Harland & Wolff Share Discussion Threads

[htrocka2] 13/12/2021 12:44

John Wood, Harland & Wolff CEO hopeful of break even by year-end, gives operational update
13th December 2021 Share Views Runtime 12:58

John Wood, CEO at Harland and Wolff (HARL) joined London South East for an in-depth operational update.

John told us that he has "never been more optimistic about the business" that he is 'in several parallel contract negotiations right now" and that "we are in a great position. We were a one project company and now we have four different facilities with 52% of the marine fabrication capability and capacity in the UK - a great place to be."

"This is the first time we have been operating all four yards in a parallel, all revenue generating. Covid has slowed us down a bit, we are probably 6-9 months behind where we had wanted to be, but who knew when we bought the Belfast yard we would have two years worth of Covid?"

"We have two key themes at the moment, the first is the unprecedented spend in defence, and secondly renewables, where multi-billions are being spent on the renewables market, so two boom markets as we move forwards."

John is hoping to see the National Shipbuilding Strategy to be released before Christmas, which he thinks will make a big difference.

This progress hasn't been easy however, and the latest share placing which raised £7.7 million net was highly dilutive for shareholders who were naturally upset. "I fully sympathise with that," said John. "As you know I bought a pretty significant holding myself on the open market and my break-even number is well North of where we are at the moment. If you talk to Cenkos they will tell you I wasn't very complimentary about the placing price."

"One of the reasons for the placing was we are trying to bring long-term debt into the business, we have various term sheets for that, and by raising the placing we are able to significantly lower the coupon attached to the debt - and it breaks the equity cycle of coming back to market and raising more money."

For now I think this is a time to focus on the assets we have and the capacity we have got as we secure longer term multi-year contracts said John. "Our weighted contracts pipeline is a tad under 2 billion with a 38% conversion rate at the moment. These projects have a two year gestation period on them, so we are bringing in work now from two years ago."

"We hope to be at break-even by the end of this year and have the ability to service debt that we didn't before as our projects ramp up, so we see a significant debt facility being put in place. I'll be camped out on Arun's dooorstep to see the December numbers and I expect I'll be a lot happier than I have been."

[ijamlon] 30/11/2021 10:53

https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/26/tesla-elon-musk-sec-twitter-deal

[neilyb675] 30/11/2021 08:35

twitter is not an official news channel

[garbetklb] 29/11/2021 17:37

I wonder why H&W posted the "clarification" - who contacted them?

As I doubt they did it out of their own volition.

Or, do they read these bulletin boards, I wonder?

[garbetklb] 29/11/2021 12:45

I don't really follow Twitter. But I think it might be worth someone who does taking screen shots of pretty much anything that H&W post.

[tomtum1] 29/11/2021 10:49

Terminator101: The FCA need to investigate this one.Its not acceptable to miss lead investors in this way.

[tomtum1] 28/11/2021 13:44

It's incredible what HARL have did here. The share price was up at 50p and they do a placement at 30p and now another placement at 20p.What's the bets the next placement will be at 10p.Lots of poor shareholders getting locked in

[ijamlon] 28/11/2021 00:09

Why would management take such a brazen risk with the fake RNLI announcement? This was a case of seriously dicing with their careers, and maybe worse. The only conclusion is that HARL is effectively bankrupt and that without a big capital raise the show was over. How long can they string things along this additional £8mln (barring a miracle)? Quite a while I think, perhaps a year. The management will not want to be around when the house of cards collapses so I'm sure they'll leave before then, but will try to extract as much as possible between now and the end I guess.

[tomtum1] 27/11/2021 17:46

Yes very obvious a crime was committed here. But who will investigate?

[htrocka2] 27/11/2021 17:38

ref; Garbetkib...That's a fair post...Although INFA are getting a lot of 'stick' over this, however, Triumph Subsea never completed the Due Diligence Process that requires contractors to forward bank details, otherwise they would have known that they would have failed to qualify to reach the tender stage...let alone win a contract. So it's a bit of 'six of one and half a dozen of the other'.....They did win the Sapiem contract.

[neilyb675] 27/11/2021 15:43

The modus operandi is release news that would pump price up. Then do a placing at inflated price. The news is then found out to be unworthy of the rise in the first place. Fabrication.

I think this is beginning to stink.

[garbetklb] 27/11/2021 12:33

There have been 2 RNS announcements of impressively substantial sounding opportunities quickly followed by placings.

The earlier RNS related to a company that appears to me, outwardly, to have very little substance beyond a website. The opportunity has disappeared.

The later RNS appears to have been very much downplayed by the RNLI as the client

If I had bought shares in either placing, I'd be very disappointed...........

[ali47fish] 27/11/2021 11:53

garb what is your conclusion- I have no idea why this all about excuse my ignorance!

[garbetklb] 27/11/2021 11:05

The letter of intent to build vessels for Triumph Subsea was RNS'd 8/12/20. H&W did a placing later that month.

If you have a look at Triumph's website, you might come away with the impression that the idea of building the vessels was never very likely to happen.

Unless I've missed it, there are no details of who actually runs the company, no details of their financial backing, no details of any assets and no contact information.

If I've found the correct company at Companies House and if I've interpreted the filings correctly, Triumph Subsea Services Ltd were incorporated on 7 October 2020 with a paid up capital of £100. Google street view seems to show the registered address as a small house in Carluke.

40 Shares - Gray Johnstone. Lives in Malaysia. If I've got the right Linkedin profile, he's got a background in Offshore Engineering.
40 Shares Cindy Devina. Lives in Malaysia. If I've got the correct Linkedin profile, she's a Fashion Designer.
10 Shares Torsten Lechler. Lives in Thailand. If I've got the right Linkedin profile, he's got a background in Offshore Engineering, notably diving.
10 Shares - don't know. Were transferred earlier this year.

[htrocka2] 27/11/2021 10:10

Having read the articles involved...I'm surprised the Nomads, who have the final say, allowed them to be signed off?

[garbetklb] 26/11/2021 19:23

Yep - the timing is a bit unfortunate..........

I've got quite an emotional attachment to shipbuilding etc, so I really would like to see this prosper.

I live in Scotland. From what I've read, the Arnish & Methil facilities should have potential. But their recent history has be dismal - SNP shovelling in taxpayers' money for absolutely no return.

I imagine that prospective customers would be looking for modern, well invested facilities with enough financial backing to be confident that contracts would be performed in a timely fashion. I'm afraid I can't see it here.

Arnish has a geographical isolation that must impose cost - although for a local project remote from other facilities, it could be an advantage. I don't know the technical details etc but, with that caveat, I struggle to see how they are competitive for a small contract in the Black Sea. Unless these specific transport costs (unlike eveything else we are hearing) are particularly low?

I've noticed comments earlier about management bonuses. My first question when investing is : Do I trust the management to be fair.

[ijamlon] 26/11/2021 18:50

The difference between HARL's RNS and the RNLI clarification must surely constitute fraud? Especially just before a capital raise.

[waterloo01] 26/11/2021 18:23

That's rather different to what they said in the RNS!

[garbetklb] 26/11/2021 18:06

I'd love to see this be successful; but that's an emotion, rather than an assessment.

Nobody seems to have picked up that RNLI have effectively said that the 8 November RNS was a wild exageration:

hxxps://rnli.org/support-us/volunteer/volunteer-zone/volunteer-news/2021/november/an-update-on-recent-news-from-harland-and-wolff