Optare Share Discussion Threads

[kimoldfield] 23/10/2014 13:17

Thanks for bringing that to our attention bump3r, you are doing a better job than Optare's PR Department who have today put some old news on their News page but nothing about the above!

[bump3r] 23/10/2014 11:52

Stagecoach orders eco-friendly buses for North Scotland operations

23 Oct 2014

• Bus operator to invest more than £600,000 infive state-of-the-art electric vehicles
• Further funding of £477,000 to come from Scottish Government Green Bus Fund
• Vehicles to go into service in Inverness

Transport group Stagecoach is investing more than £600,000 in five state-of-the-art electric vehicles for its bus operations in Inverness, with additional funding coming from the Scottish Government’s Green Bus Fund.

Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown has announced that the Scottish Government is to invest a further £477,000 from its Green Bus Fund in the new Stagecoach buses.

The new bus order is made up of 5 Optare Solo electric vehicles. The buses – which produce zero emissions - will be put into service in place of existing diesel vehicles on several routes around Inverness, including:

- Inverness – Raigmore
- Inverness – Lochardil
- Inverness – South Kessock

The new vehicles – which will be the first electric vehicles operated by Stagecoach - will be manufactured by British company Optare and will be built at the company’s factory in Leeds. They will go into service next year.

Five charging points will be installed at Stagecoach’s Inverness depot where vehicles will be charged overnight. The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership HITRANS is partly funding the installation of a further charging point at Inverness Bus Station to allow the buses to receive a top-up charge during the day.

Stagecoach North Scotland Managing Director Steve Walker said: “We’re pleased to be ordering these new vehicles, with support from the Scottish Government’s Green Bus Fund, for our customers.

“Our buses play a vital role in keeping communities connected across the north of Scotland and we are committed to investing in cleaner, greener vehicles for our passengers. Sustainability is at the heart of our business – we are reducing our own carbon footprint as a company and will continue to encourage more people to try our greener, smarter bus services.”

Announcing the funding award, Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "This fund is helping our bus industry invest in the latest emission reducing technology and is another clear indication of our support and commitment to the bus industry in Scotland.

"The Scottish Government is committed to public transport and to our ambitious climate change target of reducing carbon emissions by 42% by 2020."

Ranald Robertson, Partnership Director, HITRANS added: "The introduction of these new carbon free buses in Inverness is great news for the city. HITRANS is pleased to have supported Stagecoach on this project with a contribution towards the recharging infrastructure and we really look forward to seeing these new vehicles entering service where we are sure they will be welcomed by passengers."

Stagecoach is a leading investor in cleaner, greener vehicles that run on alternative fuel. The Group has more than 270 hybrid-electric vehicles in service across its UK bus operations. In Scotland, there are 13 hybrid buses in Aberdeen and nine in service in Perth. Stagecoach North Scotland is also playing a key role in a multi-million pound project to introduce 10 hydrogen-powered buses in Aberdeen. A fleet of gas buses is also in operation at Stagecoach’s operations in Sunderland.

In 2010, Stagecoach Group launched Revolution in the Way We Travel, a five-year plan to reduce further the carbon emissions from its transport operations in the UK and North America. The strategy has been supported by an £11million green investment programme. Employee initiatives and eco teams set up by staff have also helped drive dramatic improvements in energy and carbon efficiency.

The Group has delivered its targets 12 months ahead of schedule, and has cut its carbon intensity by 30% in the past five years. It has also achieved an overall absolute reduction of 8% in carbon emissions from buildings and a cut of 3% in annual carbon emissions per vehicle mile from fleet transport.

To maintain the momentum of the Group’s programme, work is now underway to develop a new five-year strategy. This will include identifying further cost-effective energy-saving opportunities, continuing investment to make the business greener, and setting new targets around carbon reduction, water consumption and waste recycling rates.

Last year, figures compiled as part of the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme showed that Stagecoach Group is among the top 10% of large companies in the UK for its performance in reducing the carbon emissions from its business.

Every year, Stagecoach reports on its carbon emissions through its corporate website, www.stagecoach.com. It also provides information on its global carbon footprint to the Carbon Disclosure Project, the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emissions database.

ENDS

[jsbach123] 19/10/2014 21:12

Ownership of IP is an irrelevant question as AL as majority shareholder can do whatever they wish at whatever cost they wish in intercompany transaction I think Steve.

Interesting share price movement. Others have speculated on other Boards good news including large orders is possible soon. This may be true but IMHO the company is now firmly lodged in a debt-trap spiral - paying more than a million pounds annually in interest on estimated debts of £20 million or more and failing, as far as can be ascertained from information in the public domain to achieve current trading at break even. Annual turnover it has been estimated needs to be at least £80 million to break even and again from information in public domain that number seems very unlikely to be reached in this current financial year and order book value remains historically low.

Fickling who has presided over the destruction of shareholder value still draws remuneration. Longer-term PIs may ask why he is paid, and also why does he not resign?

[kimoldfield] 17/10/2014 10:45

I would send Optare an email to ask those questions Steve if I thought there was a faint chance of receiving a replying!

Huge rise in the share price today, well in terms of OPE's share price anyway!😀

[steve517499] 17/10/2014 07:16

Will the Indian EVs actually be Optare EVs or A-L EVs?

