Plant Impact Share Discussion Threads

[wan] 10/5/2016 10:39

Strange share price reaction, but one which has presented for another top-up opportunity for me.

[bigglesbingham] 10/5/2016 10:24

Looks like a seller just dumped a number of tranches of 20k!! Don't know reason. The appointment looked good but didn't state reason for previous CFL leaving

[trotterstrading] 10/5/2016 10:21

Why the drop here folks, any ideas?

[here and there] 02/5/2016 10:23

they have just launched two products, one of them showing good numbers for potatoes. i seem to remember the early years of PIM showed over optimistic numbers on yield growth. Worth keeping an eye on, I expect them to IPO at some stage

[wan] 30/4/2016 08:40

Thanks H&T.

David Marks and Levity have been on my radar for some time. A website can sometimes give an impression that belies the underlying business, so putting things into perspective; Levity was incorporated in 2010 so they are not new per se (they were also renamed), but the PE investment is recent. Levity is currently a very small business and subsequently is exempt from a full audit. In 2015 the business had a net asset value of £915.00 and cash at bank and in hand was zero, so it looks like they needed to do a deal of some sort as creditors had jumped to £80k from £30k the previous year (total assets jumped by a similar percentage). In short, they had little in the way of working capital and needed to a deal of some sort to survive.

There is some recent news flow and apparently some impending news. There are two new directors (which are providers of the PE deal) and clearly a new impetus with some better finance now in place, so it will be interesting to keep an eye developments. Competition is a fact of business life, however, I never discount it out of hand (no matter how small) and with all of my investments I try to monitor existing and indeed emerging competition/technology. I remain very confident in PI's intellectual property and I am greatly encouraged by the managements credentials and their respective track records and indeed PI's ability to attract new high caliber talent, which in turn highlights the very encouraging prospects on offer.

I note a number of "white label" Levity products were withdrawn/licenses expired/terminated in the later part of 2015, perhaps again highlighting the urgent need for finance (rescue?). This provides for interesting food for thought, in particular, how do those third party products now still claim the same effect on yields "without" the so called Levity technology/formulations? Anyway, as I said food for thought for now!

[here and there] 29/4/2016 16:27

Make of this what you will but,

David Marks, the founder of Plant Impact and the brains behind all of the products that PIM is now selling has set up the below company

hxxp://levitycropscience.com/

Years ago , I tried to find up what he got up to but stumbled upon this today. He has been very busy, a private equity funded enterprise that appears to have a couple of excellent products. I believe, though I may be wrong, that agexpert who caused a bit of controversy a couple of years ago…he set up another thread on Advfn re. PIM was/is the same person.

He fell out many years ago with the then management of PIM re. the direction of the company and left…..

[wan] 26/4/2016 12:08

Excerpt from Bayer's first quarter 2016 results, which I think is OK given the backdrop (which might be on the turn?) -


April 26, 2016
Interim report for the first quarter of 2016:

Ongoing weak market environment at Crop Science

First-quarter sales of the agricultural business (Crop Science) moved ahead by 1.2 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to EUR 3,023 million. "We slightly expanded business at Crop Protection/Seeds despite an ongoing weak market environment," explained Dekkers. In regional terms, the Crop Science business developed positively in North America in particular (Fx adj. plus 3.8 percent). In Latin America/Africa/Middle East, sales increased slightly by 1.0 percent (Fx adj.), whereas sales in Europe were level year on year (Fx adj. plus 0.7 percent). Business in the Asia/Pacific region declined by 2.5 percent (Fx adj.).

At Crop Protection, the SeedGrowth business grew by 5.4 percent (Fx. & portfolio adj.). The Fungicides business also developed positively (Fx & portfolio adj. plus 2.9 percent), whereas sales of Insecticides and Herbicides declined (Fx & portfolio adj. minus 12.2 percent and minus 3.8 percent, respectively). Sales of Seeds grew by a substantial 11.9 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.). Business at Environmental Science advanced by 3.0 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.).

EBITDA before special items of the Crop Science Division improved by 6.3 percent to EUR 1,106 million. Earnings contributions from higher selling prices and lower cost of goods sold stood against higher research and development spending and a negative currency effect of EUR 15 million.

