Who are their customers? The companys own explanation is a bit woolly and wrapped in a language that leaves much to be desired...

[malcolmmm] 25/9/2017 16:01

Sold this at 67p, maybe time to buy at these level

[stephen1946] 25/9/2017 15:56

This has a reputation as a leaky, so in that case, all the late business points to a screaming buy, figures must be astounding. Imho.

[johnstockster] 25/9/2017 09:41

@thebigshortfella disrupting an industry or implementing a new business model takes time, so I'm not reading too much into channl performance or aprinta deal, who knows whilst developing those areas, they may have spotted a more lucrative route.
The key is that they don't run quickly in the wrong direction. This industry is prime for disruption, Altitude have potential to be best placed to be part of revolutionising it. I have no doubt those who are patient here will reap the rewards.

[robbnw] 24/9/2017 21:13

BigshortfellaSorry I didn't make myself clearI remain bullish about this stock Always said need give them time In end I'm hopeful real multi bag potential like the editor of SCSW

[thebigshortfella] 24/9/2017 21:00

allstar4eva - Re: surely not the tiny UK business? I completely agree with you & that's what I suspect (but clearly I could be wrong)...

The options are that they were focussed mainly on the Aprinta deal and it hasn't come to very much (hence the lack of "traction data" as SCSW called it - granted though that this could come on Tuesday and upset my short!). This *could* also explain why Sanjay has moved on - although 8 months is less time than most football managers get...

Or they were not focussed on it until now (which is what I would bet on) and explains why they hired the heavy hitter...which would be absolutely nuts IMHO...

Roll on Tuesday...I am very curious as to what ALT are going to say...

[allstar4eva] 24/9/2017 20:37

Thing that doesn't make sense to me is that the US is what they should have been focussing on so what were they focussing on before - surely not the tiny UK business? It's why many here invested in the first place. They also said in previous news announcements that the US was the focus.

[thebigshortfella] 24/9/2017 20:04

robbnw - Re: "Totally disagree with *some* negative comments on here". You are slowly coming around to our way of thinking! ;-)

I don't disagree that ALT has great people.

Let's see what the figures look like on Tuesday and how the market responds.

Good luck fella.

BTW @johnstockster - I would still love to read your thoughts on the:

1) uptake of Channl in the UK?

2) uptake of distributors in relation to the Aprinta deal?

Always open to hear opposing views and changing my mind.

Thanks! :-)

[robbnw] 24/9/2017 19:48

Totally disagree with some negative comments on here HellThey take on a new big hitter to cover the huge USA opportunity Lobo gets cheesed off and throws his toys out of pram Some people would make negativity out of a sunny day The chairman is a quality asset and he may have only small number of shares but what about options The key is the president and you don't see him selling

[soulcatcher] 24/9/2017 19:16

Johns rockstar is an altitude plant.... oh dear ... look at the other thread he's commented on... it's probably Martin Varley.

[samdb] 24/9/2017 18:51

Apologies, wrong board.

[samdb] 24/9/2017 18:48

Placing price + dividend should be a floor.

[hhdd1] 24/9/2017 18:45

Yes I'd be delighted to hear ware
The good news is from ?

[thebigshortfella] 24/9/2017 18:00

johnstocker - I like your optimism! But with Channl being launched in the UK, if that was successful, wouldn't you think that they would retain Sanjay to grow it?

I suspect the market didn't react badly as they don't really understand what is going on at ALT. This is one of the benefits of not having a clearly defined and communicated strategy.

I am not suggesting HJG is a bad hire. He seems very professional and hard working.

The exhibition business may not be ALT's key business going forward, but it seems that it will be until they have proved the new business model.

I am curious, as you are bullish on ALT, what's your take on the:

1) uptake of Channl in the UK?

2) uptake of distributors in relation to the Aprinta deal?

Thanks.

