William, you made me laugh with your Roman army analogy, and you are right. I have been investing with APG for 10 years, and along with a highly developed sense of patience - forced on me! - I try to remain cautiously optimistic about our chances of large commercial success.
It seems to me that APG's 'ace in the hole' is that we ALREADY have a significant relationship with BHP. Evidence? Largest shareholding; ongoing supply of staff and material support; and a great relationship between MT and Bruce Griffin (London-based BHP VP for Australasian area).
Our back-up is some strong competition for our products - Kristal, Multiserv, a sniff from RIO recently; potential for FMG, and the outside chance for a couple of others if rumours from this site are to be believed.
Next, we are no longer an experiment! Our kit works, and works to spec, which is our market differentiator.
In my submission, that adds up to a compelling case for at least a discussion on a takeover possibility, or BHP buying another 20% of APG.
We just need to get some SP momentum to take us out of the vulnerable minnow league, which is our achilles heel at the moment. But hell, there are plenty of mid-caps out there that have lost 80% of their share value in the last three months (SEA, SAE, NDO, CVN,UMC,BRM and MAK to name a few), so we are holding up comparatively well.
Keep the faith
APG Price at posting:
7.4¢ Sentiment: ST Buy Disclosure: Held