[horace_h] 20/4/2016 18:08

The announcement appears to represent Plant Impact putting in place another part of the structure associated with a much bigger player than we have been thus far and adds to the credibility of the science and product support.

Good news but never likely to move the price up. If it had risen by the 0.5p dropped on less than 10,000 shares traded I'd be just as unmoved.

[rlivsey] 20/4/2016 17:59

The market doesn't agree with you

[wan] 20/4/2016 07:47

Very impressed with today's announcement. It's plain to see why PI think this new approach will provide a stimulus on several levels!

[wan] 17/4/2016 09:01

There are some interesting positions (and details), connected to the recent announcement, on PI's website -

A few interesting reads -

Agriculture 'still has a lot of opportunities' for investors

Despite the low commodity prices currently facing agriculture, the need to produce more food in increasingly challenging circumstances means it is a sector which investors cannot afford to ignore.


If you can access the following it's a worthy read -

Biocontrols - Natural protection
15 April 2016, by Rachel Anderson

With greater restrictions on chemical use and more investment by multinationals, biocontrols are becoming an increasingly attractive and viable option across a range of crops, Rachel Anderson reports.


Bayer/Octante launch Brazil farmer credit fund -
Bayer CropScience and the Brazilian securities company, Octante, have launched a new credit programme, CRA, for growers to fund the acquisition of agricultural inputs, national media report.

By Robert Birkett
Published: 07 April 2016
Full story -


Pleased to note that the non-exec bought some shares recently (I have been adding a few too).

[wan] 30/3/2016 08:42

Interesting -

The right timing for fungicide application makes all the difference when it comes to the management of diseases in soybean crops. To achieve this perfect timing, Bayer do Brazil has initiated another project called ‘De Primeira, Sem Dúvida’ or ‘At first try, without a doubt’. The project will monitor fields in real time by means of plantation cameras placed in the five major soy regions in Brazil. Renowned researchers in plant pathology will directly monitor these video feeds and give direct feedback to the farmers. Every soybean area will be divided into two equal plots and while one of them will get the proper fungicide treatment to manage diseases like soybean rust, the other plot will serve as a control, where the application will be delayed. An additional component of the program is an algorithm that can predict the risk level of infestation. These combined monitoring efforts allow Bayer to help farmers identify the ideal moment for fungicide applications.
Full story -

Recent coverage -

Crop enhancement technologies next big pillar of support
"Helping growers to accomplish more with less"

Plant Impact specialises in crop enhancement products that improve quality and yield. The company’s scientists work in close cooperation with academic institutions to design foliar sprays and seed treatment products that stimulate natural plant responses. This strengthens the plants to cope with heat, drought or chemical inputs and boosts their yield and quality.
Full story -

[doobz] 29/3/2016 18:43

About to have another crack at clearing the 60-65 resistance

[here and there] 24/3/2016 11:31

Those two big trades may well be director buys after the results….

[wan] 24/3/2016 08:03

Cerrito....Apologies I should have realised, I was back in investment mode (not research mode) and Timbo is correct.

I feel I owe you at least an attempt at a non-scientific explanation.

If you go back to the main scientific paper I highlighted in post 783, you will note the investigation was extended to include photosynthetic stress. Photosynthesis is a process used by plants to harness energy from sunlight into chemical energy, it's the most fundamental and physiological process in all green plants and contributes substantially to a plants growth and development. However, photosynthesis is also severely affected by stressful environments such as salinity, drought, and high temperature.

You will note the use of Paraquat in the investigation/experiments. Paraquat is a very effective herbicide (weedkiller) and its mode of action involves diverting the flow of energy captured from sunlight in photosynthesis to produce highly reactive free radicals which destroy cell membranes to quickly desiccate leaves. In other words, Paraquat stimulates the over production of free radicals causing cell death. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) is a phrase used to describe a number of reactive molecules and free radicals derived from molecular oxygen.

Alethea dramatically reduced the extent of cell death in a number of key crop species following application of Paraquat, indicating a general protection against oxidative stress. So, the fundamentals of the processes and activation's involved deserve further investigation, which as indicated is already well underway.

