Replies to post #39 on Pacifichealth Laboratories Inc. (PHLI)

[littlefish]

No idea yet. Haven't had a chance to check much, but seems like he was a staff writer at PSU until very recently (so was he working and attending school simultaneously, mayeb to get hid Masters? I'm guessing so- but the PR seems to maybe overstate things in that how involved would he be as a VP of products in a restructuring and then acquisitional deal?)). I'll hopefully talk to Mr Ash in a couple weeks.
Good luck.

[littlefish]

I have none (very little info). GOOG search didn't turn up much other than he apparently was a writer for PSU's paper. I'm curious what his contract terms are (salary). It'll be good to hear from them both on the 12th.

[littlefish]

I'm nibbling at the bid here a little. I think the cash flows last Q weren't that bad considering the loss reported. The salary hit will make the front half of 08 tougher from the new additions. But I still tend to give some nod to the products side of this company.

Pricing is a bit of issue. If they could get more competitive there I think some better traction would occur.
But rgeardless, I think they'll be able to start targeting niches for their products a bit better. Sounded like they're starting to see a specific group gaining traction with Satiatrim. Maybe that'll help establish a bit of base. They need a reliable recurring base. I was hoping Accel RTD royalties would be that, but now that looks to not be the case.

Therefore, I'm just nibbling for now being a little fish.

[littlefish]

Hopefully Mr Ash helps target international sales better. He obviously has international sales experience. That could help with the backdrop of a weak US dollar making products cheaper to international customers (since products made and priced in US $). The following table clearly shows international sales were the strongest growth segment of over 35% (although relatively small still) and that was WITHOUT Mr Ash :

The following table presents revenues by region:
2007 2006

United States $ 6,778,183 $ 5,751,148
Canada 208,649 178,556
Other 441,025 280,142

Total $ 7,427,857 $ 6,209,846

Remember PHLI has several international rights/patents to sell Accel gel and powder.

So this could potentially be a nice growth segment for them on % basis but not a big dollar segment yet.


Here's Ash's bio (the international saels part hopefully coming into play):

JASON ASH, age 33, has served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and a Director since January 2008. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Ash worked internationally for Cadbury Schweppes in broad commercial management and consumer marketing, most recently as General Manager and Vice President of Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (“CSAB”) Sports, Energy & Water Category Unit. Mr. Ash has served in various positions at Cadbury Schweppes both in the USA and Europe since 2002. During his tenure, Mr. Ash was responsible for the strategic development and commercialization of the growing Sports Energy and Water pipeline of CSAB in North America as well as a number of key business-changing roles in the UK, Turkey and Middle East. In addition to his considerable experience at Cadbury Schweppes, Mr. Ash has also held Marketing and Finance positions at Masterfoods and Unilever and his work has been nominated for a number of marketing industry awards.


All this said, I still think Portman is not my type of CEO (a cheapo running a tight fiscal ship LOL). His car allowance alone would have Buffett squawking:) But there's still some potential opportunity IMO at this level IMO only with patience.