Mercantile Ports & Logis... Share Discussion Threads

[someuwin] 25/8/2017 08:13

2 million tonnes in year one = £9.4m

2.5 million tonnes in year two = £11.75m

etc for 5 + 2 years

Plus rates to escalate at 7% per year.

[someuwin] 25/8/2017 08:01

All sounds very positive.

[someuwin] 25/8/2017 07:19

25 August, 2017



Mercantile Ports & Logistics Limited (the "Company")

("MPL" or the "Company")

Contract Win, Board Changes and Notice of AGM

Contract win

MPL, which is developing a modern port and logistics facility in Mumbai, India, is pleased to announce that it has entered into its first binding customer contract to manage cargo at its port facility (the "Contract").

Under the terms of the Contract, MPL will start receiving cargo on the Commercial Operations Date of the Facility, which is expected to occur during December 2017. MPL has signed the Contract with an Indian-based company for a five-year term, extendable by an additional two years. In the first year, MPL has contracted to handle two million tonnes of cargo (with a guaranteed minimum of 750,000 tonnes). In year two, this will increase to two and a half million tonnes (with a guaranteed minimum of one million tonnes), and to three million tonnes in year three (with a guaranteed minimum of two million tonnes). Under the terms of the contract, and at today's exchange rate, MPL expects to generate revenue of approximately GBP 4.7million for every one million tonnes handled, with a built-in escalation of 7 per cent per annum.

Project Update

The Company is pleased to report that 204 piles have now been completed out of a total of 248. This means that piles have been completed for approximately 325 meters of the 400-meter jetty. Pre-cast beams have been laid for approximately 130 meters of jetty, with top-deck slabs having been laid for approximately 90 meters. By December 2017, 200 meters of jetty (400 meters of quay length), which is sufficient to handle four 4,000 DWT vessels, is expected to be complete in all respects and ready for operations.

As previously reported, the Company reclaimed approximately 90 acres of land before the start of the monsoon, with additional reclamation material on site and being used for surcharging. Reclamation is expected to resume in September following the conclusion of the monsoon season. Approximately 50 acres of back up area to support jetty operations are expected to be available by December 2017.

Opening Ceremony

With the Facility expected to be operational during December this year, MPL is extremely honoured that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the Honorable Shri. Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Chairman of the Maharashtra Maritime Board, has accepted the Company's invitation to be the Company's Chief Guest at the Official Opening Ceremony for the Facility. The ceremony is expected to take place before early January 2018 and a further update will be made once the specific date, convenient to a number of key attendees, has been coordinated and confirmed.

Board Changes

Having been with the Company for nearly 12 months as Head of Finance, Andrew Henderson joins the Board as Chief Finance Officer after the Company's upcoming AGM. Mr Henderson is a member of the ICAEW and has over 15 years' experience acting as an accountant and financial advisor to private and public companies, both in the UK and internationally. Previously, Mr Henderson worked at Deloitte and Grant Thornton before setting up his own consultancy practice.

The Company is also delighted to announce that John Fitzgerald will join the board as a non-executive director following the Company's AGM, bringing a background of commercial, operational, strategic planning, performance management and other experience to MPL. Mr Fitzgerald has significant port experience, having served as an Executive Director on the board of Associated British Ports, the UK's leading port operator, for over 12 years, and served alongside MPL director, Peter Jones, during that time. Mr Fitzgerald spent over 18 years in total with Associated British Ports, leading some of the UK's most significant port infrastructure projects developed in recent years, and heading up the Humber Ports, Associated British Port's largest operational division and the UK's busiest port complex. Mr Fitzgerald also recently served as Regional Chairman for the Confederation of British Industry.

The relevant AIM Rules disclosure for Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Henderson are set out below:

Mr Andrew William Henderson, aged 38, is currently a director of Henderson Accounting Consultants Limited. Mr John Bernard Fitzgerald, aged 54, is currently a director of John Fitzgerald Ltd.

Save as disclosed above, there is no further information required to be disclosed in accordance with Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules.