The following PI link, puts it in an even more succinct way -

[visionon] 23/3/2016 21:36

Biggles I think they were on Monday shortly after RNS.

[cerrito] 23/3/2016 21:05

Wan, ROI was mentioned in the last para Further Research of your 783

PS Good articles in the link in your last post

[bigglesbingham] 23/3/2016 19:30

Anyone know anything about the 285k and 250k trades this morning at 58 p???

[wan] 23/3/2016 09:40

Cerrito...The early purchases might be because they are mitigating the prospect of a weaker currency going forward (given the political/economic situation), that aside the Real did go up recently (so the article might be slightly backward looking?)
I am not exactly sure in what context you are asking, but it's usually Return On Investment.

The following perhaps helps explain the dynamics and the backdrop -

March 22, 2016

What does the Political Turmoil mean for Brazilian Agriculture?


I was also interested to note the following -

March 21, 2016

Agricultural Officials from U.S. Government and Mato Grosso Meet

The purpose of the meeting was to refine bilateral relations between Brazil and the U.S. and to better understand the agricultural situation in Brazil, the market reality in Brazil, and especially to better understand the agriculture situation in Mato Grosso, which is Brazil's largest grain producing state.

U.S. government officials and researchers wanted to better understand how fluctuations in the Brazilian currency is impacting soybean producers in the state in addition to the impact of last year's hot and dry weather on soybean production. They also were there to build "bridges of understanding" between the U.S. and Brazil concerning agriculture and potential opportunities for increased bilateral commerce.

Full story -

[cerrito] 23/3/2016 09:25

Thanks Wan for your well informed contribution.
Your article on Mato Grosso farmers taking advantage of the Real being so high-I have just checked it is 3.58 which is difficult to believe-is a good one.

Incidentally what is an ROI??

[wan] 23/3/2016 09:16

Over the last six months I have read quite a lot about plant science generally with a view to getting a better understanding of PI products (and perhaps how they work). So, in case other readers have not seen or read it before, they might be interested in the following scientific paper, which I believe gives an important insight as to how effective Alethea is, and perhaps more importantly, it indicates (to me) that the product portfolio based around the technology (and modes of action), has the real potential to expand and even drive new areas of research (I recommend reading the whole paper) -

Reduction of photosynthetic sensitivity in response to abiotic stress in tomato is mediated by a new generation plant activator

BMC Plant Biology2013

Conclusion

While there is a growing body of evidence to indicate the dynamic and complex nature of plant phytohormone interactions in planta, fewer studies to date have provided a feasible application for incorporation of novel fundamental knowledge regarding plant activation for stress tolerance into a likely agronomic solution. Although the ‘Alethea’ technology is composed of several biologically active constituents, the end result mediates positive recovery of abiotic stress-induced photosynthetic and foliar loss of performance, based on an additive and complementary breadth of responses at the transcriptome level. Building fundamental understanding of the interactions between component compounds will be a valuable future step forward, and will further empower the buffering of food crop cultivation against intolerable losses in yield.


With the above in mind and where else it might lead, it's worth noting PI's recent announcement regarding a new collaboration, along with the following -

Further research

While AletheaTM has proven benefits in helping plants to cope with abiotic stress by managing responses to ROIs, our R&D team are taking this a step further by studying other crop responses to those stresses. Work is underway to develop the AletheaTM formulation further and create new products.

[visionon] 23/3/2016 09:07

Good stuff Wan - thanks. I'm hoping that we will get news on something in Paraguay or Argentina this year.We know trials are ongoing and presumably farmers in those countries keep an eye on their Brazilian competitors…

[wan] 23/3/2016 08:51

Hi Cerrito,

The ag inputs market is described as soft when farmers cut back on buying (and using) inputs (fertilizers and fungicides etc), or at least are far more choosy about the inputs they buy. So, there are several things to consider with regard to Veritas and PI, and the first is that the results were very good given the market backdrop (soft inputs).

