Thanks, Saul.
It’s weird, when I link to “Investor-Relations” there’s no link to the conference call transcript. No prob. Stormey provided a direct link.
I’m sure I’ll have a bit more to say later, but a quick read revealed two points of interest:
nevercontent asserted: "The CEO said: “we believe the entire niche as far as Burner Management technologies is well under 5%.”
In truth, the CEO said: we estimate OUR current market penetration is still well below 5%
Big difference. It doesn’t surprise me that a new company such as Profire has only achieved 5% market penetration. That comment, alone, does not provide an overview of the overall market nor the number of competitors and their respective overall market share.
Contrary to the claims of some, PFIE is very much involved in flaring. In the CEO’s own words: Now, on the subject of growth strategy, one of the key product developments during the quarter was the release of a new Flare Stack Igniter or FSI, which is a sophisticated and rugged product that complements our product portfolio nicely. We have seen the product serve as a beachhead for sales of our flagship products and are finding that the majority of FSI sales are paired with a Burner Management System.
Elsewhere in the conference call, the CEO mentions that evolving regulations constitute a tailwind. That had me scratching my head. Regulations, at federal and state levels, are steering towards “Green Completions.” What that term means is that oil and gas producers are being steered towards capturing their fugitive emissions. Flaring is accepted as an intermediary step.
For more information on Green Completions, I offer this USEPA summary: (it addresses gas industry operations, but individual states are moving to adopt similar rules for the oil industry):
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/pdfs/20120417changes…
And, by the by, Saul, I’m not engaging in this exercise to “scare” people. Quite the contrary. I’m trying to understand Profire’s market and future prospects. In the final analysis, should I come to believe Profire has significant growth potential, I’d gladly reinvest in the company.
At present, the jury is still out.