Nick Martin booted out as Altium CEO

[olsenn]

It actually sounds like a good time to buy stock. I bet it's dirt cheap at the moment, and if the new board stays, and not Mr. Martin, the focus is going to change to returning value to the share/stock-holders.

...Maybe we'll even get an Altium Designer Student Edition!

[mikeselectricstuff]

How about a  kickstarter to buy up all the stock and open source everything...

[EEVblog]

It actually sounds like a good time to buy stock. I bet it's dirt cheap at the moment, and if the new board stays, and not Mr. Martin, the focus is going to change to returning value to the share/stock-holders.

No, it's not cheap. If you wanted cheap you should have bought about a year ago when it hit 8 cents (it's now almost a $1).
But there wasn't much volume back then, so it likely would have been difficult to buy significant volume at that price.
I knew the price had to rise, as the company was almost cash value at that point, but I didn't buy.


http://hfgapps.hubb.com/asxtools/Charts.aspx?asxCode=ALU&compare=comp_index&indicies=0&pma1=0&pma2=0&volumeInd=9&vma=0&TimeFrame=M3

Dave.

[EEVblog]

It only became cheap at 8 cents once it had risen. At the time it was not a bargain. You don't even need to analyse the financials to know that.

Actually, it was as close to a bargain as you can get on the stock market, as it was approaching the cash value of the company, the holy grail of low risk share investments. Essentially valuing all the company's IP and it's good will and customer baser at zero. Almost to the point of "you can't lose", barring all customers suddenly stopping renewing and the sales drying up.
But of course you had to know the market, and that the customers are loyal and pretty much locked into the product. The average investor would not have known that.
But yes, if you were in it for the short term, it was always going to be a wild ride.

Dave.

[DrGeoff]

It only became cheap at 8 cents once it had risen. At the time it was not a bargain. You don't even need to analyse the financials to know that.

Actually, it was as close to a bargain as you can get on the stock market, as it was approaching the cash value of the company, the holy grail of low risk share investments. Essentially valuing all the company's IP and it's good will and customer baser at zero. Almost to the point of "you can't lose", barring all customers suddenly stopping renewing and the sales drying up.
But of course you had to know the market, and that the customers are loyal and pretty much locked into the product. The average investor would not have known that.
But yes, if you were in it for the short term, it was always going to be a wild ride.

Dave.

A purely speculative stock, as it hasn't produced any yield. Might as well buy mining shares.

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

I wish I had seen that graph last year.

[JuKu]

it looks like Martin disputes his dismissal from the company so the board submitted to remove Martin through shareholder voting.
As a counteraction Martin submitted, through Martin holdings (through which holds more than 5% of the shares) , a proposal to boot out the 5 others..

I wonder what happens if the shareholders vote to boot Martin out, AND the entire board?
Does the company instantly implode 

Dave.

At least here, the meeting would not actually boot the board, it would elect a new board. The old board getting fired is just a consequence. 

[EEVblog]

A purely speculative stock, as it hasn't produced any yield. Might as well buy mining shares.

Not even close to being the same.
Altium is a company that consistently generates $50M/year in revenue, has no debt, and has always had cash in the back. And at the time of it being 8 cents, that was essentially getting close to the cash value of the company (80M shares/$0.08 approx = $6M cash they had). So unless the sales suddenly tanked (unlikely), there was nowhere the company could go on the downside for the near future.
How far it would go back up, and when, was yes fairly speculative. But it was very low risk IMO.
And yes, Altiums dividends have been almost non-existent over the last decade, you wouldn't have bought it for that.

Dave.

[sacherjj]

A purely speculative stock, as it hasn't produced any yield. Might as well buy mining shares.

Not even close to being the same.
Altium is a company that consistently generates $50M/year in revenue, has no debt, and has always had cash in the back. And at the time of it being 8 cents, that was essentially getting close to the cash value of the company (80M shares/$0.08 approx = $6M cash they had). So unless the sales suddenly tanked (unlikely), there was nowhere the company could go on the downside for the near future.
How far it would go back up, and when, was yes fairly speculative. But it was very low risk IMO.
And yes, Altiums dividends have been almost non-existent over the last decade, you wouldn't have bought it for that.

