Yes, I did call them about 10 days ago.
I spoke with Hank Reid (Pres.) for about 15 minutes and he was very helpful and easy to talk to. He didn't comment on any specific projects, but he did give me a general idea about how things were developing. Re: the Lower Mainland, he said that about half of Stuart Olsen's work is on each side of the Rockies and that the balance is shifting more toward the Alberta side. S.O. has developed a strong reputation in the biz. However, margins are apparently quite thin in construction. The margins are much better for the other two subsidiaries (Triton, Insulation Holding). CUQ is looking for ways to expand these two businesses (by merger and/or acquisition if opportunities present) as they are still fairly small players in their markets. The Company has unused lines of credit available of up to $9Million, should the need arise.
Mostly we spoke about the share price. He agreed (heartily) that CUQ is undervalued. We already know that. He mentioned specifically that the Company has been achieving 44% R.O.E.(Return on Equity) where most company's numbers are around 10%-15%. So fundamentally the Company is producing well and the balance sheet continues to improve. I asked about promotion, and was happy to hear that the company is now putting some efforts in this direction. They are actively communicating with more analysts, fund managers, etc., they have upgraded their annual report (due out in next few weeks), they are preparing a web site (due up before end of May), and they are consulting with professional IR people to look at ways of raising the company profile. I asked about a TSE listing and he suggested that it was a possibility, though he couldn't comment on specific plans in that direction. I'm hoping that these efforts pay off, because IMHO CUQ stock should make some significant moves to the plus side--once they get "discovered". By comparison, H.R. indicated that most of their peers are trading at 6 - 9 times earnings while CUQ is trading at less than 3. The company is aware of this and they are concerned about it and doing what they can to address it.
Hope that helps a little.
Cheers,
JP |
