Eco City Share Discussion Threads

[opaldouglas] 11/11/2012 21:39

shauney2 - don't happen to have the article to hand do you?

Thanks

[opaldouglas] 11/11/2012 21:26

Jimmy/Boonkoh,

I live in central Manchester and Vitos are a common site up here nowadays, they have certainly been more noticeable in recent months.

With a large number of Black Cabs once again hitting their 15 year age limit in London their really is only one choice to opt for if buying a new cab! Regarding competition as boonkoh touched upon Nissan has got its own cab out next year (i've seen dates from summer - late winter mentioned) but their entering a new market which the Mercedes has taken years getting into and with such a small engine i've got my reservations.

On top of actual sales, I expect revenues to increase from parts, aftersales & one80 as the Vito is becoming more and more popular and ECV can capitalise on maintenance. Certainly looking good the medium to long term in my view.

I've been meaning to get in touch with the company for sometime regarding the next phase of their development as details have yet to be released to the market. Interesting times ahead I hope.

OD

[jimmy12345] 10/11/2012 18:21

Intresting boonkohthey are real arsy these london taxi regulators ehh. A bloody turning circle of all things.any news what is going to happen with maganese, as them going could open this whole closed market up. Seems to me this rule was put in place to maintain the nice traditional black cab monopoly, good job for the regulators that ECV were in place it seems. These lool a great buy as it looks like they are about to be the only player in the london taxi game. However i recon the regulators will be made to bend this silly rule or be seen as being foolish. A great buy anyhow.

[boonkoh] 10/11/2012 16:26

The key for new competitors in the London taxi market is to comply with the turning circle regulation. ECV does it because they now own the technology behind one solution, which they fit into the vitos. No other solutions have been approved so far for London use, meaning Vitos has a 100% share of the new taxi market at the moment. How long this monopoly situation will last, don't know. My own calculation is, given the lack of any concrete plans/release date by any potential competitors, ECV will still have a monopoly come Q2 of 2013 at least.

[jimmy12345] 10/11/2012 10:08

Intresting read through this. Had never heard of the company before though had heard og maganese going down. Seeing as i live on an island at the other end of the uk i have not noticed the move over to vitos either in london. ive allways assumed the black cabs though iconic were just getting a tad old fashioned looking, and well looks like its the end for them anyhow. Small seated vans lime the vito seem a good alternative ie the vito or dispatch, i have in the sticks seen a fair few dispatches being used as taxis. They have twin side doors and look perfectly decent as cabs with tinted rear widows, i believe they also get the best mpg of all the mid sized vans. I think they are also a lot cheaper than a vito.Saying that im not sure how this bodes for the london market, does vito have some monopoly here as mentioned that cannot be broken?. Still it sounds like this company is going places as a refitter of vitos for the london taxi market, and at the share price and mcap, seems like a decent punt.going to buy a couple of k worth on monday

[shauney2] 10/11/2012 09:17

They were tipped in Shares magazine.
From memory the say "buy before results in January"

[opaldouglas] 09/11/2012 16:06

Some nice buys going through today, any news about?!

[opaldouglas] 07/11/2012 20:27

Thanks for the post Molby. Although i feel for Manganese and workers who have lost jobs, the reasons for investing here just get better and better!

[strollingmolby] 07/11/2012 13:15

As discussed above, good for Eco City...

[opaldouglas] 29/10/2012 07:59

From todays independent, news is slowly spreading!



"Cab seller that's really motoring

Amid the storm engulfing Manganese Bronze, the London taxi manufacturer that has gone into administration, few investors have spotted that there is another player in the market. Aim-listed Eco City Vehicles ought to be well-placed to benefit from its rival's travails.

ECV has been knocking around for 25 years, and now plies its trade supplying cabbies with the Mercedes Vito. The taxi was developed and launched by the company, but Mercedes now makes the vehicle, paying ECV royalties on each one the British company sells. Those revenues were rising even before the Manganese Bronze debacle, with ECV capturing a 37 per cent share of the market in the first seven months of the year.

The company has been attracting quiet interest – seasoned small-company investor Nigel Wray recently took a 15 per cent stake – but its stock, trading just above 2p has barely moved on the Manganese Bronze news and remains off its highs of the past 12 months. ECV has £3m of debt, though much of that is a mortgage liability, but sales could hit £28m this year, three times its current market value."

[opaldouglas] 23/10/2012 19:09

Nice little tick up today with a large pick up in volume... has this been tipped somewhere?!?

[opaldouglas] 22/10/2012 12:57

Manganese Bronze Hldgs PLC
22 October 2012
Its never a nice thing to see a company call in the administrators, without wanting to kick MNGS whilst their down it does really bode well for ECV.

Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC
Notice of intention to appoint administrators
22 October 2012
Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC (the "Group"), the manufacturer of the world famous London taxi, today announces that discussions with various parties to secure funding on acceptable terms to address the Group's financial needs have proved unsuccessful. The Board has therefore concluded that the Group is no longer a going concern and has filed notice of intention to appoint administrators.
A speedy resolution of the product recall announced on 12 October 2012 relating to the discovery of a steering box fault remains the top priority for the Group and will continue to do so throughout the administration process.
The Board remains hopeful that the fundamental strengths of the company, the TX4 model and its global reputation will provide the platform for a successful business in the future.

[opaldouglas] 18/10/2012 19:41

Volume increasing, 10 & 50 day moving averages have crossed through 200 day average and we've closed above previous resistance... 2.5p next stop.

[opaldouglas] 18/10/2012 19:38

boonkoh, the spread is usually pretty tight on this one i've found. With no competition this is looking great and i'd expect more coverage whilst Manganese continue to falter.

