Back in Stratford, Australia has just picked up another gold medal in the “Missing quarterly targets men’s relay event” Barry Cahill held the baton for the first 12 quarters before passing it on to Kevin Maloney who stepped in with a blinding finish to ensure that for 13 quarters in a row the AIM and ASXlisted Norseman Gold (LSE:NGL) squad has missed its production targets. The question is whether Maloney will do a lap of honour and miss again?
13 quarters. That is quite a feat. It’s certainly unlucky for some (viz shareholders) but perhaps we have reached the bottom? The bad news is that the Harlequin decline is now to be shut for 2-3 months to address technical issues. Er… it was falling in on itself. The good news ( or rather promise, and a Norseman promise is pretty worthless) is that the company will flex capacity elsewhere (North Wall) to keep the mill running at capacity so that production targets can, for once, be met. Norseman still reckons that it will do 80,000 ounces this year (to June 30th 2013) and be up at 100,000-120,000 next time. If so, then at 2.65p, it is one of the cheapest stocks on AIM as I explain HERE.
The problem is that Maloney will be punished by investors for a) the overly dilutive placing just completed and b) the dire track record of the Cahill regime. So until we see him deliver then the shares will not be re-rated fast. If he does deliver then this stock will be a multibagger.