RDL, that is correct, it all depends on when one starts the comparison. PLS started to move ahead on the coming lithium find in 2015 after sticking to around 3.5-5c for ages on the continually delayed TT mine, that is and was a total disaster.
After PLS started rising because of lithium, AJM were stuck just around a cent or so, despite having a larger lithium indicated resource.
There was a point when the prices of the 2 companies were way out of whack. Myself and SOS were telling people at the time, and mopping up AJM shares that the price on a relative basis was too low. A graph since that time shows AJM still ahead.
I have found the management at AJM extremely difficult to get hold of at times. I left numerous messages with the secretary there that I wanted to speak to management, but no-one bothered to reply. I even asked the secretary there for a phone number he had at his finger tips and he refused to give it to me, despite being a shareholder in that company.
At PLS I have found (even before the email group) that you could get through to speak to management about what was going on, and I have never had Alan Boys be rude to me.
As a shareholder, relationships with management should always be good. If I hels Altura shares at the AGM time, I would certainly be raising those types of issues.
What does this have to do with company performance? Quite a lot, as shareholders will always show greater loyalty where they think they are appreciated.
Personally I think both companies have made some large mistakes in the cap raises they have done, but for different reasons and at different times. One reason why companies go with Sophs from outside the company instead of shareholders is that the rules for large raises will take a lot longer for going with shareholders than sophs, and while getting the paperwork together the market conditions/perceptions will change.
Just look at how raising conditions have changed in a month. AJM were able to raise at 20c via sophs no worries, oversubscribed, but a few weeks later and the SP below the SPP price, and the SPP fails.
PLS SPP was always going to be hugely oversubscribed as they did it when the SP was going up, but no-one could be certain it would.
Do I believe the cap raises could have been done a lot better with less dilution for PLS shareholders, absolutely, but if you asked me am I certain they would have been a raging success with $110m in the bank now, then I would have to say no, as no-one can be certain of the short term future.
What I do know is that PLS have over $100m in the bank with another $17m on the way.
AJM have about $25m in the bank.
The initial plants of say 1.4Mt/a for AJM and 2Mt/a for PLS are both going to cost a lot of money to establish, PLS are in a far better financial position at this point in time.
Plus PLS have a resource that has 4-5 times as much Li2O in spodumene form than AJM, so has a far greater capacity for growth, plus with Ta credits will have a lower operating cost.
I expect both to be successful, but PLS more so on those numbers, and by a factor of around 5 on those numbers.
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