Who actually owns the IP rights of developments since OPE effectively became a subsiduary of A-L. Is it OPE or the parent company?

[kimoldfield] 16/10/2014 09:18

I suppose it will boil down to demand in the end, who and where will want Optare's EV's, if anyone!

[m.t.glass] 16/10/2014 06:41

It does seem more likely that this is merely a step towards shifting the bulk of Optare's EV production to India, and that its UK plant will perhaps serve only the UK and West Europe? In which case it would be no great surprise if their non-EV production moved the same way.

[kimoldfield] 15/10/2014 20:36

Oh, I'm always the optimist JSB, sends out good vibes!😀 Details on the manufacturing of the buses seem a little ambiguous at the moment; the Hindu Business Line states that most of the components including the batteries will have to be imported into India. investments will primarily go into tooling. There is a nice picture of the Solo diesel version in Chennai with Vinod Dasari MD of AL and a chap who looks like Vince Cable. Oh, it IS Vince Cable. We're doomed! Perhaps I am being unfair to Vince!

[jsbach123] 15/10/2014 19:21

I continue to admire you optimism Kim and stranger things have been known to happen. But links provided on another site suggest that Optare will supply only the designs (existing) and manufacturing will take place in India. I wish the company would announce some orders - a number of Trade Fairs and Exhibitions have been attended recently and complete silence from the company. Others have complained about lack of communication I wonder is it policy or incompetence. Whichever is the case it is IMHO shortsighted and mistaken not to address it, bad reputations in any aspect of business conduct have a tendency to spread and Optare is a company that simply cannot afford to have any actual or potential interested party disgruntled (also IMHO).

[kimoldfield] 15/10/2014 18:16

There are a lot of very rich Indians out there, an electric metro decker may become the latest rich man's plaything!😀

[jsbach123] 15/10/2014 13:33

lol! I'm laughing with scepticism as the Indian market cannot afford 'ordinary' western buses so the likelihood of anyone buying an all electric bus whether in kit form or not is...well not high IMHO.

[kimoldfield] 15/10/2014 12:42

Ashok Leyland plans to launch Optare electric buses in India in 2015. I believe they will be shipped over in kit form to be completed in India.

[jsbach123] 14/10/2014 06:30

I wonder what the record is for the longest time a listed company has been in business and never declared a penny profit? Optare's more than five years of annual losses must place it as a contender for the title I would guess.

[bump3r] 14/10/2014 06:17

Should have been Norris McWhirter.Helping us to achieve a Guinness World record for the longest continual share price decline on AIM.

[bigbaddaz] 13/10/2014 23:07

It would appear Mr Norris has been drafted in to assist us in one way or another. He does have contacts with the Government Organisations, therefore he may be the key to getting Optare buses specified with TFL.

It would also appear Mr Norris has plenty of experience with companies that are either voluntarily wound up or dissolved, and experience of companies being placed into administration.

Let's hope he has joined to assist us in gaining sales and contracts for our buses. After all we don't need his assistance with the latter, we're doing a bloody good job of that ourselves !! IMO ;-)

[marmar80] 13/10/2014 15:52

Pity it's not Chuck Norris

[jsbach123] 13/10/2014 11:02

No RNS for AGM yet this one. The following text is extracted from Wikipedia (today 13 October 2014)

Business career
Norris is unusual in that he has combined a career in politics with a successful career in business. At the time of the Potters Bar rail crash on 10 May 2002 he was a non-executive director of Jarvis plc, who were responsible for maintaining the defective points which caused the crash. Along with other Jarvis directors he falsely claimed to have evidence showing that outside saboteurs were responsible. Jarvis subsequently admitted liability after a damning HSE report. Jarvis went into administration on 25 March 2010.

[kimoldfield] 13/10/2014 09:28

An RNS, whatever next?! Well, Steven Norris should know a thing or two and as the new Deputy Chairman he might just be useful!

[jsbach123] 12/10/2014 16:48

It might be an interesting and worthwhile public service initiative to start an open contribution website (Wiki awards?) of meaningless and bogus business and other awards (not that the Indo European Business Forum would be listed)!

[kimoldfield] 12/10/2014 15:20

Optare was recognised for its contribution to Environment and Green Technology by the Indo European Business Forum at an awards ceremony at the House of Lords on the 24th September. Not put on website until the 6th October. Is Rebecca Green as useful as a chocolate teapot at a tea party in the desert or is she restricted in when and what she can put out, which if so would make her job as useful as a chocolate teapot! Mind you, having seen a picture of the 'trophy' it is not much to crow about, plus it has been awarded to the Hinduja Brother's (sic)!!!

[jsbach123] 08/10/2014 12:52

Interesting recent share price movements and spreads. I wonder what MMs are thinking or seeking to achieve? I really don't wish to be a prophet of doom but in my mind I keep hearing the words 'dead duck'. IMHO the only questions remaining are when will the money run out and how and when AL will achieve their exit. But perhaps other better informed or optimistic PIs will enlighten me and other readers.

[kimoldfield] 07/10/2014 09:26

Perhaps we should have Louis Van Gaal in charge!😀