CSS - Clean Seas Seafood

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Today’s announcement comes as no surprise what so ever. Much of this should have been reported weeks ago. The sellers have had an opportunity to offload to uninformed investors in my view.

As to the report, CSS is no longer a viable entity in an economic sense. The YTK inventory is being sold off and business written down. SBT has gone nowhere for the past couple of years and attempts to bring spawning forward will fail, in my view. Apart from the SBT broodstock suffering health issues , I don’t believe the fingerlings will survive in the SA climate. These fingerlings need the tropical warmth of Northern Waters to grow in to robust juvenile SBT.
CSS won’t admit that SA and Arno Bay is not suitable.

Their commentary on the value of CSS typical value ramping. They are expecting investors to believe that there is significant value in thin air, because this is what intangible and intellectual property is…..….just goodwill. It has no measurable physical value.
As they are unable to complete the life cycle of SBT it has no meaningful value in my view. In any case, this knowledge is held by the scientists / biologists etc. not CSS and they, perhaps, may be able to offer their services / knowledge to other aquaculture companies but it will be of no value to CSS investors.

Holding out to year end is just giving FT and Institutional investors time to sell out to retail investors.


Disc – Not invested. Opinion only, not based on any factual information. DYOR.

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

After further reflection on the recent announcement there is one burning question I have for CSS – If the fingerlings are succumbing to cold water temps then why not artificially heat the holding tank water ?
This should be relatively easy to accomplish as these tanks are not particularly large, no more than the average swimming pool.
By doing so, and completing the life cycle, it would add a lot more confidence to investor’s and the market.
I actually believe that there may be some other reason, in addition to cold water temps, contributing to these mortalities. If this is the case it is a very worrying sign as CSS, up to now, they have never acknowledged or identified any other reason.

The way I see it at the moment they are going nowhere with the SBT project and trying to induce spawning is an act of desperation which may have serious implications for the health of the broodstock. They only spawned 2-3 months ago and are now being expected to spawn in another 4 months or so.

Disc – Not invested. Opinion only, not based on any factual information. DYOR.

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

http://www.smh.com.au/business/insider-trading-charges-issued-in-clean-seas-case-20120607-1zxug.html



This comes as absolutely no surprise to me what so ever. If I were invested in CSS, and I am not, I would be requesting ASIC dig a lot deeper into the past trading activity in this company since 2007/8 after the first spawn.
I would also request that they look in to the companies reporting timelines which, in my view, have been manifestly deficient in keeping investors up to date with information that is material to the business.

Disc - Not invested, opinion only and not based on any factual information.DYOR.

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

The appointment of BBY should be viewed as nothing more than calling in the administrators before the company officially collapses and closes it's doors.

I can't envisage any scenario where by a suitor may be interested in CSS' YTK or SBT businesses. YTK has run at a loss for 7 years and they can't close the lifecycle for SBT.
My guess is that the SBT part of the business may become a scientific project for the FRDC / CRC and remain there for many years until they can achieve some sort of commercial scale. I don't believe these bodies will pay much, if anything, for these intellectual assets.
The YTK business has been decimated by a disease, for which, they have no cure or knowledge of the cause. It is worthless in my view.

Any residual value is CSS is in their remaining cash reserves, which are dwindling by the day, and some of their infrastructure assets which will probably be purchased by the Sterhr Group or other Fishing companies.
The Arno Bay facility is a white elephant which is remote, costly to run and of little or no value.


Disc = Not invested. Opinion only, not based on any factual information. DYOR.

 

[Sdajii]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Yep, that sums it up pretty well. I'd probably be slightly less bleak, but only very slightly, and only about a few specifics, which doesn't change the bigger picture.

I'd be dropping this one like an ugly angry infectious spider. It was amazing to see the positive market response, although it was brief. It's difficult to work out some peoples' strategies. Blind Deady can see where this one is headed.

It's an interesting one to watch, all the same. Just don't touch.

DYOR, I'm not worth listening to, I will probably be telling you nefarious and harmful lies, etc.

 

[nizora]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

15th Aug,2012

"The Board and Executive are in no doubt as to the serious challenges facing the Company and its future,
nor the patience and concern of our loyal investors.
In summary, and with the absence of further deterioration in Kingfish health, we are confident that we
will reposition the Company to better achieve the initial goal of commercially farming Southern Bluefin
Tuna from propagated fingerlings.
We are cognisant of the fact that we cannot go on indefinitely to achieve this goal and that our rate of
progress must improve to warrant continued investment. We are also aware that we must turn our
Kingfish business into one that provides an acceptable profit contribution or we must minimise the cash
flow demand on the business."

