Manganese Bronze Share Discussion Threads

[domwilliams] 26/9/2008 17:13

RNS just out announcing the work required to put the problems right in the affected cabs. With a minimum £4m cost, plus lost earnings claims from drivers, MNGS will swing well into the red this year.

What a perfect short.

[shanklin] 26/9/2008 16:03

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I just saw this, dated today on the LTI website

Update on TX4 under bonnet fires

26th September, 2008

LTI are continuing to investigate the cause or the under bonnet fires that have occurred in a small number of TX4s.

The VIN range of the vehicles being investigated ranges from 200000 to 201000.

LTI are employing all possible engineering and expert resources including independent specialist fire investigators, Ricardo and VM Motori to arrive at a solution very soon..

LTI understand that drivers are directly affected by the PCO and other licensing authorities suspending the licenses of the TX4s in question and ask that drivers, where possible, find alternative vehicles to use until a working solution can be put in place.

LTI appreciate that this is a very difficult time and can only reiterate that all possible efforts are being made to find a resolution as quickly as possible.

[felix99] 26/9/2008 15:00

I want to know who keeps buying these beggers?

[cliffyburger] 26/9/2008 14:52

This quote from a cabbie sums up the dire future for MNGS:

"I used to have one of the TX4s with a 56 plate, and it had all sorts of problems, so I got rid of it and bought a new Mercedes cab instead. It's been running great, and I'm really glad I made the switch now."

This could be signal the end of the road for MNGS, in my view.

Cliff (short MNGS)

[domwilliams] 26/9/2008 13:31

Hermes have offloaded half a million shares.

[marben100] 26/9/2008 12:49

MNGS watchers may appreciate this:

"Fire-breathing black cabs: Shock eyewitness photo"

[davidosh] 26/9/2008 00:13

Those orders for the Middle East will be in doubt if the customer gets a sight of this newspaper in the region



The FT ran this story



Manchester has now joined the other local authorities in removing the at risk cabs from the streets



Cabbies here claiming that ALL TX4s need to be recalled to reinstate confidence and prevent safety concerns



I simply cannot understand how the company can delay at least providing a holding RNS advising the market about the fire investigations and the impact it will have on the company. Sales of the TX4 have been substantially hit and the financing of future production must be in question.

[davidosh] 24/9/2008 16:48

Those 200 cabs will be in danger of being cancelled before the orders are shipped as I doubt they will be granted an export permit if not deemed fit for purpose in a mild climate. The desert aint the place to be !!

[shanklin] 24/9/2008 16:42

Thank you Dom

[domwilliams] 24/9/2008 16:34

Shanklin,

200 cabs to Bahrain for 4.5m BD at an FX rate of 0.685748 = £15,430 per cab. Well under half the listed price, but at least they've shifted a few of the backlog.

[shanklin] 24/9/2008 16:22

davidosh

Please calm down. The company may be having its taxis taken off the roads in the UK, but its just in the process of selling loads to Bahrain, as per



Personally I'd have thought they should solve the technical problem first and then sell their product to new customers but no doubt one cannot keep good sales staff from closing a deal.

[davidosh] 24/9/2008 16:18

There seems to be a lot of slagging going on with LTI and the PCO at the forefront

[domwilliams] 24/9/2008 13:15

Licence withdrawal now extended to certain '07' plates (and those with personalised plates that were otherwise registered on a '56' or '07' plate).



C'mon MNGS - why no RNS?

[davidosh] 24/9/2008 08:26

The directors just weeks ago sold stock and have done so at every opportunity in the past year. I do not wish to be cynical but the investors in any company need to be aware off all information to make their investment decisions. My view is that the directors should be advising the market via RNS if the current problem with the TX4 is alongside poor sales likely to mean that the company cannot meet forecasts. The same directors were visiting the city institutions with an incorrect broker research note only one month ago and if those expectations cannot be met then surely the company should update the market.

[shanklin] 24/9/2008 07:54

nickcduk

The very regrettable fact that people have lost their job... ...an experience which I also recently suffered... ...is no defence for not keeping the market informed on the operational and financial state of the company.

Following detailed analysis, some posters here believe that the MNGS profit forecasts in the market are seriously over-stated. Given the extreme nature of the symptoms of whatever is wrong with the TX4 range (at least with part of the 56 plated version), I take the view that the company has an obligation to update the market on its situation. This is not happening, so posters here are jumping into the resultant void.

Can you seriously suggest that with part of their principal product range spontaneously combusting for what seems currently to be an unknown reason, the company can just keep their head down and not issue an RNS? At the very least, with the lack of an outcome to what must be very concerted efforts to diagnose the problem causing spontaneous combustion, it is difficult to believe that many taxi drivers are currently going out of their way to buy a new TX4.

[cliffyburger] 23/9/2008 16:09

It's clear that this company is in VERY serious trouble. I doubt the firm will make any profit in 2008 or, at most, EPS of a penny or so. Thus, whatever way you look at it, this share is trading on a triple-digit P/E at best.

A nailed-on short for 2008/09, in my view, so I have shorted MNGS via IG Index at 292p. I intend to add to my position before the trading update* on 22 October.

Cliff

For 'trading update', read 'massive profit warning' ;0)

[felix99] 23/9/2008 16:05

Emergency funding being requested and suspension of finance payments


what by the cabbies or MNGS :-)

[davidosh] 23/9/2008 15:43

Emergency funding being requested and suspension of finance payments

[macansy77] 23/9/2008 15:38

question is - how long will MNGS leave it before issuing the inevitable profit warning?

Or indeed, will they at all considering how they've been less than forthcoming with other "price sensitive" information - if 150 job losses and a 2 day week isn't price sensitive then I don't know what is but when your house broker is Collins Stewart then I suppose anything's possible...

[davidosh] 23/9/2008 15:34

Things are getting heated in Edinburgh and these guys are claiming £10k losses against the company.

[davidosh] 23/9/2008 13:37

It is simply not possible to make a profit in H2 so forecasts cannot be met. Sales to date have been even worse than H1 and September should be a busy month but no cabbie will be buying a TX4 now. If you speak to a cabbie they are more worried about the recalls advancing from the '56' plate and requiring all TX4s to be withdrawn. None of them have a clue what is causing the problem so difficult to predict when this will be solved.

My estimate is that the company will go into significant losses for the year based on further reductions in the number of cabs sold and presumably exceptional costs trying to find the problem. That is without consideration for who pays the bill that cabbies will be raising for lost earnings !!

[shanklin] 23/9/2008 13:26

I wonder when MGNS or their NOMAD will feel obliged to update the market on this. Implicitly, by not issuing an RNS, they are currently taking the viewpoint that this problem will in all probability lead to immaterial financial downside.

I wonder how long the problem has to remain unidentified for this stance to lose its credibility. They must be working flat out to sort this out.

Regards, Martin