Axeon Share Discussion Threads

[diogenesj] 28/10/2007 14:14

Yes, looks as though they will need quite a bit more working capital.

[wjccghcc] 28/10/2007 13:37

Also, they had 140k cash at the time of the interims. Surely they'll need to raise more funds?

[diogenesj] 28/10/2007 09:21

Thanks, MTG. Yes, the single large customer is a major risk factor.

[m.t.glass] 27/10/2007 21:52

Hi DJ - I'm not holding any at present. There have been problems with the vans Modec supplied to Tesco - apparently breaking down under fulltime use. Maybe these issues will be satisfactorily resolved - but if I were Axeon I wouldn't want my own fortunes too heavily reliant on one vehicle maker. Especially one which, being unlisted, is free to report only what it wants to.

[diogenesj] 27/10/2007 19:07

Well, you were right there, PT, but it bounced again.

MTG: are you still in these? Subject to the reservations you have expressed above, they look rather interesting.

Just had a look at the Modec website: lots of optimistic talk and self-congratulation, but no firm orders announced, as far as I can see, since the 15 Tesco vehicles.

[puffin tickler] 14/8/2007 05:04

The future may look promising but with a placing at 63p per share and current market conditions I can see a 10-15% fall back from the current price of 83p.

[pylewell] 13/7/2007 12:28

Have bought 8536 shares about an hour ago, but it doesnt show yet.
In the July issue of Red Hot Penny Shares Tom Bulford gave a big write up for AXE saying he was putting it on his watchlist. With this morning's news I feel he may now make this a buy.
He also recommended Traction Technology which promptly went into orbit, partly due to the announcement of a new Hybrid Engine for buses etc.
Re AXE he says "Battery Technology is key" for the Hybrid Electric Vehicles. It's an excellent write-up on AXE but too long to reproduce here.

[m.t.glass] 13/7/2007 09:39

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Axeon Holdings, a provider of battery systems to the automotive industry, has agreed to buy Swiss battery pack maker Ristma AG for a total of 7.4 mln stg, made up of a cash consideration of about 5.11 mln stg and a deferred share issue of about 2.25 mln stg.

The company also placed 7.85 mln shares at 64 pence a share to raise about 5 mln stg to fund the acquisition.

Ristma makes battery packs for the handheld cordless power tools market, selling to customers such as Bosch and Hilti, Axeon said in a statement. Over the last three years, Ristma has grown revenues from 25.5 mln stg to 41.5 mln stg and underlying pretax profit is estimated to have grown from 297,000 stg to 1.03 mln stg.

In a separate trading update, Axeon said it is ramping up production of battery packs for the Modec electric urban delivery vehicle programme.

'This programme will be the backbone of revenue growth over the next eighteen months,' chairman Charles Matthews said.

[hav plenty] 15/5/2007 10:44

Is this another tanfield (TAN) in the making??

[m.t.glass] 15/5/2007 10:44

Sounds like Axeon are cautiously assuming that Modec will sell about 50-60% of what Modec predict -


Axeon Holdings PLC said it traded in line with its expectations for the first four months of the financial year and raised its full year revenue expectations in line with progress for battery packs for the Modec electric urban delivery vehicle.

The company added that Modec Ltd, which had chosen Axeon as its exclusive supplier of battery packs, said its order book has increased to over 160 units. However, Axeon expects production to increase from 155 to 175 units in 2007, the company said.

'We understand that Modec have a plan to make around 300 vehicles this year. The difference between their plan of 300 units and our increased expectation of 175 units reflects uncertainty over how quickly overall vehicle production can be increased,' said Axeon's chairman, Charles Matthews.

The provider of advanced battery and battery management systems added that it is increasing its investment following increasing enquiries for electric and hybrid electric vehicle Lithium-ion battery packs from within the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

[m.t.glass] 23/4/2007 16:52

"..A number of other household names, such as Hildon Water and logistics giant, P F Whitehead.."

Eh?
Household names?

Hands up, (be honest now), are they household names in your house?

Modec did actually win a nice order from Amey last week, and from another road repairer. So they do have some customers. But so far they have delivered a grand total of... one? (The first of the Tesco vans).

Still, they do have a presence at the CV Show this week at the NEC, and that should do them some good. I expect Modec to get some good publicity from that. Modec is not (so far) a listed company, so AXE is possibly the best way of cashing in on any progress. I am watching with that in mind.

PS: The Tesco order was last year ;o)

[bigboyo] 23/4/2007 13:45

Some pertinent info for allegro drivers ;-)



Our first customer:

Tesco.com, Britain's biggest internet grocery retailer, has ordered 15 vans for their home delivery network. This first batch of Modec vehicles to join the Tesco fleet will be deployed at Tesco's new environmental store in Shrewsbury and at various locations in London. We are in talks with other leading supermarket chains who are keen to follow Tesco's lead.

