Investors gave the Murray River Organics group a lukewarm welcome when the company (ASX code MRG) resumed trading last Friday after a long suspension.
The good news was that the shares traded only a whisker below 10c, the price set for the recent share purchase plan.
However, 10c is a whopping 70 per cent down on the price before they were suspended on June 4.
The shares will have to double in price before the Punter breaks even.
A great deal has happened during the suspension – in-depth reviews, cost cutting, re-organisation, financial restructuring and fundraising.
In the year ended in June, the dried fruit and nut group had sales of $68.5 million, but lost $60m after tax.
Clearly, a great deal needed to happen.
If it all pays off, in a year or so the 10c share price might look like one of 2018's bargain buys.
In January last year MRG were selling for more than $1.30 a share.
One faint shadow hanging over the company is the bid launched last month by the outsted founders of MRG, Jamie Nemtsas and Erling Sorensen, to convene a general meeting of shareholders to try to win back control.
Under the Corporations Act, today is the deadline for the company to issue the official notice for such a meeting.
However, one of the key demands of the rebel shareholders was the cancellation of the share offer, which has already been successfully completed.
If the general meeting of the company does go ahead, the Punter will be backing the existing board.
Meanwhile, two of his former investments are firmly back on his watchlist.
CropLogic (CLI), and Wellard (WLD) are both near or at new lows for the year, and are starting to seem cheap.
A low price by itself is no reason to buy, but the Punter will have a closer look.
- The Punter has no financial qualifications and no links to the financial services industry. He owns shares in a number of companies featured in this column.