Lee Cooperman
The last time we ever heard from Cooperman about Largo was the Q&A with Ernest Cleave in the Q2-22 Earnings Call on Aug 11 2022. On that day the sp closed at C$9.51. Cleave seemed to be clueless about the future direction of Largo. With regard to the titanium project,he said "On the titanium business, as it's described in the 43-101, there's some very substantial EBITDA that are elucidated in that document". In Q4-22 Daniel Tellechea announced: "Management has made the decision to postpone the company's existing plans to develop its titanium plant until additional funds are made available either internally or externally". An illustration of the value added that Cleave has brought to Largo. So sad!
Lee Cooperman
Just a couple of questions revolving around the same issue. How much, if any stock, have you brought back on your normal course issuer bid, why are you buying it? And the reason I ask that, given the recent adverse trends in your business, why are you buying back stock? And secondly, what is your view of normalized earnings in the existing business lines, and what is the profit potential from Largo Clean Energy and the titanium dioxide business? So in a sense what I'm saying, putting everything together, what is a realistic goal, not a forecast but a goal for, say, 2025 earnings?
Ernest Cleave
Let me try and answer some of that. So in terms of the number of shares brought back, we've repurchased about 805,000 shares. We've been purchasing every day since the last kind of two days of June. All told, that's about $5.5 million. Again, it reflects our view, and the share price is not reflective of what we think the underlying fundamentals are. We candidly will be reviewing that going forward as we look at cash. And we will manage that somewhat fluidly, if we feel that the [medium] outlook starts going very negatively in a direction, we will curtail those purchases. As to a long term EBITDA expectation, we've always felt that $100 million of EBITDA or maybe more depending on premiums in the market. But just on the long term price of vanadium is a reasonable expectation, 100 to 120 and could be much more when times are really in our favor, as you've seen in the past. On the titanium business, as it's described in the 43-101, there's some very substantial EBITDA that are elucidated in that document. We are reviewing a bunch of strategic opportunities. I hate to put a number on that right now. Same with the battery business and so fluid. But from my perspective, we’re building from that base of $100 million and everything on top of that if we can get to a couple of hundred million in the future, that would be wonderful. But I don't have that an exact [Indiscernible] and I think it’d probably be wrong [with me] to kind of lead people down a path. But it’s just off the top of my head, but I have [Indiscernible].