Baker and Young research note, page-21

Morning all,

time to sale is very important in business. This industry is seen as being very slow - but, tradition may well not be trusted - times are different now.

The fabrics industry has been on the ropes for decades and one benefit of getting knocked down hard if one survives - is that it sharpens the senses.

One needs to differentiate between military and commercial.

NC told me months back that 'theoretically' if we got a knock on the door we could go from that initial contact to full production with a client in 6 weeks -- I emphasise 'theoretically'.

So, with an industry that has had a good bashing and now seems to be coming back - AND, legislators kicking down their walls -------- we 'may' expect to see a lot of rapid fire contracts - and, big one's as well - not guaranteed - but, certainly possible.

Military is different - the good points - once you get em - 'you got em' - and, they pay reliability -and, they often pay BIG BIG contracts - and, you, of course get the cred as well.

The downside - unless you can arrange a nasty war that is threatening - is, 'timing'.

We actually started working with the military on all this stuff just after the Civil War, I am reliably informed - it is only now that the paperwork has come through.

This is a vastly different animal to the commercial side of the business - and should be viewed as such - long drawn out processes shrouded in secrecy should be seen as the norm - not the exception.

I believe strongly we will get the gong on the military - I think it is a shoe in - and, I think we will get it this year --------------- and, I think NC will have such an impact that the roll out will be far more rapid than the vast majority of military dealings ---------------- if not, we sure have wasted a lot of money at dinners and lunches with the bugger --------------- and, it would be waste very much - he doesn't eat much - he just keeps talking.

All in all - things are shaping up just like we hoped - a little out on timing with some - and far quicker with others. Revenue wise - my feeling is we are in front with commercial and a little behind with military - but, the military has now gone from a few million to --- OMG Dollars - so, I am not displeased with that.

In business -- 'nothing' is set in concrete. What I found with good budget setters - is that quite a few of the things you budgeted on don't come in - but, they are replaced by others that you didn't know about at the time - all par for the course.

The financial report for ending 30 June, 2015 will be very instructive - and, I hope should read very well - but, oh boy, the next half should look very good - and, it just gets better from there.

NC led me to believe that the quarter he was really interested in was the last quarter in this calendar year - I haven't heard any change from that sentiment - and, judging by what we have seen sliding through the contracts letter slot - I should think that will be a wonderful quarter.

He always said - look to the dollars, yes - but, look to them next year - this year is the set up. OK by me.

At present he will be juggling things like squashing which costs into which quarters to make things look fine enough - a setup year is always a year of juggle - if you 'need' to look good - eg. for a coming listing.
With so much work coming through the door and revenue only just started - these things are normal ----------- the only risk - viability - which, in our case - thank heavens - is bugger all - because of cash in bank and now, revenue stream.

As to buying a position - well, I don't think it is too late if one wants a small position - but, I think one might have a hard job from here on in if one wants millions ------------ mind you, that really hasn't been easy since the teens - even in the last down turn - trying to soak up a lot - really, one only had the chance for a limited time ----------- in quantity ie. smaller positions - ok.

Anyway - have a great day all. I will probably be off the air for a lot of next week - so, I hope you all have fun and have a great weekend.

PS - I won't be speaking with NC before I disappear - we will catch up later - but, I did hear one thing - and, I don't think it is a trade secret - I didn't get it direct from NC, but, from a site visit --------- it blew me away - we have supposedly been dealing with several clients and contacts etc etc.

Anyone guess at the number all up - that require our attention?

how about a tad under 80 ----------------- yep, 80.

And we wonder why the boy is out of sales staff 'again' - and, looking for more 'again'.

That's why the contracts are pouring in -- we are cherry picking - and the clients are getting more and more desperate ------------ and, if/when legislation comes through -------------- oh, boy, you ain't seen nutin yet

By the sounds of it - if we had double the sales staff - we would still be short - amazing really.

I said a long way back - that sales was the key - you can have the best product in the world - but, sometimes, things just don't sell - and, sometimes they go like a bushfire ---------------- well, at the moment, we have a solid grassfire going - and not a fire engine in sight ----------- if legislation comes through - we are going to have a bushfire of major proportions - and, god knows how we will handle the sales side -- the rest of the business is fine - we can up-scale that - but, good sales people are really hard to get - and, with legislative change - we are going to have HUNDREDS (seriously) of clients trying to kick down the door. It is going to be a frantic time.



Pinto