I was going through my last communication with Dirk', on August...

I was going through my last communication with Dirk', on August the first. I found some comfort in it again, so I will share a bit of it with everyone here, without permission so if you're reading Dirk, my apologies, hope you dont mind.

"I truly appreciate your need for as much specific information as possible. Yes – our prediction for cash neutrality is nearly on track – we have simply experienced delays. On your second point, All $18.5M of that business is in the pipeline and moving along well. Given the unavoidable, minor delays we have experienced thus far, can I tell you for absolute certain our customers will hit us with zero additional delays by the end of the year? Of course not, but what I can tell you is the fundamentals of our business are stronger than they ever have been and right now, and we are growing faster than ever, despite what the number on the 4C says.
To your last point, having been in the chemical industry as long as I have and see a ton of forecasts come and go, you tend to get a sense that supply of chemistry in our industry is surprising cyclical month to month, especially when you have SO much of a pipeline in the on-boarding stage. That is all this decrease is. While I can’t real tea leaves – it is very likely the last decrease you will EVER see in the foreseeable future. Our growth outlook is THAT strong.…"

It doesn't clear up the ambiguities in the latest news letter or hint as to the "losses" and the "wins". It it does reassure me that fundamentally, speed-bumps aside, things are moving in the opposite direction to the SP currently, if not slower than most of us had banked on.

I think that if they get the memo in regards to clarity in their communications (perhaps include a glossary until they can communicate with consistent terminology) and expectation control, (under-promise and over-deliver) then we might be able to relax our grip on the life preserver inflation cord and be able to look more comfortably to the horizon.

Its all been said before, I know, but hopefully the snippit above may help some breathe a little easier - until January!