Plant Impact Share Discussion Threads

[p1nkfish] 28/4/2014 07:47

Re-iterate - "The Group is expected to be cash generative in the second half and has no debt."

Always the chance of problems but reads ok to me.

Argentina could use PIM products. I guess that would be a target.

[wan] 28/4/2014 07:35

Some didn't expect PI to be cash generative -

"The cash balance at 31 January was GBP512k (2013: GBP1,685k). This is a seasonal low-point for the Group, accompanied by higher than expected receivables balances related to shipments and collection timing in the first six months of the year. The Group is expected to be cash generative in the second half and has no debt."

This bit is also worth highlighting -

"The Board and management are encouraged by the outlook for the Group's products in Brazil and more widely in Latin America. Sales and promotional activity with Veritas(TM) in its pilot launch year has been intense and the results up to expectation. Field performance of Veritas(TM) has been remarkably consistent compared with both trial years as well as across different farms within any one season. Growers are achieving yield improvements of between 6-8% in soy and more in dry beans. We expect to have a clear view of the 2014/15 commercial prospects for the product over the coming months, once we have reviewed the complete data package with our strategic partner in Brazil."

It looks like a case of how many more regions for the 2014/15 season then, and it would appear that PI are looking at more than just regions in Brazil.

[p1nkfish] 25/4/2014 12:43

Nice.
Still see breakeven and increased demand, but I admit I know nothing.
Let's see what the next 2 set of results bring.

[here and there] 25/4/2014 11:21

MMs seem very short of stock. anyone got L2 details

[p1nkfish] 24/4/2014 07:09

I expect breakeven within 12 months.

[horace_h] 24/4/2014 06:37

Courtesy of Burglar Bill on iii:

The latest Brazilian newsletter from Plant Impact / Beyer has some interesting information.

They have been doing more trials of Veritas on soya beans in Brazil. If Google is translating Portuguese correctly, then early data shows an average increase of productivity of 6.9 bags / ha across 4 areas, with the greatest increase in 1 area being 13.1 bags / ha.

This is a significant improvement on the results reported during June 2013 which were 2.9 - 3.5 bags / ha, with 3 bags representing an extra yield of 5-6%.

On those numbers 6.9 bags is increasing the yield by close to 15%, while 13.1 bags is over 25%.

With Beyer's marketing strength and contacts supporting Veritas, this could get very interesting...

Here's the link to the newsletter:


Apologies to Private Fraser for posting something positive but noting the interesting, well-researched points made by Woodcutter. On that, for me, if John Brubaker and the board double the Market Capitilisation of the Company and double my investment then they will have earned more than the remuneration quoted and the increased value of their own shares. But, if not, questions can be posed on July 11th at the open day.

[mthead1968] 23/4/2014 18:16

Imv breakeven is unlikely before another cash call. Hence yet another change of Broker. gla

[p1nkfish] 21/4/2014 21:14

breakeven not too far off imho.

[here and there] 21/4/2014 20:24

uuuhhhmmmm......think you should read the last trading report re. brazilian soya, and look at the deal signed with Bayer last summer........that is the biggest piece of progress in the company's entire history

[cnx] 21/4/2014 14:43

Bottomfisher,Woodcutter

You've hit the nail on the head

We need some serious progress pdq.

[wan] 18/4/2014 07:07

Woody...A lot of your assessment/analysis is backward looking, but you also make some fair comments.

I would draw your attention to the following excerpts from the July 2013 FY Results, and a point from which we should assess the performance of the Company -

Finally, we have completed our work to refocus expenses, manage working capital and to strengthen our balance sheet. Operating expenses are 35% lower than they were in September 2011, and there are no further exceptional items in the P&L. The cost of running the Company is currently GBP2.2 million per annum, a level which provides us the capability to pursue the clear opportunities ahead of us and also still to maintain expense flexibility in the event of unexpected negative surprises. In the event that sales progress as we expect them to in the next 12 months, we will expand sales and marketing and Research & Development spending to support future growth, particularly in Brazil.

The now-completed transformation of Plant Impact has been profound. We have recruited new professionals for key roles, relocated our home, re-invested in our research capability in a cost-effective way, and - with our launch of Am tros and Veritas - invigorated our product offering to increase our confidence in an improving top line.

