Riverfort Global Opportu... Share Discussion Threads

[roily] 27/7/2011 20:20

Has anyone heard anything on this one?? I have sent them emails but appearently they don't like me.

[2lb] 18/7/2011 15:42

Traded these some years ago and thinking tat nnow might be a good time to get back in but things seem very quiet.

MCAP of £24m seems very low.

[aishah] 04/7/2011 16:06

Yes, TechInvest advised Sell.

[zipstuck] 04/7/2011 12:37

any press comment out?

[glasshalfull] 25/6/2011 14:51

Thanks WJ.

My other rationale for taking a few was that they are surely a tasty morsel given the significant development costs they have made in establishing a global footprint, development in IP and establishing a decent client list as you mentioned as well as the invitation to Microsofts table for strategic collaboration.

Either the current management will execute or I would anticipate a number of companies (technological & marketing) that may wish to take a fairly inexpensive route (£25m Market cap with net cash) into this significant growth sector. Especially when the likes of Velti have grown from £70m Market cap in 2007 to almost a $billion cap now.

Regards
GHF

[wjccghcc] 25/6/2011 13:38

It's a tricky one GHF and I think the jury's still out. On the one hand they talk the talk, have a great client list, the Microsoft Innovation Partnership, and seem to have a good reputation in mobile marketing/voucher/coupon space as you say.

On the other hand, if the market is growing fast why are their America and India revenues falling? Also, I'm not sure I understand how the phonepay regulation change can hit them so hard given the UK wholesale business only has a minimal gross profit anyway? Perhaps they're dumping a lot of fixed costs onto it?

Luckily I bought a load for 70p last year and sold half at 140p in the Spring so on a free ride for the rest.

Used to have some VEL but sold them because they never generated any cash (ooops). Done well on INTQ though.

[glasshalfull] 25/6/2011 12:41

I'm still monitoring RGO.

Having done nicely out of VEL and INTQ it appears to me that RGO offer v good value at the current price that has been significantly hit as they re-position the company into the global growth markets for mobile marketing/ vouchers/ coupons. The market hates uncertainty and I think this is now more than reflected in the current price.

Appreciate your comments above Itinvestor and would also welcome WJ's thoughts.

I took a few sub 70p.

Regards,
GHF

[toon army] 22/6/2011 20:40

Itinvestor
I haven't heard of Broca - had a look at 2ergo website but not sure it tells me a lot to get excited about - am I missing something ?

In researching mobile couponing space seems to me that Mobilize-Systems and Eagle Eye will emerge as the winners - both seem to have strong patents on differing solutions that will be taken up by retailers according to their different requirements - albeit both seem to be small scale start ups and privately owned

On the other hand 2ergo have revenues but I note comments re management weakness and churn and I don't see profits or IP to justify the rating

The Pizza Express app is very neat but seems to be copyable and not proprietary (?)

Will watch the space with interest but keep money in wallet for now

Toon

[ltinvestor] 21/6/2011 12:37

Nermil.Raised £2.5m in March but I do agree that management changes are a must.

[nermil] 21/6/2011 11:18

bottomfisher my other major concern and why I finally sold is their cash position. I've no vested interest anymore and don't mean to de-ramp this share but..

Cash balances at 28 February were GBP0.4 million (31 August 2010: GBP1.5 million). --taken from half yearly results.

That's not a heck of a lot of cash to play around with. The news of the US Cellular deal and the Microsoft deal were strong points to start building a stronger financial position, so I held through their ok'ish half year results when others took profits. But this company cannot afford too many knocks. It is not sitting on a mountain of cash to cushion itself against having to re-sign customers or suffer a period of income loss due to interruptions in service. £400,000 does not leave much room for error.

[bottomfisher] 21/6/2011 10:43

Back from holiday to find this mess! Confirms all my worst fears about the threadbare quality of RGO's management. Having attended this year's agm in Manchester (along with just one other shareholder), I was very unimpressed by their inability to answer simple layman's questions. Rather naively felt that their evasiveness reflected my inability to ask the right questions about a supposedly 'high-tech' company in a high growth market. Only one of the two joint CEOs bothered to turn up and then they cut off our questions because they had another meeting to go to. However, decided to ignore my better instincts and sell, because of 1) The Microsoft strategic alliance 2)The sizeable holding of the joint ceos, and Nigel Wray (still not sure whether his presence on a share register is good or bad news), and 3) RGO's ability to get a £3m share placing away in February at 126p to a group of investors which is said to have included Blackrock as a new investor. Have a terrible fear that there is nothing 'special' about this company's proprietary technology, and one day we will find out that it generated the bulk of its profits from some dodgy messaging services.

[nermil] 21/6/2011 09:38

Well I had to sell in the end at a £4100 loss. I'd hoped for some thing of a dead cat bounce but seems the cat is just dead...very hard and expensive lesson learned. GLA and maybe your patience will be rewarded. But for me I've lost faith in management and the fear of another plonker of an RNS is more stress than I'm willing to have for the sake of managing my little (and even littler now) SIPP.

