Indigovision Share Discussion Threads

[jaykaytee] 13/9/2017 17:06

I'm expecting them this week...but I'm guessing!

[rajauk] 11/9/2017 08:26

Any one have any idea when the half year results are due? Can't find a date anywhere, should be out soon.

[gengulphus] 10/9/2017 17:59

I've been tracking IV for a number of years and I remember when the founder and CEO, Oliver Vellacott, was ousted in Dec 2011, to be replaced by the CFO, Marcus Kneen. For those interested in history, here's a link:

According to that article, OV was paid just under £200k a year and to quote the article direct, "Shares in the company hit a peak of around £10 in 2007, valuing it at £70m and giving Vellacott a stake worth about £17m, The company is currently worth £21m. Grossart said yesterday’s announcement was part of the process of a “small business growing up” and said it was “evolution not revolution”.

If you look at a suitable chart you'll see that the share price reached a trough of under £2 in late 2011. I.e. the decline from that 2007 peak happened under Oliver Vellacott as CEO, not Marcus Kneen.

And Oliver Vellacott basically ousted himself, essentially by attempting a management buy-out at a low price and failing to get support from fellow directors or shareholders. Doubtless not his intention, but that's the way his actions panned out, and it left him in an untenable position. (Also, if hypothetically he had succeeded and had gone on to preside over good company growth, we would only have seen that growth, not participated in it as shareholders...)

Not defending Marcus Kneen's record - it's lacklustre to put it mildly (even taking the 113.5p/share dividends paid since he took over into account) - but contrasting it with Oliver Vellacott's last four years basically just shows how much worse it could have been!

Gengulphus

[cliffpeat] 08/9/2017 17:47

FS3000

It was reported that OV sold his 22% holding for £8m in 2012 - which makes the company at that time worth at least £36m



Kneenan's remuneration is now expressed in dollars and a bit less than the £300k you suggest.

Whether he has earned his corn might depend on your point of view.

The profitability has been unimpressive but it might be that he has steered the business around what might have been a dead man's curve - it is still here and by slashing R&D costs they broke even in 2016 (ignoring the deferred tax adjustment).

Glassdoor sometimes reflects the views of malcontents and former employees - but the ones you quote are very consistent.

It would not surprise me if the core problem is one of "narrow vision" - which is the inference of my comments in post 3863.

Problem is though - is there any way we can influence change. You know the characters - do you have any suggestions?

[futureshock3000] 08/9/2017 13:51

I'm interested to know the thoughts regarding the CEO's performance and ultimately ROI back to the company and investment community.

I've been tracking IV for a number of years and I remember when the founder and CEO, Oliver Vellacott, was ousted in Dec 2011, to be replaced by the CFO, Marcus Kneen. For those interested in history, here's a link:

According to that article, OV was paid just under £200k a year and to quote the article direct, "Shares in the company hit a peak of around £10 in 2007, valuing it at £70m and giving Vellacott a stake worth about £17m, The company is currently worth £21m. Grossart said yesterday’s announcement was part of the process of a “small business growing up” and said it was “evolution not revolution”.

As of December 2017, Marcus Kneen will have been CEO of IV for 6 years, with annual remuneration of circa £300k. By December 2017, that will be a total investment of circa £1.8 million in remuneration since Marcus took over as CEO.

What results have we seen since Marcus Kneen took charge as CEO? IV was worth £21m when OV was ousted and Marcus Kneen replaced him. IV is now worth £17m. Revenue growth has been stagnant, profits unpredictable, future visibility is non existent. Have we seen the "small business growing up" as the previous Chairman Hamish Grossart wanted to see? If anything, IV has gone backwards since OV was ousted and not just in market cap.

But then how do the employees feel about the current CEO? That can be difficult to work out, but doing some research on glassdoor.co.uk, a website that allows employees to give open feedback on employers, here are feedback quotes taken from the IV glassdoor.co.uk page:

"Potential wasted....." Advice to Management
Management are powerless to make any meaningful changes - they all wear the straitjacket imposed by the micro managing CEO.

"CEO needs new ideas!" Advice to Management
Get a new CEO and strategy!

"A once great company, now fading into obscurity due to lack of leadership and direction" Advice to Management
First, to the board - get a new CEO. Someone who is personable (i.e. not constantly locked in an office trying to put out the fire of the latest sales crisis), is a leader, has some form of understanding of strategic direction and doesn't attempt to micro-manage every single part of the organisation.

"Thankless task!" Advice to Management
Get a new CEO.

"Dishonest and dictator management." Advice to Management
Listen to your sales people. We are professionals and give them the proper time to expand the territory.

The last is from an ex US sales manager, posted 5th Sept 2017. The US was the next great hope for IndigoVision, judging by the large employee churn rates in the US is that going to happen or are we going to hear another woeful tale of underachievement in the half year results?

