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NMS - Neptune Marine Services

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What I am trying to say is if we give our money to lange & co, instead of trading amongst ourselves, lets see what they can do with the money. They haven't dissapointed so far and they may be able to increase the value to shareholders.

I'm taking my $5k and putting it on Neppy.
 
reg9400 said:
What I am trying to say is if we give our money to lange & co, instead of trading amongst ourselves, lets see what they can do with the money. They haven't dissapointed so far and they may be able to increase the value to shareholders.

I'm taking my $5k and putting it on Neppy.
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I'm doing the same.

In the Commsec presentation Lange mentions that they aren't a bank. And I'm pretty sure he mentioned something along the lines of so far raising funds of around 50mil, and turning that into 250mil (can someone confirm that...) so I'm pretty confident, whatever is on their shopping list will make me very happy.:cool:
 
reg9400 said:
Can anyone tell why all the small parcel buyers are now selling? I have tried to work out the rationale but it does not make sense to me. Most would have paid more for them than what they are selling them for!
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I've been thinking about this... and the way I see it, they are giving themselves an each way bet. If news comes out that drives the price up, then they will participate and sell on market when the shares become tradeable. However, if no news comes and the price is not worth them participating, then they have lost only the cost of the trade and a few $ without having the cash tied up in the stock.

Just my take on it...
 
interesting - NMS have made the criterion section of todays australian, but it didnt make it online. just a bit of back-slapping for criterion who have followed them since before their 20c days.

i shall copy it here if/once they put it online.
 
"Neptune Marine (NMS) $1.02

CRITERION is quite proud of several of his past calls, among them Neptune Marine Services when it was 30 cents a year ago. News that the underwater welding specialist has won an $8million contract with Apache Energy on the North West Shelf sent him back to the files, and to revisit a hold recommendation.

Patersons Securities analyst David Gibson, who has Neptune as a speculative buy, says: "We regard the contract win as a milestone for the company, in that it demonstrates NMS's ability to win subsea work with clients on an integrated basis."

The contract, at $8 million, will be close to 10 per cent of Neptune's revenue for the 2008 financial year, according to Patersons.

Given a margin of 25 per cent to 30 per cent, it could add more than $2 million in earnings before interest and tax, and form about 10 per cent of the total for the year.

Patersons knows Neptune, having underwritten a $61 million placement last December, a $34million placement and rights issue in April 2007 and a $17million capital raising in October 2006. The first raising was at 20c, which testifies to the remarkable growth of Neptune.

It has unique welding technology that saves oil companies a fortune. Instead of decommissioning a drilling platform and carting it off for repairs -- a six-month job at least -- the Neptune system allows repairs in situ and cuts production losses.

Under Christian Lange, the company has been acquiring left, right and centre. Between December 2006 and August 2007 Neptune bought three diving services businesses, two subsea engineering companies and one company that specialises in underwater surveying.

Among the purchases is Perth-based Sea-Struct, which makes and installs special concrete blocks to hold down pipelines in rough water, and Aberdeen-based Ross Deeptech. The latter acquisition, for $25 million, underpins plans to grow in the North Sea marine services market.

Neptune also has diving, maintenance and services operations in the US via its US Underwater Services business. Lange is a 16-year veteran of global oilfield services group Schlumberger and it looks as if he wants to build Neptune into something similar, but Australian-based.

Rising oil prices have been useful, as oil companies are prepared to pay to extend the lives of wells, platforms and equipment.

The Sea-Struct acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings per share accretive, and could broaden Neptune's international presence to include Singapore, Indonesia and the Middle East.

Neptune's immediate focus is to grow its already strong presence in the US.

In October, Neptune's US-based Underwater Services business signed an agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority to provide diving services for all LCRA projects in the Texas Lakes.

Patersons has a price target of $1.26 on Neptune Marine, but given the state of the market and a big run to date, Criterion will stay with a hold. "
 
From the WA Business news yesterday. A little refresher, has the timetable on the SPP. So hopefully heading north from 7feb, like it did after previous SPP.



Neptune seeks $23m from shareholders to fund growth
11-January-08 by Staff Reporters
Latest News

Marine engineering services group Neptune Marine Services Ltd has gone ahead with a share purchase plan seeking more than $23 million to primarily fund growth plans and the recent acquisition of the Sea-Struct business.



