Sale – PV Crystalox Solar

Monday, 10 January, 2011 10:00 Written by Paul 0 Comments

The 30th December 2010 marked a sad day for Investor Trader. Following the sale of our entire holding of PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS.L) it was the first time since we began our little project in April 2009, that our portfolio held no wind or solar energy shares.

Over the journey at different stages a large percentage of our portfolio has been tied up in Renesola. That is until they packed up their AIM listing and took all their toys to the New York Stock Exchange in November. We also held shares in Clipper Windpower until they became a UTC takeover target in November last year.

With the sale of PV Crystalox Solar it was our decision. A case of possibly being able to make our investment penny perform a little better elsewhere.

Here’s why we jumped in with PV Crystalox Solar to begin with. Small Company Share Watch also wrote a bullish piece in their May 2010 issue and those guys rarely get it wrong.

To be honest, we probably didn’t give PV Crystalox Solar the run it deserved. We bought in on 18th October 2010 – 1,719 shares at 57.21 pence a share – and sold out on the 30th December 2010 – 1,719 shares at 51.03 pence a share. We took a loss in the region of a hundred quid before costs.

I find when your portfolio is performing well and travelling with a few strong gainers anything that is sliding – even slightly – comes under scrutiny. When you’re running with a portfolio of over 10 shares there’s constantly two or three that fall into that category. It’s a danger because you can fall into the trap of over-trading.

Here’s the three month chart (courtesy of SharePrice.co.uk) for PV Crystalox Solar which covers the period we held. Interesting to note it’s put on 10% since we left. I hope it does well going forward, I’d love to jump back in and hold a performing PVCS for years to come.

If anyone has any solar or wind power share tips we’d love it if you posted them in the comments box below.

Thanks again for dropping by.

Purchase – Alecto Energy

Tuesday, 16 November, 2010 17:23 Written by Paul 0 Comments

The fundamental change in our portfolio mix continues.

With the recent sale of all our Renesola, Clipper Windpower and OPG Power Ventures holdings and what for us is a fairly heavy (in terms of portfolio percentage) investment in Berkeley Mineral Resources, we’ve taken a leap into more speculative mineral waters. Ouch! Sorry, do pardon the pun.

Well, that’s a subjective call I guess. What’s speculative to some is rock solid to others. Many would argue that the labels: solar (Renesola), wind-power (Clipper) and India (OPG) in terms of investment have speculation written all over them. My personal investment philosophy though sees no great risk involved long term in alternative energy. And India’s power needs are only going in one direction as we move forward.

But, I digress. Our latest purchase is a ton of Alecto Energy, well 44,272 shares to be exact, that we picked up for 3.75 pence a share last Thursday for a total outlay before costs of £1,660.20.

It may be just me but when I take up penny shares in lots of tens of thousands, the potential to double, triple or even quadruple my initial investment in a timely manner seems all the more realistic.

To back up this theory, check out the one month charts for Herencia (1.28 to 2.72 pence), Red Rock Resources (6.18 to 12.38 pence) and Victoria Oil and Gas (3.11 to 6.70 pence). Ahhh foresight, what a wonderful gift. Unfortunately it’s one I don’t possess. Our portfolio contains none of these.

Now I know a million and one investors would argue that, that is utter nonsense and a ten quid share has the same likelihood – ceterus parabus – of doubling as a ten pence share. And they’re probably right. But to my warped way of thinking, I see more chance of my 3 pence shares trading at a quid than I do of any 10 quid shares trading at £330.

Damned digression, now, where was I? That’s right, Alecto Energy. Our reasons? Basically, in the last month Alecto has been awarded three gold and copper mining and two uranium mining licenses in the Mauritanide mobile belt of Mauritania and there’s the possibility of more good news on the horizon.

As always do a ton of your own homework and take none of the above as investment advice. It isn’t. It is simply the warped ramblings of an amateur investor.

Thanks again for stopping by. If you’re after a sure thing, head on over to Kiva and help a third world entrepreneur help themselves.

