Where did all the money go?

Where did the money go? The perennial question every time a company heads into bankruptcy.

It is of particular interest in cases of failed MIS companies for anyone trying to assess the effectiveness of the MIS model and the efficacy of Government policy in the important area of land use.

The recently fallen Great Southern Limited (GSL) represented 30% to 35% of the MIS industry in turnover terms. Whilst it has operated since 1987 it didn’t list on the ASX until 1999. There’s reasonably good data available from 1st July 1998 until 30th September 2008 which may shed some light on how the MIS industry has operated.

More info please

I agree with Matt ( Why there was no doorstop ). Avoiding doorstop interviews are minor misdemeanours.

Provided the Premier maintains continuous disclosure.

The Premier’s recent speech to the Party faithful echoes much of the State of the State speech in March 2009.Consider the much vaunted irrigation proposals (in March), which “revolves around the creation of a Statewide water economy to make Tasmania a foodbowl for Australia. “

PAL policy

The election campaign has already started if the weekend’s press reports are any guide.

Mr Will Hodgman will certainly bring a fresh approach to policy making if he replicates his recent parliamentary performance in the matter of the PAL policy.

The State is now without a Protection of Agricultural Land (PAL) policy.

FEA update

Forest Enterprises (FEA) announced to ASX on 26th June 2009 a lower than expected MIS sales figure for the almost completed year 2008/09(FY09). http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20090626/pdf/31j8mn9qqfyr3x.pdf
And a lower than the hankered figure as per the ASX announcement of 27th May 2009.

The “sales are likely to be significantly less than the $60 million achieved in FY06 and FY07”.

Significantly less, that’s an unequivocal statement.

Voodoo economics

Consultants are often willing to write reports to support floundering arguments. The forest industry's commissioning a report comparing the assistance it receives with other industries is a case in point.

At first I thought it (see Brucey hits back for forestry) was written as a spoof.

Or maybe similar to the recent Sunday Tasmanian Op Ed piece that was riddled with errors from the very first paragraph, designed as an educational exercise, encouraging students to spot the incorrect facts, identify the non sequiturs and the sophist techniques with a view to honing their skills.

Gunns after the deluge

Surviving MIS companies Gunns and Forest Enterprises are at pains to distance themselves from their fallen comrades, Timbercorp and Great Southern.

The boss of Gunns Plantations Ltd Ian Blanden was reported in Business Spectator on 25th May 2009 as saying,“(o)ur business model is very different ………. We are a forest products company who have established an agribusiness investment or forestry investment arm. We’re not an MIS company………..we’re an end user looking for a resource, not a resource searching for an end user and we have a very diversified source of revenue, MIS making up somewhere between 10 and 15 per cent of our annual revenue to the Gunns group.”

Wither FEA?

Gunns have been trying to point out ( Gunns after the deluge ) how they differ from the recently fallen Timbercorp and Great Southern.

What about Forest Enterprises Australia Ltd (FEA)? Any similarities?