Our future over the coming Northern and Southern Hemisphere seasons will be about replicating these lessons of early success in Brazil and Europe in order to bring new products to the market quickly. Looking forward, our management, Board and staff are highly confident of the Company's future and committed to building a track record in our industry for technology and marketing leadership.

(end)

One of the things that impressed me was the calibre of the management, but a combination of progress and results (revenue and profit) are needed to justify salaries. On the progress front, much has been achieved with the company arguably transformed, debt free and ready to address some large market opportunities, some of which are under way, cue Brazil but it's still early days! I have said this before; Bayer has only marketed Veritas in one region in Brazil, the Cerrado growing region, if the roll out of Veritas extends beyond that one region, then Veritas in Brazil could be transformational in terms of revenue and profit for Plant Impact. And we still have other markets to go for e.g. the US and Argentina. I also await with interest the field test results for a second product for the Brazilian soybean market.

Despite your view, there are in fact early signs of results from Plant Impacts transformation, but those results currently represent only a small fraction of the potential.

In short; you either think the management will deliver on that potential, or you want to wait for further confirmation. The Company is reporting its Interim Results this month, so this should provide us with another update on the progress being made towards realising Plant Impact's potential.

[woodcutter] 17/4/2014 20:00

Bf

i figure they'll be coming back for more cash, raising further equity, if they continue in their current format. Agree entirely many of the directors are used to big business salaries and need to tone down their expectations. At the last annual report there were four non execs costing ~ £116K, why? this is a very small AIM stock ffs! I confess i'm uncertain as to the legislative requirements for AIM stock non-execs but it seems completely disproportionate to the size of the business imv.

I can't believe that there's not significant competition from some of the big boys too. All-in-all i think it's got a lot to do to prove it's investable for me.

hxxp://www.growthcompany.co.uk/article_assets/articledir_4289/2144598/Chair%20and%20Non-Executive%20Guidelines%20from%20First%20Flight%20and%20ShareSoc.pdf

Interesting, no rules on AIM stock non-execs. So why were there four here? Two would be more than sufficient imv and subsequently two have resigned, understandably.

With company's of this size i'd prefer to see remuneration more share based so there's some incentive to make the business successful rather than the salary gravy train.

The share price is moving on news but at some point unless that news is backed up by strong financials the inevitable will happen.

Woody

[bottomfisher] 17/4/2014 17:10

Completely agree with Woodcutter. Problem is that PIM's management has come from big agribusinesses like Syngenta and are loathe to take a pay cut. I like the idea of this company but am still not clear whether it has any proprietary IP which will tempt bigger agribusinesses, such as Bayer, to pay big bucks. The willingness of some institutions, particularly Fidelity, to back its last fund raising suggests that there may be some value tucked away inside this company. But I am remaining on the sidelines for the moment.

[woodcutter] 17/4/2014 15:00

I've been showing an interest in food producers and feed additive companies and have sizeable stakes in ANP and more recently DVO and TATE on the recent drop. As it happens it was suggested by a fellow investor on another thread to look at PIM.

I've browsed the thread briefly and there's a wealth of quality info on the company's products etc, from some well informed investors, wan and others.

For me though the historical financial performance is to say the least uninspiring.

The growth in revenue from july 2009 july 2013 isn't that progressive albeit the loss per share has been getting less. The recent trading statement shows some signs of improvement but still leaves some uncertainties.

I think my view maybe somewhat tainted by the directors emoluments for such a consistantly low revenue stream company.

To march 2012 the executive and non executive directors took ~ £554K out of the business on a turnover of ~ £1.9m. Since then they seem to have dispensed with the services of two of the excutive directors, hardly surprising. However in the 16 months to july 13 Brubaker paid himself ~ £229K. And the total directors emoluments were ~ £345K again on a turnover of just ~ £1.6m

I've no problem with reasonable rewards and incentives for directors but at the current revenue stream for what is essentially a company in it's early stages of development the directors benefits seem to me to be completely misaligned with the shareholders returns.

i figure they need to be generating around £5-6m of revenue minimum (probably more) just to break even. I'd need to see significant improvement in financial performance before considering an investment.

simple analysis
revenue ~ £6m
gm 67%
gross profit ~ £4m
S&M ~ £1.5m
R&D ~ £1m
Admin costs ~ £1.5m

breakeven?

Woody

[wan] 16/4/2014 07:48

Worth a read (Simplot also mentioned)-

Time for arable sector to up its global trading

10 April 2014 | By Cedric Porter

UK agriculture has helped change the world over the years. And with a growing global population, climate change and resource pressure, the prospect for British technology abroad is excellent.

