How to Read Corporate Presentations
"It is not illegal for companies to fail to provide you full information in these presentations," he cautions.
"As you dig deeper, the incongruities that you discover between what they show in the presentation and what they actually have tell you a lot about their integrity, who they think they work for, and what respect they hold for you, the owners of the company," Bhandari says.
"I need to know how much money a company is going to spend this year," he says.
"How much money do you have in the bank?"
"Companies are notorious for having $2m in the bank and a $6m burn rate. Often the plan is to make up the difference by selling a bunch more shares. That is when I turn on my heel and walk away. I would rather buy after the company has diluted the current investors."
"One of the most common problems I see in these reports relates to the resource estimates. A large number of those turned out to be inaccurate, making the financial models based on them wrong," he warns.
"In theory, that cutoff grade should be what a company or resource estimator projects is the breakeven point between making money and losing money. If the cutoff grade is, say, 0.5 grams per tonne, then I like to see an average grade that is at least twice that, say, over 1 g/t, because above that is where you really make the money."
"All that the retail investor can do is guestimate if the grade and tonnes are sufficient to cover the probable capital and mining costs," he warns.
"Be wary of a company that puts out a news release with no maps, no sections and no data. Watch for news releases that report high grades smeared over long intervals, and always search for historical data from the property being promoted. Most properties have a history that gives you some insight into possible tonnes and grade."
"People love talking about success, so if the company has nothing to say for itself, it's probably best to move on to the next one," he says.
"Please distill for me the most important unanswered question right now. What's the thing that you can do that will deliver me the quantum increase in value that is required to induce me to take the risk to invest in your shares?"
"How long will it take to get an answer to that question and how much money will be required to answer the question?"