THREAD NOW CLOSED 3 May 2007

LATEST NEWS...(Check RNS service for details)

10/4/2007 - GME removes its minority interest in Patriot so shareholders enjoy 100% of all growth at Patriot
20/3/2007 - GME announces it will no longer support as NIM as non-core but instead focus on Patriot's US$123 order book
4/1/2007 - Cantor Fitgerald report 6.90% Holding
Decemebr - $31m orders reported
w/b 27/11 - Cantor buy >3%, Further order of $11m for rig packages
w/e 24/11 - Orders of $20m announced, but not profitable as expected
w/e 13/10 - Further $8m orders
w/e 27/09 - Further additions by Schroders to 12%
w/e 22/9 - Further orders of c $18m plus Gartmore stake increases to 20%.

Global Marine Energy plc is an Oil services company primarily bringing together and delivering rig component/equipment packages to international markets. GME is the holding company for two subsidiaries, Patriot Mechanical Handling and NIM engineering. Patriot provides the bulk of GME's sales.

GME is a niche player, there being only 1 or 2 alternatives for packaged equipment.
Patriot is a member of Source One drilling - a marketing alliance created by Le Tourneau Ellis Williams (LEWCO). www.source1drilling.com

Thread re-opened post results. Feel free to post away. News summary under picture.

Disclaimer: As always, Do Your Own research as no comments or foward looking statements posted here can be guaranteed.

This is an AIM listed company so high risk - only for investments you & your family can afford and are prepared to loose.



***Latest*** (also see estimated Share position analysis below @ 20 April 2006)
19 Sept - $9m from Brazil & America
14 Aug - GME announces $9m of orders including $1.2m NIM orders for Baker marine
These funded in part from recent raised capital.
11 Aug - GME delivers 11.2m stg (2005 4.76m). NIM issues notified in July addressed.
June - Cobra Ltd take large stake, a few previous buyers add
June - Placings at 15p
25 May - Paul Findlay promoted to Group CEO. S Wild (NIM subsid) off board.
10 May - PMHH signs up to http://www.source1drilling.com alliance
8 May - PMHH huge $8.6M china order+announces multiple chinese deals
5 May - PMH signs exclusive deal with winch company EMCE/Stokvis
4 May - Shroders increase to 11.16%
19 Apr - Shroders buy 10.10% 4,525,000
4 Apr - Gartmore adds stock now 17%, CAML buys 3.52%

My calcs say probably 18m or less in free issue now or 28% !

Global Marine Energy PLC
27 September 2006

27 September 2006



Global Marine Energy plc ('the Company')

Notifiable Interest


The Company announces that it received notification on 26 September 2006 that on
26 September 2006 Schroder Investment Management Limited ('Schroder') had an
interest in 8,940,000 ordinary shares of 2.5p each in the Company, representing
12.45% of the issued share capital of the Company. These shares are held in
unit trusts operated and managed by an affiliated company, Schroder Unit Trusts
Limited, and registered in the name of Chase Nominees Limited.



This represents the entire holding of Schroder in the issued share capital of
the Company.



On 19 July 2006 the Company announced that Schroder had an interest in 7,940,000
ordinary shares of 2.5p each in the Company, representing 11.06% of the issued
share capital of the Company.



For further information please contact:



Philip Wood, Chairman, Global Marine Energy plc 01274 531 862


Mark Froggatt, Noble & Company Limited 020 7763 2200


Michael Padley / Susan Scott, Bankside Consultants 0207 367 8888




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Something picked up elsewhere.

Performance bonds allow a customer to pre-fund it's order instead of making stage payments as the order progresses. These are used a lot in Singapore/China/Hong Kong but not so much here.

The way it works is the bank providing the "performance bond" underwrites the stage payments for large contracts. This means if a company does not seem to be delivering a) the bank pays back the customer to avoid lengthy legal disputes etc and b) ensures sufficient finance is provided to complete the order to customers satisfaction.

These are a bit more expensive than normal loans/bonds, however it means orders can be pre-funded. The bond would only be 'called' if the customer presented certain documents. Even then the bank acts as 'arbitrator'. According to Edison, GME can fund up to 40m in this way if it chooses. Of course it can also use other sources of finance, profits etc as normal and does not have to utilise the bond facility.

This seems a very effective way to smooth cashflow on larger orders, and once performance bonds are understood, explains why GME are well positioned.

Owl

I am a provider of bonds in my own area of business. How it works is broadly that GME would borrow the price of the contract plus interest and charges from a bank. The bank would require the collateral of the customers firm order, payable on delivery and assigned to the bank. The bank would require the security of a performance bond (from a third party) that GEM will deliver on time on budget according to specification. On delivery the customer pays the bank the contract price. The bank forwards the profit element remaining after principle repayment and charges to GME.

