Zecotek Photonics (ZMS.V / ZMSPF) makes a bunch of high-tech products. I've been sitting on this one for a little while, waiting for the company to impress me. It may be a very long wait. Their publicly available material touts a number of partnerships with high-profile research organizations. The venture investing community sees the word "partnership" a lot from young companies, much more often than it sees the word "revenue."
Their existing product lines in imaging systems have to compete against much larger companies. I suspect their most promising offerings will be among the 3D displays and 3D printers they are developing. Mature versions of those products are very desirable in the eyes of the dominant 3D players. The company's executive team has both research and corporate experience, but commercializing an IP portfolio takes a blend of those lanes with some crossover experience. I want companies to state exactly how their key people took an idea from incubation (in a government lab, their garage, or wherever) all the way to successful sales.
The company has consistently published financial reports during the years it has actively traded as a stock. That is a lot more than I can say for quite a few junior companies that are dual-listed on US and Canadian exchanges. Zecotek's unaudited quarterly financial statements for January 31, 2014 show that they earn much of their revenue in the final months of a calendar year. I never expected to see that kind of result outside of consumer retail, except for sectors with seasonal needs (construction comes to mind). This is an equipment wholesaler, whose customers should be able to forecast their needs years in advance. I think Zecotek is still struggling to find a market for their stuff. Oh yeah, their net losses increased from 2013 to 2014.
I may check out Zecotek again in the future, but only if I have nothing else going on. This one just doesn't fit my portfolio.
Full disclosure: No position in Zecotek Photonics, ever.
Their existing product lines in imaging systems have to compete against much larger companies. I suspect their most promising offerings will be among the 3D displays and 3D printers they are developing. Mature versions of those products are very desirable in the eyes of the dominant 3D players. The company's executive team has both research and corporate experience, but commercializing an IP portfolio takes a blend of those lanes with some crossover experience. I want companies to state exactly how their key people took an idea from incubation (in a government lab, their garage, or wherever) all the way to successful sales.
The company has consistently published financial reports during the years it has actively traded as a stock. That is a lot more than I can say for quite a few junior companies that are dual-listed on US and Canadian exchanges. Zecotek's unaudited quarterly financial statements for January 31, 2014 show that they earn much of their revenue in the final months of a calendar year. I never expected to see that kind of result outside of consumer retail, except for sectors with seasonal needs (construction comes to mind). This is an equipment wholesaler, whose customers should be able to forecast their needs years in advance. I think Zecotek is still struggling to find a market for their stuff. Oh yeah, their net losses increased from 2013 to 2014.
I may check out Zecotek again in the future, but only if I have nothing else going on. This one just doesn't fit my portfolio.
Full disclosure: No position in Zecotek Photonics, ever.