The Company also announces that Madan Lal Meena will initially become advisor to the Board of MPL, and is expected to join the Board after receiving approval from the Government of India, which is a requirement for all who have served in the Indian Administrative Services. Mr Meena, has held high ranking positions within the Government of India, including as Joint Secretary Finance, as Principal Secretary Ministry of Environment and also as Director (Port Development) in the Ministry of Shipping. In particular, Mr Meena was Chairman of Kolkata Port Trust, the oldest operating Port in in India and, prior to that, was Deputy Chairman of Haldia Dock complex. The relevant AIM Rules disclosure for Mr Meena will be made at the time of his appointment to the Board.

Having served as a non-executive Director at MPL for nearly seven years, Peter Jones has informed the board of his wish to retire, as he has also done recently as Chair of Milford Haven Port Authority, and Mr Jones will retire at the Company's upcoming AGM. Similarly, James Sutcliffe, having been a non-executive since the Company's IPO, will retire at this year's AGM.

The Company will continue to monitor the composition of the Board to ensure that there is the optimum blend of leadership, development, operational and corporate governance experience.

General

MPL confirms that it has posted to its shareholders the Notice of Annual General Meeting and associated proxy forms. The AGM will be held at the registered office of the Company at Martello Court, Admiral Park, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3HB on Wednesday 20 September 2017 at 14:00.

Nikhil Gandhi, Chairman of MPL, said, "We are privileged that the Honourable Chief Minister and other dignitaries across the State and Country have continued to support our project and, approximately three years since he inaugurated the project in December 2014, I look forward to welcoming the Honorable Chief Minister and dignitaries to the Opening Ceremony. Of course, we would be pleased to welcome any shareholders too.

I am delighted to welcome John Fitzgerald to the Board. John has a rare level of significant experience in both port development and port operations. We also look forward to benefitting from the breadth of experience and talent that M.L. Meena will bring to the Company. I have no doubt that his background as Chairman of one of India's largest and oldest ports will assist MPL significantly.

On behalf of myself and the rest of the Company, I would particularly like to thank James and Peter for their enormous contribution to MPL. Their experience was of great assistance, particularly when overcoming hurdles. They have played an important role in enabling the project to move into its operational phase and we wish them well. "

Pavan Bakshi, Managing Director, said, "Announcing our first contract win is another milestone for the Company and, with a number of negotiations currently taking place, others are expected to follow shortly."

Peter Jones said, "I retire from the Company as it approaches commencement of operations and I am confident that MPL will have an excellent facility in Karanja. I have enjoyed the challenge of being part the project from inception and leave a talented team who will take the business to its next phase. I wish the Company well."

John Fitzgerald stated, "I'm looking forward to joining the Board of MPL. I know the exciting opportunities that exist for MPL, and I am ready to play my part in helping to ensure that the Company makes a success of this impressive facility, which will be an asset to both the region and India as a whole."

[mount teide] 18/8/2017 13:15

I think he may of said these or something similar once as well!


Never, never, never give up talking yourself out of making a MPL investment.

If you're thinking of an MPL investment - you haven't done enough due diligence

I may be drunk, MPL IPO II's, but in the morning i will be sober, and you will still be MPL shareholders sitting on seven year 97% paper loss.

II's consider success with an MPL investment, as going from waterfall drop in share price after waterfall drop, without loss of enthusiasm!

MPL's II's most brilliant investment achievement was their ability to be able to persuade themselves, that their due diligence should support a further Placing at a 96% discount to the price of their original investment.

All the great things in life are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope. Sadly, many of the awful things in life require two or more words like Mercantile Ports.

The best argument against an MPL investment is either a 5 minute chat with a ex MPL investor or some due diligence worthy of the name.

An MPL investment is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of stupidity, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of abject shareholder misery.

The MPL and Karanja truth is incontrovertible - the management, Nomad, Auditors and Comms Agency may try and defend it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is - a management crafted, superbly managed investment disaster.


AIOHO/DYOR

[orinocor] 18/8/2017 12:20

--Never in the long history of Port development has so little material been used to give the impression of so much 'asset' work achieved at so little real, rather than reported cost!--

It was Winston Churchill who said that.

[mount teide] 18/8/2017 11:56

After 6 years experience of MPL's management performance, the £37m Placing and Open Offer, in reality was asking prospective investors one simple question:

Either improve your reality(due diligence) or lower your expectations(chance of seeing the return of any of your investment, never mind a return on it)!

