Ripley94
28 Jan 2017
Re: TW Funding RNS
romaron
27 Jan 2017
Re: Got the dosh The new blood coming in will have a marketing plan I feel sure Mel. This could well follow the path of plucky UK company has the idea which is snatched from them by US interests who then monetise it and cream off the profits. That's what I hope anyway. Mastolini for sure looks extremely capable.New Board:· the current Chairman;· the current CEO of the Company,· the current Technical Director of the Company;· three new non-independent directors selected by the Initial Consenting Creditors;· Richard Mastoloni, a new non-executive director;· a new independent non-executive director selected by the Company from a list of three independent candidates provided by the Initial Consenting Creditors; and· an independent non-executive director selected by the Initial Consenting Creditors from a list of three independent candidates provided by the Company.======When I asked about their arrival at the GM, DW said February. He had the same look that patients have when told they need extensive root canal work.
melrosian
27 Jan 2017
Got the dosh Well dosh there for launches and 240% capacity increase. Next sales to make co cash generative. Co is implying 2018.Do we believe them ? In think I do but there are lots of chicken and eggs and a coherent marketing plan.Mel.
melrosian
25 Jan 2017
New AVN contracts - Spain and Portugal "Eurona Launches New Service in Spain and Portugal after Agreeing Long Term Contract with Avanti Communications for Satellite Broadband Capacity across the Regions5.5 million people across Spain and Portugal, who currently do not have access to broadband services of 10Mbps+, will benefit from Avanti’s satellite connectivity covering 100% of the two countries"Announced on 25/01/17Every Contract will help AVN to generate revenue greater than its fixed costs..Who knows - increasing capacity by 240% in 2017 will hasten the breakeven point.Mel
Clarence Beaks
24 Jan 2017
Re: 1,2,4,3 thought the chinese were in the market for a satellite company? maybe not this one though!
melrosian
24 Jan 2017
Re: 1,2,4,3 RomaronThank you for your very good summation . There is new info about likely launches and clearlywe are about to receive a lot more.Mel
romaron
24 Jan 2017
BT down 18% Probably our biggest customer and not a flicker from Avanti. BT is meant to be a boring stock! Perhaps they should get back to the knitting and stop trying to take Sky on.DW did say news picks up in February whilst I think the new Board members will also tell us more about the company's future, also in February. Until then, leave in drawer.
romaron
20 Jan 2017
1,2,4,3 I attended yesterday’s meeting. Poorly attended with half a dozen PI’s and five Directors with a few other unknowns dotted about which for me was perfect. Paul Walsh wasn’t there and I asked at the end for more than ‘sends his apologies’ and accept that he is off the whole of January, travelling. This GM is a result of the 'strategic review' and was more a tidying up meeting.Most questions from PI’s were rhetorical and predictable. Directors in closed period regards share buying. A novelty was an admission by the CEO saying “I’m sure I’ve made strategic mistakes” but then who hasn’t? He also said that the last 6 months were “not easy”. He said there will be a noticeable news inflow coming through. He mentioned that he was notified that a Kenyan government contract was closed yesterday. It was not RNS’d as the criteria of it affecting forecasts was negligible (another brick in the wall). Hylas 4 will launch before Hylas 3. H4 had slipped from February to April and manufacturing is advanced. In my notes I have H4 July> which is a suggested launch (I think). H3 is complicated by the other 3 or 4 partners (ESA, OHB, Airbus) but late 2017. H3 is steerable which is important. DW did comment on the fact that H1 and H2 were 40 per cent sold but said the amount sold was in fact quite a lot and explained that MgH available and used was often misunderstood (outside my knowledge).The usual guff about the superior technology of Avanti over Yahsat which I believe. In competition Avanti wins and it’s not only about price. The fact that Yahsat started as a military/security satellite for a small oil rich country, U.A.E. are not usually about efficiency or openness. The coverage is better with Avanti too. The Yahsat is like overlapping footprints of glasses and that gives gaps and where they overlap some interference with signals. Against Yahsat the company has won every time (Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania) and it is on quality, not price.There was a Nominee company there that was asked to attend by a large company. They don’t do this for the likes of us. its name I’m guessing a US company/fund. He liked what he heard.DW suggested that as the advanced UK has only got 60 per cent coverage of fibre optic the suggestions that it will take over Africa as preferred to satellite coverage is fanciful. He backed this up with the fact that Google was cancelling its fibre optic proposal in Ghana. They [Google] also have abandoned their drone program. Something of an endorsement of Ka band was that Eutelsat had sold it to a US company (I’m sure this is important but got distracted).They are getting on better with BT. There was a clash when for corporate reasons BT were saying that satellite was not a solution to rural broadband. That has changed. EE is a feather in the cap contract wise (£30 mio?) and possibly their biggest company. It also proves the product when selling capacity.The 3 resolutions were passed (98.8, 98.8, 99.9) and I asked about resolution 4 at the AGM which (only) got 89.6 per cent. This led to a lively discussion which DW and the company sec disagreed on but the conclusion is that it is an arcane AIM rule which larger shareholders do not like and automatically vote against. I asked DW when the new Directors join the Board. DW didn’t seem to like like that imo and said ‘February’. I asked another director later if they knew who they were. He said they don’t. For me this is crucial and will help give us a better feel for the company’s future. There will be a shake-up I feel sure.
