Srt Marine Systems Share Discussion Threads

[homeboy] 19/2/2018 20:59

These old class A units that they stock piled for the US market, have they shifted them yet or are they still gathering dust on the warehouse shelves??
Having a look at pictures of them and then comparing them to the new class A Apollo, I find it hard to believe they'll manage to sell what is starting to look like dated stock.

"They don't go off, they're not Bananas".
Not entirely accurate. Electronic goods do have sales life spans and especially so when the crowded and still small AIS market keeps bringing out new products, who on earth wants to buy electronic goods from 2 or 3 years ago when the latest equipment is available????

SRT aren't the only game in town, their competitors are continually offering upgraded and renewed equipment.
These will either be bulk discounted to shift them or they'll just continue to gather dust in my opinion. I reckon they'll still be around on the shelf a year from now and the following year, lol

[homeboy] 19/2/2018 20:40

EU Waterways
EU Fisheries
Russia
USA
India
China - cancelled for renegotiation????
Mexico
Indonesia - ?????

It's not gone away, just rolled over. lol
The bacon should've been here by now if it exists.

[homeboy] 19/2/2018 20:35

Don't they still owe Barclays 750k? and they've drawn down 2m on top of that from the new loan syndicate.
Debts are going up then.

Trouble is just announcing a revenue target, which looks in doubt anyway, wont help that much, as these project related revenues are usually on extended payment terms. Trade receivables are likely to climb and cash flow will still be non existent.
Revenue will just be window dressing for mug investors, the balance sheet here is poor and likely to remain so fuelled by debt.

It's a shame, SRT just aren't delivering and never have.

[hjb1] 19/2/2018 12:06

Sound familiar?...hundreds of millions of $$$$.....over a million vessels in the next 4 years, delayed contracts, nothing has changed in 6 years has it??

RNS Number : 0373Z

Software Radio Technology PLC

09 March 2012



?


SOFTWARE RADIO TECHNOLOGY PLC

("SRT" or the "Company")

Trading Update

SRT announces that results for the year ending 31 March 2012 are expected to be below market expectations. The Directors currently estimate that revenue will be approximately £6 million with a profit before tax of approximately £0.1 million.

As set out in the interim results on 28 November 2011, the accurate forecasting of short and medium term demand is currently difficult due to each mandate and project having specific dynamics in terms of quantum, timescales and demand pattern. SRT has experienced a delay in orders which were expected during Q4 into the next financial year.

The delays primarily relate to orders which were expected to be received during Q4 from customers addressing the EU fishing and inland waterway markets and from the commencement of a large project in South America.

SRT estimates that approximately two thirds of the EU inland waterway market have now completed the fitting of AIS transceivers, of which the Company believes over 80% are SRT-based products. The remaining third were expected to fit their transceivers during the first half of this calendar year, and therefore SRT's customers had forecast significant product requirements during the latter part of Q4. However, SRT's customers addressing these markets have indicated that they now expect demand to be skewed towards the end of the mandate deadline and that their orders to SRT will be delayed until later in the calendar year.

During the current financial year, in response to the growing global market opportunity for AIS, the Company has undertaken an aggressive product development programme which has seen the launch of several new products and substantial completion of a number of further products which will commence shipping in the first half of 2012. These programmes are largely on schedule. Of particular importance is the Identifier, which will commence production during March and will start shipping in April. The product development programme has been important to ensure that the Company has a refreshed product range to enable the growing customer base to address a range of maritime market segments.

AIS is now well established as the technology of choice for authorities to use in maritime domain awareness systems and programmes. AIS programmes are underway on a significant scale and SRT estimates that over a million vessels will be fitted with a transceiver over the next four years. The programmes vary greatly in size and timing and SRT now has a product to service each market segment. There has been a significant expansion in both terrestrial and satellite based AIS networks to accommodate the expected increase in AIS deployment. The market, whilst still in its early stages, is large, global and offers SRT and its customers significant future opportunities.

SRT's pipeline of pending orders and opportunities reflects the Company's broader product offering, the adoption of AIS as the chosen technology and the potential of the market for AIS equipment. The Board is confident that a significant proportion of these leads will be converted into orders and will lead to a significant increase in revenues in due course. Furthermore the investment made to broaden the Company's product suite should lead to a more diverse customer base, reduce future volatility in earnings and soften the impact of future timing issues.

Simon Tucker, SRT's CEO said:

"Whilst the expected outcome for the financial year is significantly below what we had hoped and is therefore disappointing, we have made substantial progress in the execution of our product, customer and market development strategies. The global addressable market has continued to grow with many more opportunities at varying stages of development which we expect to convert into material and sustainable revenue streams in the foreseeable future. AIS is now the de facto globally established maritime identification and tracking system. SRT and its customer network are addressing markets worth many hundreds of millions of dollars and we believe it is a matter of timing for these to convert into sales for SRT."