Amazing, that so many II chose to unwittingly select the later because they could't be bothered to carry out the former to any level worthy of the name.

The two largest II's could have jointly shared the circa £6k cost to appoint a Marine Engineering Consultant, to undertake a cost analysis of the work completed to date and to prepare a forecast for the additional expenditure to complete.

As we said to the largest II, that circa £6k would in our professional opinion have stopped the £37m Placing and Open Offer directly in its tracks.

Instead, it's given management another 2 year extension of its 5 star gravy train and, the opportunity to 'spend' another £37m away from prying eyes, in very much the same way as the previous £95m 'spent' to date, to place aggregate material on mostly 90 acres of foreshore and lay 160 lightweight shallow water piles!

For shareholders information - if the current piled jetty under construction, were of a fixed quay wall design, the aggregate material used in the 90 acres of land reclamation to date, would most probably, due to the depth of water, only reclaim around 15 to 20 acres if firstly used to backfill directly behind the quay wall.

Never in the long history of Port development has so little material been used to give the impression of so much 'asset' work achieved at so little real, rather than reported cost!


AIOHO/DYOR

[mount teide] 18/8/2017 11:19

Waterloo - 'I've never understood how they could get away with the 'fixed priced' contract. It was this element that got me invested at the time as costs were supposed to be fixed! Fixed is right, but not as I understood it.'

Indeed, the principal fact the passage of time has revealed, is that many of Mercantile's RNS and Financial Statements and Placing and Open Offer Documentation, have comments that are a heavily truncated view of reality at best, and some that are nothing less than outright Fraud by False Representation!



AIOHO/DYOR

[mount teide] 18/8/2017 10:59

Nikhil Gandhi - Is there no end to this man's talent for attracting the wrong sort of attention?

Its not just the Stock Exchange, Market Regulator and Special Fraud Office that the business activities of Mercantile's white collar criminal Executive Chairman Nikhil Gandhi has got on the wrong side of.

Controversy seemed to be the best friend of Everonn Education(since in administration, after it ran out of cash, and its books proved a work of fiction and accounts manipulated according to the other main shareholder at the time Sunni Varkey), when it was run by executives PK Kishore and Nikhil Gandhi.

Following, MD Kilshore's high profile arrest in a huge bribery and tax evasion case, its largest shareholder, SKIL Infrastructure immediately came under the taxman's scanner.

Nikhil Gandhi's SKIL Infrastructure with a 21 percent stake in Everonn, and largest shareholder of the company at the time, immediately saw its offices become the subject of raids by agents of the Tax Department.

Gandhi, who was being touted as the company's next chairman after Everonn's former chairman JJ Irani stepped down, following Kishore's arrest, was told in no uncertain terms that he was now under the watchful eyes of the taxman's scanner.

Former chairman Irani was extremely tight lipped about the raids at Nikhil Gandhi's offices and told CNN India at the time he would not want to comment on it.

"I thought the company was doing reasonably well. I would have never guessed what Kishore did. As soon as I knew about it, I resigned," he said


Not too shabby a list of Prosecuting and Compliance Organisations to have on your case!

Stock Exchange - Governance Dept
Stock Market Regulator - Insider Trading Dept
Special Fraud Office - Serious Crime Branch
Indian Tax Authority - Corporate and Income Tax Depts

It simply beggars belief, II's have given him £110m to date of their clients retirement funds, and that the Nomad has sponsored him for over 7 years, although sensibly, they no longer wish to publicise this important contract on their website.

Ask 100 people in the street whether they would lend money to an individual with such a colourful background, and who is currently the subject of a high level investigation by the SFO after being the recipient of writs alleging the siphoning off, of tens of £millions out of a company he had executive responsibility for, and you would probably get a entirely predictable response - funny how views can often change though when other peoples money is involved!

AIOHO/DYOR

[pj 1] 18/8/2017 10:53

Don't get me wrong. They have misled and lied. They have been caught out numerous times. If a Court of Law supports our view though or not is a different matter.

Not including the ''proposed'' ship repair facility.

