Q4 results - shaking my headWhat the company doesn't present / mention:
1. The EBITDA of $16m is substantially all from the net gain on the sale of the JV interest.
2. With the above, EBITDA would have been break-even for the quarter.
3. What they did is bury a "long-term" provision of $13m related to the claims that was first recorded in Q4. They've finally acknoweldged there should have been something recorded in the accounts related to future claims which was the subject of my previous posts, but this is amount is a fraction of the potential liability.
Without the above provision, cash claims costs are around $6m which is higher than last year.
4. No mention of the number of claims settled in the quarter or how many remain to be settled. This is a major red flag IMHO. If trends were improving (e.g., claims decreasing or cost per claim decreasing), they would have presented the info.
With the order backlog > 12 months returning to historical norms, I'm expecting a neutral year next year (but still profitable). With the backlog informaiton provided over the last 4 - 6 quarters, no doubt this year was going to be a record year. Can it be repeated? I don't think so.
When you realize the company's cash balance is funded by customer deposits, the cash position isn't as impressive.
Obviously plenty of cautionary notes here and with less information disclosed, I'm continuing to wait on the sidelines. Good luck to those who continue to hold.