[hjb1] 19/2/2018 11:38

I said it would go this low and lower a long time ago, that is why I sold most of my holding then.
Wonder how you Tucker suckers are going to feel when the Rns pops out with the massive miss on forecast and share price well below 20p ...again??
Oh! and please DON'T believe a word on this satellite rubbish, it's a smokescreen, it WON'T amount to anything!
I'm afraid unless Tucker comes in on the let's face it soft forecast (ha ha!)then he MUST go!! He sits there all smug and says he is happy with things ffs! You might be happy Tucker but I (and expect others') certainly ain't!!

No more rubbish with conveyors, buses, jam, imminent etc, it's time to move on man, you've blown your chance!!

[eagle eye] 19/2/2018 11:29

Bahrain is the the showcase...it enables customers (or potential customers) to see a live, fully functioning system.
The follow on phase 2 was due late last year, but is yet to be announced.
I appreciate a contract win could change the overall trend, but with only six weeks to March year end, something meaningful needs to chip in if H2 forecast £12.1m revenue is to be achieved.

[pugugly] 19/2/2018 10:19

Chartwise appears to be heading back towards very long term resistance of 20p - What chances that it will bounce at or near this level ? Starting to feel like a technology that is being overtaken by newer and improved systems before it has even been profitably deployed - OK maybe I am cynical but seem to have been too many false starts - OK management are working very hard and have much skin in the game and as has been said many time before negotiating with states is a long drawn out process as they will be investing in long term defence and security which is very heavily front end capital loaded but I suspect all potential purchasers waiting until they see a successfully working project - Still waiting (imo)

[yump] 14/2/2018 12:10

You would think that there must already be low earth orbit satellites capable of identifying vessels, but I don't really know much about it. I suppose that an easy link is still needed between vessels or between vessels and a central monitoring point.

[yump] 14/2/2018 12:07

Germany does a lot of business with the East and this is supposed to be a great help:

"The typical public bank acts as business development bank (Förderbank, Aufbaubank or Investitionsbank) or international project, infrastructure and export financing institution."

I'm pretty sure we don't have anything similar to their public banks.

Perhaps there would be strong objections from those who currently make a load of money out of financing SME's.

[goodapple] 14/2/2018 11:56

While we wait ever hopefully for contract news, a comment or two on AIS in general.

I was reading an article the other day about the tragedy of the 'Sanchi' which is the tanker involved in a collision at sea recently and which subsequently caught fire and sank with the loss of all 32 of its crew. Scale of subsequent environmental disaster still unfolding.
Author of the article implied there is information to suggest neither vessel involved in the collision (in open sea) had their AIS transponder switched on.
Whether this was for 'stealth' reasons is open to conjecture, but it raises the perennial question about AIS: Whilst it is mandatory for all vessels of their size to be equipped with Class A transponder, there appears to be no legal sanction against vessels which choose to 'go dark' by switching it off.

I note that SRT's proposed satellites in Low Earth Orbit will be designed to detect even vessels which are not transmitting on AIS. I am not clear whether this will be a capability unique to SRT.
If such 'visibility' is soon to be made possible, should it not then clear the way for identification and prosecution of any vessel seeking to evade the system?

[extrader] 14/2/2018 11:07

Hi all,

Given all the upset surrounding the UK's 'Foreign Aid' budget, maybe there's a case for getting this Dept. to act as the SME 'bank', supporting co's until such time as the 'flexible' payers cough up, at which point funds revert to the 'foreign aid' pot.

I'm only half joking.

ATB

[yump] 14/2/2018 08:51

There's always going to be a level of secrecy with these contracts, but it would be good to get as much of this as possible next time:

"how the stages are marked out and what is required to go from phase 1 to 2 to 3. All issues which occurred with the Indonesia contract."

I'm trying to imagine which bits really need to be held back, unless the NDA prohibits just about everything from being revealed.

The only thing with Indonesia was that it was known to be back-loaded. That was about it.

I don't think UK companies should be acting as a bank and its about time our government supported them in some way when dealing with these 'flexible' payers.

After all, they're quick enough to bail out banks while bleating on about SME's making up the UK's great growth prospects. OK, I know, they're politicians, what can we expect..

[fft] 14/2/2018 08:36

Coumtryman5,. Unless the rns is very detailed, then investors will be wary of whether cash is up front or on invoice and also how the stages are marked out and what is required to go from phase 1 to 2 to 3. All issues which occurred with the Indonesia contract.In other words, the price may have an initial jump, but until the contract is seen to generate cash, investors will be cautious. There will be plenty of time to get in and take more of the risk out.