Customers from other sectors:

Over 130 more vehicles have also been sold, even before we have started production. A number of other household names, such as Hildon Water and logistics giant, P F Whitehead, are also waiting to take delivery of Modec vehicles for their fleet.

We have a test and demonstration programme running for a number of other high profile, forward-thinking companies. We will be working closely with early adopters to maximise the publicity benefits they can reap from adopting our vehicles, so we don't intend to formally announce who our lead customers will be until production vehicles are released into service.

[m.t.glass] 04/4/2007 00:06

For Axeon's sake, I hope Modec do deliver as many vans as they claim to have orders for, and that they do so within a prompt timeframe (sorry to sound a little sceptical about that - it isn't because of my interest in rival Tanfield (TAN), but because of discrepancies in some of Modec's own proclaimed sales stats, which differ from interview to interview. I would like to see Modec and Tanfield both doing well)

[mangal] 03/4/2007 09:10

citywire article:

[m.t.glass] 27/3/2007 11:23

Axeon FY pretax loss narrows on 948 pct sales jump, sees 'significant' 07 growth

LONDON (AFX) - Axeon Holdings PLC posted a marginally narrower full-year pretax loss on a 948 pct sales jump, and said it is positioned to continue to deliver 'significant' turnover and profit growth during 2007.

It also said it has won a contract worth up to 470,000 stg as part of a 1.15 mln stg programme to supply batteries for an electric version of the Daimler Chrysler SMART Car and a new vehicle by Modec Ltd.

Axeon, which bought Advanced Batteries Ltd in March 2006, reported a pretax loss of 1.06 mln stg for the year ended Dec 31 compared with a loss of 1.33 mln stg a year earlier, as sales rose to 2.55 mln stg from 243,324 stg.

[e-mail] jro

[sharedoc] 27/3/2007 08:31

fantastic results, exciting sector, obviously not on many peoples radar yet.

[sharedoc] 19/3/2007 10:31

I think that the results are in 2/52 time, should get more good news then.

[m.t.glass] 12/3/2007 14:36

Sharedoc - Modec director Jamie Borwick last week was reported as stating 500 as a production target for 2007, in one interview, and a sales target of 500 in another. Sales and production can of course coincide, but no guarantee they will do. His company has previously indicated they were ramping up production towards a target of 2500 a year, but I'm not sure which year. He reportedly stated they had so far sold 100 units to 30 customers. So far the company is keen to boast numbers but less keen to name names. The 15 for Tesco get mentioned over and over since last year, but has not grown beyond 15 as far as I can see. The only other customer so far named is the plant hire firm Speedyhire. Last year the company made references to Ocado as a possible customer (they deliver for Waitrose and John Lewis) and talked of having vehicles on trial with them. The name appears to get no mention now, so i am guessing Ocado decided not to buy (I could be wrong of course - but those trials were much earlier than Tesco). Hildon Wayter is pencilled in as a customer (no numbers given) and so is transport firm P.F.Whitehead (ditto).

It may be that Modec do have real customers lined up and signed up - in which case maybe we will see a list published at the CV Show (NEC, April 26-26). But at present it sounds like the 15 Tesco vans are still the biggest fleet order they have had, and that most other orders are for no more than about 1-3 vans.

That said - I imagine Axeon will be supplying them with a three-figure quantity of battery packs during this year. Though during last week's ribboncutting visit, the vehicle shown in Tesco colours was described as being the first to roll off the production line, in which case that is perhaps the first to be using the Axeon batteries in a customer vehicle rather than in prototypes and trials, so it may be a month or two before those first 50 battery packs are used up and more are wanted.

Edit: Just recieved another local media report on Modec (IC Coventry = Midland Newspapers) saying "... as the firm expands production from an initial 250 in the first six months, to 2,000 a year.."

The numbers seem to change from day to day. This time 2000 per year not 2500, but no indication which year. Company website now says "around 500" in 2007 but still also reports sales of 130 despite 100 being stated elsewhere this week.

[sharedoc] 12/3/2007 13:44

As far as I understand it, the 1.3 Million order was for an initial 50 battery packs for the Modec vehicle, I remember reading somewhere that Modec sales are estimated at 700 vehicles in the first year which will translate into more profits for AXE

[azalea] 09/3/2007 14:46

The latest rns is not for a change in holding which is stated at 8%. Therfore I suspect there must be another reason for the jump, yet to be revealed.

[sharedoc] 09/3/2007 14:17

Their previous holding was 7.65%, looks like they have increased to 8%, spoke to the company today, results to be announced week beggining 26th March.

[m.t.glass] 09/3/2007 12:41

Price jumped a bit on that announcement re Aberdeen holding. Can anyone clarify it please? Did they previuosly hold any?

Trustnet doesn't currently record existing involvement of any funds at all, which if true surprises me a little.

Sensible of AXE to get out a news release after yesterday's significant tv publicity for Modec.

Bid-offer spread still offputtingly wide at over 12%. Even if getting inside that on individual deals, it does not help the stock's wider appeal