Opinions David Baskin
Sherritt International Corp.S.TOCOMMENTDec 17, 2014
$2.87
Stock price when the opinion was issued
$0.12
As of May 19, 2026. Market Open.
integrated mines
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RISKY
Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research
It is certainly not beyond possibility. Bloomberg default ratio is 7.36%, which is very high for that indicator. Cash flow was negative in the last quarter, yet 12-month interest expenses were $36.1M net. With its small size and Cuban and other issues, we are not sure it could raise a lot of money with a dilutive equity issue. Most debt matures in 2026. Certainly any investment here needs to be considered extremely risky.
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DON'T BUY
This is a zero, although not priced there yet. That is where it is going. It has been a lousy company for a long time. Madagascar will prove to be their undoing. They defaulted on their debt in February. Their debt is currently worth 54 cents on the dollar so the stock is worth zero.
integrated mines
COMMENT
The share price keeps falling. Why? The biggest thing recently is in Cuba where they have assets and deal with the government to repatriate cash flow, not related to that quarter's cash flow. A quarter ago, Cuba didn't pay. Two weeks ago, they announced a solution, a deal with the Cuban government which is cash-strapped, especially as it deals with the costs of hurricanes that have hit Cuba. Cuba has to pay or else it will scare off other Western companies.
integrated mines
COMMENT
Cobalt is a partner commodity in the production of lithium batteries. Earnings are expected to be negative in 2019. Cobalt prices have risen sharply, causing manufacturers to find a way to move away from using it -- nickle may replace it (as an aside Sherritt could be a potential benefactor of this). He would consider selling FCC-V in favour of XBC-V (who focuses on garbage dump gas extraction).
integrated mines
It took a while for Cuba to start opening up with the US. On today’s news, this stock went up over 25%. However, they are still not out of the woods. There is going to be tremendous opposition from the Republicans in Congress, particularly the 3 Republicans of Cuban-American heritage. It is far from clear whether Obama will have the clout, as a lame-duck president, to do what he really wants to do, which is to end the embargo. If he ends the embargo, then there can be trade between the 2 countries of all kinds of assets, and not just this opening salvo of $100 worth of cigars and a trip to a resort.