Not sure who is providing the bond here - bank or 3rd party - suspect the latter (reinsured by a specialist insurer), since the bank would not have the production expertise to assess and monitor the risk.

This method would typically work with project financing which GME have recently mentioned (I believe this is the 40m revolving credit line - as one project repays, the money is free to borrow on the next) in addition to a general loan/overdraft facility. The loan is limited recourse against the project only, not the general assets of GME, hence the need for the bond/guarantor.

My guess is the bond fee would be between 3-7% (pure guess) of the contract price, depending on how much of the first loss GME could underwrite internally and/or how much contingency was added to the contract price to protect overcost etc - e.g. it may only be a catstophe bond, much cheaper than a 90% loss bond.

I expect it works a little differently in each business. In the building world, for example, the guarantor also guarantees to find tenants for the completed buildings. Don't suppose GME's bonder guarantees to find oil!

sd

Here's the article I saw:

"In large commercial projects a heavyweight customer dealing with a new supplier for the first time will often require some form of performance guarantee or bond from a trusted third party such as bank. Under these bonds the bank irrevocably commits to make a fixed payment to the customer on a project failure simply upon the customer presenting certain documents and certificates.

Performance bonds put up by suppliers banks have been a way of life in the Hong Kong construction industry for many years, but they are increasingly found in high value IT projects.

Bonds enable the customer to make upfront project stage payments to the supplier, which help the suppliers cashflow, safe in the knowledge that if the supplier fails to perform the customer can obtain repayment of some or all of the payments on demand, without having to having to wait for lengthy disputes with the supplier to be resolved"

A different version of the same theme in essence. A bank providing the bond would almost certainly have production expertise to advise it and a substantial re-insurance contract. Yes, it also works for customers who fund in stages, rather than project loans from a bank - although I recall we've been told GME needs to ante up about 10% of any contract to get started before customer payments start cdoming in. This could be funded out of the RBS loan facility, whilst contracts paybable only on delivery could be funded out of the project finance being talked about.

All adds up to a well-conceived finance strategy for GME, to lend credence to the large orders sitting on the book. As ever, it's the quality of management that is crucial to turn these orders into profits. Looks like we are well-endowed in that department now.

sd

http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Stories.aspx?&StoryID=993DA3BF-7A31-43CE-AE3F-F3478508418A&SectionID=8099C021-87B0-48CA-A5F1-6335FDE21694&edition=10/01/06

With any luck SEY will buy EEN! A perfect solution to my current dilemma.

Seems to me that bonds are another form of commercial factoring in effect..

Maybe in reverse :-)

One is a performance bond, the other is a financial instrument - different animals really.

Yes but are they not both a garentee by a third party of payment ?

I am finding it a little worrying that the plus points are stacking up for GME but the interest is still mild to put it nicely :-)....

As an aside line......i find it worrying that the interest/investment in the AIM is dropping off alarmingly in IMHO on all fronts....it is not the institutions that will drive this up, its the PI's fighting over the limited shares available. I worry that the PI's willingness to invest in the risky AIM is greatly diminished in the last year or so......
Any thoughts anyone ?

No - one is a guarantee of payment, the other is a guarantee of delivery (which may be incapable of remedy, other than paying the entire cost to date of failure to delilver or abandonment) - different risks/skills. True, each one gives financial protection to the guaranteed party, but in a different form.

I agree with your assessment of AIM - suspect institutions are steering clear of them - but have done nothing about it with my curernt holdings - how long till the next revival of interest in AIM by institutions v. how long is your investment timsescale. If you beleive in the business, who needs the SP to rise before you're ready to cash in - in my case over 10 years hence. Could be a great long-term buying opportunity, resulting in many x-baggers. What price contrarianism? Answer: depends on your timescalce. However I do find myself tending to research FTSE350 a little more frequently for my new funds.

sd

Interesting comment re AIM, SD. I have done very well from 4 companies which moved down from main market (HDYS (susequently taken over) JHD, LTHM,RSG). All have strong balance sheets and good cash generation. There are also others such as MJW which prompt me to think that a decent quality portfolio could now be assembled from AIM companies, with attendant tax benefits if, as you and I seem to be, you have an investment time frame which extends into years rather than minutes!

Oh my God, patridge - two YEARS, and I though it was 2 minutes to get your tax break. lol!

Yes, I also agree with you that the top of AIM has probably got at least as respectable as the bottom of FTSE smallcaps.