One final note. Judging by one of IV's recent LinkedIn posts, the CEO did find time to meet up with Time Peake, the UK astronaut, at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

A direct quote from the CEO from that post, "There were several areas where IndigoVision’s innovative technologies could assist in Tim’s current role at ESA/EAC - European Astronaut Centre. But coolest of all would be to get IndigoVision’s Control Center operating in space”

Maybe the CEO has decided to move on from another failed attempt at cracking the US, instead focusing on that well known market of outer space?

[cliffpeat] 29/8/2017 16:37

Pinned Tweet
IndigoVision‏ @IndigoVision Jul 24

The NEW IndigoVision GX HD Pan/Tilt has arrived! Find out more here: …

And today (28th August) I got this link to a YouTube video of the "GX HD Pan/Tilt"



Oh dear! Yet another example of "cut price", amateur marketing - they have not even hired professionals for the voice over or sound recording.

I am moaning because this is so "fixable" - though tempted to cut my losses and sell.

But other businesses in this market must also be able to see where IND can be improved. At a current share valuation of around £18m could this become a takeover target?

Which makes me pause.

Just my thoughts and opinion and as ever DYOR

[dangersimpson2] 25/8/2017 12:22

Has the Edinburgh Zoo Panda tipped IND? I hear she has a better investment track record than the average tipster ;-)

[dangersimpson2] 25/8/2017 09:21

I don't think they can buyback until after the results now due to a close period. Companies usually have to announce if they have instructed a broker to buyback independently of the company during the close period.

I was initially confused because they didn't buy back after the 15th June despite the shares dropping back significantly from the £2.73 that they last bought back at. However if you assume a mid September results date they would have entered a close period in mid July. Also the price was rising until the end of June so they would probably not have been able to buy due to the 5 day VWAP +5% rule. So there has probably only been a few days early July when they could have bought and did not. I expect the share buyback to continue post September results as long as the price is around or lower than the price they last bought back at.

[balcony] 25/8/2017 08:33

Bid-share buy back?

[srsm] 18/8/2017 14:10

Cliffpeat

I'm going to respectfully disagree.

I had a whine about the website at the AGM. Mainly on attention to detail. It's changed quite a bit since then. Note I'm a Web Developer (not designer nor digital marketer though).

On the article they state: "Mr Green also heard of the crucial role IndigoVision played in assisting the authorities after the Brussels airport bombing and several other global trouble spots."
And introduces CyberVigilant.
Also mentions: "ADS Group is the UK trade organisation for the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space sectors."

So someone new to IND may see this page and realise this is not a second rate outfit. Establishes credibility as a serious security industry player.


Showing people is important. Humanising a business helps enormously, trusting people is vital. So why not include the marketing person. She'll be dealing with customers/partners to a degree - although perhaps Head of Sales would be better. Probably not available on the day.
All cameras, NVRs or security screens on walls look the same.


The video referred to is excellent I think. Lots of clever visual ideas explaining key advantages. And the 'Hero Image' - the big pic or video at the top of a home page - is very good too. Playing on the fear of being hacked in a clever way.

The Ad exists due to the use of Youtube. Putting videos on Youtube is important as it is the 2nd most used search engine. Although they should probably have an embedded video for the site AND a youtube version. But there may be Search benefits by using the youtube version. Hard to tell for sure.


I think I saw the video with Brazenhall. I can see what you mean, but I thought he came across as natural and approachable. A US company would have someone coached to caricature. "HI, I'M BRAD AND WE SELL THE MOST AWESOME KIT THAT WILL REVOLUTIONISE YOUR LIFE....". Unbearable. But perhaps he would appear lacking in confidence compared to Brad for the US audience.


The exhibition installation looked amazing. And appeared to dominate the room (what could be seen in the background).


I don't think the web and exhibition stuff is bad at all.

Although I remain mystified as to why IND don't dominate the high to mid end of the industry.

[cliffpeat] 16/8/2017 15:33

I agree with much of what Futureshock3000 has said in 3857/8 and 3860.

IND desperately needs professional marketing skills and support.

Article:


" ....the soon to be released cyber-security technology, CyberVigilant® which has been described as a ‘game changer’ due to its ability to detect and monitor cyber-threats within security systems."

A few points:
1. The article reads like a standard puff piece and in my view is "uninspired".

2. The photo-op with Damien Green has no product context or eye candy. Again it seems no creative skill is being applied. And to cap it all one of the five in the photo is Hayley Paterson, Senior Global Marketing Executive. Oh dear!!

3. The videos are poor. e.g. (a) Web front page "Solution overview" has a 3rd party pop-up advert !!" If I was a commissioning supply executive for a serious potential customer I would be most unimpressed. (b) Interviewees need training. Brazenhall interviewed at IFSEC 2017 seems like a nice guy but from a business point of view quite appalling (sorry to personalise but this is a publicly owned company that has been struggling in a highly professionalised market").

My guess (as a long term disappointed holder) is that the boffins, engineers and inventors are being sadly let down by the management.

I doubt they read ADVFN or care what we think - but perhaps they should.

All pretty subjective and personal opinion - make up your own minds.

[futureshock3000] 12/8/2017 12:15

@exotic Apart from buying back shares - at the lowest possible rate- I'm not sure what value IndigoVision has added since the annual results were published?

