Cng Travel Share Discussion Threads

[the drewster] 22/8/2006 14:05

Did anyone go to the AGM?

Has anyone heard or read anything about the terms of the spin off to the management team?

Does anyone have the vaguest idea when the next official announcement is due?

Add this to MOB and I have lost enough to buy a small house!!

Oh well, we live and (hopefully) learn.

[the drewster] 26/7/2006 11:30

Is anyone going to the AGM to seek clarification as Katylied suggested?

"Well, at the very least, I believe the company should come clean about the precise terms of the 'spun off' and identify who (if not CNG shareholders) the actual beneficiaries are. Note that the 'president of ECS' Paul Hoffmann, is listed as a 'Vice-Pesident of Tzell'."

Giving away a revenue generating asset to one of the directors who then charges Tzell to use the technology thereafter. The exact financial terms of this need to be clarified to prevent any accusations of wrong-doing.

[the drewster] 26/7/2006 11:26

You should know eh Finbarr ? ;-)

[finbarr] 26/7/2006 10:05

Dolmen stockbrokers in Dublin issued a note on CNG this am.It can be found at www.rte.ie, the business section and then the brokers notes section. They rate it a speculative buy

[katylied] 26/7/2006 09:53

Were yesterday's big trades, insiders breaking ranks? Timed just before the AGM and inside knowledge of the refinancing arrangement? Frankly, I am amazed that anyone would lend these clowns new money for acquisitions...

[upside potential] 26/7/2006 08:24

scope finally for some upside ? does this mean at least (for now) they are not bust ?

[davebowler] 25/7/2006 16:43

£10k sale knocks 40% off the market cap!

[katylied] 07/7/2006 09:35

Well, at the very least, I believe the company should come clean about the precise terms of the 'spun off' and identify who (if not CNG shareholders) the actual beneficiaries are. Note that the 'president of ECS' Paul Hoffmann, is listed as a 'Vice-Pesident of Tzell'. I doubt that they will get an easy ride at a 'London' AGM (a consequence of a resolution at last year's AGM). I'm sure they would have much prefered to have held this AGM somewhere very remote and inaccessable...

[the drewster] 06/7/2006 23:11

So they "give something away" (spun off) to the management, which appears to have been a reasonably viable business, and certainly a valuable asset.

Or do you read it differently?

Aren't there supposed to be laws to protect investors from anything untoward?

EDIT: It would be very gaulling, and tantamount to criminal, if Tzell (our remaining company) were paying to use a service which we had just given away?!!

[katylied] 06/7/2006 20:28

On the 23rd January 2006 CNG Travel put out a trading update which included...

...The 'Kalypso' commission settlement program has shown growth since its inception and the company's future strategy in this market is presently the subject of review...

On the 2nd June 2006, the final results failed to mention Kalypso specifically,
but did state (without any supporting detail, financial or otherwise)...

... the ...commission settlement operation was spun off to its management
team in the first quarter of 2006...

This article has since appeared, dated JUNE 19, 2006 -

...Tzell Travel Group, the corporate travel division of CNG Travel Group, incorporated the tool at the beginning of the year "It's done a fantastic job on hotel commission reconciliation. We are extremely satisfied," said Willie Lynch, Tzell Travel Group's CFO. "Our agents don't have to go through all these unclaimed reports anymore to identify which bookings belong to them." Lynch said that before employing the ECS tool, it had a 40 percent match on bookings to agents. Post-ECS, that number reached 75 percent.

Other companies now using the ECS tool include the Hickory Consortium, JourneyCorp Travel, Tailor Made Travel, Traveleaders and a number of ARC-accredited Corporate Travel Departments.



Meanwhile, dated 02/07/2006...



And the AGM... in London

...CNG Travel Group plc will hold its Annual General Meeting in The Drawing Room, Claridge's Hotel, Brook St, Mayfair, London, on July 28th at 2pm.



Ho Hmmmm...

[katylied] 02/6/2006 18:50

...the associated commission settlement operation was spun off to its management team in the first quarter of 2006...

They are not refering to TLC, but to the commision settlement system that they continued with after TLC was abandoned. The statement is a little bizarre. You would reasonably expect some comment on the terms of the 'spinoff'. Looks like they may well be headed for another lively AGM this year...

[the drewster] 02/6/2006 16:29

So, the finals come out, and nobody has anything to say about them?

The biggest single line worry I had when reading them was this one...
Note 5:
Included in cash at bank is an amount of $3.1 million held in a locked account
as security against the Term Loan of $8.0 million.

My guess is the financial state going forward gives the bank no confidence, so they hold the money put into the bank to ransom, much like a "retention" on a mortgage, you pay interest on it, even though you don't have it? Here the bank has the cash, but no doubt will not reduce the loan amount, and hence interest, even though it is inaccessible.

Overal the results announcement was very short and to the point, and doesn't either try to hide anything, nor does it give any confident sounding statements going forward.

