Centurion Ele Share Discussion Threads

[25cent] 15/5/2007 16:56

Audi china? lol

[25cent] 08/5/2007 14:33

I wonder if the perseys are about to end the misery and take this private?
they could probably make a profit if they sacked all the idiots above the level of manual laborers at the cuc factory!

[mr tyson] 04/5/2007 21:07

Oh heck! Having researched this company for the last minute dare I say DVS all over again? Will look further into this one but initial thoughts are not good!

[25cent] 04/5/2007 10:02

Like I pointed out on dvs the long term winners in this sector will be quality. For example playstaion 3 xbox360 apple iPod ect ect, not cheap tacky imported Chinese shoddy goods.

In the not to distance future all these will be standard factory fit on the factory production line and what then for cuc and its far east imported dvd/mp3 players?

In what other sector has quality never not won? who wants to spend 25K on a car and have a cheap dvd installed when they could have a playstaion 3 with blu ray?

Maybe the perseys plan to start fitting out tractors with dvd players?

[2clueless] 03/5/2007 17:54

I'll try to answer what I can, but obviously all IMHO and DYOR.

- Will RSE become the norm? Unknown. Some look at the radio/tape/CD model and say it is likely to become standard in family cars, others look at the Sat-Nav model and see removable systems that can go from car-to-car. There are problems for RSE using both models: Removable DVD systems (as can be bought from Argos etc.) are generally quite cheap portable systems with a cigar charger and a series of velcro straps to "mount" it into the car. There is no testing carried out to ensure suitablility in vehicles, crash worthiness etc, so car manufacturers will not want to touch these and the RTM will be through retail in relatively low volumes, competing against many cheap and cheerful imports from China. Installed systems are obviously dedicated to the car and will cost more as an option than a retail version, however all testing, compliance etc. can be carried out, and Car manufacturers can buy large, regular, sustainable quantities, allowing a leaner supply chain. The problem is of obsolescence - this technology moves fast and already RSE systems from, say 2 years ago, may not be able to play DivX encoded movies, and HDDVD and Blu Ray are on their way (of arguable advantage on a 7" screen), but if the software (DVD) is HD, the player needs to cope. Also, it's a high cost for something that can only be used in the car - this is why I see the Honda RNS as very good - it indicates a product that can be dedicated to the vehicle, and so be safe and reliable, but can also be used outside the vehicle.

- Armour group also operate in this area with their VEBA brand (Video Entertainment By Autoleads). They are simply another competitor, along with many others including CE companies like Sony, Panasonic; Automotive suppliers like Delphi, Visteon; and some from the Public Transport / aero industry.

- Are the overheads too great for the revenue / profit? That's the $1000000 question.

- Shares are limited. Ravensworth is a shareholding not a person, as pointed out by 25C. The Devon Farmers are the biggest individuals and have been for a long time (in fact, an RNS about their holding today) and you're right - a few individuals own the bulk of the available holding.

- I don't believe that Armour will buy CUC - they've already bought Autoleads / VEBA and have access to the same suppliers as CUC - the difference is in the people (CUC's engineering & product dev departmnents are very strong) and it never makes sense to buy a (loss making) company just for its people.

- BTW, some of the Directors that were ousted from CUC are now working for VEBA/Armour. (These are the people who apparently bought all the dead stock that needed the £3M write-down)

[25cent] 02/5/2007 16:18

Ravensworth is an American investment trust not a person Roccoco, and they invested on the strength of the company well before the share consolidation, so don't bank on their judgment , they are down about 96% so far.
They built up a 18% stake at around 20p thats an incredible £10 per share now lol.
They had to pump some new cash in when the then company bank sold the CUC debt , what else could they do?

[roccoco] 02/5/2007 12:03

I read some of these postings, but this is my first attempt at putting up something on the board. I find much comment worthless but occasionally there appears to be informed comment such as 2clueless. I have lost money on this one and also DVS. My thoughts on CUC are as follows. This is obviously gambling on rear seat entertainment taking off and CUC has been relying on its Toyota contract. Will rear seat entertainment in expensive cars become the norm and then trickle down to mid price cars? Will it become a must have status symbol? Will it be like air bags and sat nav moving from optional to standard fit? Now that DVS has gone, does CUC have the market to itself or is there a company called Armour Group? CUC has anounced a couple of contracts and indicated that another is on the way. Are the company's overheads too great for the revenue stream / profit margin? Will the company go bust? Is this a company run for the directors and not the shareholders? I get the impression that about 90% of the shares are held by about six names. There are very few shares traded. The large shareholders can't sell even if they wanted to and if somebody wanted to buy £10,000.00 there would not be any stock. There appears to be a Mr Ravensworth who keeps pumping money into the company. I assume that he must be an insider, what does he know? If the company got another contract (toyota appears to be providing about £4 million of turnover a year) would this take turnover upto £10 million a year? This is one of the main questions that the market needs to know. I suspect Mr Ravensworth has a fair idea but how can we find out? If the company gets these extra contracts would anybody buy the company? I believe that the company has about £8 million of tax losses. Would the Armour group or perhaps trafficmaster(both making profits) get at the tax losses , strip out Directors and have a useful bolt on? I would value the comments of 2clueless

