Good morning Sir,
This time I choose for a different approach. I asked the members from the forum if they had questions to try and centralize them in order to minimize the mails sent to you.
Here goes,
Are there already deals closed on the delivery of lithium to customers? I am afraid I cannot comment on this – we have not disclosed any information to the public at this stage on this topic. We look forward to updating the markets and our shareholders as soon as we can in this respect.
What is the realistic timetable concerning the first deliveries of lithium? We expect the lithium spodumene plant to be operational in the first half of 2018.
What is the progress on the graphite production and if possible timetable? I am afraid I cannot comment on this – we have not disclosed any information to the public at this stage on this topic.
Considering the hype in driving electrical, the battery plants should be working on deals with firms like AMG to ensure their off take on lithium? The lithium presentation published in July 2016 shows a lithium value chain (page 10). Lithium chemicals are normally sold to cathode paste producers – these producers are the direct suppliers to the battery manufacturers. In some cases, the cathode paste producers are also the battery manufacturers (i.e. LG, Panasonic).
What should we think about the increase in freefloat since the partial sell from RWC and the fact that since that moment there were no new updates in the share structure? Why the drop to 16.5€ and the further decent in stockprice to the actual level? AMG’s updated share structure is disclosed on AMG’s website and was updated immediately after the RWC sell-down. There has been no material news flow, as far as I am aware, regarding any of AMG’s businesses, markets or products in the weeks post RWC sell-down so there have been no fundamental share price drivers that I can point you towards. Investors in Europe have been concerned about the Italian referendum and the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting in recent weeks.
What is the current status on the Ancuabemine which was expected to open in the third quarter 2016? Mr. Jackson stated on the last analyst call (November 3rd 2016) that the mine is expected to be operational in the first half of 2017.
What is the status on the siliconfactory in the Middle East? Is there a delay or did the project end? We have not yet provided a public update on the project so I cannot elaborate further. Silicon metal prices have fallen in recent months and electricity costs in the middle east are relatively expensive – these are key factors of course in our decision-making process.
Does the rise of the dollar effect AMG in a negative way? No material effect to the underlying business. From a consolidation standpoint, the dollar to euro rate does have a material impact as we have disclosed in many recent investor presentations – i.e. if you take the profit of a particular European operation and translate these profits into dollars at $1.4/Eur (2014 rate), you have more dollar denominated earnings than if you translate the same earnings into dollars at $1.05/Euro (2015 and 2016 rate). This is an important consideration when comparing 2015 to 2014 especially. In 2016, the Euro rate versus the dollar has been relatively stable, so when comparing 2015 and 2016 results, the FX rate does not have a material impact from a translation standpoint. I believe this effect has been relatively well explained in our press releases and investor presentations in 2015.
Last year AMG and RWC announced that mr. Heinz Schimmelbush would step down in the near future. Will this happen in the near future and who will succeed him? I cannot comment on Management Board composition or Dr. Schimmelbusch’s future intentions. Dr. Schimmelbusch’s management board contract expires in May 2019.
Sir, I saved the best question for the end…
When is the best time to buy AMG stock? I will leave that decision up to members of the forum to debate! Three analysts in Amsterdam (ING, Kempen and ABN AMRO) all recommend a BUY at or around Eur 19 per share – the current share price of Euro 15 per share represents a substantial discount versus the current BUY recommendations.
I know it will not be easy to answer this questions in an adequate way, but much members are getting anxious and think “something fishy” is going on… ? As a management team, we are committed to continuing to improve value for our shareholders. We cannot obviously control short-term, market volatility, driven by macro events such as the Italian referendum. However AMG’s share price has increased by over 60% since the beginning of 2016 and by over 120% since the beginning of 2015.
The Lithium project continues to be our primary focus and we look forward to updating the market and our shareholders on future developments in due course.