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NMS - Neptune Marine Services

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Hi all, just received my NMS entitlements letter, I am totally new to shares, but I'd like to know is (bank)cheque the only option I have to pay for the new shares?? On the form I notice there's 2 spaces for BSB and account number, does this mean I can do it via direct debit as well? There's just a lot of hassle to get the bank cheque done (not to mention the fee) for me that's all.

cheers
 
Just send in your ordinary cheque. If your new to this I suspect it will be the 1st of many. Don't forget to sell some shares when in profit. Banking them or crediting your a/c. is much more fun. cheers! >e.
 
I'm not sure if anyone has seen this little piece on Neppy if not then it makes o'k reading. Any ideas on the recent price fall - are we just drifting in the doldrums while the rights issue is underway? :)

"NEPTUNE Marine Services is not a company that allows the seagrass to grow under its flippers. By the end of June, the Perth-headquartered service company will have completed its sixth takeover in 12 months and consolidated its move from the local area into the international arena, including the big pond that is the Gulf of Mexico. By RICK WILKINSON


Along the way, Neptune has grown from a small underwater welding business into a mid-size company with a diverse range of subsea and marine inspection, repair and maintenance services.

The most recent moves include the acquisition of North American commercial diving contractor US Underwater Services (USUS), which is based in Dallas, Texas and operates mainly in the Gulf of Mexico and of Tri-Surv, a Perth-based specialist hydrographic surveying company with operations in Western Australia and New Zealand.

Neptune managing director Christian Lange expects the USUS deal to be completed during the first couple of weeks of June and the Tri-Surv acquisition by the beginning of July.

"The US buy, in particular, is an important step for us," he said.

"The number of platforms, both large and small, along with pipelines and other infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico is enormous, so it's an obvious market and a very appropriate place for us to establish our technology."

Lange is referring to Neptune's unique underwater dry welding technique that is at the centre of the company's service offering and expertise.

Invented by Clive Langley, the company's first managing director, it was developed over a 10-year period in the 1990s to a point where it became a commercial proposition.

Neptune was incorporated in mid-2003 to acquire Langley's patents and intellectual property rights and then listed on the ASX in 2004.

"The company was established as an underwater welding service business, but it was also set up to continue the research and development work and, in a sense, that R&D is still going on because there are always new frontiers," Lange said.

"For instance, at the moment there is a pressure limitation where the divers can only operate to around 30m. The technology itself can be used in deeper waters and our next aim is to create a system where divers can work down to 100m of water."

Lange describes the technique as one of setting up a small dry habitat or chamber immediately around the area to be welded.

"The diver and most of the equipment are external to this chamber, which is just large enough for the welding rod to work effectively.

"We use special coated welding rods that can be taken down to the job in the wet and then poked through a pouch to perform the operation.

"The nearest analogy I can make is the reverse of the pouch surrounding a car's gear stick, where the gear stick is the welding rod and the diver is outside the pouch looking in through viewing windows.

"The habitat remains dry, is kept at positive pressure and is heated using inert gas."

Lange says dry welding is far superior to wet welding because the latter produces a brittle, poorer quality job caused by gases (particularly hydrogen from the surrounding seawater) trapped in the weld itself.

There is another underwater dry weld technique called a hyperbaric system where temporary chambers large enough to include the diver and his equipment are built around the job and the work is completed as if it were on dry land.

But Lange says this is very costly and time-consuming compared to Neptune's system.

The company's sudden spurt of growth from its initial business of supplying welding services to the naval and marine industries dates more or less from Lange's appointment as managing director in February 2006.

Born in Trinidad, he migrated to Australia with his family in 1973 at the age of six and was educated in Perth.

A petroleum engineer, he spent 17 years with international well services group Schlumberger, rising through the ranks to become a vice-president based in New York before returning to Perth to join Neptune.

Neptune's management agreed that while naval and marine work was a good niche to retain, the offshore oil and gas industry also offered plenty of scope for expansion and diversity.

