I have a recording of the conf call but I'm not sure if I'm...

I have a recording of the conf call but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share it. I've asked the Nearmap CEO on Twitter if this is ok.

The shorting thing was made up by one poster who I can only assume spoke out of ignorance as from all practical viewpoints it's near impossible to do. Naked short selling is banned as of GFC and who is going to lend NEA for a covered short?

The conf call...

Most customers are signing up for multi-year subcriptions. This is of concern when looking at the 4Cs - are we seeing cashflow from multi-year subs paid up front? Gerhard (CFO) said that multi-year subs are only paid 12 months in advance.

Repeated questions from about what the breakdown is between new "group sales" and renewals. No clear answer here. Everyone is clearly trying to build their own forecast model for Nearmap but it really sounds like it's too early for anyone, including Nearmap, to make sound projections.

There was a Q about market size and Simon responded that they were working with a consultant to figure that out. The results from that may be shared around timing of the annual report.

Simon made some comments around what he termed "super casual business users", which is the oft requested single-seat licenses. They are testing a bunch of options for this - one state vs all state, varying data limits, diff price points. Have to be careful not to undermine existing business. Simon also mentioned possibility of a prepaid option.

On the data caps which some users have complained are too low - they're not actively enforcing this right now, and Simon said they do not want customers to be sitting there not using Nearmap because of the caps. At the same time it was mentioned as a way to grow revenue in future (more usage from existing subs).

Marketing - several mentions of the existing customer base as being organically grown. No acquisition atm though mentioned possible SEM activity starting at the end of the year.

Simon said a few times that it's still early days - that Nearmap is only selling the most basic of products so much room for expansion of the product set, as well as growth of subscribers through future marketing activities.

One specific example is a referral program - where existing customers could for example be given additional data for referring new customers. This was mentioned to point out that they are not doing even the most basic of marketing so many opportunities exist.

I lost my notes from the last conf call but this time around there were brokers from Morgan Stanley, BBY, Paterson, WilsonHTM and SG Hiscock. Could be others, these were just the guys who asked Qs.

Overall I think the main risks to profitability are continued growth in "group sales" -- as they introduce the new "casual" plans they run the risk of cannibalisation. We have no idea how much of the existing "group sales" market they have captured (this could be viewed as a risk or an upside). And there's been no discussion about what impact these plans have on the big end of town, i.e. the existing Govt contracts which were formerly fixed rate based on Fed/State/Local.

On the upside I do agree with Simon's characterisation that they have done buggerall marketing to date, and there is clearly demand for the "casual" plans.

For me the most attractive thing about Nearmap even in their earlier "dark" days was the fact that they sell on a subscription basis. It's too early to tell how big the base will be but the joy of subscriptions is that if your renewal rate is high (which theirs is) you don't have to go out every quarter/year to resell to the same customers - you get to steadily build an annuity business.