Hi Gaffa....
The former PR firm had given Simula bad advice at a number of important junctures. Regular thread participants know how I feel about this: Anything would be an improvement.
Having said that, there is a limit to the effectiveness of PR if investors come to the conclusion that the company prefers being tight-lipped or non-communicative. In addition, Simula...despite having many products on the cutting edge of technology...still hasn't figured out how to convert technological leadership into black ink.
It appears to me that the market gave the company the benefit of the doubt for quite some time. That consideration no longer exists, but a couple of quarters of increasing bottom line numbers, the sale of Coach and Car (with a modest share and debt buyback out of the proceeds), and a few more ITS/ITTR transactions will get the stock back on track.
There really are no more excuses. Shareholders have been very supportive, I think, as the existing business has generated good sales growth without reasonable profit margins. That appears to me to be a management issue, and hopefully it is being addressed in San Diego even as we speak.
The fourth quarter numbers will be reported by the end of March, and hopefully the sale of Coach and Car will be finalized by then and can be eliminated from the balance sheet. In addition, management can spend more time making the balance of the business more efficient.
We can only hope. |
