A new B2B auction company with Analyst Coverage initiated.
1968 DJ 12-Apr-99 at 15:13:00 15:30 Page
DJN =TD Securities Starts E-Auction Global Trading At Buy >EAUC
Symbol: EAUC
Industry: CSV HOU
Subject: DJN DJWI CAC CRA DJS ERP EST RTG
Market Sector: NCY
Geographic Region: CN NME ONT
Product/Service: DAR DCA DCP DEU
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--TD Securities Inc. analyst David Beck initiated
coverage of e-Auction Global Trading Inc. (EAUC) last week with a "buy" rating
and a target of US$12.
e-Auction, Toronto, which became a publicly traded firm last month in a
reverse stock merger with Nasdaq-listed Kazari International Inc., conducts
online commodities auctions and foreign-exchange transaction services. Kazari
changed its name to e-Auction last week.
e-Auction is tiny but it is different from most Internet plays in one major
way: it makes money. It had net income of US$1.5 million on revenue of US$4.9
million in 1998.
In a report dated April 8, Beck projects that e-Auctions's revenue will
increase to US$12.8 million in 1999 and US$42.1 million in 2000, while he sees
net income increasing to US$3.3 million or 8 cents a diluted share in 1999 and
to US$11.2 million or 26 cents a diluted share in 2000. His price target of
US$12 is based on 45 times his 2000 net profit estimate. The stock is trading
at 10 7/16 on Nasdaq, giving the company a market capitalization of about
US$440 million.
e-Auction was created through the merger of three companies: Generated
Solutions Ltd., which developed software for electronic auctions; National
Electronic Marketing Inc., which had the exclusive rights to market the GSL
software outside of North America; and Jameson International Foreign Exchange
Inc., which conducted foreign-exchange services for about 4,000 companies
mainly in Ontario. In 1998, e-Auction completed about C$2.7 billion worth of
transactions.
Analyst Calls e-Auction Process Cost-Effective, Easier
The three companies make a strong combination, Beck writes. "The
financial-services offering, particularly the settlement and foreign-exchange
components, is an integral part of the auction process," Beck writes.
"Settlement is very time consuming for both buyers and sellers and by offering
these services in conjunction with the online auctions, e-Auction makes it
easier and most cost-effective to complete a transaction," he writes, noting
that about 40% of all auction transactions are international.
Most of the company's auction business is in Ontario, where about 10% of
livestock auctions are online. The company recently signed letters of intent
to conduct livestock auctions in Australia/New Zealand, Africa and Europe.
Beck writes that, with the addition of five more customers from new regions,
e-Auction should be able to manage more than US$1 billion annually in
livestock trading soon.
Beck expects 1999 sales to be about evenly split between auction revenues
and foreign-exchange services. He expects auction revenue to grow at 425%
annually through 2000, while he sees foreign-exchange revenue growing at 30%
annually.
Online livestock auctions hold big cost advantages for both sellers and
buyers, according to e-Auction documents. Buyers pay just C$2 an animal in an
online auction and sellers pay C$23.50. In live auctions, the buyer pays
C$29.35 an animal while the seller pays C$53.50. A large part of the cost
difference is the cost of shrinkage and transportation involved in live
auctions.
-By Scott Adams; 416-943-7804; scott.adams@dowjones.ca
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-12-99
03:13 PM
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