10-K, my thoughts:
Definitely a disappointment, but not a complete surprise either since we knew there would be startup costs, margins were not expected to be ideal, and the two mills were only operating during part of the quarter.
"This is a significant technological breakthrough which will see this plate be specified consistently in new mining projects and become the norm for replacements in upgrades for existing mining operations." is a positive note consistent with past PR.
"We anticipate incurring increased expenditures in connection with our marketing activities." This should indicate decreased margins for now and going forward.
"We are, however, confident that the continuing development of our alloys and subsequently our product range will allow us to hold and increase our presence in the market place." Good statement regarding competition and growing presence.
"We employed 38 persons on a full-time basis as of December 1, 2009, including two executive directors, fourteen administrative personnel, three marketing personnel and nineteen manufacturing personnel. " Compare to last year of 33 employees and projection for 3 more.
Risk analysis is sobering, but not unexpected.
"The gross profit percentage decreased to 34.8% in 2009 from 51.6% in 2008 due to the adoption of more favorable pricing policies for larger orders and tenders during the year, this was caused by all the companies in the industry chasing limited orders and purchasers shopping on price not necessarily quality. " Definitely had markdowns as expected, it would be nice to know how much markdown is involved in the BHP strategic supply agreement.
"We do not believe there is a need for a provision for doubtful accounts as of September 30, 2009." coupled with an Accounts Receivable increase of ~1M hopefully means a bump this quarter.
Current ratio is still near 2, stockholders equity up a bit,
AI