The UK's farmers and companies pioneered plant breeding and the development of fertiliser and plant protection products, while its agricultural engineers were at the forefront of tractor development and precision technology.

This is still the case and more overseas companies are turning to British scientists to give them the technology they need to build their businesses.

This was demonstrated recently when US potato processor Simplot took up the blight resistance technology which had been developed at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, with backing from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Full story -

[here and there] 14/4/2014 08:30

hxxp://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Beef-prices-sizzle-to-27-year-high-5399750.php

all good for soya demand

[wan] 01/4/2014 07:58

To underscore the above article -

March 31, 2014 6:14 pm

US set for soyabean planting spree

By Gregory Meyer in Lausanne

Global demand for soya has surged as consumers in emerging economies eat more meat. The bean is a critical component of feed rations for pigs and chickens.

Full story -

[wan] 29/3/2014 06:50

H&T...Thanks for the heads-up.

An interesting company -

The J. R. Simplot Company is one of the largest privately held food and agribusiness companies in the nation, though at heart we're as small as a single farmer. We pioneer innovations in plant nutrition and food processing, research new ways to feed animals and sustain ecosystems, and strive to feed a growing global population. At Simplot, we're in the business of Bringing Earth's Resources to Life.


Simplot Partners, a product distribution channel of the J. R. Simplot Company, offers a complete line of specialty pest management, plant nutrients, and maintenance products from eight locations in the western United States and three locations in Australia. Simplot Partners also features its own proprietary line of premium quality turf colorants, spray adjuvants, soil surfactants, and many other turf and ornamental plant management products.

We provide professional products and agronomic solutions to golf course superintendents, landscapers, nursery operators, managers of municipal properties, athletic field managers and agronomists of every kind through our extensive experience and product knowledge.

At Simplot Partners, we lead the industry in turf and ornamental management.

[cnx] 29/3/2014 00:49

"all" income is good income?

with this full of promise slow coach, "any" income will be good

too many "partners', "marketing agreements" etc over the years, and still no meaningful revenues

[here and there] 28/3/2014 17:06

hxxp://www.plantimpact.com/news/simplot-partners-plant-impact-launch-novel-nitrogen-technology-us-turf/

PINT turf partnered and launched in the USA.....glad we got partnered, saves a bundle of cash, don't expect too much from this, but all income is good income!

[p1nkfish] 26/3/2014 12:25

Saturated ground, a big problem needing a solution.

[wan] 21/3/2014 07:54

Watch this space -

20th March 2014

Brazil soy crop, and exports, to soar next season

Prospects for the Brazilian soybean harvest this season have deteriorated a touch, but the country will in next year produce the biggest crop of the oilseed ever, and lift exports nearly to 1m tonnes a week.

'Land expansion'

However, the bureau predicted a sharp rise in output next season, to 97m tonnes, a record for any soybean harvest anywhere, thanks to an increase in sowings of more than 2.3m hectares, and a boost to yields from improved seed.

"Most analysts and farm groups believe that land expansion for 2014-15 soybean planting is a certainty," as farmers plough up pasture.

The bureau said its forecast also reflected on ideas of an extension of Brazil's soybean export season, traditionally lasting from February to June, into January and July. Indeed, exports last month set a February record of 2.8m tonnes.

The forecast is also based on an expectation of improvements to Brazil's notoriously inadequate infrastructure.

Data last week showed that 63 ships were waiting to load with soybeans or soymeal at the port of Paranagua, equivalent to a wait time of about 53 days.

Infrastructure improvements

Projects underway include the BR-163 road linking Mato Grosso, the top soybean producing state, in the west of Brazil, north to the port of Santarem, on the Amazon.

This port itself is expected to double capacity by the end of next year, allowing soybean volumes to reach 2m tonnes, up from the current 1.3m tonnes.

In north east Brazil, the port of Itaqui, the first phase of construction of a 10m-tonne grain terminal is timetabled to finish next month, handling 5m tonnes. Separately, construction has also begun on the West-East railroad, connections Mato Grosso to Atlantic ports.

Full story -

[p1nkfish] 19/3/2014 13:28

This is old but even if half correct breakeven won't be far off:

[21trader] 13/3/2014 15:29

Never seems to be a quote to buy these. Always larger trades at the end of the day so filling buy orders wan.