Marc Robbins has this to say on page 26 of Bloomberg Personal, a newer (this is the 3rd issue) financial magazine put out by who else, Bloomberg. Considering it's the 3rd issue, I guess there's not too many subscriptions, but surely some wealthy clientele. Anyways, just one more case of the very slow process of getting the word out that the tide is really changing on this one. Unfortunately, Robbins gets some of his facts wrong, and I'll point these out in parentheses. How'd he make such basic mistakes I'll never know, he sure didn't do all of his homework, but for what it's worth, here it is, taking up 1/2 of a front page under the title, "Still Lovable" which covers first VCAI, then AXC, then INUS...
Recently people like me, who believe in small cap stocks, have been nursing the blues. The current environment is challenging the convictions of individual investors and causing worries for even the stout of heart. But these are the times that present the best opportunities. This year's 3rd and 4th quarters bring to mind... perilous and unnerving showdowns...(here he goes into an historical analogy which basically means keep the faith, the future will be very bright for those who wait)...
The present dark days for small caps have certainly brought forth some spectacular buys...
Ampex Corp. AXC $9, is a turnaround waiting to happen. This former technology stinker seems to be shaking off its star-crossed past. AXC discovered, and was the first to commercialize, the wonders of magnetic recording back at teh close of WW2. Though it has been stripped of its audiotape recording and media businesses, it still has over 7000 patents to its name(tho only slightly over 1000 are still in force). The company stands as one of the last suppliers of high-tech digital recording and tape-storage equipment for the TV production industry, the military, and the corporate records market(Are they really "one of the last"? I thought competition was increasing in data storage and other niches, based on statements on their competitors in 10K&Q). Never one to let interlopers abscond with their achievements, it has been vigorously and successfully pursuing compensation claims for infringements on the patents it holds in videotape recording technology, tv special effects, and countless other specialties.
What is not well understood about AXC is the enormous potential of its "keepered media" technology, if this is adapted by the computer hard drive industry. The company's existing operations are marginably profitable, and the earnings they generate, estimated at $.34 for 96, plus the royalties won from the patent-infringement litigation, have continued to fund leading edge research and development in the magnetic-recording sciences. The simple process of "keepering" magnetic storage media during the production of hard drives apparently can boost memory density by 10 to 30 percent(Come on Marc, AXC reports publicly 20-40%! where'd you get those figures from?), depending on the advanced head technology used. When you consider that over 150M hard drives were produced and sold last year(106M), a figure expected to mushroom soon to 600M(that's media platters in 99, not hard drives!), you begin to grasp the dimensions of AXC's opportunity. The adoption of its keepering technology could restore the gilt-edged luster AXC once enjoyed, not to mention profits, which would enjoy a substantial rebound.
glad to see the mention, but where'd he get his facts? Is 150M hard drives total world wide sales, and teh 106M listed in the prior mentioned report only US sales, or is he just plain wrong? Or is 150M the # of media platters sold last year? Either way, warts and all, it's just one more broadening of the ever (very slowly) expanding realization of what this company is on the threshold of-- major mind boggling profits. Ah, to be early is to wait, and wait, and wait. But, the market will come to us, eventually. |