TLC slipped (freely?) into management hands, which is also worrying, as I think a few of us on here think that's what will happen to the remaining (and potentially nicely profitable) part too. Are there laws to stop it happening?

Imagine, you get a company which you get off the ground with loads of bank debt. Then you float on aim to raise more than enough to pay off the debt (and now you're an executive in a public company), then there are bits of the company with potential but not yet proven revenue streams, so you have a strategic change, and you give those away (to the management team) after paying too much for them and write down the values in the (now public) accounts so it only actually costs the shareholders, then gradually fritter away confidence and shareholder value till you can buy back your now debt free company for a fraction of what the original finance would have cost you had you gone it alone in the first place. Sounds like a plan huh? But of course these things can never be allowed to happen as there are laws and ruling bodies to ensure fair play.

[katylied] 02/6/2006 16:15

lol!!! Wasn't really worth waiting for. Here we are, 5+ months into 2006 trading and they appear to have sweet FA to say about it. Will have to read it all again, but don't think I have missed anything. Next update, end September. Pitiful...

[tifosigb] 30/5/2006 12:40

At last years AGM they hinted that would be a London venue this year. Fingers crossed it is, then I will attend. Made the trip to Dublin last year and chairman effectively accused me of trying to hold 'anti meeting' when what actually happened was I simply and politely challenged the board to explain notes in the accounts which clearly showed major shareholders in Ireland had effectively been compensated for a disastrous investment decision made before the floatation. Incredibly, he spent all the meeting trying to dodge these questions. A director then explained in private that millions had been 'stolen' by an investment scam in the USA (nothing to do with TZELL, which remains the only and increasing value in this company) whilst the company was private. In essence, what appears to have then happened is that the Ross family wanted their money back and effectively took it at the point of floatation. However, to cash it in, they now have to take the company private at these lows levels or increase overall shareholder value so we all benefit together.

In a separate conversation at the same meeting, Tzell was valued by a tzell executive at over 50p a share over a year ago. He also said it had significant oportunity for further value to be created through Tzell. IMO, this remains the only really good reason to hold this stock. I do not trust the management at all and would not be surprised if they manouvered this company private, given what happened before at the floatation.

Read last years notes to accounts if you are confused. What they did was so incredibly blatant it beggars belief that there was no investigation by authorities.

dyor, but it may still be worth holding onto these if you are already nursing big losses like me. You never know, perhaps they will do the honest thing afterall.

[katylied] 30/5/2006 10:14

The 2005 results will be dire. There is no doubt about that. However, by June they will also have had 5 months of 2006 trading to report on. Furthermore, because the finals are so late, there will be (after the finals) only ~3 more months to the next (interims) update, which might help keep the market interested. This is their big chance (and probably last) to restore some confidence. I imagine the AGM could be another rowdy affair this year...

[the drewster] 30/5/2006 09:58

Sorry - meant prelims, not interims - just shocked to get a rumour that we might finally get to hear something about what is going on and whether there is any feint glimmer of hope in the very distant future.

[katylied] 30/5/2006 09:17

Highly unlikely. We haven't had the 2005 finals yet.
The finals must be released by the end of June.
The 2006 interims should be ~3 months later...

[the drewster] 30/5/2006 09:01

A rumour that the interims will be announced 8th June.
Anyone confirm?
AGM 24 July.

[the drewster] 25/5/2006 08:27

Preliminary results 01/03/05
Interim results 01/09/05

It's now 25/05/2006 and nothing but a vague trading statement since.

The results must be well and truly dire if they are dragging their feet for this long to get something together to try to save face?

I think I have to write off the lot, if we get anything back at all it'll be a nice bonus, but will have to be viewed as such until that day.

Absolute shambles of a motley crew and the underlying worry is that they are trying to run the company into private hands for a snip of what they floated it to us mugs for - if they do, I guess at least someone will have made a killing from it.

Gutted.

[the drewster] 12/5/2006 15:38

1st March 2005
Finbarr Power, chief executive of CNG Travel said: 'We are confident that the business will continue its swift development in 2005, delivering profits for the group both from the corporate channel and our (leisure) businesses.'

... 'many of the obstacles have been removed in order for the group to achieve an earnings enhancing performance from our successfully adopted Travel Lodging Connector technology.'

And the shares managed to stay at about 80p for a few more weeks after those magically re-assuring words!

[the drewster] 12/5/2006 15:14

I recall several buy notes from EVO, and not just at 65p. On the way up they were calling them higher, and on the way down they were still trying. Difficult to know, given what the manegement released by way of official RNS, how I could have seen what was coming, I even re-read some of them - absolute gems, full of confidence and positive updates. When the profit (well loss) came, and then the significant downturn and then the number of bookings being converted to owned stock and then and then and then and then.
Really think it must have pushed the boundaries of legalitty, as to my (admittedly untrained) eye, it was blatant lies which the management issuing must have been aware of - and yet there is no recourse for those who have lost so much, the management have continued to draw (no doubt hefty) salaries, and I doubt the story is finished yet!