Lightwaverf Share Discussion Threads

[mg78] 20/12/2018 10:48

Terrible promo video.

What a turn-off!

The look and style is just all WRONG.

People do not want to be appropriated to the daft creations in this film.

Completely misses the mark on so many levels.....whilst suggesting it's quite alright to leave a dog locked up alone for 8 hours a day!

Also I am very against the principal of actively explaining your 'sales campaign' to the very people who you want buying the products. It should all be seamless and implicit within the actual promotion.

'Hi we're lightwave and we've created this daft and patronising short film where we appropriate you, our customers, to some soulless, blockhead characters. In the film we show you very little of the product and where any genuinely useful 'real world' functionality is lost in fictional animation. We also wish to point out that we have gone for a trumpton look (in case you hadn't noticed) as we felt that was a good, clean match for buyers of consumer electronics in the 21st century'

J*sus wept.

[clocktower] 20/12/2018 10:21

Whoever talked them into coming up with the idea must have known they were a bunch of Charley's and just waiting "To be Done". How long before someone switches the BoD`s lights off on the App.

[pugugly] 20/12/2018 09:41

ct - Could not agree more - A right bunch of Charleys out marketed by companies with more user friendly products - Looks like another PSL in the making to me.

[whoppy] 20/12/2018 07:59

Meet the Smart family.

[clocktower] 19/12/2018 16:10

Even his second attempt has been met with as much confidence as there is in the EU terms for Brexit. At least it helps the sellers.

How long before Mike Lord and Jason Elliott get in on the act?

[whoppy] 19/12/2018 12:10

Should see some more at this bombed out price. Probably prompt other directors and the new CEO to buy and show their confidence in sales.

[maltatrader] 19/12/2018 11:43

Barry keeps buying

[whoppy] 19/12/2018 11:12

Someones buying them. Another 50k purchase this morning. Any sign of sales increasing quarter on quarter and there is a case for this being undervalued.

[clocktower] 19/12/2018 11:09

Spot on phowdo.

Not unexpected to see Barry Gamble spend just over £3k buying stock to try to bolster the share price - you see many AIM companies do this before socking the poor PI`s with a round of funding at a huge discount, just to keep them in a job. A good Punt for him I guess.

Spend £3/4k earn £30+k = a Great Confidence Trick if this is the sort of thing comes to pass.

Could it be they handed themselves a Christmas Bonus for all the good work they have done these past years? If so, shame on them.

[phowdo] 19/12/2018 07:35

"Barry Gamble, Chairman of the Company, purchased 50,000 ordinary shares of 5 pence each in the Company ("Shares") at a price of 6.5 pence per share"

Nice example of nominative determinism.

[gozo] 13/12/2018 15:39

No doubt waiting to participate in the placing....stick £10k in at that point and pull £60 - £80k in wages/expenses the following year....rinse and repeat as usual!

[clocktower] 13/12/2018 10:31

Note: the directors have not rushed out to buy more stock since the results in the hope of suggesting that all is well.

[mg78] 12/12/2018 08:33

Given the financial performance the salaries are ridiculous and need sounding out.

Well done.

[sinkyj] 12/12/2018 02:42

Total Staff costs 2.1m (2017 1.06)

Directors 706k (2017 475k) including 85k of Bonus

So it's not been a bad year for everyone at Lightwave. Nothing wrong with rewarding success but let's remind ourselves of the gross profit. So no doubt including generous expenses the directors paid themselves more than the company actually made in profit selling the products.

2018 - 825k (2017 - 1070k)

[sinkyj] 12/12/2018 02:36

The highest paid director in 2018 received remuneration of £254,657 (2017 £97,939) which includes compensation for loss of office of £116,108 (2017: £nil) and pension contributions of £156 (2017: £130).

[sinkyj] 12/12/2018 02:34

Salaries and benefits in kind of £74,151 (2017: £56,447) was paid to two (2017: two) close family members of John Shermer.

[sinkyj] 12/12/2018 02:31

MG78 - 85k including 59k through his company.

This year's standout is Kevin Edward's Vit Security Group for "return services" at 84k plus it appears 137k Salary.

Sorry about the formatting. But the relevant section is.

Companies related to the Directors during the year were:

Drol Investments Ltd Mike Lord Consultancy

Committed Capital Steve Harris Advanced assurance EIS

Vit Security Group Ltd Kevin Edwards Return services

Thrusters on Full Andrew Pearson Consultancy

Related party Common Director Transactions during the year

Balance at 30 September 2018 2017 2018 2017

Drol Investments Ltd Mike Lord 22,500 59,300 3,500 -
Committed Capital Steve Harris 11,942 47,077 10,611 422
Vit Security Group Ltd Kevin Edwards 84,217 39,746 7,824 3,011
Thrusters on Full Andrew Pearson 862 33,265 - -

[mg78] 12/12/2018 00:45

Excellent post sinkyj. I agree with every word.

