Here it is. From June. Note the last paragraph. Cheers.
The best inventions are simple and have a readily discernible use. For instance, the caveman who devised the round wheel was on to a good thing, but could have done with a government grant or a decent mentoring scheme.
Let's not underestimate Aussie ingenuity, despite some of the contraptions on The New Inventors. We think listed minnow Neptune Marine Services is on to something.
An Australian Welder, Clive Langley, devised a way of fixing up ships without the need to take them to dry docks, saving the ship owner huge downtime costs in the process.
Neptune, in which Langley has a key stake, this month was awarded the Australian patent for the so-called dry welding process, with patents pending in other key countries.
So far, Neptune has given investors a roller coaster ride as a listed company. The Perth based company was underwater after its January 2004 listing and the stock failed to get beyond its 20c listing price.
Perth Broker James Davies recalls accompanying chief executive Andrew Harrison as they literally door-knocked potential investors up and down Hay Street. "No one wanted a bar of it," he says.
Investor interest surged after Neptune won a contract with the Australian Navy. The shares peaked at $1.50 in March after a follow up contract was awarded.
The technology is not so much a case of thinking outside the square, as thinking inside the box. The process involves superheating a box which covers the repair area and injecting argon to create an ideal welding climate.
The technology competes with dry docking and hyberbaric method, where the object to be mended is sealed off. The latter is awfully expensive - up to $1 million a weld - and Neptune claims its method is about half the cost.
Neptune reported revenues of $414 000 in the nine months to March 2005 and negative cash flow of $556,000. It had $2.9 million of cash, including the proceeds of a $1.65 million private placement.
"Our plan is to be cash-flow positive in the next 12 months" Harrison says. He does not see the need for another raising "in the near future".
Revenues have come from Australia thus far, but, over time, should be biased towards the bigger shipping market of the northern hemisphere.
Future revenues are expected to be a combination of own work and technology licensing.
Criterion rates Neptune a SPECULATIVE BUY. As with any fledgling enterprise, it's nigh-on impossible to determine a "correct" share valuation, but current levels seem about right for what's likely to be a five-year investment journey.
NMS Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