 

[Crows]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

"Clean Seas Tuna confirmed that it is making significant progress in improving the operations of its Yellowtail Kingfish and SBT propagation divisions. The health of the kingfish is now improving. The company remains on target to achieve early tuna spawning with its tuna broodstock already showing encouraging courting behaviour. Cash reserves are as forecast and the company has managed to sell significant surplus assets in line with the company's planned sell-down program. A number of employees have been made redundant as part of the restructuring initiatives, with workforce levels trimmed to almost half the early 2012 level."

Latest news for CSS looks better than it did last time I looked. Over 1.3 million shares have been traded today. I wonder of this is the turning point for better things to come, or simply another step up followed by two steps back.. Any thoughts?

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Crows, I note you are new to the forum, I have been here pretty much since the beginning. I suggest you read back through the thread if you are considering investing in CSS as there is a wealth of information to help you make your decision.

Not withstanding the above, I will make commentary on the most recent announcement.

Firstly, it is extremely disappointing that the CSS story has reached this stage with people loosing their jobs and a potentially huge industry on the brink of collapse.
I would like to be positive about the future and re-invest but this is how I see it

My valuation of CSS is currently around $ 5-6M and this may be optimistic as CSS valuation is now totally reliant on the successful propagation of SBT and breeding/growout of YTK, neither of which is being achieved at present. The Arno bay facility has no real commercial value without success in either of the above, in which case, the business is valued on cash on hand and fire sale prices for what’s left.

1. Property / Infrastructure - $ 2 M
2. Biological Assets ( SBT / YTK stock ) - $ 1 M
3. Non current assets ( leases/licences etc.) - $ 0.2 M
4. intangible assets ( research/goodwill etc ) - $ 0
5. Cash on hand - $ 3 M

They are now “throwing the last dice” in the CSS story …. It will have to take a miracle of significant successful spawning and growout of juvenile SBT to save it from collapse, the risk is immense.
I can’t see a new investor jumping onboard, in fact, Frode Teigen is still selling out and he is a very experienced and knowledgeable aquaculture investor. He still has 58 M shares to go and I do believe he will try to exit before administration.
If it does miraculously survive, through success with SBT, it will lead to a massive Cap raising with a commensurate discount and dilution.

Disc – Not invested, opinion only and not based on any factual information. DYOR.

 

[Crows]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Today's post was a mere quick observation made while I was on my break at work. I have read a lot of the discussion previously when I was looking into aquaculture stocks. After re-reading the announcement, it seems more vague than I first thought. They basically haven't lied, but they sure as heck haven't given any solid information to suggest that they're really improving, if at all. I mean you can make bad news sound good if you put the right spin on it, which is something CSS are good for (going on past announcements and the following results of those announcements).

Even if they were to be making major improvements, I'd say it is a little too late now. I don't even trust the news they put out now, I have to re-read it several times to see what it could really mean, which to me is something most people feel the same way about. So even with the announcement of good news, I am sure the investors would be too worried to put their money into such a company. I guess I'm just wish-full thinking that this company could make a turn around.

Disclaimer: This is my opinion and not based on any factual information.

 

[nizora]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Interestingly I read this BUY recommendation yesterday :

Clean Seas Tuna (CSS) A hair’s breadth (or a fish scale’s breadth) away from being a true ‘penny’ stock, Clean Seas has been a rough ride for investors. But there’s hope yet for the South Australian tuna farmers.

After a decline of almost 80% in its share price this year, the company was looking as appetising as dead fish, which is precisely its problem. Clean Seas breeds and grows kingfish and the valuable Southern Bluefin tuna, attempting to meet the growing demand for seafood in a farmed sustainable way. However, its kingfish had been dying from disease, and the delicacy and difficulty of growing SBT to full size in captivity has eluded the company to date.

A corner may have been turned, though, after the company released an upbeat operational update last week outlining healthier kingfish and encouraging breeding behaviour from the tuna as the company prepares for another crack at raising them in sea pens over the summer.

Clean Seas shares doubled on the news, from a close of 1.6c last Tuesday to 2.3c on Thursday. CEO Craig Foster said the tuna broodstock is “already showing encouraging courting behaviour”, and that “cash reserves are as forecast and we have managed to sell significant surplus assets”. The company has trimmed staff numbers significantly in 2012, roughly halving the number of employees, and could boost its financial position through flagged interest from several companies to take on a ‘core investor’ role.

