Cellcast Share Discussion Threads

[the analyst] 02/10/2008 10:35

From the LNG board:


Cliffyburger - 2 Oct'08 - 10:30 - 4660 of 4660

Neil Craven has called all of the major investors in LNG, including myself (yesterday afternoon and again this morning) to explain his recent share sales.

Neil has large holdings in private and illiquid companies which he is unable to liquidate to meet losses and margin calls. Hence, he has sold LNG shares to other major shareholders. I intend to help Neil with his cash crunch, perhaps by buying some of his existing holdings at a discount.

Neil is a decent chap who has been battered by the market storm. Also, he had his second child last week, so he doesn't need any extra hassle from disgruntled LNG investors!

[ldmachin] 01/10/2008 23:50

stefanos2,

No, that was the only question i asked.

On a slightly different note:

"Fraud Office not to pursue TV phone-in probe"



I guess this makes the chances of Ofcom making any substantial changes less?

[stefanos2] 01/10/2008 23:40

What a horrible, evasive answer.

Did you ask any more questions LDMAchin? If so, what replies did you get to them?

Come on Neil, get them to open up the Sky Telemedia books. You have the right and the power to fully understand which companies Cellcast does business with and all of the pros and cons that go with it.

Go on, take a peek, you may be very surprised.....

[ldmachin] 01/10/2008 22:50

I asked CEO Andrew Wilson the following question:

"I would like to know what, if any, services SMS Media Limited and Harkness Trading Limited provide for Cellcast. Please could you provide a summary of the services and the approx. cost of these services to Cellcast PLC for, say, 1st Jan 2008 to 30th June 2008 inclusive."

He replied:

"All related party transcations in 2007 are disclosed in Note 24 to the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2007. Please look at our website www.cellcast.tv for further information about the Company. The Company is regulated by the Stock Exchange and is compliant with AIM disclosure requirements and other regulatory obligations.

If you are a shareholder seeking more information on the operations of the Company, I would be happy to meet you in person to discuss our business."

Not exactly the answer i was looking for, as he just specifies for 2007. The 'Note 24' in the annual report he refers to is:



As you can see there are a couple of companies directly and indirectly owned partly by Andrew Wilson (SMS Media Limited, Sky Telemedia Limited and Sardik Limited) that Cellcast made payments to for 2007. The total seems to be around approx. £1.5m for 2007.

I have asked for a comparible figure for the first six months of 2008, to see if it has changed much. I will let you know if and when i receive a reply.

[stefanos2] 01/10/2008 21:35

If any of you can get hold of Neil Craven, together you will be able to get together 30% - a very important percentage I'm lead to believe ;)

I quickly totted up that Neil Craven has been swindled out of over £800k on this company. I bet they sweet-talked him into buying, rather than him chasing it.

No shares from me to add to the kitty, chaps. Sorry.

But I'm quite positive that a SAG is your only way to salvage any return from your investments.

You need Mr Craven on your side, though.

Let's get those books opened up and see if we can't find a better telecoms middle man provider than the SMS MEdia / Sky Telemedia farce

[the analyst] 01/10/2008 21:25

Interestingly, in the space of just a few minutes we have already got together unhappy investors that account for almost 6% of the voting rights....

[the analyst] 01/10/2008 21:15

I unfortunately own 2.9% and I am not happy at the lack of transparency about why the results are so poor.

I bought in big time after The CEO, Andrew Wilson, told me that the UK operations were making EBITDA of £1m pa and that they were focussed on improving margins. Not price sensitive info, but at the time, I thought a PE of 6x (if they could get rid of the major risk of debt, which they did) represented a reasonable investment

That £1m EBITDA comment from Andrew Wilson turned out to be absolute nonsense. They are nowhere near that.

The directors also told me at the AGM that they expected to reach break-even "By September". No news of that in this latest announcement or explanation as to why they are still loss-making

At the moment I am still relying on the trust I put into what I have been told by Andrew Wilson, but I must say that I am now VERY sceptical as to whether the directors are working for ALL shareholders.

Any company worth its salt would at least attempt to explain a 50% reductions in gross margins and the EXACT roles of companies like SMS Media and Sky Telemedia that are held in 'tax havens', yet play a major, but undefined role in the company.

[morning_glory] 01/10/2008 20:51

I unfortunately own about 1.5% of the company.

I too fear that we are being fleeced by a devious and self-serving management.

[thesageofsaint] 01/10/2008 20:48

I have not posted for a long time, as there has been little to comment upon except for the lack of news. I own 500k and I believe I am now being robbed of that which are my assets. I have sent a number of e-mails, but not received a single response. The lack of transparency is now too consistent to be interpreted as anything other than intentional information management to insidiously throttle this company and legally, yet immorally, acquire these assets on the v cheap. I have little spare time, yet I will provide any support I can to a SAG. Indeed, the next time I am in Town I will call on the offices and make issues clearly understood.

Does anyone have experience of bringing these malpractices to the attention of the necessary authorities?

