So how many times are we going to re-invent the wheel here Whisky?
Please indulge me, and let me share a personal experience with you.
This story parallels many companies world wide, who have followed this narrative, mostly to their own demise.
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For the last 22 years, I have worked for Australia's second largest airline.
The original idea by Brett Godfrey was a single fleet, low cost airline, known as the low cost model.
Running a single fleet in a single class, is done successfully around the world and is a proven model that works and can generate consistent profit.
The idea here in Australia was a smashing success, with this low cost structure, assisted by the demise of poor old Ansett, of where I was formally employed.
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Years of massive growth ensued, in the early 2000's, and I remember we were in and out of Seattle, picking up a new B737-800 every month..... for years.
Years of prosperity, rapid growth and and multi 100 million dollar profits.
ASX listing and more money than we knew what to do with....
Not bad for a little startup, in an Australian duopoly where many had previously tried and failed.
The gamble that Godfrey, Branson and couple of local early investors had taken, payed off....and been a resounding success.
I remember meeting both Godfrey and Branson at our infamous birthday parties, and they told me, we had 10M at the start Lou, we had to make it work.
There was no going back to the well...there was no more money........and work it did.
Stick to the plan...stick to the strategy.
Now every few years, a new management team comes in and tries to reinvent the wheel.
(Its happening again now with the Jayne and Bain show.)
Borghetti, left Qantas with a chip on his shoulder, and a point to prove, after missing out on the top job at Qantas, by the now disgraced and disavowed Alan Joyce.
The dreaded STRATEGIC REVIEW ensued....sound familiar?
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It was Borghetti's understanding and take on the state of play.......
And what it cemented , was his intention to change the proven strategy, turn is into Qantas and take on and beat his former employer at their own game.
An ego driven, spiteful, jaded and misdirected strategy, that ultimately proved to be the demise of the company, as the original Virgin, or Virgin 1.0 as we know it.
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By the time he had finished with us, any downturn, could have ended us.
And did the downturn come!!!
The downturn was HUGE...Covid...the worldwide pandemic.....about as bad as it gets for the WORLD....and in our case, tparticularly for the airline industry.
Unfortunately the known, and unknown debt had become untenable, with the Administrators DOCA even suggesting operating while insolvent,for a couple of weeks, even before Administration.
A big no no for a publicly listed company.
So I think we would not have lasted too much longer anyway.
The debt was just too big. Bigger than first thought. Farking huge.....
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Borghetti openly agreed we were a fantastic company with an incredibly unique culture and great people, the best he had ever seen.
Yet he tried to turn us into Qantas anyway......and take them head on.
His ego just couldn't let it go. Much like Buckler.
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To achieve his goals, he borrowed and borrowed and borrowed.
The debt was huge, and the damage had been done.
It was SO huge in fact,, it was not fully uncovered until Vaughan Strawbridge from the administrator Delloittte, and his cronies finally uncovered the truth.
And the debt went from 5 to 7 Billion dollars! Wow....
From a low cost model that was making 250-350 million a year........to a debt of 7B in 10 years...NOT BAD!
Different aircraft and varied fleet, B777's, A330's B737's A320's Embraer 170's and 190's and ATR 's Fokker 100's long haul international, short haul international, domestic, regional, FIFO....It was Noah's Ark of fleets, 2 of everything
And we had a guest lounge already, but he had to build his own Manger's lounges with private entries and concierges up and down the east coast, to rival Qantas own super exclusive Chairman's lounge where Joyce would woo the upper echelons of society.
On a side note, In fact this has been in the news lately, as Australia's most exclusive club. Essentially smoozing the people in control...Let me do you a little favour...chairman's lounge...first class upgrade...there you go.....enjoy your pyjamas madam...
The list of members is absolutely disgusting.
A raft of liberal party members, most of the ACCC, most of the higher delegates at CASA, commisioner at Fairwork, and EVERY single high court judge in the country...unbelievable.....the labour party and their children are in there as well.... and the list goes on..... OMG......This IS the BEOT out of control....the big boys club is alive and well, make NO mistake!
And people wonder why Qantas ALWAYS get their own way, and did not have to repay 750million of additional jobkeeper,(they received about 2Billion of our money in total) that was handed to them during covid, were able to illegally get through fairwork and sack 1500 baggage handlers, of which they now have to pay compensation, and just blocked Qatar with a simple request for additional flights into Australia...that no one can answer, even in the senate enquiry...FFS...