[lord santafe] 02/5/2007 09:48

you can now sell 2,000 pounds worth or more online. You coud not even sell 200 pounds online before. And any sell was 2p below the bid price. Are these going to rocket?.

[25cent] 26/4/2007 17:32

Ok clueless,good idea, good luck, i have nothing against CUC at all and really hope that im wrong as i know if i am right then a few people will loose some cash.

[2clueless] 26/4/2007 16:16

25C
I know you were on the DVS thread, and I know you contributed regularly and were slammed and filtered by anyone who's opinion you didn't agree with, more fool them as it turned out. That's why I said you'd have been ripped apart on that thread with a comment like "They buy it from ICE". There seemed to be a great urge to get ammunition and rubbish other posters with other points of view over there.
Please don't take it the wrong way - it's over, forget it - let's see what the next - 15 you say? - weeks bring!

[25cent] 26/4/2007 15:10

Hi clueless ,check out the DVS threads I was regular poster on the dvs thread,I was the one that said it was going bust, it did, and I get the same feeling about this, the same worthless rns the same hopeless sector.
I am now calling this suspended within the next 15 weeks!

[cgod] 26/4/2007 14:46

Down another 10% Have E_Mailed company no reply again, if the company was a good long term bet why dont the directors buy the shares? 0.18p befor the dilution took place.

[2clueless] 26/4/2007 12:44

Wasn't meant to be agressive - apolgies!
You would have been ripped apart on the DVS thread.

This sector has had a bad rap - true - mainly due to some companies like DVS and some previous CUC directors carving it up in the aftermarket, realising that they're in a niche sector and that for mass market appeal they need to supply to OEMs, floating to raise money and then not knowing what to do. I think CUC are best placed to address the OEM market based on the OEM experience in their boardroom and Engineering / Product Realisation departments, but as RPACO says, will they run out of money first? The OEM sector is notoriously difficult to get into and the hoops to jump through are many.
Although they may have a long way to go before any decent profit can be made, I see the Honda announcement as a huge step in the right direction, and shows their confidence in CUC's ability and supply chain.

You are right, the products are not their own - neither are (were) DVS or Delphi or Visteon or Sony, for that matter. The production is "outsourced" to China and Korea. The panels and electronics are built into toolings and moulding designs that are owned by CUC, Sony etc., and then sold back to them by the factory. CUC's value-add is to take an industrial product (a raw TFT and a electronic circuit (motor unit), design a nice housing that fits perfectly into eg. a Honda. Make sure that this design (and the electronics) includes all EU requirements for Crash tests (very difficult and important when you're messing around with seats and head-restraints), electrical tests, climate tests, etc. etc. and that the whole system can be easily wired into a Honda (so source / produce / test an electrical wiring harness as well). Engineer the whole thing, basically and deliver it on time, in the right packaging, with all the right paperwork, oh, and offer about 3% cost reduction every year. Honda obviously believe CUC can do this, so it's a good RNS. (Before you say anything about DVS. Citroen UK are a UK marketing company - it is a different ball game to OEM deals - as I've continually stated on the DVS thread)

BTW, I'm not sure the Audiovox deal is still on, is it? That all happened before the refinancing fiasco last year so Audiovox may have pulled out (particularly with the withdrawal from retail).

DYOR etc.
2clu

[25cent] 25/4/2007 15:12

Clueless, i dont understand the aggression but with that name you may be Mr Rhodes posting.
Your right i got ICE mixed up with audiovox
althought CUC do fit products that are not their own see the rns below.
I have seen these rns for years in this worthless sector and let me tell you , the more contracts that seem to be won the bigger the loss at the results.
This is heading for the bin bag and very soon at that .


CENTURION ELECTRONICS PLC

PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH AUDIOVOX

Centurion Electronics plc ("Centurion" or the "Company"), the UK provider of
in-car audio-visual entertainment, today announces it has signed an exclusive
distributorship agreement with Audiovox Audio Produkte GmbH ("Audiovox") to be
the sole distributor of Audiovox in-car audio-visual products throughout the UK
and Ireland.