[waterloo01] 18/8/2017 10:07

PJ, the blame sits with investors believing the lies told by management, not wrong assumptions. They just plain lied about it and why MT is right to go after them

[pj 1] 18/8/2017 10:00

I suspect the ''fixed price contract'' did exist, as did the x3 mobilised workforce.

Off course SPL as then failed to mention to which project the ''workforce'' had been mobilised on, so the same equation can be applied to any ''fixed priced contract''.

At the time we all made ass's of ourselves with the wrong assumptions.

[waterloo01] 18/8/2017 09:53

Yes noticed that at the time. Thought well at least it's mentioned, but agree was very vague.

I've never understood how they could get away with the 'fixed priced' contract. It was this element that got me invested at the time as costs were supposed to be fixed! Fixed is right, but not as I understood it.

[mount teide] 18/8/2017 09:46

In the photograph above of Adani Port's new Deep Sea Container Terminal 4 - shareholders will note the high strength, fixed 750m quay designed to handle the latest generation 400m+ ultra large container vessels with draughts of 16m+, together with the integrated 90 acre high point loading piled container storage park, allowing stacking of heavyweight containers to heights multiples of that at Karanja.

The technical specification(suitably scaled down to handle smaller vessels) is identical to the design Royal Haskoning produced for Karanja, which also had the addition of warehousing close to the quay wall to allow fast and efficient all weather handling of bulk and break bulk cargoes during the annual 4/5 month monsoon season.

In fact, for II's that like to reminisce and enjoy nostalgia, the 2010 Royal Haskoning design still adorns the MPL website front page, such is MPL management's scorn and sneering contempt for their shareholders.

And to think ITD won the tender process to develop the 200 acre site, using the Royal Haskoning plans as the key documents for the Marine Civil Engineering elements of the proposed terminal, and all for a fixed price of £57m!

Ah, those were the days!


Looking back, the first real clue that shareholders could be the victims of a potential scam, was when ITD Cementation won the £57m fixed price contract to develop the Port and then quietly announced it to the market as 'Marine Facilities at Karanja.' A hugely vague description of a major contract - giving ITD shareholders no idea whatsoever as to what it entailed.

Interestingly, when ITD won the contract for JNPT Terminal 4, it was described as a 'a world class 225 acre container terminal with a 1,000m quay.

Likewise, Adani Ports Terminal 4 was described as a 'a world class 90 acre container terminal with 750m quay'


AIOHO/DYOR

[mount teide] 16/8/2017 22:39

For an understanding as to why a port terminal with Karanja's revised specification and totally implausible build cost has zero prospect of being a commercial success - here is a comparison with the recently completed Adani Port Container Terminal 4, which has an almost identical build cost.

Cargo handling earning potential from the type of shipping each port has been designed to handle:

Karanja:
A 3,000 dwt tonne coaster typical of the type of vessel MPL is looking to attract to Karanja - it is capable of carrying around 2,700 tonnes of bulk coal/salt/grain - using a jetty crane and grab, MPL would generate cargo handling revenue of circa £850 for discharging the entire cargo and transporting it the 750m to the storage park.



Adani Port:
A latest generation 18,000 teu container ship, typical of the type of vessel JNPT Terminal 4 and Adani Ports new deep sea terminal have been built to handle. Handling just one tenth of the container capacity of this ship off(imports) and on(exports), will generate cargo handling revenue of circa £215,000.




Adani Ports deep sea container terminal 4 was recently completed and cost £152m to build.




Karanja is not half built and has apparently already cost £95m with an estimated completion cost of £148m.

[mount teide] 15/8/2017 22:06

Uran Peninsula, Mumbai Harbour - Port Terminal Berth Development Analysis

JNPT Container Terminal 4 v Karanja Barge & Coaster Terminal

Since June 2016 at JNPT, in 11 MONTHS, principal contractor ITD has laid around 1,800 berth piles in tidal waters up to 21m deep, (an average of 165 berth piles per month). And completed the concrete surfacing of 400m of the 1000m of deepwater quay under construction.

Since January 2016 at Karanja, in around 17 MONTHS ITD have laid around 160 berth piles in tidal waters around 4m to 5m deep,(an average of 9 berth piles per month).