Below is the full announcement:


The Directors of Neptune Marine Services Ltd are pleased to announce an offer to all Eligible Shareholders of up to $5,000 new fully paid ordinary shares in the Company ("Shares") under the Company's Share Purchase Plan ("SPP").
The subscription price of each share will be $0.95 per share, which is a discount of approximately 9.5% to the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's shares on the ASX during the last 5 days immediately prior to the ASX trading halt requested by the Company on 10 December 2007.
The issue price is the same as the issue price of the Company's shares issued under its recently announced institutional placement.
Eligible Shareholders under the SPP will be all Shareholders as of the close of business on Wednesday 2 January 2008 ("the Record Date"), with a registered address in Australia or in any other jurisdiction in which it is lawful and practical for the Company to offer shares under the SPP.


Indicative Timetable
The following is an indicative timetable for the Offer.

* Announcement of SPP: Friday 14 December 2007
* Record Date to determine entitlements: Wednesday 2 January 2008
* Opening Date of Offer: Thursday 3 January 2008
* Closing Date for applications from shareholders: Friday 1 February 2008
* Issue of Shares under the Plan: Wednesday 6 February 2008
* Quotation of Shares on ASX: Thursday 7 February 2008

These dates are indicative only and are subject to change by the Company without notice, subject to compliance with the ASX Listing Rules.
A written offer document containing the application form will be mailed to Eligible Shareholders immediately after the Record Date (and not later than 5 business days after the Record Date).
Option holders who do not own shares in the Company will not be eligible to participate in the Offer. However, option holders are being given 9 business days to exercise their options in order to participate in the Offer.
Whilst the number of Eligible Shareholders will not be known until the Record Date there are approximately 4,909 Shareholders at the date of this announcement. If all of those shareholders took up the offer, this would result in the Company issuing 24,545,000 shares and raising approximately $23,317,750 before issue expenses. The offer is not underwritten however there is no minimum or maximum subscription limit.
Funds raised under the SPP, after payment of issue expenses, will be used to assist the Company implementing its Strategy for Growth, particularly the acquisition of the Sea-Struct business.
 
one more date needs to be included sophie - and its highly relevant (potentially) - monday january 21 - 10am perth time - THE EGM.


there a few possibilities for this date - and all could happen before, on or after the meeting............

lange reveals more great contract news to encourage a celebration of his efforts.
or
lange reveals further acquisitions considering the level of funding the SPP is delivering.
or
nothing.

considering the meeting is on a monday, langes favourite day for ann's, i favour news being released on the day to encourage 100% participation in the plan, and maximise the dollars coming in - otherwise why would he have bothered keeping the record date open, allowing newbies to gain a foothold into the SPP.

and sophie - i didnt see your post, but i heard it was supportive.

funny times we live in lol.
 
interesting little article............

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=55229

Weatherford Jockeys to Offer Much-Needed Resources for N. Sea Oil Bonanza
by Kerry Laird Rigzone Friday, January 11, 2008


With the near-completion of phase 1 of Weatherford's new facilities at Altens in Aberdeen, the oilfield services giant has now set its sights on phases two and three of the colossal project. The infrastructure in the North Sea is there, say analysts, but the services provided by companies like Weatherford are drastically lacking in the North Sea.

The Aberdeen Press and Journal reported Jan. 11 that Weatherford has awarded Morrison Construction of Scotland with two new contracts totaling US$14.7 million. This comes on the same day that the Hannon Westwood study reveals a 17 billion barrel potential of unrisked prospects in 275 unlicensed acres in the U.K. North Sea.

The first of the contracts is for the design and construction of an $11.7 million, 50,000 square-foot office building, featuring three floors of office space, welfare facilities, an information technology suite, and a gym. The second contract is for an access road and a new workshop in a two-story office.

The discovery and prospect revelation of the Hannon Westwood study has operators and service companies scrambling to be a part of what is sure to be an oil bonanza in the North Sea. Weatherford, which has a 40-year history of operations in the North Sea, has established itself in a primary location with the new facilities in Aberdeen.

In 1977, Weatherford moved its North Sea management resources from Great Yarmouth to Aberdeen. The new campus location in Aberdeen is simply a consolidation of their existing resources, a move that is reportedly bringing in an additional 500 jobs to Aberdeen over the next few years.

Wood MacKenzie Analyst Geoff Gillies said the North Sea has a wealth of infrastructure, yet resources are few and far between.

