Roy Spencer, CEO of European Diamonds has been given a rough ride by investors over the past 12 months. if (!( col1 == '' )) { document.write(col1) }
Despite managing to build a new diamond mine in Lesotho under budget, the market has punished European for other bumps on the road to production - the share price tumbled from 60p to 20p over the last year as the company ran into problems raising capital and keeping to timescales to start diamond production.
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For investors who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the carnage to abate, the time to pounce may be coming soon.
At the AGM for European Diamonds in December, we noted that their was a strong emphasis on focusing on the future of the company and not dwelling on the past problems. Right to. The company is on the cusp of selling it?s first major parcel of diamonds in Antwerp and we already know EPD have a number of fancy yellow diamonds to sell which were held back at the last auction.
European diamonds has put a lot of effort into not only bringing a mine into production, but also sorting out the structure of the company. The company is close to making an announcement on a new senior post on the board of directors, and from what we hear, they have pulled in a big hitter. EPD have also switched advisors from Numis to Cannacord Capital. Considering that Numis didn?t even attend EPD?s AGM this year, it is no surprise they have got the boot. Hopefully Cannacord, which has made considerable inroads into London recently, will be more keen to help EPD market itself and products.
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EPD have also just announced another small fundraising, but more interestingly, the company has managed to get RAB capital on board. Some members of the investment community bemoan RAB and their investment style, but we think it?s a bit odd to knock an investment group which has brought a lot of capital to the table for mining juniors. RAB also has a good record of buying into stocks at favourable prices.
With RAB on the EPD shareholder register and the company moving ever closer to their first major diamond sale, investors may want to take a second look at EPD.