Product releases seem to be inconsequential with what appears to be minor updates or revisions to existing products. Nothing revolutionary, not even the interesting Cybervigilant product has been mentioned again in their news. Overall The IndigoVision news feed seems to be missing any 'thought leadership' articles, instead we're treated to another minor project win in South America. . I was hoping to see some American success stories by now, especially as the CEO has mentioned it has been a focus market for the past 2-3 years.

It also doesn't seem to be the investor market that's seeing IndigoVision in the doldrums. Looking at IV's YouTube channel has seen a worrying drop in video views. 2 years ago videos were getting between 3-4 thousand views. In the past 12 months most videos get 300-400 views. I understand that products take time to sell due to IV's lengthy project timescales, but if the products from 2 years ago failed to deliver the results the market expected, what do we expect from videos that are getting 1/10 the number of viewers?

IV's half year finished in June, so I'm presuming they're in track. But while there's guesswork involved, buyers will stay away and keep the price down- which does benefit IV's share buyback plan as it the price is lower, while current investors lose out.

Maybe expect an exit through management buyout?

[exotic] 08/8/2017 14:57

So much for adding value!

[futureshock3000] 24/7/2017 14:18

Another issue with the IV Investor section of the website, again highlighting (in my opinion) the inability to communicate effectively with the investor community.

If you dig around in the Reports & Announcements, you'll see this update on June 6th:

hxxps://www.indigovision.com/Portals/2/Documents/Reports/2017/Announcements/2017%2006%20June%201%20Board%20Change.pdf?ver=2017-06-01-152447-513

"IndigoVision Group plc (AIM: IND), is pleased to announce the appointment of Max Thowless-Reeves as a non-executive director, with effect from 1 June 2017. Max is a partner in Multi-family Office Sorbus Partners LLP."

Yet, no mention of Max Thowless-Reeves on the Board of Directors page:

hxxp://www.indigovision.com/investors/Directors

Are haphazard and inconsistent updates a worrying indication of what's going on behind the scenes?

[futureshock3000] 22/7/2017 11:16

Then again, the investor relations for IV are, to be frank, woeful. AThe bare minimum updates plus the Ivestor section if the Website is out of date. Are IV breaking the law with some incorrect information? For example, under the Shareholder section, they still state that Richard Farmiloe owns 6.57%, which if you read other parts of the investor section of the website, it's clearly not the case.

hxxp://www.indigovision.com/investors/Shareholders

There also appears to be no updates on upcoming events, I.e. when the half year results are published. The calendar of events states the next update is March 2017 when the annual results are released. Likewise finding out the details of the AGM were almost impossible.

I don't know who in IV is ultimately responsible for the investor section of the website (CFO? CEO?), but the updates and information have gone downhill in recent months.

It's worrying that a technology focused company can't do something simple like update their website. Does the unstable share value come from a lack of investor confidence, which in turn comes from poor investor relations? For example, where are the AGM presentations on IV's investor website? Why do investors have to rely on updates on forums from those that managed to get to the AGM? Again, worrying that a video technology company can't broadcast the AGM online. If the camera technology was so good, why not use IV's tech to stream the AGM?

I had hoped the new chairman will change investor relations, but so far there may have been a change in chairman but there appears to be no difference in how IV communicates to its shareholders. And while there's poor communication to the investor community, I don't see how one could invest with any confidence in return on investment.

[jaykaytee] 19/7/2017 13:09

share price is still falling...Richard Farmiloe still selling his holding?
I wonder how many he has got left?

[smallcapinvestor1] 06/7/2017 09:50

Its clear that richard farmiloe is an ongoing seller. He had sold from 500k shares down to 375k and he is still selling. Once he clears it will move up strongly I suggest.

[smallcapinvestor1] 05/7/2017 11:39

Drifted lower for no reason. Just bought more at a good price. Thank you mr market?

[jaykaytee] 04/7/2017 16:51

Unfortunately the share buy back doesnt seem to be holding the share price up at the moment.

[futureshock3000] 27/6/2017 12:27

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the appointment of Max Thowless-Reeves as a Non Exec Board member. In the fact that he's a founding partner of Sorbus Partners LLP, the same Sorbus Partners LLP that owns 6% of IV and who Richard Winston Farmiloe is also a partner of (and personally owns 6% of IV).

hxxps://www.indigovision.com/Portals/2/Documents/Reports/2017/Announcements/2017%2006%20June%201%20Board%20Change.pdf?ver=2017-06-01-152447-513

So Sorbus now own 12% of IV and a place on the board. Sounds to me that Sorbus are now looking to get a better return on their investment. Hopefully this means the CEO being made to actually hit sales (and importantly profit) targets and finally deliver some return on his $250k a year salary. That's an eye-watering total investment of $1.25 million salary (not including additional benefits) for the CEO's last 5 years in charge. That's surely a record salary for a Scottish technology company, particularly one that has barely increased market cap when you remove the recent share buy back scheme.

[jaykaytee] 21/6/2017 17:33

Many thanks folks.