Biofutures Share Discussion Threads

[madmick] 13/3/2013 08:43

sorry leeds. just spotted your add, My shares are held in nominee, So I won't need one.

[leedskier] 13/3/2013 08:33

I will send you my email address in the ADVFN internal mail

add:


which I have now done ...

my SIPP shares are held by the brokers in their nominee a/c, which meant they had to complete the form and send the 'hard copy' to the Registrar, which they did yesterday sending me a copy.

[madmick] 13/3/2013 08:31

yes please leeds.

[leedskier] 13/3/2013 08:27

Mick do you want a proxy voting form?

add:

If your shares are held by your brokers in a nominee a/c they will have to complete it for you.

[madmick] 13/3/2013 08:23

I think they are using the KISS strategy.trying to keep it simple.
ie. the following, they have developed graphene products that they have a customer for. see bellow.

"The Platinum Group has developed its first two higher-margin Graphene-enhanced products with Scomi Group, one of the leading oil and gas service providers in the region, for launch in 2013 and 2015."

from duxys post.
with Samsung in particular filing a considerable number of patents, particularly in the Advanced Electronics area, from which substantial revenues are unlikely in the near term.

The market isn't yet ready for high volume graphene.

[leedskier] 13/3/2013 08:20

It stops traders playing the book ...

i.e. selling off the book and buying back off the book and making say 5% on that ...

[duxy786_2] 13/3/2013 08:12

Keya- thank you.What's with the ridiculously wide spread...anyone with level2 care to comment?

[keya5000] 13/3/2013 08:01

duxy i think this explains the patent situation well.

and graphene.htm

[duxy786_2] 13/3/2013 07:54

Much of the patent activity in the area to date has been focused on the high-value and complex applications of Graphene, with Samsung in particular filing a considerable number of patents, particularly in the Advanced Electronics area, from which substantial revenues are unlikely in the near term.

[leedskier] 13/3/2013 06:38

We do not want Platinum to be at the top of its game at the date of the RTO. We want it to be at the embryonic stage so that when it grows the value of our investment grows too.

I agree with the strategy of not being a bulk seller of 'raw' Graphene and exposing the company to the spot price of that as others come into the market.

Much better to produce added value patented products at the core of which is Graphene nanotechnology.

NB:

That aim is NOT inconsistent with being the largest producer of Graphene.

[leedskier] 13/3/2013 06:34

This part of the admission document may be relevant ...

5. STRATEGY AND EXPANSION PLANS
Overview
Since inception, the strategy of the Platinum Group has been to build an independent, high-margin, public company, based on proprietary and defensible intellectual property. The Platinum Group's strategic goals aim to exploit the global megatrend towards sustainability through the supply of waste-based, high- performance cost-competitive products into global growth markets, with blue-chip international customers and development partners. The Platinum Group selected Malaysia as its base primarily because of an abundant source of palm waste for feedstock, access to the mandated Malaysian biofuels market, government support for high-technology industries and sound economic prospects, both nationally and in the wider South East Asian region.

Development phase
By the end of 2012, the Platinum Group had developed the Simplat and Catalyx Processes and built a plant capable of producing 90 million litres of market-leading speciality chemicals and 1000 kg of Graphene per annum. The Platinum Group chose to focus initially on the biofuels market because of the existence of multinational customers able to buy substantial proportions of the Platinum Group's existing capacity. With only 0.02 per cent. of the global biofuels market, the Platinum Group has been able to achieve its existing sales volumes without substantial investment in sales and marketing. Contracts have been secured with blue chip multinational customers and cash is being generated to support the development of further high margin products. Graphene has been sold into the R&D market, building awareness both of the product and the Company's brand. The Platinum Group has entered into working agreements with multinational industry leaders in a number of key areas for Graphene applications. The Platinum Group has developed its first two higher-margin Graphene-enhanced products with Scomi Group, one of the leading oil and gas service providers in the region, for launch in 2013 and 2015.

Expansion phase
With the speciality chemicals business providing a solid foundation for the Platinum Group, the Platinum
Directors aim to maximise the opportunities presented by the Platinum Group's ability to manufacture

36

Graphene affordably at commercial scale. Despite the current scarcity of Graphene, the Platinum Directors have no plans for the Platinum Group to become a volume supplier of Graphene to third parties. It will focus on the development of proprietary applications of Graphene in areas where it believes that it is possible to deploy Graphene-enhanced products in bulk, to provide solutions to pressing problems in large and high- value markets.

The Platinum Directors have identified oilfield chemicals and engineering plastics as being two core areas where enhancement with Graphene offers the possibility of creating products which have the potential to become market leaders in the near to medium term. In particular, they believe that PlatDrill, for offshore drilling, and PlatQuat, especially when allied to the Group's planned Graphene-enhanced proppant, for the growing shale oil & gas market, have the potential to deliver significant high-margin revenue streams.

In order to produce the required volumes of the Platinum Group's speciality chemicals and Graphene, the New Board intends to use the proceeds of the Placing to increase the capacity of the Platinum Group's existing speciality chemicals plant from 90 to 136 million litres per annum, including for the production of commercial quantities of PlatQuat, and to increase the capacity of the Platinum Group's existing advanced nanomaterials plant from 1,000 to 250,000 kg per annum. The New Board also intends to develop the Zurex Refinery into a pre-treatment plant for a new speciality chemicals plant, with associated Graphene production, in the near to medium term.