[boonkoh] 18/10/2012 12:10

Someone making somewhat sizeable purchases this morning - 1m at 2.12p, and 316,000 at the same price.

Currently still available to buy at 2.12p.

[opaldouglas] 17/10/2012 18:07

Its a no brainer that ECV have a monopoly on new taxi sales in London now that Manganese have effectively shot themselves in the foot but some snippets from taxi leaks:

"It is also reported that ECO City Vehicles (ECV) who provide the Vito Taxi, have seen their share value saw as sales increase. Poor old Tim Yeo who had to resign because of conflict of interest must be kicking himself."

also, the possibility of the age limit of taxis coming down further to 10 years would be really great news for ECV (not sure cab drivers would be happy though!)

"The leaders of three London councils have called for the age limit to be reduced to ten years as air quality has become increasingly worse this year, with Hammersmith and Fulham reporting the biggest increase in pollution levels in their borough."

[opaldouglas] 15/10/2012 20:58

things seem to be catching on! The words healthy & Profitability always go well together ;)



"It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and the current tribulations of iconic London black cab maker Manganese Bronze – the shares are suspended after a product recall was announced last Friday – is encouraging investors to ask who would benefit should the company go belly-up. Allenby Capital is suggesting clients step into Eco City Vehicles (ECV), which produces the Mercedes Vito taxi, which has been steadily taking market share from Manganese Bronze's TX4. In the first 7 months of 2012 the Vito increased its share of the new London licensed taxi market to 36 per cent from 22 per cent in the prior year, Allenby notes. 'The momentum was already behind ECV in the battle for the London taxi market and with the only other competitor currently out of the market (and reputation tarnished) we would expect ECV's market share to accelerate and for the company to move into healthy profitability,' suggests Matt Butlin, head of Equities at Allenby."

[opaldouglas] 15/10/2012 14:59

boonkoh,

I think the biggest problem for Manganese is the complete loss of confidence cabbies have in their product, especially after the problem they had last year with fires. This will play into ECV's hands given the good progress made this year. I initially expected 2nd half of this year to be similar to the 1st half especially as more taxis will be hitting their 15 year limit, but this should now rise given London cabbies only have one option when buying a new cab given last weeks announcement from Manganese!

I don't have figures to hand but I think ECV have 1M in the bank after recent stake by Nigel Wray (he obviously had a hunch what was going on in my opinion!) so no need for any cash calls. Also theirs a small matter of 2.8M VAT claim which is being processed.

Nice to be talking to someone other than myself for once!

OD

[boonkoh] 15/10/2012 08:10

Definitely something that Eco City should capitalise on!

A problem with a steering box is not something small - I think it will take some time for Manganese Bronze to sort out. And that's if they have the money to sort it out - can't be cheap to replace it. Their quick fix would be to go back to whatever gearbox they used before - but then they'll be offering an inferior TX4. And also have to get the supply chain for it up and running.

One problem could be that there will be a cash call - to raise funds - for working capital and advertising.

[opaldouglas] 13/10/2012 09:13

Should bode well for last qtr and new sales into 2013 when existing black cabs hit their 15 year limit.



Eco City Vehicles Plc (ECV), which supplies the Mercedes Vito to London taxi drivers, will seek to exploit opportunities after competitor Manganese Bronze Holdings Plc recalled 400 cabs and suspended trading of new models.

"The main priority for me is to preserve our market share and to take advantage should advantage present itself," Peter DaCosta, chief financial officer of London-based Eco City, said in a phone interview today. "If opportunity presents itself, I want my shareholders to benefit from it."

Eco City will evaluate the repercussions of the recall before deciding whether to increase advertising efforts, DaCosta said. Eco City's sales increased 116 percent to 324 vehicles in the first half.

Manganese, the biggest supplier of London black cabs, recalled the vehicles because of a fault in the steering box, which has been provided by a new supplier since February, the Coventry, England-based company said in a statement today, without identifying the supplier.

[opaldouglas] 12/10/2012 13:51

Some decent buys coming through since Manganese news broke, L2 has firmed up.

[opaldouglas] 12/10/2012 13:19

RNS out from Manganese Bronze (see below) whilst i don't enjoy kicking a company when its already down, this must surely play into ECV's hands and add to the already substanial orders we've had this year. Manganese has really lost all credibility.

Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC

12 October 2012

Product recall

Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC (the "Group") announced today a recall of approximately 400 of its TX4 London taxis and suspension of sales of new TX4 models as a result of the discovery of a defect in the steering box. The steering box is a new design from a new supplier that was introduced in production at the Group's Coventry factory in late February 2012.

Discussions are being held with Geely to put in place a robust technical solution for the steering box faults.

The suspension of sales will have a very material and detrimental impact on the Group's cash flows and the board are working to establish the options available to the business given the impact on working capital. Until such time that a technical solution is developed to rectify the fault, the financial position of the Group remains unclear and trading in the Company's shares will remain suspended.

[opaldouglas] 09/10/2012 21:36

Its a sad state of affairs over at MNGS and things don't look good for the next few years in my opinion. Although i'm obviously a holder of ECV its shame as i do think the black cab still has a part to play in the industry.

It will be interesting to see how EVC intend to enter the next phase of the companies development this is key for future growth and something that hasn't really been elaborated on.

One things for sure figures this year will be best yet and bodes well over the next 6-12 months.

[glasgow13] 09/10/2012 15:16

have got small postition,mngs having a lot of problems with tx4 also think the merc will take over in a lot of areas due to these problems.

[opaldouglas] 09/10/2012 14:55

Have you got a position here Glasgow?

Out of interest what attracted you to ECV? Not really trendy stock but figures really do the talking.