Dave.

You're telling us this now?!?!?   

[DrGeoff]

A purely speculative stock, as it hasn't produced any yield. Might as well buy mining shares.

Not even close to being the same.
Altium is a company that consistently generates $50M/year in revenue, has no debt, and has always had cash in the back. And at the time of it being 8 cents, that was essentially getting close to the cash value of the company (80M shares/$0.08 approx = $6M cash they had). So unless the sales suddenly tanked (unlikely), there was nowhere the company could go on the downside for the near future.
How far it would go back up, and when, was yes fairly speculative. But it was very low risk IMO.
And yes, Altiums dividends have been almost non-existent over the last decade, you wouldn't have bought it for that.

Dave.

All of this is only valuable to a shareholder if it is returned to the shareholder as either dividends or capital growth. The fact that dividends were not being distributed and the share value had been eroded to a tiny percentage of its original value demonstrates significant failings at the board and executive levels.

[EEVblog]

The fact that dividends were not being distributed and the share value had been eroded to a tiny percentage of its original value demonstrates significant failings at the board and executive levels.

No doubt.
Altium pissed away $100M+ and 10 years on their FPGA dream that returned essentially zero value for the company.
Imagine what would have happened if that money went into basic core PCB/SCH stuff like high speed design tools etc. They would be world leaders without compare.

Dave.

[DrGeoff]

Well what do you know. Altium paid a dividend of 5cents per share. Must be the first dividend I've had from them. Maybe they are hoping to curry favour at the AGM

Imagine paying 8c per share and receiving a 5c dividend. Sort of pays for itself. Wonder how sustainable this is?

[EEVblog]

Imagine paying 8c per share and receiving a 5c dividend. Sort of pays for itself. Wonder how sustainable this is?

The share price of course wasn't 8 cents when they paid that dividend.
But yes, they are trying to "return shareholder value" for a change.

Dave.

[DrGeoff]

Anyone heading down to the Altium stoush on Thursday?

[EEVblog]

Anyone heading down to the Altium stoush on Thursday?

I don't have shares, I guess I'm not allowed? 

Dave.

[JuKu]

Anyone heading down to the Altium stoush on Thursday?

I don't have shares, I guess I'm not allowed? 

Dave.

I'd spend a few cents just to get in. 

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

If you know someone with shares I think you can arrange to be their proxy.
I'm sure you could add something to the event Dave.

[AlfBaz]

Should get a bunch of us who live in these parts to show up at the front with placards chanting "PISS THE CLOUD OFF, PISS THE CLOUD OFF"

[mikeselectricstuff]

Anyone heading down to the Altium stoush on Thursday?

I don't have shares, I guess I'm not allowed? 

Dave.

Nothing to stop you hanging around outside with the camera & doing some interviews ( or just looking to see who looks the most pissed off).

In practice I bet you could probably bluff your way in....

[notsob]

Organize a flashmob meeting outside & do a blog , my meeting is bigger than altium's meeting.

[DrGeoff]

It's the EGM meeting after the AGM meeting that will be interesting.

[EEVblog]

Organize a flashmob meeting outside & do a blog , my meeting is bigger than altium's meeting.

It would suck if no-one from Altium turned up apart from the secretary to count the votes 
They are all in China after all.

Dave.

[DrGeoff]

I don't think they could risk that, given that the an attempt to dismiss the board is immediately after the AGM. If they did not show that would be a real 'no confidence' signal. If Nick showed and no-one else then he could lobby for his motions and they could not counter.

[DrGeoff]

Got an interesting letter from Nick Martin today.
Claims that the current board have steered the Altium ship irreversibly in another direction from his own envisaged strategies. Sounds like he's withdrawn the immediate attack on the board at the EGM and is making demands on their performance over the coming FY.

[EEVblog]

Got an interesting letter from Nick Martin today.
Claims that the current board have steered the Altium ship irreversibly in another direction from his own envisaged strategies.

GOOD! 
And Nick's (former) good buddy Aram (Morfik), whom he bailed out, is now heading the ship 

Sounds like he's withdrawn the immediate attack on the board at the EGM and is making demands on their performance over the coming FY.

Did you go to the AGM?


Dave.