Sankar, if I can play devil's advocate for a minute -- APM's business is a game of sales volume and yields. They have to sell a lot of what is a commodity, and they have to make them efficiently.
The general statements on APM's website may be soothing, but not informative IMO. "Volume" doesn't tell us how many or how efficient. In fact, CC will not comment on yields and sales volume (outside of what he says in filings and quarterly releases).But it is typical that new programs take awhile before they become efficient and profitable. Yes, APM will produce MR in greater volume in subsequent quarters. They have to -- the tfi market is going, going, gone. Yes production cost in Malaysia is lower due to the strong dollar, but with product transitions, APM has to worry about covering their overheads. I think you can get a better idea of the challenge and timetable facing APm if you look back at APM's transition to other technologies or to other companies' transition to MR. I believe APM will be ok in the long run because CC has a proven track record as a survivor. But my $.02 says that anyone determined to be in APM now should put the shares in a vault, forget about folowing the price day-to-day, and look at it again in a few months (all of which perhaps you do).
Best of luck. |
