Forum Archive Index - August 2000

["Ian Andrews" <iandrews@ihug.co.nz>]

No - I have noticed no response from Nikolai to explain his allocation of 1.5 million shares last month.

 

The 2000 Annual Report of WNC does indicate a continuing negative working capital position - despite accrued revenue ( Income Statement $6.8 million, but Operating Cashflows only $5.3 million ). Early this year, I was informed by 2 Cobb & Co franchisees that they were in a significant dispute with WNC over minimum franchise fees which they were refusing to pay. There is no mention of this in the Annual Report, but I suspect it may form the bulk of the Debtors, which have risen from $1.1 million to $1.9 million.

 

Liabilities include $100,000 due to 1 director & $27,000 due to another. The only director I had any confidence in resigned after only a few months.

 

Mt Conqueror in Australia has been suspended since May - but it did issue an announcement at the time to the ASX which discussed Wilson Neill's involvement. The WNC Annual Report says an MCO shareholder's meeting to approve the transaction is due in "late August".

 

Shareholders such as ourselves were the ones to place our own money at serious risk ( much greater risk than we realised at the time ) but insiders who took minimal risk took the lion's share of the gains from share sales &  probable non arms-length business dealings with the Company. 

 

Institutions are yet to appear on the WNC Share Register & it should therefor be still classed as speculative.

 

These activities are not illegal for companies not listed on the Main Board, so long as the insiders tell other insiders ( but not the market ), & I am sure they did that!  However, they do not inspire confidence in the leadership. I would wonder whether the current leadership of WNC will have sufficient incentive to continue its involvement under the Main Board regulatory regime & in what condition they will leave the company as they exit.