Ann: Investor Presentation, page-4

hhhhmmmm....

Need a little time to digest this. Things are happening so quickly with Mareterram that it's difficult to gauge whether this has all been pre-planned or is more opportunistic.

Brimstone Investment Corporation Limited is a black controlled and managed investment company incorporated and domiciled in the Republic of South Africa and employing approximately 3,400 employees in its subsidiaries.

Unfortunately, Brimstone proved to be losers in 2015, their share price sank 33%.

The loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company in 2015 soared to R699 million (AUD$61 million).

They are dividend payers however, with a final year payout of 35 cents to shareholders.

I have previously invested in black empowered companies in the Southern tip of Africa, but none of them have been successful, so I gave that away a few years ago. All of these type of companies seem to end up being embroiled in litigation and internal/external disputes and in-fighting, some of it tribal.

So I can only speak from experience, and it has not been a happy financial hunting ground for me in the past, so my current views may be a bit subjective.

If Brimstone/Sea Harvest come the heavy handed approach with Mareterram, then I cannot see the company being successful. Brimstone and Sea Harvest know nothing of prawns, but they do have a seafood pedigree.

If the Mareterram management are left to get on with their plans, then the company may be successful, depending on the acquisitions they are looking to buy.

What I will personally be watching for, and keeping in contact with the company about, is resignations by directors and key managers as we go forward. Keep a close eye on this, because it will more than likely indicate the commencement of internal squabbling related to the direction of the company.

Anyway, I'm going to keep a close eye on staff movements.

(Quotes from Money Web)

Losses from Lion of Africa Insurance and substantial write-downs in the valuations of Life Healthcare and Grindrod saw investment holding company Brimstone Investment Corporation report a loss for the year to December 2015 of R668.1 million compared with a profit of R277.8 million in the prior year.

Lion of Africa saw mismanagement, poor systems, and allegations of fraud resulting in a second year of losses – R179 million compared with a R180 million loss in the previous year. Brimstone have said they will clean up Lion of Africa.

At Sea Harvest, the company increased operating profit by 10% to R121.6 million and Ebitda by 9% to R205 million. Revenue grew by 1% despite a 5% reduction in fish catch volumes. “Sea Harvest continued with its capital investment programme by investing in an additional freezer trawler as well as upgrading its fresh fish plant. In the last two years over R200 million has been invested in vessels and plant upgrades,” says Fred Robertson, executive chairman of Brimstone.

Sea Harvest acquired a 19.9% stake in Mareterram Limited: a vertically integrated agri-business which listed on the ASX in Australia. This is an investment that, Robertson says, secures Sea Harvest’s route to a critical market and provides a platform for future international growth.

(End)

Ok, it's not all negative. We have to be willing to give Brimstone/Sea Harvest the benefit of the doubt, and a chance to prove themselves, something they have not given Maretarrem, because it has just ASX listed, and has not even started it's first fishing season yet under the Mareterram moniker.

It's very early days.

And I wonder if Brimstone/Sea Harvest will vary the contract of the Mareterram chief executive, who walked into a potential one (1) million dollar salary with bonus in his first year. Something I was critical of, and still am.

Those folks who bought in at the IPO a few months back at 20 cents, might be happy to take the cash. I bought in at 26 cents, so am not that enamoured of the offer. Something closer to 40 cents might have enticed me, and 45 cents definitely, but at 35 cents I'm quite cool on it, and will probably NOT take up the offer.

So I suppose with the current triumvirate of Mareterram/Sea Harvest/Brimstone, it's still a case of watch this space. They are looking for acquisitions, so I might just park my shares for another year here and wait and see what they come up with. I'm sure they won't need 50% of my shares to get across the takeover line.

Gw