2 for 1 bonus option issue, page-14

Tom g,

Having read most of your recent posts on ASC, no-one can argue you have the right to be highly sceptical of ASC directors & management. However, the stock does look very interesting on fundamentals and the long term cash flows established in the wake of the 2002 fiasco.

The company has added surplus cash to the coffers at a rate of $455,000 pm every month from Nov-02 through Dec-03...a consistent 13 month stretch. The last 3 months will porbably see a continuation of that trend.

Also...the company wasted little time refunding the $6.4m in Oct-02 following the credit card fiasco (which has now been fixed for some 20 months.

It is also difficult to ignore that the company made an NPAT of $2.2m on much reduced (but more transparent) revenues in the last 6 months whilst cleaning up the balance sheet considerably AND with no debt.

And now we have a further issues of options....it is hard to envisage why they would need more money because I would have thought a share buy-back and share consolidation (to get rid of the day-traders) would have been more appropriate. So, this issue intrigues me, certainly.

Regarding the ASIC investigations, the statements giving the company a clean bill of health re: the 2002 investigations were quite clear. In the final washup of those investigations, there has been nowhere near the innuendo et al that has surrounded investigations such as those involving Rivkin, OAP or other cases.

So, on the balance, I, as a casual observer could only agree with you that they have a murky past - possibly due to unfortunate circumstances regarding the credit card business (and their naivity). Certainly, I cannot disagree with you regarding some of the "milkiing" that occured in relation to dear Bree, either.

But on balance, whilst I appreciate your justifiable caution, ASC was definitely worth a closer look when it was trading at 9c after the HY result...not on any charts, but on basic fundamentals.

Those same fundamentals could easily justify a share price of 14-15c even after allowing for a discount to the average PE ratio of its sector becasue of any management queires.

That leaves price upside of a further 30-40% from tonight's close of 10.5c.

Coop