Aim newcomer Romag floated last week on AIM and in the first seven minutes its shares went from 45p to 72p (i know I tried to buy and failed!). What does it do? It makes solar panels and bullet proof materials as well as several other products. So do other companies, so why my interest here?
It is no hopeful newbie. In the last three years turnover has been around 14-15 million and has been marginally profitable. For six years it has had an alliance with BP. The company has just put that on a firm footing with a commercial contract. Their customer list reads like a who's who of UK business, including BAA, Securicor and a host of UK banks and building sociteies as well as government departments. Why now?
The key is commercialisation. The company has left behind the research stage and is now selling its products voraciously. That means profits should now rise quickly. Institutions heavily oversubscribed the issue. They tried to raise 6.5 million, in the end they raised 8 million and still were hopelessly oversubscribed. Anyone who got into Incite will realise that as contracts follow over the coming months, further institutions will come on board rapidly. advfn and this site are still having problems sorting out the company (nothing to do with Romtec!!!) but that doesn't stop the shares from getting an unequivocal medium-long term strong buy rating from me.

"By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:31 PM ET May 3, 2007


NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Solar energy emerged as the front-runner among a bevy of alternative-power segments, measured by ability to deliver immediate commercial benefits to Wall Street, according to analysts running the Jefferies CleanTech Conference.

"Solar-energy firms ... provide the nearest-term viable market opportunity without any incentives," Jefferies analyst Jeff Bencik said the day after some 45 companies from the space made presentations to Wall Street investors. See full story.

In a note to clients, Bencik said solar demand remains strong, with silicon supplies remaining tight for the foreseeable future, even as companies develop thin-film solar technologies.

Disclosures by MEMC Technology, REC Group and Sunpower indicated that the silicon shortage could persist past 2010 depending on the passage of new incentive programs currently in Congress. "