does tanfield have 2 good businesses ( smith electrics and upright)which are good value for the medium to long term hold ?

Tanfield falls to 88.8m loss on 'cherry pickers'


Tanfield was once praised by former Prime Minister Tony Blair as an example of "UK manufacturing innovation at its best" but suffered a pre-tax loss of 88.8m in the year to the end of December, compared with a profit of 10.4m a year earlier.

The company said the loss was caused by the "global collapse in demand" for high level access vehicles, or cherry pickers, forcing it to write down the value of its division which makes cherry pickers by 89.6m.

Darren Kell, the chief executive, said sales of cherry pickers "fell away precipitously" in the second half of last year as the financial crisis gripped the construction sector. He warned that he expects the market to "contract further" in 2009.

The shares, which lost nearly 90pc of their value in one week last summer after a string of profit warnings from the company and its competitors, yesterday closed up 10pc to 10p.

Keith Ashworth-Lord, analyst at WH Ireland, said: "With no free cash flow to value, little accounting earnings and no prospect of a dividend for years to come, the shares are little more than a speculative recovery play."

Mr Kell said the Aim-listed company has cut about 300 staff, including 100 in the UK, in an attempt to reduce costs.

Amid the gloom Mr Kell said he hopes Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plan to encourage commuters to switch to electric cars as part of a "green revolution" will propel the company back to prosperity in the future.

"There is clearly a desire for more electric vehicles in the UK and Europe," he said. "While it will not be a panacea it will have an important impact on our company and the transport sector."

halifax
Of course tanfield sell lorries as well as vans - see www.smithselectricvehicles.com
for more info.

Halifax, yes admittedly small lorries but they do make them, perhaps better described as large vans though, for now.

Balerboy, surprisingly a lot of the 'smokey' lorries were fairly new: I wonder what they were being fueled with?! Chip fat maybe :o) Seriously, there are a lot of ill maintained wagons on our roads even now, whether it is the expense of maintaining them or just pure stupidity/laziness/or couldn't give a damn attitude that is causing this I don't know. If it is the expense then that would not be cause for concern in the case of ev's as there is very little to maintain.

I am expecting more momentum from the USA than from the UK, where there will be the usual crap response to anything that could be useful if history is anything to go by.

Smiths electric vehicles are pollution free and have no exhaust pipes !. They require an 6-8 hour charge overnight normally giving a range of 100 miles for the larger vehicles and more for the vans with speeds of 50-70 mph. Ideal for inner city use - delivery's etc. They are free from road tax charges and also London's congestion charges. The drivetrain has few moving parts (less than 10) consequently much cheaper maintenance costs.

For range of vehicles see www.smithselectricvehicles.com

What would be the cost per mile of running a 3.5ton EV excluding initial Cost of Vehicle?

Fred
Taken from smiths ev site - www.smithselectricvehicles.com -
Edison is the 1.5 ton vehicle.
Fuel (electric charging) costs are just .04p per mile over 75% less than equivalent diesel vehicle. Intrestingly it also says there are over 1000 moving parts in a diesel drivetrain but only 4 moving parts in the electic version.

Fred
re above - correction - Edison is the 3.5 ton version. How many do you want ?

There is a difference between, how many I want, how many I need and how many I can afford.

I was interested in running costs, which if as reported are a damn sight cheaper than my motor home. But the latter used to take me further.

I hold more of these shares than I should.

They used the Results statement to shovel massive goodwill write-offs outta the way, so those no longer remain an issue going forward.

I think the next good news will come from the US rather than the UK. Over there, even a 'trial order' can involve what would amount to a quantity fleet order in the UK! A single trial involving a dozen trucks would not surprise me. Though there will be a lag in delivering them if production is not going to be in full swing for a few months yet.

Halifax - an image or two of Tanfield's electric lorries. As kimoldfeld says, only small lorries. But not describable as vans

One of the major limitations of the vehicles is the limited range on one tankful of fluid.

Fifty years ago I drove a electric forklift truck, which I think was charged over night, but also I "think" or "thought" that they could change the battery over leaving one of the two on charge?

What is the cost of a "battery unit" and could they be easily interchangeable?
I would also like to know is how long it takes to charge the batteries?

Perhaps, I should have asked some questions before I bought the shares.

Fred
Youre asking for trouble if considering switching from mobile home to electric truck from the wife me thinks !!!
Because of somewhat limited range (100-150 miles)until battery technology improves lorries/trucks are ideally suited for inner city use with recharge overnight. Benifits from no road tax or London congestion charges.
Juzzle
Larger vehicles exist - see www.smithselectricvehicles.com for complete range.

Juzzle those look like milk floats certainly not lorries more like light trucks.

as an ex-fan of this company, i am afraid i see nothing to encourage ...... their figures were truly vile and AVOID is about as polite as i can be about this share

halifax
ref the photo's in post 145. The small green/white truck with A plant on the front is a tanfield vehicle - edison 3.5 ton. The other duplcated vehicle is not tanfield. Tanfield produce large trucks small trucks and vans - see www.smithselectricvehicles.com for complete range,

and very big losses

... and very impressive drop in share price.

Tanfield falls to 88.8m loss on 'cherry pickers'


Tanfield was once praised by former Prime Minister Tony Blair as an example of "UK manufacturing innovation at its best" but suffered a pre-tax loss of 88.8m in the year to the end of December, compared with a profit of 10.4m a year earlier.

The company said the loss was caused by the "global collapse in demand" for high level access vehicles, or cherry pickers, forcing it to write down the value of its division which makes cherry pickers by 89.6m.

Darren Kell, the chief executive, said sales of cherry pickers "fell away precipitously" in the second half of last year as the financial crisis gripped the construction sector. He warned that he expects the market to "contract further" in 2009.

The shares, which lost nearly 90pc of their value in one week last summer after a string of profit warnings from the company and its competitors, yesterday closed up 10pc to 10p.

Keith Ashworth-Lord, analyst at WH Ireland, said: "With no free cash flow to value, little accounting earnings and no prospect of a dividend for years to come, the shares are little more than a speculative recovery play."

Mr Kell said the Aim-listed company has cut about 300 staff, including 100 in the UK, in an attempt to reduce costs.

Amid the gloom Mr Kell said he hopes Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plan to encourage commuters to switch to electric cars as part of a "green revolution" will propel the company back to prosperity in the future.

"There is clearly a desire for more electric vehicles in the UK and Europe," he said. "While it will not be a panacea it will have an important impact on our company and the transport sector."

Cynic - sounds like you may have lost some money on tan ?.
Youre talking about last year but it here and now and priced at only 10p with 12 million in the bank and no debt. Sev us (see www.sev-us.com - tanfield has 49% share ) is developing strongly in the states . Americans support their own industries and many large us companies are showing fleet interest.
Some talk of benefits for electric vehicles in pending budget.
imho

i made money and i lost money but both points are totally irrelevant ...... wake up and smell the coffee, or more precisely, smell the rotting flesh of a once promising company ..... and yes, i know Lazarus came back from the dead