Conference call very disappointing Conference call just ended. As a large PQE shareholder, I am not happy.
Mostly it was about speaking in generalities. No date was given when we can expect to reach 1,000 bpd production...not even a rough date, like "around the end of 1Q2020". David did say he hopes to add another shift and go to around the clock production by the end of the month, but that would only double production from the current 200 to 400 bpd. The market wants and needs to know when we will achieve and maintain the thousand barrel per day production that the company has been promising us for years. The silence on this was deafening.
I wanted to ask a couple questions, but of course, was not allowed to. They took some email questions, and then only took TWO live questions. You have to wonder if the questions were from shills. They asked things like, "Have you calculated exactly how many pounds of CO2 are generated by every barrel you produce?"
I would have asked things like "When exactly will we achieve 1,000 bpd production?" and "Can you promise us you won't pay for the Asphalt Ridge expansion (which will cost tens of millions) by issuing new shares - which would be devastating to existing shareholders - and that you will instead pay for it through borrowing from the debt market?" But of course, I wasn't allowed to ask questions.
I have to say, something stinks. David referred to the Asphalt Ridge expansion, and the CFO mentioned the cost for it. What could possibly be a bigger question than knowing if existing shareholders will be diluted into oblivion to pay for it? (Which the company has a track record of doing) And the guy (me) who was going to ask that question point-blank wasn't allowed to ask due to "time issues". Yet the whole call from start to finish was only 40 mins....they couldn't even give us an hour? And only two live questions over the phone were taken? Why even call it a Q&A session, if that's the case?
Very disappointing. As for me, I'm in too deep to walk away now, so I will stick around for the endgame and cross my fingers. The fact that Valkor is spending a couple million dollars to license our tech is a very encouraging sign. But I feel that if I were a possible new investor, on the fence, today's conference call would do nothing to encourage me to buy...and might even convince me to take a pass.
We need to do better.
P.S. I was also gonna ask about our progress in the field of recycling the bitumen out of used asphalt roof shingles. Which would have put out there some good news, with the excitement of that massive opportunity in front of us. But again, I wasn't allowed to ask any questions. And so the subject wasn't brought up, and so any potential new investors heard nothing about this potentially massive opportunity. I just don't get it. I'm still shaking my head. Just not at all what I was hoping for.