The newsletters generally see this as a much-needed collection of good news. Having long seen the potential in the lucrative Asian market for valuable SBT, the successful farming of this fish would be hugely positive for Clean Seas. While this goals seems to have been ‘almost there’ for several years, the latest updates have the newsletters once again willing to take a punt.

 

[McCoy Pauley]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Clean Seas shares doubled on the news, from a close of 1.6c last Tuesday to 2.3c on Thursday.

When I went to school, going from 1.6 to 2.3 was not doubling.

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Which broker issued the buy recommendation Nizora.
I would be interested to know if they closely affiliated with BBY or Lonsec both of which have had vested interests in the past through Capital Raising's and most recently with BBY trying to flog the company off or attract another foundation investor.
The previous history of broker reports for this company suggest they should be viewed with an appropriate level of scepticism.
The announcement was totally bereft of detail and, in my view, does not provide enough facts in order for brokers to make informed decisions.
There does seem to be a concerted effort to pump the price of CSS, in the short term at least , through recent media articles and now broker reports........sounds familiar.........reminds me of 2007/08!

Disc - Not invested, opinion only and not based on any factual information. DYOR.

 

[nizora]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Which broker issued the buy recommendation Nizora.

tge, Unsure which broker it is from , but here is the link:

http://www.eurekareport.com.au/artic...lected-wisdom?

 

[nizora]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

This should work :

http://www.eurekareport.com.au/article/2012/9/17/share-market-reports/collected-wisdom

 

[Sdajii]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

I wouldn't touch CSS with a 20' pole and would much rather stick my money on the roulette wheel or lottery tickets, but I still watch fairly closely. The recent 'good news' announcement actually literally gave me a huge laugh. There was almost literally nothing at all specific in the whole announcement. "Plans are underway to improve the breeding process" can mean "Joe suggested to Fred that it might help if they changed some trivial detail". Even "The rate of mortalities in the kingfish has dropped" could be 100% true if they had all died because the mortality rate would have dropped to zero (and it wouldn't even be the first time they'd tried to present a 100% mortality as good news).

There was literally not a single thing in the whole announcement which actually confirmed anything positive. Given their history of lying and putting positive spin on negative news, an announcement like this should do nothing but sound the warning sirens.

What I find fascinating is that there is so much positive response. I read the announcement and thought "Do they really think people are that stupid?" and watching the market response I have to answer myself with "Yep, and they're dead right!"

I think I've learned more from watching CSS than most of the companies I've made money from. It's very interesting to see what the market does in these situations.

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

I have a few comments on yesterdays 4C.

Firstly, CSS are effectively in receivership mode. They are selling down remaining YTK stock along with it's supporting infrastructure and assets, thereby, reducing the value of the business as a going concern. Investors need to realise that along with devaluing the business this is making CSS less attractive to a potential suitor, should one exist.

Secondly, I note they have booked 10K for consultancy during the past 3 months. My guess this was paid to Marcus Stehr as eluded too in one of my earlier posts. The last thing investors need is an additional burden on the company for these very expensive services.
I would be complaining to CSS about this if i were invested, why do they need consultancy now when the business is about to collapse.....after all they supposedly have people with the knowledge and experience to turn this business around.

Finally, no mention of interested parties in the 4C only reference to BBY looking at options for restructure. I don't believe there was ever any serious interest in CSS from 3rd parties.


Disc - Not invested. Opinion only and not based on any factual information. DYOR.

 

[Basilica]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Hi Fellow Fishers, it has been a while since i threw some burly into the pond
what surprised me in the 4C is they still spent over a million on r&d and over 2 million on wages. (100 people on 80k average) and 1.9e of 454k . (other non current assets in r&d) i wonder what that was for?

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Basiica, I thought you along with most of the other posters had disappeared into cyber space. Anyway, I think we will all be gone soon as CSS is nearing the inevitable. It would appear that the SBT spawn hasn't occurred yet and it is now too late for the summer season growout in my view.

Disc - Not invested, opinion only and not based on any factual information.DYOR.

 

[tge oracle]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

Basiica, I thought you along with most of the other posters had disappeared into cyber space. Anyway, I think we will all be gone soon as CSS is nearing the inevitable. It would appear that the SBT spawn hasn't occurred yet and it is now too late for the summer season growout in my view.

Disc - Not invested, opinion only and not based on any factual information.DYOR.

Amazing, just as I submitted my post I note they have announced spawning in late Oct. on the ASX so pls disregard the latter part of my previous post.

 

[Joules MM1]

Re: CSS - Clean Seas Tuna

good release pdf today, not enough to force a technical break-out, not enough volume, might require a few days of o/seas digestion before h/highs come (yes, pun intended!)