Purecircle Share Discussion Threads

[spudders] 03/11/2011 17:47

Interesting rns. Lots of chatter about Stevia in the sweetener market at the moment.

[edsthebusiness] 20/9/2011 10:55

sir r .. so theres a lot of rats running around with sparkly white chompers then .ed

[sir rational] 20/9/2011 10:38

Doesn't seem a very thorough study: Does stevia lead to tooth cavities? According to one study done on laboratory rats, the answer is no. In this study, stevioside and rebaudioside A -- the two primary sweet constituents of the stevia plant -- were tested on a group of sixty rat pups (Das, 1992). The rats were divided into four groups. Group 1 was fed 30 percent of its diet in sucrose (table sugar). Group 2 was given 0.5 percent of its diet in stevioside. Group 3 received 0.5 percent of its diet in rebaudioside A. Group 4, the control group, was given no sugar or sweetener of any kind. There was no difference in the food or water intake among the groups. After five weeks, the rats were evaluated. There was a significant difference in the condition of their teeth. The sugar-fed rats in Group 1 had significantly more cavities than the rats in the other groups. The rats in Groups 2, 3, and 4 had about the same number of cavities. The researchers stated, "It was concluded that neither stevioside nor rebaudioside A is cariogenic [cavity causing] under the conditions of this study." It appears that the chemicals within the stevia plant that impart its sweetness are not fermentable, and thus do not cause tooth cavities. http://www.thebetterhealthstore.com/SteviaFAQ.html

[sir rational] 20/9/2011 10:09

How does stevia act upon teeth? Anyone? I would definitely not buy 'stevia sweetened colas' etc if there were much of a negative effect on teeth. Two worries I would need answers to: what is the pH level of a given 'stevia cola'? (Demineralization, or loss of tooth material, begins at a pH of 5.5 and lower.) And does stevia speed up tooth decay like sugar? (Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or a cavity, is a disease where bacterial processes change carbohydrate like sugar in food left on teeth to acid that demineralises hard tooth structure (enamel, dentin, and cementum).)

[sir rational] 20/9/2011 09:58

http://www.beveragedaily.com/Formulation/Commission-flags-up-November-for-EU-wide-approval-of-stevia

[bobdouthwaite] 20/9/2011 08:08

Scrutable, well put, please let us know their response.

[scrutable] 20/9/2011 07:03

I have a strong feeling that the market is badly underestimating the time it takes to introduce major changes to the F&B industry as a stevia type situation rarely comes up. I cannot remember any. But it does occur frequently arise in Pharma. Look how long it is taking to establish cannabinoids in place of morphine. GW Pharma the pioneer is in its tenth year and has only just turned a profit and is still only half way through European licensing. Yet it is a product with global future, badly needed, with first mover advantage, patent protection etc and has exponential growth potential. It may even not be PURE's annus mirabilis in 2012 - but the world desperately needs a silent calory reduction to counteract the obesity and diabetes plagues. One day this requirement has to be met and is worth billions. Will it be stevia? 1) Why does the company need so many similar versions? 2) Why do the products launched seem to contain stevia/sugar mixes. Is there a taste problem? 3)If it's a cost problem I don't get it. A calory free drink or food free of sugar calories will sell for a premium. The management is not very empathetic if it does not answer these obvious considerations. Or is it hiding a real marketing obstacle? I am sending this to the management to see what kind of a reply I get. I await the reply with interest and constructively

[bobdouthwaite] 19/9/2011 16:15

Troc, I sold out this morning at a considerable loss, having lost patience with the 'jam to-morrow' statements. Like you, I'm sceptical management is telling it like it is. Why should it all turn on EU approval when approval elsewhere in the World has failed to lift sales?

[troc1958] 19/9/2011 15:09

I listened to their investor conference presentation this afternoon. Two main points came out of the presentation - they are geared for global growth - just a matter of time before sales go up dramatically, particularly if they get EU approval for Stevia products in November 2011, as stated. Presentation Link : http://www.purecircle.com/docs/default-document-library/2011/09/19/pcl-fy11-prelim---final-.pdf Share price has come down dramatically over last two years and investors have lost total confidence in this share. I have been badly burned by this share before and very skeptical whether Management are telling the full story. Its a high risk buy but I think the share price is near its bottom and should move quickly if they do get EU approval in November. There were some large director buys at over 100p sometime ago. Share trading at 80p at the moment. Well worth adding it to the "risky" side of one's portfolio. [This is the time to buy this type of share when its "unloved" and well off the investor radar]

[cnx] 09/7/2011 17:25

CODEX APPROVAL "As part of the adoption, the approved maximum use levels across all major food and beverage categories have now been defined. This is the last outstanding major approval that will unlock a number of important markets such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines. Such countries look for the Codex adoption of a food ingredient to support their evaluation and approval. PureCircle has been actively engaged in these markets on regulatory approval and market development. Commenting on the adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, PureCircle CEO Magomet Malsagov said "This has been an important week for approval and adoption of stevia as a mainstream food ingredient around the globe. Early this week, we had a positive vote by the EU Standing Committee recommending steviol glycosides in Europe. We now welcome this week's Codex adoption which will help to open all remaining new markets for PureCircle's high purity stevia products around the world."