With regards to your comment:

"Former CEOs that failed shouldn't be on the current board"......you're not kidding.

Amen to that.

Secretarial services to the tune of £70k PA wasn't it? Let me check that.

A huge pity someone with the required talent, connections and vision didn't arrive back then.

I also grew very uncomfortable with Committed Capitals stake in the company....not to say the overall shareholding structure.

There's a lot wrong here and I reiterate, I'm only astonished the price hasn't tanked more.

Contrary to and direct disagreement with what UKDannyBoy says in his post, the writing on the wall has been here for some time.

The results of poor decision making and poor strategy is now showing....especially as the sector around hots up. The success of others in the space will now only magnify this companies short-comings. When you're small and innovative and an early mover in a space you can afford to make a few errors, but only a few and not for long. Others, with more clout are quickly on your heels and before you know it you're old news.

What is interesting is that the only real value I see here is in the switches and sockets.....and these are, at least in their all important outward appearance, some of the earliest products the company produced (thanks to JSJS).

Lord et al wanted to rapidly expand the range, then reduce the range, then press hard for the domestic market, then press for the commercial market. 2 year Trials in universities (the results of which were never properly communicated), tie ups with house builders, wholesalers, then a press back into high street consumer electronics.......it has all been throughly confused and disjointed.

[sinkyj] 12/12/2018 00:14

Everyone has made some very good points. The cruel reality is that the board should have been replaced some time ago. Former CEOs that failed shouldn't be on the current board. They don't have the requisite abilities to grow LW on a world stage. There is nobody with true knowledge of the world market, links to people in that market or any real relevant technical knowledge. That's pretty essential for a technology company. It shows in the decisions and execution of the business of the company.


I deal with a lot tech companies all over the world. I was just in Santa Monica talking to a friend who is on the board of one of the biggest. They will have the 2nd best selling IoT security system in the US next year, and it will be coming to the UK. Not at all dissimilar to the lightwave hub. The US company has spent 400 million dollars promoting their system. LW should be talking to these people to provide specialist products like the dimmers as part of this system.Instead of trying consumer system with a marketing budget of tupence h'penny.

The products, the technology, the patents don't really matter, it's all about the marketing in consumer electronics. There are companies that just print their name on a $3 Chinese product and sell 10x this because they spend on a 3 minute TV commercial.


I don't know if it's arrogance or just nievety that the board thinks they will succeed. The strategy isn't wrong as such, but it needs a 20 million budget just to market the product to get to a scale that supports the money they are burning each month. They foolishly believe they have a brand with 50k UK customers. Collectively they need to remove their head from their backsides and have a good look at what and who is making money on the market and ride with them. Given some of the rubbish spouted in this communication I very much doubt it.

I can see a delisting and a big reorganisation coming along or a desparation sale to somebody in the market. The company has capable people and good ideas and products. There are specialist markets more suitable for lower budgets, there are strategies unfortunately the leaders in the company are attempting to assend a mountain too big for the limited resources they have at hand and it will eventual lead to the death of the company.

[barnetpeter] 11/12/2018 23:14

Loss before and after taxation GBP2.54 million

This is a disaster.....they should delist to save cash but the reality is they need to raise more cash just to carry on for a bit longer. Worthless.

I see this at below 2p in due course but I would not buy these again. Administration beckons here or a rescue rights at about 1.5p.

[clocktower] 11/12/2018 16:57

"Committed Capital Ltd, which holds 23.99% of the Company's issued share capital, has also confirmed its continued willingness, if required, to invest further funds into the Company in support of its strategy. "

Does not that say it all to you whoopy?

"If required" do you think they would be willing to dilute their stake? or are they suggesting that if nobody else comes up with the cash they will do a deal?

If they do a deal I expect it will as good as wipe out other holders - they must be over the moon today to have seen no real movement down in the share price and one listed sale of just 657 shares.

However whoopy, if your holding I hope your right and I am wrong but if this were a large company I would continue to short it.

[whoppy] 11/12/2018 15:41

Yeah tax credits of £400k so they didn't use all of it, with a draw down of £300k. Cash balance of £470k. However, run rate up 50% in last quarter on previous three quarters. 12 month revenue of £2.81m. So basically most of the revenue came in the last quarter say £1.4m which is 50% up on the first two quarters of £0.7m each.
Revenue rate up another 25% on the last quarter (£1.4m), in first two months of this year. So lets say they're on target for at least £1.75m revenue in first quarter with still a month to go and it is Christmas. This will keep growing imo, as pace increases, so lets say another 25% growth in the second quarter.