The next thing is how Veritas is sold, or perhaps more importantly what product it is combined with, in this case it's Bayers FOX, which is a very effective foliar applied fungicide against Asian soybean rust, and soybean rust is a big issue in Brazil (and elsewhere) that significantly and negatively impacts yields. Apparently, Veritas actually improves the effectiveness of FOX (I also assume that the combination of FOX and Veritas helps to prolong the effectiveness against fungicide resistance, which is also an increasing issue). Thus it was good to note that in 2014 Fox fungicide was nominated by a Brazilian official survey as the best fungicide for the cultivation of soybean, and with some fungicides losing their effectiveness and no new chemicals on the near term horizon, it certainly helps a great deal when you are effectively paired with a very successful and highly regarded product (and partner), and especially so when your customers become even more discerning.

The next thing will be the improved yield results from using Veritas (but to some degree if you have effectively prevented soybean rust, then you have a better yield). So, I guess we will ultimately know how successful this aspect was in June, as PI state that "The Group continues to monitor product usage and stock figures in the market and will have a clearer outlook for the subsequent season by the end of June." However, I also note the following -

March 23, 2016
Mato Grosso Farmers start Purchasing Inputs for Next Crop

Farmers in Mato Grosso are already purchasing inputs for the 2016/17 soybean crop even though they have not yet finished harvesting their 2015/16 soybean crop. The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) estimates that the soybean crop in the state is 85% harvested and farmers are taking advantage of the stronger Brazilian currency to lock up their inputs.
Imea estimates that the cost of producing soybeans in the state next year will increase 12%, so farmers want to use the stronger currency to purchase their inputs in case the currency weakens again.


On top of what will hopefully prove to be a very successful season for Veritas (in terms of results/useage), geographic expansion will obviously add to growth in sales, so this will be the next and perhaps most important phase for Veritas. So, along with understanding Banzai sales/useage, accordingly the market waits!

Personally I was not expected a significant ramp in R&D expenditure given the judicious use of cash, but the trend is heading up, so this will increase given the commitment to field trials in the various countries and indeed new product development (which may yield further payments from Bayer).

Finally, the Directors confidence in the outlook statement regarding expansion in three areas, is very encouraging.

[cerrito] 22/3/2016 21:00

Thanks Wan for posting the Agrimoney article. Does anyone understand their comments about soft Brazilian agricultural input market? I did fret about that some time ago till I realized that with the real in the 3.60/4 area then in local currency terms soy production becomes very profitable and the cost of Veritas is I guess pretty small even though payable in hard currency..
The cash flow figures were for me excellent; however this was of course their peak sales half and they have not ramped up their R & D programme; remember in the October 26th statement they referenced £11m over there years and in this 6 months they spent just £1.1m Incidentally note the current asset of £588k of Tax receivable which will I assume be the R & D credit. One also hopes they will get the further $6m milestone payments from Bayer.
The results were good but I am not expecting the share price to shoot ahead and am going on the basis that it will spend most of the coming months in the 48/58p area.
Be great when they get the US going so they have a year round operation.
July 1st in the diary-hope it does not clash with my Wimbledon tickets. I think we all need to get a better handle on how they sell through Bayer, their credit collection proceedures-(excellent to see that despite increased sales, receivables were down from a year earlier) and exactly when in the crop cycle people use their products ( I imagine fairly early on ie November/December for Brazil soy)and more important how they make their ordering decisions. Same questions for Arysta with Cocoa.
Incidentally for those interested in the seasonality of the West African Cocoa production see
hxxp://www.icco.org/faq/58-cocoa-harvesting/131-what-time-of-year-is-cocoa-harvested.html and
hxxp://www.icco.org/about-cocoa/growing-cocoa.html

[wan] 22/3/2016 07:58

Good coverage here -

21st Mar 2016, by Agrimoney.com

Plant Impact receives Brazil boost - unlike larger ag sector peers

Plant Impact, unlike larger peers, dodged the bullet of soft Brazilian agricultural input markets to report a near-doubling in half-year earnings, for a period which saw too the launch of a cocoa yield promoter.

Market reaction

The results were termed "strong" by broker Peel Hunt, which restated a "buy" rating on Plant Impact shares, on which it has a price target of 70p.

"The deals with Bayer and Arysta provide the company with the opportunity to build material revenue streams in two key global crops," said Peel Hunt analyst Charles Hall.

"There is potential for significant additional upside to our target [share] price as the company delivers on new products and markets."
Full story -