But I digress, back to Borghetti at Virgin-
New Sydney Virgin's head office for Borghetti, complete with Borghetti's offices personally fitted out, overlooking the harbour at a cost of 20 million.
Buy Tiger Airways, (gone now) buy Skywest(now Vara)
It went on and on.......until we went bankrupt...
The strategy was set, why did it need to be reviewed?
Why did it need to be changed?
We were making great money....the most we ever had...
But after our strategic review, we never made a profit again...true story....... it was most definitely, the beginning of the end...And I don't want this to be the beginning of the end for Sayona.
I want this to be the end of the beginning...
. I want to move forward...with the right team...with the right strategy....successfully....
I have lived it and breathed it first hand.
New management, trying to re-invent the wheel, changing the strategy and trying to make a name for themselves.
I guess the point I am trying to make, is-
WE HAVE, OR HAD A STRATEGY.
WE HAD AN OFFTAKE on the table with some big names, which have previously been mentioned.
NAL'S CARBONATE PLANT WOULD BE COMPLETED BY 2026, and there was a plan in place to make it happen, despite what our partner thought and said.
In my opinion, the strategy was sound.....solid. 5 moves ahead.....
Now, new management,which are really directors who should have known what was going on, but in all reality, distracted by their own stewardship of Morella, most probably didn't understand what was fully going on...the connections....the relationships and trust built over time... ......so what do we get.
A Strategic Review.
Re-invent the wheel...
Even the Money of Mine boys took the piss out of our strategic review......we are a farking laughing stock!!!
This is getting embarrassing guys.....FFS.....
And now I am not even certain about the carbonate plant ....it may even go, if they choose hydroxide at NAL??? Are you kidding me this is insane!
The thing is built..I HAVE SEEN IT!
Where's the timeline....and it better not be 2030....
Just like at Virgin, this crap is following me here....no good can come from this believe me.....
Possibly ripping apart a sound plant for what...to go all hardrock???? and then think of chemicals 2030 plus...its too late.
FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE GONE.....A WASTED OPPORTUNITY.
Time for the incumbents to catch up..
Time for PLL to mount an offensive.
With Ghana a ticking time bomb of corruption, bribery, inflation, child labour and the threat of civil war looming, Keith may feel that is the only course of action left to survive, is to mount an assault on NAL.
For who will protect the line?...Brown...Lucas....Buckler
Was the strategic review because the current board had no idea what was going on, had to go on a fact finding mission, and are now trying to re-invent the wheel.
We had a plan and we had a strategy, and I sure as hell trusted the first guy that stitched this all together, rather than these guys.
Offtake ready to go with widely tipped names like GM and POSCO as the partners, and these guys kill the deal?
WTF?
Then a review to possibly tear the carbonate plant apart at NAL, or delay it even furher...to build a hydroxide plant. This is lunacy!!
Or is it to buy time for PLL and extend their concentrate deliveries even further?? Carolina DELAY...and God knows what will happen in Ghana....
Sorry Whisky, but this stinks! Stinks to high heaven.
Then you state-
What is likely to change is how it's financed and that has been referenced in the strategic review , our cash generation has been effected by the collapse in concentrate price.
.And who will negotiate and organise this finance?
Who?
Paul Crawford the CFO, with one foot out the door and a litany of maths errors with his bent abacus, and a history of numerous errors in announcements...including the company address??!!
Lucas, the new bloke who is another trusted lieutenant of Buckler?
Buckler, Risk averse to debt, becasue he is still recovering from the 3rd degree burns left from Altura?
How will he even allow debt or finance?
And the interim CEO Brown, who one of the computershare callers asked if the investors would support big bad Jim in a full time CEO role? Cats out of the bag now fellas....we know what you are thinking.
A big shout out to computershare!!!
An Executive search thats been touted from the last AGM.
Don't quote me on that, I will go back to the recording tonight and double check. And still nothing but Lucas....in with prior connections...
Can you see it?
Can you honestly see Brown being the mastermind here, and stitching together a plan with partners from multiple continents, GM's, Fords, Telsa's LG's Posco's......and Keith?
Those guys would eat him alive....
So, It seems not...it seems it was all too much and we have taken a step backward.
Is this the team you want to take Sayona forward?
Is this the dream team you have chosen to protect and grow your investment in Sayona, in the AX200 and beyond?
(20min delay)