So ITD at JNPT Terminal 4 have laid more berth piles IN EVERY ONE OF THE 11 MONTHS FROM JUNE 2016 TO MAY 2017, than they managed in all 17 MONTHS SINCE BERTH PILING COMMENCED AT KARANJA, SOME TWO YEARS AFTER EXPECTED?


ITD at JNPT Terminal 4, have in 1 year 9 months completed the reclamation of 225 acres of land in tidal water up to 21m deep, laid 1,800 berth piles, completed 400m of berths and two berth linkspan access bridges, and will commence first operations within the two year Operating Concession construction deadline.

Data Source: Google Earth and MPL photographs

[orinocor] 14/8/2017 23:35

Nice find Saucepan. So Sutcliffe and Flight know each other from before Skil/Mercantile? That's interesting. So it's very likely Flight knew what he was getting into. As non-execs this pair have been far, far, far worse than useless since they have lended this fraud credibility. Especially Sutcliffe.

[mount teide] 14/8/2017 11:14

Saucepan - thanks for the Guardian information - they are probably a better bet than a Labour Politician, such is their dislike of the City and enjoyment at exposing its dirty washing, particularly where a senior Tory is involved.

[mount teide] 14/8/2017 11:09

Some useful advice from Harry Markopolis on the importance of II's and PI's undertaking quality due diligence prior to getting involved in Placings in cash strapped companies - i would add; particularly, in poorly managed cash strapped companies run by management that have a proven history of being untrustworthy and, a perfect track record of failing to perform).

"there's no point refilling the bath until you're absolutely sure the plug is in."

As Harry wisely observed - "in these type of companies - a shareholders first loss often proves to be the best loss!"

At MPL the II's were apparently given assurances by MPL's untrustworthy management, following the shocking announcement last summer that yet more funds were required, that the plug would be firmly in the Mercantile bath post the £37m placing! How we chuckled at that one - since the previous six years had shown a Bengal tiger never changes its stripes!

Sadly, this ever scheming, self serving, thoroughly disingenuous management forgot to tell the II's and PI's that previous RNS and Financial Statements had shot at least 50 unrepairable holes in the bottom of the bath, and that predictably, 3 months after supporting the £37m funding, the Shareholders Circular would prove a similar work of fiction and, with a marksman's perfect aim would shoot a further 25 holes into the Mercantile bath.


AIOHO/DYOR

[saucepan] 13/8/2017 19:01

On the subject of The Guardian, they are always after stories, Mount Teide:

[saucepan] 13/8/2017 17:45

Howard Flight's name appears here:



Intriguingly, so does the name Sir Tony Baldry.

Baldry is Non-Executive Chairman of Westminster Group, where our good friend James Sutcliffe is a Non-Executive Director.

Just coincidental connections or a band of "brothers"? I could not possibly comment.

Baldry is a freemason (see his entry in Wikipedia, where there are also, shall we say, "some colourful insights"). I don't know about the others.

[troll_buster] 13/8/2017 17:33

.... this gets better .... so now the conspiracy includes Tory MPs.

Just out of interest, anyone ever hear of prejudicing your own case?

Little surprise that no person listened to this crack pot ....

All in my own humble opinion - No offence intended when I stop laughing ..

LOLOLOLOL :)

[mount teide] 13/8/2017 12:18

Further to Waterloo's helpful suggestion of approaching the FT (Neil Hume) before MP's return and a written question can be laid down - we are in the process of formally approaching the FT in this connection.

Indeed, having the Noble Lord Flight, a highly colourful right wing Conservative Peer and sacked ex Chairman of the Conservative Party appointed to the Mercantile Board last year, presumably in order to use his City contacts to help get the £37m Placing and Open Offer cash raise away, has brought an interesting political dimension to the scandalous Mercantile story, that is perhaps too tantalising to resist exploiting.

What do shareholders think about sending our Mercantile file to a Labour MP (not Dianne Abbott! - but possibly John 'The Quartermaster' McDonnell, lawyer Chuckus 'Your' Money, or Yvette "i've got more synthetic indignation faces than a seven headed hydra' Cooper?), to ask embarrassing questions about the Tories and their City friends 'oversight' of UK investors retirement funds?

All ideas for the Labour MP who should be approached very welcome!