"Resources are tight globally, but especially in the North Sea," Gillies told Rigzone. He said that it should be no surprise that companies like Weatherford are poised to provide the much-needed services so that operators can properly utilize the existing infrastructure.

However, Weatherford is not the only company jockeying for optimal North Sea locations. BP has plans for new facilities at Dyce, Halliburton is investing $39 million in a North Sea headquarters also at Dyce, Subsea 7 will relocate 850 of its personnel to Westhill, and Shell is constructing a $49 million facility at Tullos.

In all, analysts agree that things in the North Sea are going to become even more interesting in the coming months.
 
For those who might be interested. It appears that Commsec are now offering a margin loan on NMS at LVR of 40%
Possibly not the right time to be getting a margin loan for anything right now, but surely this is a good sign if a major broker sees this company as a stable investment!:)
 
Better get the brasso out folks, coz the gloss appears to coming off.
Either that or, lots of shareholders have received their christmas credit card bills and, need the cash. :rolleyes:
 
Watching this like a hawk.:D Or should that be " a shark".

If it drops below the SPP price I might be tempted.:cool:
 
very slim chance of that happening - well might intraday, but end of day just about certain will remain in this $1 spot - look at tuesday close - hovering around 97c all day, then finally one decent trade and they are back to $1 again.

i didnt say manipulation lol.

and dont forget this coming monday is the egm - opportunity for more news - lange would like to see a happy egm crowd - and it is a monday afterall.
 
I think ole Neppy is going to struggle, along with almost every other stock, the way the US is heading.
Having said that, I'd rather be riding in the good ship Neppy, than a lot of other leaking boats, in these turbulent waters.
 
interesting the number 1 O&G services company (langes former employer) is cutting jobs - but only from their US business lines - maybe lange will make these employees offers.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=55365

Schlumberger: Cutting Jobs In North America As Business Slows
by Brian Baskin Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday, January 15, 2008


Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) is cutting an unspecified number of North American employees due to slowing demand for oil field services, a spokesman said Tuesday.

"After three years of robust and continuous growth in North America, Schlumberger is now making normal adjustment to the size of its workforce to meet the activity expected in the coming year," said spokesman Stephen Harris in an e-mail.

Oil and gas producers sharply increased spending earlier in the decade to halt declines in natural gas production and take advantage of rising oil and gas prices. Growth slowed to a crawl last year, and many are expecting little or no increase in budgets for the U.S. and Canada in 2008.

Job cuts in the oil field services sector are a natural response, said Bill Herbert, an analyst with Simmons & Co. in Houston.

"This is basically just business as usual," he said. "Not only will others follow, others have been doing this."

BJ Services Co. (BJS) is the only oil field services company with a large U.S. and Canadian market share to disclose layoffs, cutting its Canadian workforce by 19% between October 2006 and 2007. Halliburton (HAL), the leading service company in North America, is also watching its labor costs closely.

"We are seeing certain competitors bid for (U.S.) pressure pumping work aggressively in order to limit their market share degradation ... to offset this we have been very aggressive in managing our cost and head count," CEO David Lesar said in October when the company released third-quarter earnings.
 
Well, who needs an SPP when you can pick up NMS at .955 today?:p:
I wonder if it will go lower once the SPP is done?
BTW I am a holder and a believer; just making an observation and making light of the current market woes. :)
 
At 0.95 now.

Will certainly put the you-know-what up all those who were going to buy on the SPP and sell on market right away and hoped for a profit.

What I am kicking myself for not doing is selling my small holding of NMS I have in my name (bulk of holdings in joint name with my wife) and topping up my joint one under the SPP (cheaper than paying offmarket transfer fee and a buy+sell of stocks). Silly me didn't think of this until yesterday, by which time the SP has tanked.
 
DionM said:
At 0.95 now.

Will certainly put the you-know-what up all those who were going to buy on the SPP and sell on market right away and hoped for a profit.

What I am kicking myself for not doing is selling my small holding of NMS I have in my name (bulk of holdings in joint name with my wife) and topping up my joint one under the SPP (cheaper than paying offmarket transfer fee and a buy+sell of stocks). Silly me didn't think of this until yesterday, by which time the SP has tanked.
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I sold all my holdings in my name at $1.05 (except for 500), then bought 500 in other entities, so can take up many at 95c. May not be as big a SPP as first expected if one can buy them at less than 95c on market. For once I've done something right!
 
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