It's funny how, with all that knowledge out there available to you, you only really learn the hard way by doing it yourself, when you finally work out what your appetite for risk and other psychological make up and how many minutes a day you can devote to the whole game, blah, blah . . . .

Still, I reckon I can cover most of my losses to date before I retire!

sd

"Still, I reckon I can cover most of my losses to date before I retire!"

Ehh.......well you seem to have the hang of this game then :-))

Global Marine Energy PLC
11 October 2006


11 October 2006


Global Marine Energy Plc


New Mechanical Handling Package order totalling US$8.8 million


Global Marine Energy plc, ('GME' or 'the Group'; stock code: GME), the oilfield
services business, announces that its US subsidiary, Patriot Mechanical Handling
('PMH') has won an order totalling US$8.8 million from Eisner Business S.A.,
Brazil subsidiary of Queiroz Galvao Perfuracoes S.A.

The US$8.8 million order from Eisner Business S.A. is for one mechanical
handling rig set, comprising BOP and Subsea Tree transporters for a new build
semi-submersible currently on order from Keppel FELS in Singapore.

Queiroz Galvao is a major Brazilian corporation with operations in
construction, real estate projects, concessions, urban waste disposal, oil and
gas, steel industry, finance and farming. Queiroz Galvao started its
activities with conventional drilling rigs in 1981. The growth in this activity
has continued, and today the company owns and operates semi-submersible,
offshore drilling platforms and conventional as well as helitransportable
onshore drilling rigs in remote and hard to reach areas like the Amazon region,
where the company has three onshore drilling rigs in operation.

Keppel FELS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, through Keppel
Offshore & Marine, and is a leader in offshore rigs, ship repair and conversion
and specialized shipbuilding. Keppel Offshore & Marine's near market / near
customer strategy is bolstered by a global network including 17 yards in the
Asia Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Caspian Sea, Middle East and North Sea
regions. Integrating the experience and expertise of its yards worldwide,
Keppel Offshore & Marine aims to be the provider of choice and partner in
solutions for the offshore and marine industry.

Paul Findlay, Group CEO of Global Marine Energy Plc, commented:

'Hopefully investors can now see that the strategy implemented by the Board is
bearing fruit as we continue to expand our client base and to develop
relationships with some of the largest companies in the market.

'The Group performance continues to improve, and the outlook is positive'.


ENQUIRIES:

Global Marine Energy Plc Tel: 01274 531 862
Paul Findlay, Group Chief Executive

Noble & Company Limited Tel: 0207 763 2200
Mark Froggatt

Bankside Consultants Tel: 0207 367 8888
Michael Padley/Susan Scott

Nice lift today but on very low volume. However, we've passed the 21.5p previous high, next barrier 27.5p, then 30p - should prove not too difficult over the next couple of months. $28.3m of orders secured since reporting finals in August. Roll on December's interims.

Big buys late. 45k moved by mid-day, then 440,000 in afternoon on more big buying.

I guess we've all read full page spread pg 20 of the Times? Oh...I forgot few of us read ...lol. Anyway, here are some of the key points.

'India Plans UK plc takeaway' ref Mukesh Ambani head of Reliance Group and india's most influential businessman.

'He told Sunday Times he was planning to secure an oil drilling and engineering firm to expand his growing exploration and production business in Africa. Reliance is the world's biggest refinery in Gujarat and is emerging as a global player in the oil business. Ambani believes British companies working in North Sea will become increasingly vulnerable to takeover bids as reserves dwindle.

"We're looking at buying companies in North Sea oil, in Scotland...as years go by North Sea reserves are depletiing, but there's lots of talent there and this industry is short of talent" he said.

"We will look at acquisitions to acquire talent to use in this part of the world and in West Africa and some countries like Columbia. We now have to get experienced talent in Europe to go and find oil in more frontier areas"
"There is more than 20 years of N.Sea experience in the UK, and we could deploy it globally"

Article then goes on to ref various deals including 55m deal for Pearl, another for 91.6m, and of course Tata's recent well publicised $10b bid for Corus steel co.

"There is a queue of Indian companies wanting to list on AIM. At the moment you have to be listed as an Indian company on an Indian exchange, butthere is that idea of going global and getting access to foreign capital"

All oil companies including GME should benefit from this as a) China & India are the two main global growth monsters and b) there is a big shortage of staff in the oil industry.

There aren't that many "oil engineering and drilling" companies in the UK - certainly not many as affordable, under-valued as GME.

Should help the sector sparkle a bit on Monday...Good luck to all holders.

Here's the full article. Note Tata have offered for Corus.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2403959.html