"We formed a strategy that called for accelerated growth to quickly attain a critical mass as well as broaden the focus and establish an expanded geographic footprint," Lange said.

"The way we have done that is to target private companies with specific areas of expertise, make the takeover moves and, above all, retain the employees in the final mix.

"The idea has always been to keep the managers of the merged or takeover target and we aim to continue building our business via friendly overtures.

"This approach has worked well and given us the opportunity to acquire some of the best people in their fields."

In fact, Neptune is not interested in proceeding if a takeover target opposes the deal because it wants the personnel as well as the client base.

Once the USUS and Tri-Surv acquisitions have gone through, Neptune will have reached a staff level of close to 300.

Total outlay for these two companies is $53 million, which will be part funded by a $30 million institutional share placement.

In the Tri-Surv deal, Neptune has signed a letter of intent proposing payment of $16.7 million upfront (comprising 70% cash and 30% Neptune shares) plus a three-year earn-out based on Tri-Surv's pre-tax earnings performance.

In the USUS case, the purchase price is approximately $26 million, including $7 million of assumed debt – a multiple of 5.5 times estimated 2007 pre-tax earnings, depreciation and amortisation.

Lange says Neptune plans to keep the USUS office in Dallas as the Gulf of Mexico hub of operations.

The four earlier takeovers – Subsea Developments, Link Weld, Allied Diving Services and Territory Diving Services – have all been Australian companies.

Now Neptune plans to expand further on the international front.

"We have a business development consultant in Europe on the lookout for companies that could give us an inroad into areas like the North Sea," Lange said.

He is well aware of the competition in the offshore service market worldwide, but says Neptune has no intention of going head-to-head with major service companies such as Brown & Roots and Kelloggs.

Rather he sees Neptune's role as supporting these majors.

"Our idea is to occupy the middle space in the offshore services sector that has traditionally been dominated by the private companies and not really favoured by the majors because there is little incentive for them in this area," he said.

"So far there has been a favourable reaction from the people in companies we have acquired as well as from their clients. Our plan is make the future more of the same."
 
- I think temporarily in the doldrums is a fair enough description, but a wind is approaching. (If the recent nautical poster spots your reference to the "doldrums" we may see another burst of seafaring analogies - which I enjoy)

The current placement is at 60cents, and follows a good rise, so I'm not surprised by a little fade. I expect the more hard-headed to wait a bit longer for the incontrovertible demonstration that the integration and growth plan is succeeding - and this really means seeing the big bucks appearing in the books - before Neptune's sails really fill.

Lange had some positive remarks made about him, a bit early on I thought, but he has since struck me as a very capable guy who seems to have an excellent strategic sense. I'm impressed and excited by the sheer scope of his vision for NMS and its recent acquisitions and I expect NMS to be quite rewarding to holders.

But still, it should be a relatively slow burn at first, keeping pace with the gradual accumulation of proof of concept. Once it has that, things should speed up quite a bit as the price premium is so much better with the larger jobs NMS will land - and the reputation they should develop.
 
Now....todays news is just what the Doctor ordered.
It was just a matter of time before Neppy released some inspiring news....expect to see lots more in the future, accompanied by rises in the share price.
GO NEPPY!!!!
 
Yep nice little 11.35% change in price today. Kicking myself I didn't buy more yesterday when the price was around the 70c mark:rolleyes:
Still can't complain with today's little jump. Hope it sticks.
I'm with you plasmapark GO NEPPY you good thing:D
Where to from here?
 
todays AFR had a brilliant article (pg29), and i hear that an audio recording of the egm will available soon on neptunems.com

this is getting too easy
 
Wow... I expect a whole lot more action leading up to the EOQ/EOY reports.

'only just scratched the surface....'

I love it!:D
 
damn baussie - i was wondering how long it was gonna be before ANYONE posted on this thread despite the recent leaps it has taken.

clearly, despite all the recent action, it just isnt on enough watchlists yet.

i guess all the genius traders here are happy for the funds to snap them all up and leave those same traders merely wishing they'd taken notice when they were priced much lower.

its all too easy.
 
