In light of all the moaning, groaning, whinging and whining which went on here this morning, I thought it best that I provide you of a recap of the meeting.
It began a somber event and understandably so. MG opened his presentation by sharing his feelings of "gut-wrenching disappointment" with the share price being barely above its listing price. From here however a level of positivity was built.
It is apparent that the 4 directors and Julie strongly believe in the 3 technologies (barely a mention of Chronologic now - I consider it dead and buried) with the focus very much back to laser enrichment as we know.
With $66 million now in the bank (which was a pleasant surprise for me) a shareholder rightly questioned the bouncing around of the bank account balance and was just as rightly answered that the recent increase in cash was due to government R&D rebates. At least the government has given us something back.
"The perfect storm" was the continued theme for the current state of play with the fallout of Fukushima still wreaking havoc across the world wide nuclear energy industry.
It became apparent that MG is not a fan of Mr Abbott. So much so there could in fact be a level of “disdain” in there for him.
The cloak of secrecy still shrouds Silex Laser Enrichment but my interpretation of MGs passion for it is that it works and works very well and it will revolutionise world-wide power generation and that he is incredibly frustrated with the delays which have occurred. Not all uranium prices either; dealing with government agencies is a very slow process.
There was relatively no blood-letting with only a couple of long term shareholders venting their disappointment and questioning whether everything was done that could have been done to stop the funding-cut for Mildura and to force the hands GLE into moving faster. MG provided positive reassurance on both fronts.
MG accepts that schedules have been missed and apologised but my take is this guys… many of the fortunes of Silex will be determined by factors outside the control of the directors and MG. This is not to say that we do not need people of high calibre at the helm - it is more to say as an investor you are simply going to need to give them and the technology more time and perhaps a lot more time. This isn’t selling hamburgers at a McDonalds. It is highly technical and complicated, with much of it being classified. Any agreement on Puducah will be a multi-billion dollar agreement for a plant with a 40 year operating life.
When it comes to previous targets MG did let slip that perhaps GLE had been mislead in the past by DOE, as such he is reluctant to provide further schedules. However, the relationship between GLE and Silex remains strong and the communication channels are open.
Anyone here believing that this is going to be an overnight change of fortunes I believe you are in for a great deal of disappointment. It could be 10 years before we are earning anything out of Puducah or Wilmington - but my take is that one, maybe two will be happening.
For Moosey... a shareholder put a question to MG about the future of Silex Laser in a world of PRISM and ARC. MG's response was surprisingly positive in that PRISM being 4th generation reactors actually require HEU to operate and as such efficient enrichment will be very important.
The $2B Government Guarantee was questioned. MG said whilst it could be helpful, however the Federal Government could attach so many strings that GLE may not bother. I believe he said that GLE had made an application for it – if not they were at least looking into it.
Thorium reactors was another question. MG reported that this was at an early stage of development (ground level) and that India would probably look into this as they have surplus thorium reserves. However, these reactors still require some level of enriched uranium to operate anyway.
The recent spike in the Uranium price and the 2015 reactors starts for Japan were both mentioned as a part of context that maybe we are through the worst part of the storm and moving forward to happier times. MG was also pleased with the China & US greenhouse house gas reduction agreement.
Some positives may come of both Translucent and Solar Systems. In contrast to many here I like that they have brought in external consultants on the ground to assist in forging a partnership or sale, which the case might be. The US $109B Saudi Arabia oil replacement program could be a massive windfall for Solar Systems – however this is a political matter with opposing interests wanting the lion’s share of this pot. However, having the test facility operating in the Prince’s holiday home at Nofa Resort, shouldn’t hurt Solar’s chances. Love the new lower cost dish too.
A pertinent question was raised about the relatively small shareholdings of Dr McIntyre and Mr Stock. Dr McIntyre did respond along the lines of “we are independent directors” so one might question how independent we would be if we started building up a large stake in the company. She did follow up by stating that everything they are doing is in the interest of shareholders and building shareholder value.
I too would have liked a rabbit today. However, as events have unfolded over the past 6-9 months I was also happy to simply get no bad news.
As I am building a stake for the long term I found the meeting to be positive and I have come out of it with a view that I would like to continue to accumulate at these prices so I maintain my “buy” recommendation. However, if you are searching for instant gratification or a quick fix to your financial woes – I do fear you will be disappointed.
I am and always will be… SirKnight.
A shareholder asked MG if a capital distribution might be on the table should there be a sale of Translucent or Solar Systems. MGs response was very understandable along the lines of “I am just not thinking about that now”. But it did make me smile. Imagine Silex selling Translucent for $100M which might not be unachievable given recent M&A activity taking place in the semi-conductor sector. Then the company makes a capital distribution of 50 cents per share leaving about $80M in the bank. This would mean that present buyers could be buying a stake in two “game changing” technologies along with a 47 cent cash interest for about 10 cents.
Do you see why I love the investment potential of this company so much?
(20min delay)