Time Finance Share Discussion Threads

[andrbea] 28/8/2008 08:03

Was this posted yet?

aug 7 2008

CASE STUDY: TIMESTRIP

Smart-label maker Timestrip provides a pertinent example of how market forces can wreak havoc on a company's cash flow, even if prospects for the business are looking rosy.

Back in April, the Hertfordshire-based company announced it was set to run out of cash at the end of May. It had a mere £440,000 in the pot, down from £1.83m at the time of its results the previous June. And this despite reporting solid progress in the year to December 2007, and a confidence bred of increasing repeat sales, and a strong pipeline of potential contracts. Sales in the first five months of this financial year, for example, had exceeded the entire sales for 2007.

It had recently signed a rolling three-year £1.5m deal with United Pet Group in the US for its labels, which reveal how long a product has been open or in use, and boasts contracts with WD-40 and Nando's. The technology is also being trialled by Premier Foods on its Branston Pickle jars, and being primed for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and medical industries this year. Hardly a wanting pipeline.

Yet the pot was empty, and the need to raise funds urgent. Chief executive Reuben Isbitsky blamed lengthy sales cycles, which had led to erratic short-term revenues. It decided to go with a rights issue. In May, Timestrip issued nearly 54m new ordinary shares, which successfully raised £1m, more money than it sought, which will be used to help secure the new contracts and licence deals throughout 2008.

[sharethelovearound] 28/8/2008 07:48

i may be wrong but I think I read at the time that they said that if this trial was a success then a fully integrated solution would be developed ie the idea was not to simply carry on putting what is a bit of a cumbersome solution on the jars but it was to collect data and then do something serious if it is a success. I assume the data takes a while to collect and that big companies being what they are they will not make a decision overnight?

[someuwin] 28/8/2008 07:41

Our local tesco was doing the trial Branston Pickle jars with timestrips - but they stopped several months ago. I can only ssume that the trial was not a success.

[boldtrader] 28/8/2008 07:35

"The Branston brand continues to perform very well" note from Premier Foods results RNS this am. But does it perform with our timestrip? thats the question. Cheers.

[gavios] 27/8/2008 12:37

another small pay day top up for me, great products and i feel the market really has to notice this soon.

[59david] 21/8/2008 08:52

They release news when it is ready to be released! One of the problems that the compnay has had, which is why the share price is where it is, is that turning opportunities and trials into decent contracts takes a long time. Think everyone who is still invested believes that there is still a reasonable to good chance of them hitting the jackpot with one or more of these opportunities whcih would transform the company. The big question now is whether they have sufficient cash to keep going until this happens. Latest placing has clearly helped this position

[gavios] 20/8/2008 13:50

any ideas when we might get some news on that front digging??? quite a new investor to this....

[paul augustus] 20/8/2008 13:42

Soho2, ADVFN treats any trade above mid as a buy, below mid as a sell. I had the same the other day when I purchased below mid-price.

[digging] 20/8/2008 13:30

agreed ab .contract news needed.

[soho2] 20/8/2008 13:27

the 64 644 is a buy and NOT a sell....it is mine...very strange teh way advfn reports trades.

[paul augustus] 15/8/2008 11:21

The "sell" just posted was a buy.

[digging] 15/8/2008 11:00

ab rvd agm in progress buy limits crashed.

[andrbea] 15/8/2008 10:58

-6%


we need some more contract news...

[jbain] 10/8/2008 15:38

Tetra's whisper ex filter was due to go on the shelves in September but I believe they are already available.

[59david] 09/8/2008 15:35

Must soon be time for news to justify recent investment (as can't believe he didn't know that they had high probability of some decent news in the not too distant future)

[gavios] 29/7/2008 19:32

Good bit of buying today,pay day tomorrow so a top up for me.
Hopefully some contract news soon to get this moving.

[59david] 29/7/2008 19:29

I think we should look positively on this news. As far as I can see he is not so rich that he can afford to throw away the best part of a million acquiring a 12% stake in a worthless company. I think it is therefore reasonable to assume that he has been given sufficient information about prospects to make him feel comfortable that this is a good investment (and one for which he will expect a decent return)

[paul augustus] 29/7/2008 11:27

Credit where credit is due, at least they managed to raise the finance.

[monkeywrench] 29/7/2008 10:13

Unfair on 'idiots'.

[looky] 28/7/2008 21:45

This is great news - although not too sure of the new brokers, they are not the best name in town. But at least we know that alot of due diligence will have done on the orders / newsflow and Platts has invested at a premium on the results. This will give them time to prove the technology either way.

Someuwin is clearly an idiot

[scner] 28/7/2008 11:19

Reports the placing and appointment.

[gavios] 28/7/2008 10:10

im a bloody jinx

[soho2] 28/7/2008 10:08

you spoke too soon

[gavios] 28/7/2008 10:02

some nice buys this am