Author Archives: Admin

CAT-style Aviation licence deal is coming

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The announcement by Seeing Machines that it is collaborating with Alaska Airlines is significant as it underlines its intention to extract value from its leadership position in this niche of the Aviation market.

In a note issued today by house broker Cenkos, analyst John-Marc Bunce reiterated Seeing Machines’ determination to sign a CAT-style license agreement with two major aviation simulator manufacturers.

Bunce wrote: “With Seeing Machines many years ahead of its nearest rival in this sector, it is looking like the company could be in a strong negotiating position in discussions with the two major simulator manufacturers for a license. We believe a successful outcome could include an upfront payment as well as a value driven or recurring royalty element.”

It doesn’t require too much detective work to find out who these two are likely to be but, as I don’t want to prejudice any final negotiation or comms plan, I’ll avoid speculating publicly for the time being.

Such a deal should certainly bring forward breakeven and act as a catalyst for a significant re-rating. This is before the announcement of further auto OEM auto wins in Europe — never mind Japan.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines

Time to re-rate SEE 2.0

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Seeing Machines’ (AIM: SEE) full year results indicated strongly that the issues that affected its fleet division are fixed and I expect news flow over the next few months to drive a significant re-rating.

In a note issued yesterday, house broker Cenkos upgraded its price target to 12p. Analyst John-Marc Bunce explained: ‘We believe the turnaround in fleet will drive the company to profitability in under 2 years with the cash runway looking sufficient even before accounting  for licensing deals or financing against recurring revenues.”

This was reiterated in a webcast from CEO Paul McGlone today in which he assured investors: “Fleet is fixed and starting to perform”. He added that there were no plans for a dilutive equity fundraise in his 3-year plan. Moreover, an aviation licence deal (expected to happen before year end) would effectively mean the company is funded to profitability.

Fortunately, the new CEO seems to have pressed the reset button and confirmed that over the past 6 months he has made significant changes: “The business is now focused on profitable revenue, we don’t chase strategic business.”

Cenkos has pencilled in a conservative (how I dislike that word) A$47.5m revenue figure for the full year to June 2020, with a pre-tax loss of A$35.9m. Thereafter losses fall in 2021 to A$10.6m and SEE reaches profitability in 2022 (A$47.5m).

I think these estimates will be revised over the course of the coming year, bringing forward breakeven by at least a year.

After so many years of disappointment and failure to deliver against financial targets I think this will be a transformational year for Seeing Machines. It will hinge on these 3 things happening:

  1. Acceleration in the installation of Guardian in fleets and cheaper units produced in H2.
  2. More auto OEM contract wins.
  3. Aviation licence deal by the year end.

 

Positives

Fortunately, signs look good for all three.

  1. Fleet growth should accelerate further this year as Cenkos confirms: “We believe the guidance for 27k-30k connections at the end of FY2020 is conservative and underpinned by a strong pipeline.” Moreover, the unit costs of Guardian are due to come down significantly from the the second half of this financial year, driving more profit. In addition, McGlone today revealed that SEE is expecting solid growth in the US market.
  2. I’m expecting two existing US customers to extend their existing contracts and Seeing Machines to win two more OEMs in Europe very soon. This is aside from continued progress in Asia over the course of this financial year.
  3. We now know (after the webcast) that Aviation licence deals are coming soon. That will improve the bottom line without involving significant risks and costs.

Lest we forget, there is also a bigger game afoot, as Bunce pointed out in his note:

“… one could argue that Seeing Machines has greater strategic value than Mobileye has as we highlight the ever-increasing importance for reliable face, eye and emotion tracking in the real world for many applications beyond automotive and transportation; from retail, medical, personal robots and personal computing devices. This value would be seen not just but major chip and software platform providers like Intel, but also the world’s tech giants.”

I’d advise all investors to do their own research and the above is my opinion only.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines.

10 questions to Seeing Machines

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I’m expecting Seeing Machines to provide positive news and an upgrade for its 2020 financial year when it releases its full year results for 2019 on 23rd September.

However, this is no time for complacency, especially given the errors of the past under the previous management. In particular, questions have been raised about its operational costs and whether it has sufficient cashflow to avoid another raise. I hope we’ve entered a new chapter but we’ll soon know.

Unfortunately, for a few months now Seeing Machines has refused to engage with me and answer my questions. Fine.