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business...1183833769286.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

all about performance of various funds last 12 months.

and the relevant para's :

Companies that have done well for the fund this year include Neptune Marine Services and AED Oil.

Carter says Neptune is exporting new underwater dry welding technology, which will generate massive time and cost savings for repairs of gas platforms. Macquarie bought the stock on a price-earnings multiple of just four; it is now trading at a conservative 13.

its so easy
 
Just hang on . This should become a bottom of drawer stock! We will eventually get "Divvies"! Ciao > e.:)
 
forget the bottom of the drawer - im putting my chess statement in a frame and proudly showing the world how i made my fortune.

this is so easy.
 
son of baglimit said:
forget the bottom of the drawer - im putting my chess statement in a frame and proudly showing the world how i made my fortune.

this is so easy.
Click to expand...

Hi baglimit,

I wonder whether you have a target price for this one, say by end 2007? Or is this something to hold for longer term?
 
The Dec2007 price depends on;
a) Lange overestimating/meeting/underestimating his EPS forecast (my tip is that he is being overly conservative - new guy wants to keep expectations low, and over deliver)...
b) Integration(any issues experienced or are the acquired companies melding like a top quality nepsys weld)...

Longer term the price has plenty of positive potential - More acquisitions... Exponential Increases in O&G Companies Maintenance Budgets... New Oil Fields requiring the full services of NMS (mapping with Tri-surv etc)... More devestating Hurricane/Cyclone seasons... Upside is massive.

My tip, don't be in this stock for Dec2007 - Get yourself a seat for Dec2020!! :D
 
Baussie said:
The Dec2007 price depends on;
a) Lange overestimating/meeting/underestimating his EPS forecast (my tip is that he is being overly conservative - new guy wants to keep expectations low, and over deliver)...
b) Integration(any issues experienced or are the acquired companies melding like a top quality nepsys weld)...

Longer term the price has plenty of positive potential - More acquisitions... Exponential Increases in O&G Companies Maintenance Budgets... New Oil Fields requiring the full services of NMS (mapping with Tri-surv etc)... More devestating Hurricane/Cyclone seasons... Upside is massive.

My tip, don't be in this stock for Dec2007 - Get yourself a seat for Dec2020!! :D
Click to expand...


Hi Baussie,

Thank you very much for your reply. I am happy with the stock performance so far but at the same time worried that this company is too much of a one man show. Lange apparently is a strong visionary leader but I am not sure whether he will stick around until 2020. Perhaps I don't know the management team enough to make this comment.
 
Yeah, a possibility that he won't stay around. He has options expiring in 2016, not something that would keep him with the company though.

I get the impression that he's here to make a BIG company rather than let someone else do it and then run it. The major competition all rank in the billions for market cap. Thats where he is taking it and I don't see it faltering at this point.

If NMS becomes that big under Lange, another highly qualified & capable CEO could be easily sourced to step into the company.

Long way to go yet for Lange, I don't see his exit point at this stage, and definately not by Dec2007.
 
admit it baussie - you only posted your comment to show off your stylish new closer - dec2020 - cmon we'll all be happy to still be alive by then lol.

kat - as for estimates - its a little awkward - all waiting for the final quarter report - due july 31 - before reopening that book.....but......

well in excess of $2 is not out of the possibilities.
 
Thanks for all the replies. They reaffirmed my view. On Lange's 3,000,000 options, they will be automatically vested if the share price reached $1.20. Therefore, my not-so-ambitious price target is $1.20.
 
son of baglimit said:
admit it baussie - you only posted your comment to show off your stylish new closer - dec2020 - cmon we'll all be happy to still be alive by then lol.
Click to expand...

Actually, around the other way - I wrote the quote, and thought that it had a great ring to it, so now I am making contributions to show it off... ;)

What, you'll be dead in 13 years? You must live a party hard life, or just have too many kids... :D

I've got my plan, and I am sticking to it...for now ;)

My tip, don't be in this stock for Dec2007 - Get yourself a seat for Dec2020!!
 
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