Licensing strategy
Outside the core areas of oilfield chemicals and engineering plastics, the Platinum Group is pursuing a licensing model in a number of areas, where the Platinum Group's supply of Graphene and knowledge in relation to its application, are expected to translate into licence agreements. Compared to the pharmaceutical industry (where a licensing strategy has been pursued by many participants for several years), the industries which the Platinum Group is targeting tend to be characterised by shorter and less costly product development timelines and lower regulatory hurdles prior to product launch.

IP strategy
While the Platinum Directors believe that the intellectual property underpinning the Platinum Group's production processes is strongly defensible, there exist a number of opportunities to file patents on applications of Graphene in a number of markets. Using the net proceeds of the Placing, the New Board intends to file a number of patents in key jurisdictions in relation to certain well-understood applications of Graphene nanomaterials. Much of the patent activity in the area to date has been focused on the high-value and complex applications of Graphene, with Samsung in particular filing a considerable number of patents, particularly in the Advanced Electronics area, from which substantial revenues are unlikely in the near term. Consequently, the New Board believes that there are considerable opportunities to acquire portfolios of patents in other areas, which, in the absence of commercial quantities of Graphene, are likely to be relatively inexpensive to acquire.

Acquisition strategy
In addition to acquisitions of IP, the New Board has identified a small number of companies whose staff base, IP, knowledge of Graphene applications and/or existing routes into target customers could, they believe, add substantial value to the Enlarged Group. With the Graphene industry still in its infancy, the New Board believes that such acquisitions may be relatively inexpensive to acquire, likely to be made principally using the Enlarged Group's shares as consideration and could offer transformative opportunities to the Enlarged Group.

[bam bam rubble] 13/3/2013 00:29

madmick, that's my point, the plant capacity is planned for internal use in proposed enhanced products. Regardless I would take the CEO comment hoping to be "the largest" with a copious amount of salt.

The FY 2012 figure should read £6m for palm oil byproducts/feedstock, however some numbers in the admission doc are inconsistent. For example the revenue figure for 12 months to Dec 2011 is lower than the revenue for the 11 months to Nov 2011, which suggests Dec 2011 recorded minus revenue(?)

[madmick] 12/3/2013 23:57

Bam Bam
you missed the end off.

The New Board has no plans for the Platinum Group to become a volume supplier of Graphene "to third parties

"We aim to be the largest graphene producer in the world by 2015, with production capacity of about 2,000 tonnes a year," [The CEO] believes that there is plenty of room for the Platinum Energy's growth."

[madmick] 12/3/2013 23:50

I see BamBam has posted some figures from 2010 ,2011 and 3012
according the the RNS they didn't start commercial sales until 2012

"The Platinum Group transitioned from a research and development group focused on technology and product development to a commercial operating group in 2012."

he also posted the following
FY 2012 (sold £3.6m biodiesel* £5.0m palm oil byproducts/feedstock)
........................*plus £6.7m biodiesel
Total = £15.3m
The Platinum Group state in the RNS that they made sales of £16.3m in 2012

"Despite working capital constraints, the Platinum Group's speciality chemicals business generated sales of approximately GBP16.3 million in the eleven months to 30 November 2012 through sales to, inter alia, blue chip multinational oil and gas companies, including Chevron and Shell."

I guess one of them must be wrong!

[bam bam rubble] 12/3/2013 23:42

Thread title not entirely accurate. Its a biodiesel producer looking to develop enhanced products for volume sale, mainly chemical-based fluids which will need to be more cost effective than the un-enhanced existing products to be commercially viable.

from the Admission Doc: "The Board has no plans for the Group to become a volume supplier of Graphene"

[mattjos] 12/3/2013 23:06

still looks really quite exciting to me albeit much too early to see how successfully the company pursues its ambitions. They look to have been quite sensible in terms of the cash they have raised & how they wish to invest it + their scientific & commercial credentials look impressive.
Given the plethora of industrial applications for Graphene, the number of countries and companies that are focussed on patenting & commercialising it & the speed at which it looks like it will be adopted, there looks to be very healthy demand for the product at this early stage.
At what point in the future it becomes 'commoditised' is too early to tell but, if is successful then, it will reach that status at some point & hence the manufacturing margins will rapidly shrink as supply catches up with demand
However, the business model here seems to completely understand that and so I am pleased to see that they also intend to move up the value chain with the product as it matures.
Despite the inevitable secrecy that might surround their technology, I assume the sheer number of potentially price-sensitive opportunities will result in regular news items to help flesh-out what we know so far.

[keya5000] 12/3/2013 21:51

Bit of background on the patent side of the industry.

[keya5000] 12/3/2013 21:44

Nice article

[leedskier] 12/3/2013 20:43

If I do receive it I will.

[euclid5] 12/3/2013 20:32

Hello leedskier, will you post the Panmure Note here please when you receive it

thanks
Mr E

[leedskier] 12/3/2013 19:34

apenny24, there could be movement, but in which direction, I am not sure. The only share price which is relevant is GRPH when it lists. Panmure has sold shares valuing the company at £163m i.e. £1.40 a share. We will not really know the market's value until trading in that share gets under way. I think those of us who have held long here through thick and thin will ignore the short term movements and focus on the long term.