 .."Imagine the UK civil service cannot provide a bond for Kuwait. Fascinating reading of the tealeaves is needed..."
Two weeks ago we were told (hat tip LaValmy) : 'We welcome the MoUs and other agreements signed between our governments today, and the associated deals reached between our businesses.''
With the continuing deafening silence about the status ('live' or 'still in the works'), I'm beginning to wonder whether SRT hasn't been able to satisfy a Condition Precedent to activation?
Could the seemingly out-of-left-field windfall of a Kuwaiti contract (Countryman5's '8 years of dithering, then out of the blue') and attendant financial implications even have come as something of a surprise to SRT (?)
How prominently did Kuwait figure in SRT's own calculations...and/or the projections it provided for UKEF's calculations? Were SRT's own bankers wrong-footed?
Is UKEF having to re-visit/re-confirm its support, if there's any concern about an 'overtrading' risk ?
Perhaps someone close to management can seek clarification on these specific points - or elicit an alternative explanation for what is an increasingly untenable situation : if there's something/anything amiss, ALL shareholders need to be told.
AFAICS
GLA |
We are now in 2024. You say that these 200m-250m of sales will take place between 1 July 2026 and June 2027. Unfortunately, it is 18 months until the start of July 2026. Perhaps we should revisit this at that point ! And hope, that in the meantime, the other 'imminent' , this calendar year, etc, projects actually start and can be funded, otherwise SRT will not be independent by July 2026. |
I don’t know what’s going to happen and when.
What constitutes the “start” of a contract ? |
The recent RNS states ‘SRT now enters the new financial year with a runway of £320m of system projects that we expect to implement over the next two years, a further pipeline worth up to £1.2bn of prospects’.
I am predicting that the year ending June 2027 will deliver between £200 and £250 million of systems sales. I am assuming a profit margin of 28%, after allowing for a major slice of company overheads. The remaining overheads, if any, will be more than covered by transceivers with PBT coming in between £60 and £75 million. This assumes that SRT is still an independent company and has not been swallowed up by Ocean Infinity, Airbus, Leonardo, EDGE, or one of the other global defence contractors. Buy or sell? Take advice from Oliver Plunkett, who gets a vote of confidence. |
Speculation...might...imagine....SRT fail to perform well their Kuwait contract. Imagine the Saudi contract does not happen (contract....?? please look back at prior rather smelly RNSs). Imagine Indonesia is stalled somehow (it is already stalled in case you did not notice). Imagine Bahrain decide to wait a year or two. Imagine Tanzania has no money (they do not have any). Imagine the UK civil service cannot provide a bond for Kuwait. Fascinating reading of the tealeaves is needed. Oliver as new CEO would certainly get my vote. |
Kuwait is an interesting contract. Earlier contracts had the various countries dragging their feet. However, Kuwait appears to be the complete opposite. After about eight years of dithering, it was suddenly all systems go. Suppose Kuwait says to SRT, 'We have our control room ready, when can you deliver the data centre?' SRT might say 'If you provide the air freight, we can deliver in three days'. This is obviously mere speculation, but perhaps kit waiting at MSN could be redirected to Kuwait. Kuwait would / should be impressed and SRT would receive an early delivery of cash, including high margin software. It might even appear in the half year figures!!. Might this allow for the early repayment of much of the performance bond? I am assuming / hoping that shareholders will get an early Christmas present in the form of a brokers note depicting T/O and PBT for this year and next. It will make fascinating reading and forecasts will be conservative, being underpinned by signed contracts |
I agree with LAV that the long awaited brokers note will give a detailed T/O and PBT for the year end June 2025 and also the following year. The figures will be totally underwritten by the commencement of Kuwait, already started?, Bahrain, Saudi and Indonesia. Serious money. There will be room for uplift from further contract signings. (Kuwait, Saudi, Philippines (fishing and PCG) and Tanzania?) Obviously DAS and Nexus are wild cards. I assume brokers note requires final agreement of wording for Saudi and Indonesia. Will we get a breakdown of £1.2 billion of pipeline contracts? |
Of course, they haven't got a forecast at the moment and haven't had much from the broker for a while. I think that is one of the reasons why they didn't stand a chance of raising money from new investors. One of the others is the constant missing of all forecasts over a very long time and by enormous margins.