However, it would be a shame if hard questions aren’t asked and answered by management when these results come out. To aid that transparency, here are 10 that I hope investors will be asking when the results are published.

1. Analyst Sanjay Jha at Panmure Gordon has previously stated, in a note dated 5th June, 2019 that Seeing Machines isn’t funded to breakeven. “We continue to believe the funds raised in April are not going to last 18 months as the company continues to pursue opportunities in 4 different sectors (Automotive, Fleet, Aviation, Off-road).” When do you now anticipate breakeven and will you need to raise again before then?

2. Regarding operational costs: how many people are now employed by SEE? Did operational costs increase in 2019 and by how much? How much are operational costs planned to increase in the current financial year (2020)?

3. Are you actively seeking to renegotiate the Rail contract with Progress Rail? If so, when do you expect it will be concluded?

4. Given you don’t have the cash to develop automotive, are you actively seeking a CAT-style licence deal for aviation? Do you expect it will be concluded before the calendar year end?

5. Is the monthly growth in fleet revenues sufficient to avoid any further fundraise? Can you quantify this growth?

6. Why has the relationship with Mix Telematics failed to produce much revenue? Is this likely to change in this financial year? How and why?

7. What is the number of Guardian installations you  expect to have in place by June 30, 2020. What is the monthly installation rate? Can you confirm that these are generating cash immediately? What’s the lag?

8. Re. Auto, are you now gunning for the low, mid and high end auto market?

9. Is it the case that if a budget OEM needs a cheap DMS you can provide a DMS chip with less functionality at a reduced price?

10. Are you actively working with Japanese OEMs. Have they finalised exactly how they want DMS to work? (Eg. Integrated into ADAS).

I’m far from infallible and I’m sure investors may have additional questions. Good luck to all holders!

 

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines.

 

Webcast for Seeing Machines results?

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I’d like to request that Seeing Machines hold a live webcast for investors when it announces its results in late September (no firm date has yet been communicated). This would go some way to improving the transparency of its communications to private investors who don’t have the luxury of regular one-to-one meetings with management.

With its headquarters in Canberra most shareholders aren’t in position to attend results presentations/AGMs in person and it would provide demonstrable proof that the new management is committed to clear and timely communication to all.

Other AIM-listed companies do this already. Veoneer, Aptiv and others do it also and Seeing Machines should walk the walk on investor communications.

Never mind spending a fortune on engaging a US PR outfit, there are simple ways to engage existing investors and grow your global profile among investors.

Regardless of the good news that is coming (yes, no rush Seeing Machines we can wait for the official announcements), private investors deserve a clear and transparent communications strategy, not just videos interviews put out on an obscure website where only easy questions are asked (albeit from a skilled interviewer).

I don’t have the influence to make this happen but the investors reading this do. Agitate for it and make it happen. Good luck.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volvo XC90: another win for SEE

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The evidence is stacking up that Seeing Machines has won Volvo in the teeth of opposition from its Swedish rival Smart Eye.

Read this article on the Volvo XC90 and note the way it describes how the DMS system will work. Congrats to Nick DiFiiore and his team on this one. All we need now is the RNS.

I believe the delay in announcing auto OEM contract news is due to their being re-scoped and enlarged by car manufacturers in the light of EU legislation that will mandate DMS in all new type cars from 2022.

Of course, fund managers have been getting the inside track on developments this week so I am optimistic we will get some big buys.

Still, rather than a soft-focus video, private investors also deserve to meet the management. Hey, SEE, how about organising a webinar and answering some tough questions from people who’ve invested their hard earned money over a number of years? Or better still, call another meeting in London.

Certainly, in his most recent interview the new CEO, Paul McGlone, seemed very confident. He can certainly talk the talk and it is my hope he will also walk the walk over the next 6 months. Time will tell.

The writer holds shares in Seeing Machines.

Long live the King of the DMS

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In a recent note from Redeye, its analyst commented that whoever wins VW or Toyota in the second half of the year will be ‘King of DMS’. He seems to think it may be Smart Eye, whereas I’m convinced it will be Seeing Machines that wins both.

I also believe Smart Eye will soon suffer the embarrassment of Volvo choosing Seeing Machines for its 2021 flagship XC90’s DMS.

