Re: 2014 Q1 CC of May 8, 2014...
To me, the most important insight gained from the CC was that AT&T has paused its purchase of CNG vehicles pending an assessment of its return on investment for the program... If AT&T does not feel that they are getting value by converting their fleet to CNG, then I suspect that others will come to the same conclusion. That would be disastrous for FSYS's US program. FSYS management has repeatedly stated that the commercial fleet will be the biggest opportunity and catalyst in the US.
The theme of the CC was FSYS's claim that this is a transition year. But a transition to what?
From what I can tell, they have several initiatives, but they are what you would expect with normal organic growth not evidence of a transition to something new. In particular,
1. They are "working hard to reduce overall costs of our products and to compete more aggressively" by reducing the workforce in Italy and striving to reduce manufacturing costs for components.
2. They are "marketing our products effectively and winning new pieces of business" by developing the Ford Transit Connect Taxi and producing a new single-stage CNG regulator for Maruti Suzuki.
3. They are "pursuing opportunities for growth through internal development and through possible strategic and opportunistic mergers and acquisitions." They are establishing a local FSYS branch in China for an Automotive Commercial presence, consulting on supplying high-pressure components for GM's 2015 Impala bi-fuel sedan, are working on a bi-fuel CNG kit for the F150 5 liter engine and the Chevrolet 1500 Silverado direct injection engine, and have several new mobile engine programs in development. They are introducing a direct injection system for the Kia Sportage, where they expect the direct injection system will be important for the European market in light of the Euro 6 program impact on on diesel engine production. They did not mentioned any plans for opportunistic mergers or acquisitions.