I suspect that will change soon and that they will meet their next year's forecast (okay only six months of forecast) and the following one, which may put them in better standing with the market - from the current doghouse to a market darling selling into a new and growing area is not to be ruled out. The combination of actual performance and rerating could be potent. |
I sold some (again) shares today.
I have sold a few in the last few weeks. Hard to see where the traction is. Forecasts from SRT are not worth anything but on the other hand it is a tricky government market that they are in. I am still basically holding and hoping. |
Fair enough crystball....but still pathetic and embarrassing (I am being generous here I think because it almost looks a bit different....). Onward and upward.... |
Yumyum Your comments should be reserved until after 31st December, should? things not work our. Who knows there might be further announcements before 31st December. |
Late Oct SRT webcast ''...we are very focussed on those 4, and getting everything in place....as the start of those 4, ALL of them, start WELL before the end of the calendar year'' (my capitals for emphasis).
....now it seems there will be only one starting before Jan 1st - Kuwait? Nothing really changes with this company does it? Pathetic and embarrassing. |
LV - If so, that issue should have been sorted out long ago. There are all manner of Nexus references on Google. |
goodapple
One thing that might have escaped your vigilance is that Garmin bought a company a long time ago called Nexus something or other, I think in the plotter space. Maybe there are lingering trademark concerns. |
There are now several dealers advertising NEXUS and listing it as 'out of stock' or 'sold out' since of course they won't be getting any deliveries before February (and that's if shipping dates not put back yet again)
I also was surprised that Nexus wasn't entered for awards at METS despite its prominent display. No evidence yet of independent reviews and even stranger - no mention of the existence of Nexus on Em-trak's own website.
Nexus was supposed to have had very exhaustive pre-production testing which should have ironed out gremlins.
These various factors leave me in doubt about SRT's confidence in the finished product.
Sincerely hope my doubts are unfounded. |
Don't we all, crystball. |
I hope we will be pleasantly surprised! |
I had a look at the emtrak nexus material, as I'm sure many have done, and combined with comments from SRT and the broker, I am in at least two minds about the new product's potential success.
Now I am not a boater so have no idea whether some of the capabilities are attractive, such as internal comms and MOB. I can certainly see the advantage of using a smartphone to access the radio from anywhere onboard and possibly even AIS alerts.
What bothers me more is the posture. Yes they have delayed its release until they are absolutely sure that it works, but limiting sales in order to get user feedback to improve the product is underwhelming, given the time and cost so far. Are they in fact confident about whether it works properly? Maybe the slow release is due to lack of funds to pay for a large production run, maybe it is to 'fine-tune' the functions which might mean back to the drawing board. Nothing from Panbo on this either and it wasn't entered for the awards at METS. And yet the transceivers research spend is expected to continue at the current high level of £3 million.
Anyway, in the next six months I don't expect much from it. A million or two in sales maybe. |
Hi CM-5
As a matter of interest, is the article's SRT ref one of 'We'd have seen the boat coming/passing over sensitive stuff' or 'we'd have detected what was going on underwater'?
I.e emphasis on 'old SRT' or the add-ons of our new fellow shareholder?
TIA |
CM-I don’t disagree with your comments but sooner or later, companies need to stand on their own two feet.SRT listed 20 years ago I think though the real action seems to have come from Geovis-10 years ago?
I said a while ago it needs a bigger balance sheet-a parent with diverse management to support Tucker.We may get that with our new big shareholder of course |
I understand that there is a good article in this weeks Telegraph Dispatches on the subsea cable in the Baltic. SRT is extensively quoted. |
this is one of the PDF links goodapple mentioned |
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