Even if Bramson was the seller, he would still control near 8 million shares. If he sold, it was because he needed the cash not because he doesn't believe in Ampex and what it has to offer IMHO. His holdings have lost near $80 million in value, so he more than any of us has more too loose and gain from Ampex.
Latest Red Chip is a more optimistic than it was last month. They do believe that sales will be lower this quarter than last, but that due to Bramson's historical cost controls in Q3, savings being fully realized now from property sales in '96 and an increase in royalty payments, earnings should not be affected. Red Chip is bouyed by the deal with Samsung and the ongoing negotiations with other manufacturers for MR based KM drives. Also, Maxtor is not out the picture with plans currently to introduce a KM-MR drive in mid to late 1998. Additionally, Ampex will be introducing DST Units for the Windows NT environment in addition to the UNIX based system it already supports later this year. It is then possible that things may be turning around just many are turning away from Ampex. This could present very good buying opportunities when the Q3 earnings are issued if sales are indeed lower as people initially react to decreased sales.
Also, interesting to note yesterday that many DD Co's tanked after WDC was down graded due to decreased earnings projections. It seems to me that one way for DD Co's to improve earnings with a minimal cost would be to incorporate KM into MR drives. This would provide a higher capacity drive at minimal incremental cost and would differentiate say a WDC drive from say a Quantum or Seagate 6.1GB drive by 30 to 40% for maybe even the same price. I know if I had the choice I'd pick say a 7.9GB drive for the same price over a 6.1GB drive. Wishful thinking?? Yeah, maybe, but as Gus and others have posted, there is a confluence of many factors which COULD make this thing take off at any time.
SAL |
