Ann: Investor Presentation, page-68

If the ADM and FS loans can be paid down then that would clearly set the company up for a better future.

I think it unlikely, however, that the full amount of these loans will be paid down from the proceeds of the rights issue. So its hard to see how the company will trade out of the mess its in while they are carrying debt with interest rates of 19% and 11% on debts of $10.5 m. lets not forget that the ADM loan interest is part capitalized so the principal is getting larger and the liability is compounding. That also means they are not covering the full cost of interest from earnings.

The MD was partly responsible for this mess because he was MD at the time the decision was made to take on the massive debt to fund the acquisition of Aldridge in 2007 for $37M. Since then, shareholders have been diluted from book value of 12 cents a share to today's 2 cents a share. There has only one dividend paid since listing in 2004. That was way back in 2013. The share price has fallen from near 50 cents a share at listing in 2004 to just 3 cents today. Despite this, the MD continues to be rewarded with a $500K annual salary and benefits while shareholders receive zero. This is clearly out of step with the interests of shareholders. It could be argued that part of the MD's substantial fixed remuneration should be based on total shareholder returns. But no luck with that at TTI.

Normally, MD 's are held responsible when a companies performance falls consistently over successive years. But here we are. One can only wonder about the conversations that the Chairman has with his MD to convince him that his lack of action on overhead costs and finance means he is the best qualified person to lead the company. Just imagine any big bank chairman supporting a chief executive with a track record of ten years of diminishing shareholder returns.

Instead of making small acquisitions, the company should be focused on downsizing, cost cutting and improving cash flow to pay down debt. Making $700K acquisitions when those funds could be applied to a debt accruing debt at 19% seems really dumb in my opinion.