[spudders] 05/7/2011 19:50

htg - Lets hope so. This is the news we need, I hope Evel Knievel does'nt start shorting again when the share price recovers.

[haroldthegreat] 05/7/2011 12:44

with full eec approval the shares should get back to the level they were at! all looking good

[bobdouthwaite] 01/7/2011 10:25

That was what I was thinking...poor flavour...poor sales....but now it's fixed? I noticed PURE's Canadian competitor GLG:TSX made what may have been a similar deal with International Flavours and Fragrances some time ago.

[scrutable] 01/7/2011 09:18

Does this morning's news that PURE has signed up globally for Firmenreich to distribute Stevia together with its own NSF-02, imply that drinks manufacturers and others have resisted incorporating stevia until now because it changes the the original flavour of products where it has been introduced?.

[sir rational] 28/6/2011 19:51

Type 2 diabetes? Take the 600 calories of cabbage cure.

[sir rational] 28/6/2011 09:07

You should go on that Type 2 Diabetes diet and get cured

[haroldthegreat] 28/6/2011 08:59

and full of sugars and calories. they might not be sucrose but have other sugars in them. as they have approval in one eec country full eec approval cant be far off.

[sir rational] 28/6/2011 06:48

Why not buy the 100% pure juices, they are easily available?

[scrutable] 27/6/2011 23:04

I am sick to death of facing high calorific content im any fruit juices I buy. There must be millions like me, diabetics and other weight watchers who have to avoid agreable fruit drinks because they contain 20gms of sugar in every serving. How come there is such a need for stevia yet PURE cannot get enough sales? The stuff should be medically prescribed. It would save the NHS a fortune in health care. What then is really holding up sales?

[stopaloss] 20/4/2011 09:35

not to mention nearly 300,000 shares bought by Directors, including chairman, recently 24-Mar-11 Buy Magomet Malsagov 108.00p 200,000 £216,000.01 15-Apr-11 Buy Paul E Selway-Swift 107.50p 50,000 £53,750.00 14-Apr-11 Buy Paul E Selway-Swift 109.20p 27,000 £29,484.00 24-Mar-11 Buy Paul E Selway-Swift 105.90p 20,000 £21,180.00

[spudders] 07/4/2011 08:16

Does the latest increase by 'AIMS' mean the UK may be getting nearer to getting the green light for Reb-A. Just my thoughts.

[masurenguy] 04/4/2011 16:08

Looks to me like Lucien Miers is right on the button here !

[pabloiom] 04/4/2011 15:59

From ShareCrazy http://sharecrazy.com/beta/daily/5090/update-on-purecircle-pure by Lucian Miers, the Bard of the Boleyn I wrote about PURE a couple of years ago (PURE) when the shares traded at 260p and again last August (PURE2) when they were around 210p. They now languish at around 105p after a dismal set of interims last month which confirmed my concerns about the company. PURE, was launched with great fanfare at the end of 2007 as a producer of a natural, zero calorie sweetener product made from Stevia, which would soon capture a large share of a $10 billion market which itself was set to grow as Americans became fatter and fatter. The company was priced for explosive growth reaching a market cap of some £465 million last year. Last month's interims to Dec 2010, however, paint a rather alarming picture. Net debt now stands at £77 million. Turnover has collapsed from $37 million to $13 million, the company has slid from profit ($2.3 million) to a loss of $7.5 million and inventory levels have ballooned from $79 million to £113 million. Yet again analyst forecasts have been missed. Apart from using the word "disappointing" PURE seemed remarkably upbeat in its statement providing an array of reasons for the poor figures and loads of impressive sounding statistics. For instance: the fact that USA retail sales of Stevia sweetened product reached $809 million in 2010. Followed by the fact that Purecircle's market share (excluding the table top sweetener category) was in excess of 90%. When, in the analysts' Q&A it was asked... "You claim to have around 90% of the overall Stevia market..... why is it you have not got a much more substantial share reflected in your turnover?", chief executive Mr Malsagov replied, "That is a good question" (I thought so too) and proceeded to answer it in a way that left me none the wiser. The build up in inventory was presented as "strategic" rather than a result of failure to shift product and a question on short term debt and the timing of repayments was addressed thus: " The practice in China in agricultural banks is for them to do rolling twelve month loans but, in reality they keep rolling. Again it is a technical repayment but in reality, it will roll." Now where have I heard this sort of statement before? PURE is now valued at £160 million by the market, which in my opinion, is still extremely generous given the business model is rapidly tarnishing. The shares, having halved since my last update, could continue much lower. I remain short.