[johnstockster] 24/9/2017 17:10

@thebigshortfella I didn't read into the MD leaving as bad news, it read to me that the new US hire has taken over some of the responsibilities that he was brought in to look after. That may of read to him that he was being managed out or would naturally become surplus to requirements, so clearly both parties mutually decided it was best to part and I have seen nothing that points to this being for any other reason that for the greater good of both parties. Sanjay has good experience but what Altitude need is executors who can build. That isn't for everybody. The market didn't react badly to this news so it hasn't been viewed as that great of a loss.

Also, of course they would look up to the likes of Just Eat who have arguably been one of the biggest European technology successes of the last decade. I made money from their performance on the stock market and have built good contacts there over the past few years. I have developed high level and reliable sources at Just Eat and have learnt the early UK leaders (2008-10) at Just Eat built the strategy that propelled them into the business they are today, Prior to this point they had not managed to attract any Venture Capital. Henry Joseph-Grant was a star performer, one only has to look at his recommendations on Linkedin for his time at Just Eat to see the founder of Just Eat warmly recommended him, I am sure he wouldn't have done that had he not been instrumental in their success. So for me HJG is a great hire for Altitude, especially with them being a small cap company lacking the allure of a tier one tech company, surely he sees potential and an opportunity for wealth creation and is willing to roll his sleeves up and make it happen. It's not his first rodeo and his having 4 years of experience at Just Eat at a critical time from early start up in the UK to a huge success is a big win.

@soulcatcher It doesn't take an expert analyst to work out their exhibition business is not their key business unit, they are obviously evolving into a technology driven company, but having the market leading expo is a great platform to build that side.

I am bullish on this stock!

[soulcatcher] 24/9/2017 14:59

The general manager on the show was Paul Kehoe who left around 6 months ago after 12 months , then a guy called Mark Ragan they both have good credentials on LinkedIn, just seems very strange Martin Varley doesn't have any long standing members of the board to serve with him. Maybe he is a nightmare to work with.
Marketing on LinkedIn when they have 84 followers is laughable. They seem to be doing the simple stuff wrong at the moment.

[thebigshortfella] 24/9/2017 14:49

hhdd1 – In my experience, Chairmen roles are largely irrelevant. They are not close enough to the business to have a direct impact and generally they are “Yes men” to the CEO and rarely bring any business in. It’s a low risk role that can make some Chairmen rich if they are “riding” enough horses to get lucky.

Soulcatcher – Martin Varley is clearly an entrepreneurial, big ideas, charismatic, deal making kind of a guy. As we have discussed though, at some point the ideas need to be boiled down into a coherent strategy and executed. They have so many opportunities to make money (Ad Products) and “disrupt the market” that they are not considering second order effects. As you highlighted, I honestly don’t think that they have a defined strategy. They are just making it up as they go along and hoping that something works.

ALT has a huge issue with the distributor websites that I rarely hear anyone mention. None of them will rank in Google. Therefore, they will not gain any organic orders “whilst you are sleeping". So why would anyone put the effort into them? I agree with allstar4eva that ALT should forgo profits in order to fund incentives to get traction. Have they tried this? But even if they do, the distributors are expected to become email marketing experts. What if they don’t have the email addresses of their existing clients?! How will they get them to use the platform? It’s this granular, boring, operational level that is the difference between being successful or not.

I have had my doubts about ALT for some time but Sanjay’s departure is (again as Soulcatcher highlights) a red flag that things may not be going well at ALT.

Soulcatcher – interesting. Who is their head of of trade show? Gareth Taylor?

I struggle to understand the appointment of Henry Joseph-Grant. From what I hear ALT management are a bit obsessed with Just Eat. But, HGJ did not come up with the Just Eat strategy! I would have been more impressed if ALT had hired someone from there Just Eat management team.

With regards to marketing. I see the ALT team posting marketing collateral on LinkedIn. But is this the right forum??!! I suspect they are just wasting their time doing this.

I expect the numbers on Tuesday to be poor and I am going to be looking to put a small short on ALT tomorrow.

Now, I am a trader (not an investor) but even investors who claim “we need to give the management team some time” should be concerned as one of the main figure heads of the management team is no longer there after just 8 months….