Certainly, after a successful fundraise Smart Eye looks ‘strong and stable’ but as the British electorate knows only too well, the truth will out. Propaganda eventually has to give way to reality. That time has arrived for Theresa May and will very shortly arrive for Smart Eye. Tick tock.

Enough of analogies, Smart Eye even as number 2 will have its share of the cake that SEE doesn’t want. China is a big market and I wish it well there. I just hope Chinese consumers don’t take a ride in Byton’s M-Byte when it launches later this year — it features SEE’s superior DMS.

I also believe that the BMW X5 and Audi A8 will revert to Seeing Machines – for as the Beatle song Drive My Car, could have said:  ‘Using a DMS at up to 37mph is all very fine, but I can show you a better time’.

In the auto world premium means ‘the best’. In a very competitive market Audi and BMW can’t afford to look like chumps v. Mercedes when it comes to safety. That is why auto OEMs are telling, yes telling, Tier 1s to use Seeing Machines technology.

Some will naturally dispute what I’m saying. Still, let those with ears to hear, hear.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines.

Silver lining in a cloud of investor misery?

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Following today’s news that Seeing Machines is having a deeply discounted  conditional placing and subscription to raise £27.5m, the management of the company seems to have lost both the goodwill and trust of many private investors. 

Indeed, the fact SEE couldn’t get even get a placing with existing institutional investors away at 5p tells you a lot.

It’s quite frankly shocking that the company had to offer shares at 3p in order to raise cash and follows a long series of fleet and train related mishaps that Chris Grayling would be proud of.

The only silver lining I can see is that with the expected OEM wins still to be announced it becomes a sitting duck for an opportunistic bid. My sources tell me that last year, after numerous ‘discussions’, it came close to being snapped up by Bosch for around 17p. Well, I dare say, it is still available at a knock-down price.

Anyone want a to buy a company with great tech but poor management? 10p? Anyone? 7.5p?

UPDATE

For those investors despairing tonight, I’ve some hope. Ironically it comes from house broker Cenkos who put out a note today. Analyst Jean-Marc Bunce clearly cares about his reputation and though he lowered the price target to 9p, Bunce can’t help but admit on page 15:

“Strategic value is significant – 39p at 8% discount rate

To demonstrate the significant value in the increasingly visible future cash flows from Seeing Machines’ automotive license fees, we note that a large organisation with a market average Beta of 1 would have an equity cost of capital of 8%. At an 8% cost of capital our valuation for Seeing Machines rises to 39p and we note the weighted average cost of capital for a large corporate would likely be even lower through debt financing.”

In fact, the more times I read this note the more I get the sense that it is setting out a case for SEE being sold at a particular price. We’ll see.

The writer holds stock in SEE.

eServGlobal: M&A thoughts

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FinnCap, the house broker for eServGlobal, has published a note highlighting the accelerating pace of M&A activity in the payments industry and its implications for the AIM-listed minnow.

There have been 3 big mergers so far this year in the payments industry:

  •   Fiserv’s acquisition of payments processor First Data for $22bn;
  •   Visa’s acquisition of Earthport for £200m; and
  •   Worldpay acquisition of FIS for $43bn.

In addition, after missing out in the Earthport auction, Mastercard has bought Transfast. This prompted EservGlobal to issue an RNS today in which it stated: “Transfast is a network partner of HomeSend, offering reach and connectivity principally into Africa and Latin America, together with foreign exchange and ancillary services. Network relationships are a critical element of HomeSend’s services and HomeSend continues to grow these partnerships through several regional network partners, such as Transfast, together with HomeSend’s own direct connections, to deliver across multiple markets and channels.”

FinnCap Director of Research Lorne Daniel explained: “After missing out in the Earthport auction, Mastercard has bought Transfast. We see this as augmenting not replacing HomeSend. The Transfast acquisition will augment Mastercard’s well-defined and established strategy to dominate global payments with a range of solutions. Purchasing one of the technologies underlying Mastercard Send gives greater control, adding capacity as well as reach.”

Daniel noted: “We continue to expect Mastercard to seek full control (from its current 64.31%) of HomeSend, which it continues to flag as a key platform to dominate international Account-to-Account and Business-to-Business transfers. Indeed, the recent surge in M&A activity in the segment should hasten that move.”

Daniel currently has a target price of 20p on the share.

The writer holds stock in eServGlobal.