[countryman5] 14/2/2018 08:18

Fear and greed, seldom detailed research, drives markets. In my opinion,it will be unfortunate for any PI's who are guided by the musings of the malcontents on this board. They will miss out on the substantial share price rises that will follow the RNS about the SE Asia £20 million contract, as identified here in December. This RNS will be important, not only for the cash that it delivers but also for the impact on other contracts with this country and its neighbours.
When will SRT make the RNS?
Will it be on the 'Notice of Award'? (This might have already taken place)
Will it be when Mr T signs the contract?
Will it be when the Company receives the first block of Euros?
No doubt the Nomad will decide.
Mere musings or detailed research?

[hjb1] 13/2/2018 20:49

Never mind, smug Tucker is very happy with all things @ Srt...

[homeboy] 13/2/2018 20:45

Also, they've got two new managers since I last checked in, one for the Satellites and a new Exec.
Their costs used to be just below 5m on a cash basis not that long back. I reckon they must be approaching 6m now and still no real traction on sales to pay for it all.

Increasing costs and no matching sales, plus projects that have long payment terms leads to a credit crunch, hence the 10m pot to dip into.
Beware of any headline project values and revenues, that is not the same as cash received.

[homeboy] 13/2/2018 20:37

Just over a month and a half to go to reel in 12m. Unless it's all done on dealer network payment terms it aint gonna happen.

Investors here are hoping for a project to drop to save the day, but even if one did, the payment terms are very lengthy for these foreign government contracts, can be easily a year or longer.
Carillion has gone bankrupt and it's owed millions by ME countries, it is generally agreed that they wont get that money back.
Revenue recognition here is done on the back of goods dispatched and billed for - correct me if I'm wrong - and that is the equivalent of a dept to SRT, hence the large trade receivables recently accrued.

I don't doubt that these projects will arrive, but meaningful profitability could remain years away. Remember, Indonesia reneged on its deal and owes money, I can see now why they need such a large credit line of 10m, I think they'll be smoothing cash flow issues over for years.

SRT so far have never delivered and have kept re-inventing the business just to stay afloat, I see no reason why this will change. They used to boast they had no debt as well.... Well now they do.

[ramnik007] 13/2/2018 05:37

I guess with any tech company, it's all about when the market has no option but adopt the technology. Until then the company needs to survive without wanting more money from shareholders. IQE had been promising for 20 years; and thankfully the market in one of its products only got into mainstream last year. The question is are Board members too optimistic and blow too much cash prematurely before tech becomes mainstream.

[fft] 13/2/2018 03:32

Over the last 8 years or so (I am now sold out but first bought at 35p about 8years ago), it was mandates driving the price. Russia, EU waterways, USA, etc etc. SRT was supposed to have 90% of the market, but the revenue from mandates indicated either that sales forecasts (hundreds of thousands of units) were wrong or SRT didn't get the business. Then it was core. That was supposed to grow to provide a turnover of 10 million a year (from 4 I recall). Never happened.Then projects. Yes, they do take a long time to land, but the word 'imminent' is passing into folklore. The only large one 'won' was effectively cancelled, and with the undue secrecy that SRT claim is required, investors didn't know that the contract had been funded by SRT so a write off was needed. ST had said years earlier that all contracts were cash up front so there was no risk to SRT.Then the options. Issued after the event, and only known about when cashed in. Not good. Since then, the price and revenues have only gone in one direction. And why was the price so high ? Because of a failed contract which SRT lost money on....

[jimpubes] 12/2/2018 20:05

@nablus07 I agree with you that patience is an important part of shareholding.
But too much patience can mean going down with the ship, as Carillion shareholders found out lately.
You say that in the past you have stayed patient and been rewarded.
On the other hand I have lost money before on companies where everything was “rosy” till the day the receivers entered the building.

If the share price was stuck in the doldrums I would happily be patient for another year or two, but the fact the share price has dropped significantly while risk has increased with the loan makes me worry about how solid this company is, although I don’t think SRT are going to disappear in the next few months. It’s the investors dilemma, hold on and possibly be rewarded or sell now and walk away but take a loss. As you say, as private investors we have little control over things.

As far as hjb1 is concerned, as a shareholder he is entitled to voice his concerns. I certainly don’t want a board only populated with SRT bulls, particularly when there is not much to be bullish about at the moment with SRT, nor do I think we should just accept and cheer everything Tucker says. We need to keep alert and question.

[hjb1] 12/2/2018 19:04

ExTrader, hmmmm! not sure what planet ( la la) you're on atm but just let me know when you land back to earth! lol.

[extrader] 12/2/2018 18:56

Hi again hjb1,

...some can't handle it eh?

An unfortunate choice of words there, methinks. Didn't end well for Jack...



ATB

[hjb1] 12/2/2018 18:49

Extrader, do one!! I will complain as much as I like, anyway I am passive and happy ok! When Tucker delivers then I will stop, so until then just filter me, but as everyone knows I only tell the truth and facts, and some can't handle it eh?