[ltinvestor] 21/6/2011 09:19

Toon.Are you aware of Broca?RGO developed this security piece a few years ago and it is now being incorporated into mobile couponing.In my opinion this is a real differentiator but do your own research.

[cambium] 20/6/2011 20:07

Here's the update

[toon army] 20/6/2011 19:50

Any thoughts on today's announcement that Sir Terry Leahy has invested £1.5m for a 10% stake in mobile couponing solutions provider Eagle Eye ?
Toon

[ltinvestor] 17/6/2011 17:06

Toon.I expect an rns regarding the Pizza Express app which should reveal details of the deal.Gondola Holdings own Pizza Express, ask and Zizzi serving over 40m meals pa.Plenty to go for on a transactional basis!

[toon army] 17/6/2011 16:01

Thanks for the input

What do you estimate that Pizza Express are paying 2ergo ?

My guess would be :

a) some kind of one off build fee - c£15-£25k ?
b) some kind of annual licence & support fee - c. same again per year ?

2ergo will need to sell a lot of these solutions to impact the P&L significantly

Ref the research - I have come across Mobilize Systems, Imovo, Eagle Eye Solutions, BT Expedite who all look to me like they could do this - probably at a similar price ?

Mobilize Systems and Eagle Eye both seem to have patented IP relating to mobile coupons and loyalty programmes and both seem to have high profile in the retail and leisure sectors

It feels to me as though there is going to be a market movement towards mobile - apps, coupons, payments, loyalty programmes and those companies with patented IP will be well placed (witness Nokias recent success in licencing their IP to Apple following a patent dispute)

I'm not sure where the strength of 2ergo's IP and how easy it is to circumvent l but it doesn't look to me as if they have this sector to themselves unless I'm missing something

Any thoughts ?


Toon

[ltinvestor] 17/6/2011 09:15

The Pizza Express App received much tech comment as it is a groundbreaking app.When you receive your bill there is a 12 digit number which you enter into your phone and the bill is paid.I expect an official rns shortly.

[toon army] 16/6/2011 14:21

Hi Chaps

Just joined the thread..not yet a shareholder and in evaluation mode..Pizza Express have just launched an iphone app that allows you to pay at a restaurant using your phone...was developed by 2ergo..I can see that 2ergo are in a good place market wise..but can't see why the market cap is so high given historic performance...and that's bearing in mind the rns which I agree looks poorly managed...what's the argument in favour of their market cap being justified even at today's level ? Do they have some unique IP that's exploitable ? How are they differentiated from a myriad of other providers of mobile marketing services - any number of whom could have built and delivered the Pizza Express app ?

Toon

[21richyrich] 15/6/2011 14:46

Current regulation in and around mobile payments and marketing continues to be a concern as current industry guidelines are weak at best and left open to interpretation by inconsistently applied regulation of client services.

As a result, 2ergo is taking an active role in working with the wider mobile arena to implement the industry's 12th Code of Practice in September, which is intended to provide the industry with far clearer operating guidelines and responsibilities.

Above taken from the interim results announcement 4 weeks since - looks like they clearly have not worked closely enough with their key partners as yesterdays RNS suggests that partners have implemented new practises which have come as a surprise to RGO

Participants in fundraising at 126p must be pretty unimpressed hopefully they will be pressing management strongly for further clarification ASAP

[zipstuck] 15/6/2011 13:53

I hold 15000 shares in my SIPP so sympathise and annoyed I did not sell at £1.40

However if I was at RGO and had to deal with this situation I am not sure at what point the issue would become material enough to warrant the RNS. If they were aware at the time of results then heads need to roll.

It is only month since then and if one or two clients interpretations caught them by surprise then they have done the right thing.

From a materiality perspective we just have to wait on see.

Personally I think that this company is at a turning point for the better and believe the RNS

Ultimateley the RGO' customers dont want to lose revenue through regulation and will hopefully find ways with in their interpretation to come up with winning solutions for both RGO and themselves.

I have to agree this a blip on the evidence given.

[nermil] 15/6/2011 08:56

Maybe I've been fairly lucky so far but I've never had one single RNS that has devestated a share price like the one yesterday. My key worry now is that a major stakeholder like Aviva comes to the same conclusion I have and backs out. It could send the share price spiralling further downward. If they stick with RGO maybe the bottom has been reached and some will see this is as having been overdone or as a recovery story.

Or management comes out what another RNS highlighting the share price movement yesterday but with some more clarity on the issue, that would at least show they are paying attention. If their core business is uneffected and these new guidelines effect only a proportion of their business, that could be comforting but it needs to be stated so those of us left (not many it seems at this stage) get some kind of reassurance. I calculate that little stunt yesterday wiped around £4k off my the value of SIPP, that's a devestating blow in one day's trading...gutted.

[the prophet] 15/6/2011 08:19

-would have thought it was the two main directors who are driving the business and the buck firmly stops with them? Everyone else on the board is peripheral? Not sure the two are as investor friendly as perhaps they should be?....