Audiovox is a market leader in segments of the wireless communication and
consumer electronics market throughout the USA. It has recently formed Audiovox
Germany Holdings GmbH, and started expanding its successful business throughout
Europe.

The distributorship agreement gives Centurion the sales and marketing of an
already established brand offering a wide range of high-quality in-car
audio-visual products for the specialist market with which Centurion has
established a close working relationship over the past 5 years.

Pat Lavelle CEO of Audiovox stated: "This agreement allows us to expand our
distribution of mobile video products to all of Europe as well as to the
aftermarket and OEM. Centurion is a market leader in mobile video distribution
and we believe that together we are a formidable force in the market."

Chris Rhodes, Chief Executive of Centurion, commented: "I am delighted to secure
this distributorship agreement with such an established, quality manufacturer as
Audiovox. The exclusive deal will give Centurion access to a wide range of new
product opportunities for the specialist market throughout the UK and Ireland."

[2clueless] 20/4/2007 15:47

rpaco - I have sent you a mail.

[rpaco] 20/4/2007 11:18

I still think its a race to production/getting paid for CUC bvefore the money runs out (or will Toyota sub them for a small stake?) Or may be this is like driving fast to get there befor the petrol runs out

2clu Pls can you email me. I have been afflicted by pc problems and have lost your address. No working pc atm using my neighbour's. Need to ask about Lenovo effect.

[2clueless] 20/4/2007 09:22

25cent - 18 Apr'07 - 23:01 - 968 of 973


Just to make that dvs style RNS look even sadder , CUC only distribute ICE its not one of their own brands.
So lets look at that RNS contract win shall we,
1 optional extra
2, not a CUC product
3, all the ICE products if fitted will have to be bought from ICE.

ROFLMAO

1/ Yes, but it'll be a popular one. At some stage, expect it to be FOC, or standard on some models (as happened with Toyota, Kia etc. previously)
2/ Yes it is
3/ No they don't - you can't buy something from a three letter acronym!

[2clueless] 20/4/2007 09:16

Quote: 25cent - 18 Apr'07 - 23:01 - 968 of 972

Just to make that dvs style RNS look even sadder , CUC only distribute ICE its not one of their own brands.
-------------------------------
Err, ICE isn't a brand - it means In Car Entertainment. Centurion don't buy anything from any company called ICE (even if there is such a company). I'm surprised you made such a basic error, 25C, especially as you seem to usually know everything about anything.
To be honest, Centurion don't really supply ICE - that's more used for the traditional stuff like Radios, CD player antennas, speakers etc. Centurion supply RSE - Rear Seat Entertainment. Oh, and most of it's branded "Centurion" (sometimes "Plug&Play"), although the Toyota stuff says Toyota on it, Lexus stuff says Lexus etc.
I still say its a good RNS and I know the industry and the products very well.
Honda will be a good customer, and help the undeserving directors cash in their easy target share options.

[2clueless] 20/4/2007 09:08

So the Directors award themselves a whole load of share options that don't need to show any improvement before they can exercise them.
Just because their previous options were over 1.00 and they don't feel they can get there since they had to dilute, they swap them to a really low price that they feel they can get to.
This really stinks - the Directors should bloody work hard for their options (we can see they pay themselves enough salary), not just move the goalposts when it suits them.

[lord santafe] 19/4/2007 13:41

well happy, they got me 13p for them. At last some relief to my day trading.

[lord santafe] 19/4/2007 12:08

Can not even sell my holding off for 12.5p that I paid 15.5p for. This seems crazy. I will have to either roll over or sell off in tiny amounts.

[2clueless] 13/4/2007 16:51

Blimey, fella.
You say it may drop, and down she goes!
Not sure about the cash position - looks a bit shakey, but the hits have been taken, and the Toyota deal should be profitable.
I'm sure they can deliver the tooling and approvals on this - you don't patent something you haven't worked on for a while and thought through completely, so the final development should be fairly smooth.
You're right about one thing - not sure if they can afford the bar bills!
What with DVS going pop last week, there could be a few extra contracts to pick up, too.

[rpaco] 13/4/2007 12:05

Mmm where are they getting the money to carry on? How will they pay for the tooling, the staff, the bar bills? I think another dilution may come as they make a cash call. Can they actually deliver the product to spec and on time in re-usable packaging? You know the answers 2clue. Another cash call could seee the share price down to 10p. The Stoch and the MACD have both crossed and the RSI is way too high showing it overbought. So it looks like it could be back down to 14 by the weekend ie end of today.