Bought more, page-46

CoverG

You wrote, "On BYL's report, I emailed the company to which the CFO replied and advised the release date of Feb 24, so pretty confident on that. Quick response as well, minutes, which was nice."

My experience with BYL is that management communicate freely with folk like us - that is, they return calls, respond to emails, and BYL's website is informative. I'll be in Perth for a few hours on 4 March, and I attempted to line up a meeting with Peter McBain. He responded to my email to the effect that he could not see me on the 4th, because, in his words, "I will be on an investor road show – trying to improve your share price – on the 4th." He is prepared to meet with me - it's just a matter of working out a mutually convenient time and place, because I rarely visit Perth, and Mr McBain is not often in my neck of the woods, Adelaide.

From publicly made comments, I had earlier gleaned that Mr McBain regards BYL as undervalued, and that he is keen to rectify that, and his words "trying to improve your share price" reflects that agenda item. I also read into that comment that the H1 results and the forward outlook should not be shabby.

Peter McBain reminds me of the erstwhile MD of TGA, John Hughes, in that both have a managerial style best described by the adjective, "affable", which in Australia's egalitarian setting is what is required to build a loyal workforce, happy customers, and a good working relationship with relevant bureaucrats and trade union officials. Managerial efficacy is not something that one can build into a stock selection filter, and yet it is a significant differentiator.