Sidevalve
20 Jan 2017
RNS "Avanti Communications Group plc (AIM: AVN, "Avanti" or "the Group"
, the satellite operator, is pleased to confirm that all resolutions put to shareholders at its General Meeting today were duly passed."Umm, the shareholders all fully behind the BoD, hate to see what would happen if they let us down 
Roll on a takeover over.
Clarence Beaks
18 Jan 2017
Zero reason to invest here (nm) Think we shall be waiting a LOOOOONG time to get anything here or even anything at all.
RSR
13 Jan 2017
HYLAS 4 Does anyone know when HYLAS 4 is expected to be launched? It was meant to be in the first quarter of 2017 but that is not going to happen as launches already scheduled. HYLAS 4 is still waiting to be paired with another satellite for launch. Whoever updates Wikipedia with launch details has now moved HYLAS 4 to the bottom of 2017 launch list. Is HYLAS 4 going to make it up there in 2017?
melrosian
12 Jan 2017
Re: Edison JaknifeI am well aware of where Edison research sits in the universe.However AVN has been a capex program since the outset. The AVN objectives do have merit and common sense does suggest that developing africa is likely to see a material and progressive demand increase in satellite need.The elephant in the room could be the game changing increase in capacity expected in 2017.AVN has had a long time to work on contracts to fill capacity and so far progress to filling capacity with half a fleet has not been earth shattering. AVN however has pointed out theincome expectations when capacity is reached. When they are half way there it will look a lot more like Inmarsat. Lot of bond finance in the Inmarsat BS and nobody questions the financial structure if Inmarsat.Nobody can deny the need in africa. if AVN is successful in the ( mostly prepaid) sat launches and goes on to make good progress on sales - then Edison would be right.While I accept that really poor progress on the sales front leaves AVN under the line in its breakeven chart,,,,,,,,,good progress would transform cash flow from sticky customers and in turn transform the outlook.AVN seems to be working to a time table and I rather suspect that , in 2018, the clear evidence that it is on course to fill capacity will be there. The company has told us that it will announce contract wins in the first half of 2017 and implied that they would be making announcements on new business in the first quarter. I think it more likely that AVN will produce enough hard evidence in 2017 that it is on track to produce net profits and positive cash flow in 2018. I would be surprised if that is not followed by a move to the main market and a placing of new shares . In 2018 with the prospects of rising income and a fixed cost base I suspect the move will go down well.I suspect too that the placing will reduce its indebtedness.I can not say you are all wrong. However the prospects from here at a trashed SP could be very good indeed and it seems more likely that the equity supporters ( eg Caledonian Trust - from the Kayzer stable - well know for taking a long view) . can see light at the end of the tunnel and would support new equity. The next 18 months will be interesting. Mel ( still up a tree)
JakNife
11 Jan 2017
Re: Edison This would be the same Edison that just less than a year ago published a price target of 427p: [link] I remember pointing out at the time how their analysis was materially flawed with numerous errors and that common sense alone indicated that their net cash forecast was completely wrong. But of course Edison are paid by Avanti so they’re obviously going to say nice things about them … otherwise they don’t get paid.In the meantime, here’s a balanced article from the FT: Trouble on the horizon for satellite industry[link] you read this, note that “consolidation” doesn’t necessarily mean “equity takeover”, anyone buying all of Avanti’s bonds today would essentially control the company and could take the assets and leave the equity with nothing. And that’s essentially what I expect to happen within a year. JakNife
melrosian
11 Jan 2017
Edison SES has announced its intention to buy the outstanding 49.5% minority in O3b, the medium earth orbit (MEO) Ka-band high throughput satellite (HTS) constellation. SES is paying $2.6bn in EV (including $1.2bn of 9.5% coupon debt) and is to complete the outstanding $600m capex programme to deploy the fleet. The purchase represents an EV/sales multiple of 26x expected FY16 revenues. The valuation has interesting read across to Avanti as it reflects the value the industry is placing on the newer HTS players. The FY16e Avanti EV/sales multiple is just 6x. Our view remains that as the market recognises the ability of Avanti to execute its plan to reach a highly cash generative phase from mid-2018, this value gap should close. That implies substantial upside for Avanti shares.Edison Research I quite like the sound of " highly cash generative from mid 2018," Hope they are right.Mel ( reckoning AVN over skooshed mode)
melrosian
11 Jan 2017
ECO Wi-Fi Arrives For Africa, From Avanti Com, ESA & Newtec [link]