The Sage

[newkid] 01/10/2008 18:22

Need the big boys on here. With out them we can't do anything. The 2,3 and so on % boys need to get the ball rolling.

Regards NewKid

[zangdook] 01/10/2008 17:55

That's 0.6% right there, lyonst5. I have 21k, not much (0.038%) but I'm on board.

[newkid] 01/10/2008 17:23

Seems like you need a Shareholders Action Group. Look at REF to see what a SAG can do. Great job done by a few in the interest of the many. I for one would be up for it but with a very small holding it should be upto one of the larger holders to start. It's not going to be easy. I tried with ECK but only got a total of .15% holders onboard so gave up. If the directors get wind that a SAG is being formed then who knows. The Directors do read these threads.

Regards NewKid

[ldmachin] 30/9/2008 23:01

zoo123,

The problem is, nobody seems to know... which is a very big problem as the two directors are owners of SMS Media indirectly. THIS ISSUE NEED CLARIFYING, GET ON TO THE DIRECTORS. LET THEM KNOW YOU WANT TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION.

[zoo123] 30/9/2008 22:57

Hi,

Can other posters please confirm for me the relationship between Cellcast Plc and SMS Media.



Thanks.



Kind regards,


MN

[ldmachin] 30/9/2008 22:56

the analyst,

Yep, way too many positions, how is he suppose to have his eye on the ball for shareholders for all these companies.

[the analyst] 30/9/2008 22:53

Thanks LDM

When I get time, I'll take a look at the other company sites where he is on the board to see if I can get contact details. Quite a few to choose from:

"Julian Paul is a chartered accountant who spent 20 years as a commercial and merchant banker. Since 1991 he has held several senior board positions with companies in the media and entertainment sectors. He is currently deputy chairman of Eagle Rock Entertainment Limited, of which he was a founder shareholder, and non-executive chairman of Cellcast plc, the global interactive digital broadcaster. He is also a non-executive director of Entertainment Rights plc, Pilat Media Global plc, Stagecoach Theatre Arts plc, Ekay plc, Edge Performance VCT plc and The Regent Organisation Limited."

[z1gzag] 30/9/2008 22:08

This is heading for bust.

[stefanos2] 30/9/2008 21:50

I don't fancy your chances of getting through to these guys, Analyst.

Between them, the directors have almost 30% of the company and they act as the major creditors to the company. You can't win. As long as the company survives, the cash goes to the directors in the shape of pay and via SMS Media. If the company goes bust, the administrators will sell the assets to the creditors and guess who that is? SMS Media, of course.

My feeling is that you should forget about these shares and move on. Yes, they have good assets and yes they excellent revenue streams. According to my findings, the margins should be 25% and that figure includes costs of producing the shows, the revenue share to the girls, the cut the telecoms company takes. Everything. The whole 9 yards...

The guy I feel for in all of this is Neil Craven. He must be furious! What's he been fleeced for? Over half a million quid I bet. He's lost the lot.

If I was him, I'd be steaming into the Cellcast offices first thing tomorrow and demanding to see the accounts and how much goes to SMS Media. He needs to stop listening to the smooth hyperbole from the SMS syndicate and look at the numbers with a fine-toothed comb. He needs to look at the SMS MEDIA FIGURES, but they ain't going to show him them are they?

He could still get 10p a share, but I feel this will only be if he becomes an activist with other PIs. But, where's he going to find other shareholders to back him up in a quest to salvage some value?

Maybe you are right and the way forward is through the non-exec. Possibly the NOMAD.

Something needs doing..

Otherwise...

You are Stuffed....



Good luck everyone

[the analyst] 30/9/2008 21:13

LDM,

Do you have the details for Julian Paul, the Non Executive Chairman?

He is responsible for making sure that the directors are working for ALL shareholders and not just the directors or SMS Media.

He has a huge responsibility in his role and would be in severe trouble should it become apparant that he is not fulfilling his duties.

Once again, I do not think there is anything bad the directors are doing on the sly - I simply think something has gone badly wrong (again) to have destroyed the margins so quickly. To not explain it in the results is appalling

I would like to write to Julian Paul

Cheers

T.A.

[lord santafe] 30/9/2008 18:21

This is why the price is so low as well as the OFCOM decision we are waiting for. Hopefully this problem with the directors will be solved before Decembers OFCOM ruling. However it is a great opportunity to top up while we wait.

[ldmachin] 30/9/2008 14:21

Shareholders should bombared the CEO demanding answers... as they don't seem to give an explaination in the interim report:

Cellcast plc
Andrew Wilson, CEO Tel: [phone]
[e-mail] www.cellcast.tv

Any other business that saw margins decrease so much to so little would explain themselves in the interim report. The management have got something to hide here by the looks of it.

[lord santafe] 30/9/2008 13:59

I see that the directors on Cellcast are also the directors for SMS Media. They may be making the fees higher on purporse to cream all they can out of Cellcast.

This may be illgal and may oneday be investigated, and it should be possible to vote for the removal of these directors.

Even so the company should still survive from its other avenues of potential.