I would like to ask what the hype is. If you all knew the truth about this company you would in no way assume they will ever be as large as coke. At least not unless someone buys em out and they get someone in there that knows what they are doing.
I would like to address the following issues as points for you to ponder. First be aware that the bigg 533% rally was no more then 3 cents a share and the stock did not hold. In addition the receint quotes show the stock dropping over and over again. They have consistency at a penny or less per share even with all your buzz. Now for the Green Barron report...Guess What?... It is not as clear as you think. The report is highly slanted and contains many falsified facts. For instance...
"Let’s start off again by providing bullet points for each reason why we suggest that our members need own TPBV now:
Major technical support at current prices
Super structured water products just announced projected for a minimum of 500,000 cases/month"
The plant the company is currently running out of can not handel this amount of valume. Althought they have more then one line running at most times, the limited ability that they company has to keep up with production as it is can be seen in their current customer relations. In addition to meet this type of production it would require millions of dollars in equiptment purchases and upgrades. Not to mention a significant amount of time for a whole new install. The current system can not handel this volume even if they had these contracts.
"LA School District business is still strong and now offers vendible product"
This is true that the LA Unified school district is currently only offering Chrystal Splash flavored water to it's students. It is also true that this product is taking off like a storm. Please refer above, at one point earlier this year it was reported that tropical could not keep up with filling the LAUSD orders. This raises two questions, 1. if they can not handel these orders how can they produce additional orders of up to half a million cases as stated previously. 2. what about the release last year of splash water that became infected with bacteria before being delivered to the schools?
"Profits driven back into equipment purchases at booming California based manufacturing plant"
The plant is in california and while it is booming and they did aquire additional facilities for office space and storage this year, the profits have not been exceptional enough for the purchase of new quiptment. The Equiptment is currently on the older end and is sucking profits in maitnance and repairs more then in new lines. This is not new equiptment it is a bandaid for the old equiptment.
"More blockbuster announcements expected at any time"
You can always expect more announcements from tropical beverage. However, if you notice all of the announcements say the exact same thing. None of the announcements are specific. They are all reported by CFO or COO (depending on which announcement it is) Chris Lolito. Many of the anouncements are misleading to the investors, portraying that they may actually be in the black for the last year when infact they are largely in the red. In addition, one of the capital stock companies holding the shares at the moment happens to be owned by a key player within the organization.
"Super Structured Water Roll Out – Last week Tropical Beverage announced that it released its super structured water to the markets that has been under development for over 2 years. The Green Baron Report was hopeful when we first introduced our profile on Tropical Beverage in December of 2003 that this product would come soon. We envisioned the blockbuster potential of this product back then. Now, it has finally arrived."
This so called super structured water does not exist. It is just like the No Fear Contract that they supposedly were going to make nationwide and never did. They company has a new water product everyday in the making but the lack the follow through. In addition, this report stated that the so called super structured water was going to be in contract with walmart and albertsons but no such contract ever existed. The so called Albertsons contract has been in the talks for years and has yet to be signed or reviewed by a layer for either party. Although some of their products are absolutely great and some of their products are carried in stores such as those stated above it is not their line but lines that they produce for other vendors. For example, Chrystal Guyser is a private labeled water manufactured at the california plant but is not owned by tropical beverage.
"The Green Baron Report cannot trumpet the effect we expect this to have on sales and earning loud enough. Early projections are for a minimum of 500,000 cases a month and go up to 2 million per month. One customer has an installed base of over 1.2 million distributors that will each be taking the product monthly. The six-month ramp-up for these very powerful hydrating waters will start next month in July 2005."
This product was suposedly launching in July of this year and still has not been contracted. Furthermore, talks with distributors and alied agencies have yet to yeild a contract. The potential for the company to make 2 million a month would rely on the ability to produce the half a million cases needed to distribute nationswise (see above this ability is simply not there) In addition, the super hydrating water has yet to be marketed to the public and without a marketing agency or even an in house marketing department I do not see this happening as reported.
"State of the Art Production Facility – Over the past three years, Tropical Beverage has been plowing much of its profits back into new state of the art manufacturing facility. A recent independent audit has been successfully conducted by the National Safety Foundation (NSF) so that Tropical can ship product to major retailers. Members, please focus on what we just said!"
This is a nice idea but althought the NSF has audited the facility for saftey, the audit was not without many complications. In addition, the facility is not new by any means it is the same facility that has been used by the company for the last 5 years. They have aquired additional storage space and have made modification to the factory layouts to meet saftey requirements but would not be considered state of the art by any means.
Standard release information for the company states the following"
About Tropical Beverage Inc.
Tropical Beverage manufactures and distributes a complete line of value-added beverages. Their extensive line includes pure spring waters, flavored waters, vapor-distilled waters, ultra-pure purified waters, micro-clustered waters and waters with additives (including oxygen, caffeine, electrolytes and other enhanced minerals and vitamins).
This is all true these are all water lines created by outside companies and manufactured at their southern california plant. In no way are any of these products owned by Tropical Beverage.
They specialize in private-labeled water and have products in both domestic and international markets.
Their private labeled water has been what has kept then in business it is their main life line. They do have a few nationwide accounts in the private labeled arena, however the majority of their products are for local clients. They have only one international account which is a private labeled water in Japan.
In addition, Tropical Beverage continues to seek acquisitions of related companies that will enhance their product development and to build a network of subsidiaries across the nation.
Treopical beverage has not aquired any companies, one of the board members had a company that went south and the bottling company took on the debt and remaimed the company as one of their own. the Principle who drove said company into the ground is now a mjor player in Tropical Beverage. Legally no aquisition ever took place and no legal aspects were ever addressed. There have been no other companies aquired by Tropical beverage. They hype is in the common name changes of the plant as it has been through 3 names in 5 years including becoming a pink sheet through a reverse merger where it was reported that Tropical Beverage merged with Southern California Water Corporation (both companies are owned by the same person)
"Production at its California facility is absolutely humming. CEO Mark Milsap and COO Chris Lotito are two very capable and experienced names in the business."
While mark Millsap has been a leader in the industry for years his lack of involvement with the day to day opporations of the company are disturbing. Additionally, Chris Lolito has no experience in water bottling. His ecperience is in printing as he previous ran a now bankrupt labeling press into the ground. Additionally, is this not the same person that is listed on the anouncements as the CFO?
"Changes to Tropical’s website are happening as we speak, and we anticipate the new look will more closely mirror the heavy production that is happening at the company."
The website has not changed in the 18 months that it has been up. I am still waiting for these wonderful new features which will never apear on the site tropicabev.com
Fathers Day is right around the corner. You may want to mention this stock idea to dear old dad!
Tell your dad only if you want him to think you skipped economics class and wasted his hard earned money, when you went to college.
www.tropicalbev.com |