Sale – Renesola

Tuesday, 09 November, 2010 11:57 Written by Paul 0 Comments

With last rites being performed on Renesola’s AIM listing before shifting their focus solely to their New York Stock Exchange listing, last Thursday 4th November we sold off our final tranche of 500 shares of our portfolio stalwart for 4.0150 pence a share and a total return of £2,007.50 before dealer costs.

We were averaged into Renesola at £1.12 a share so we took a 350% profit on Renesola this time round. Renesola has always been good to me over the years. Taking me up toward the giddy heights of £7 before I lost my nerve and smacked the sell key and letting me slip back in under a quid in that very same year. A favourite of the shorters so there’s always been plenty of banter on the BBs to boot. It’s been a wonderful ride.

Since we set out on the Investor Trader journey back in April 2009, Renesola has been our most heavily traded share, having bought in and out on nine occasions in the past 18 months. She was our financial muse. We’ll be sad to see her go.

As a token of our respect we’ve splashed a little cash back into the solar market with PV Crystalox Solar and of course there’s still a Chinese connection in our portfolio with Asian Citrus Holdings Limited and Hutchison China Meditech which are both performing admirably.

But nothing can ever replace that special blend of an alternative energy AIM share from China, in my mind at least. They’re not tears on my keyboard, just sweat from this spicy Szechuan chicken.

Purchase – PV Crystalox Solar

Tuesday, 19 October, 2010 14:42 Written by Paul 0 Comments

So with my Renesola adventures due to come to an end in the coming weeks, the first of my four purchases this week, will come as a no-brainer to those who’ve followed Investor Trader over the journey.

PV Crystalox Solar is a, yep, you guessed it, solar energy company. Though it lacks the Chinese connection it’s still a major player in Asia (especially Japan). We purchased 1,719 shares at 57.21 pence a share.

To quote from the tin:

With 25 years (28 now) in solar technology development, PV Crystalox Solar is a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline silicon ingots and wafers, the key component in solar power systems.

Its customers, the world’s leading solar cell producers, combine these wafers into solar modules to harness the clean, silent and renewable power from the sun.

From a purely chartist point of view I quite like our entry point. I’m hoping the dips in May and October of this year constitute a double bottom.

After a pretty ordinary 2009 which saw PVCS earnings per share drop from 21 pence to a little over 6 pence, the company is looking a lot healthier as production is ramped at their poly-silicon plant in Germany and production costs continue to drop.

On the flip side, prices too, continue to drop. But as prices drop we edge ever closer to “grid parity” and the potential “solar rush” the industry would no doubt enjoy when that day comes.

I dare say a lot of UK Renesola holders who want to keep their investments on this side of the pond will be taking a closer look at PVCS.L in the coming weeks. And despite everything fundamental and what the charts say, my gut just tells me that investing in solar long term can’t be a bad thing!

Thanks again for dropping by and remember to pay Kiva a visit and help a third world entrepreneur get up and running.

Sale – A Little More Renesola

Monday, 27 September, 2010 17:15 Written by Paul 0 Comments

So we pulled the trigger on Renesola and sold off 500 shares – half our holding – last Wednesday at a price of £3.5375 per share. The reasoning: well, besides SOLA.L pushing some two year highs, we’re working to a little bit of a deadline before Renesola dumps its AIM listing and takes all of its toys to New York.

So whilst it’s always nice to bank a triple-bagger (we are averaged into Renesola at £1.1227 per share) there’s still a sense of loss at what could have been. Put it this way. If Renesola’s move away from AIM wasn’t imminent, I wouldn’t have contemplated selling. Renesola’s chart of late is a ripper.

Now I know there are European based brokers out there willing and able to deal in New York and today markets are truly international, but to be honest, I’ve been happy in the past sticking primarily with UK based shares, albeit in this case with Chinese operations and a joint NYSE listing.

Adding a US component to my portfolio seems like an almost unnecessary risk. Close of markets in New York is past my bed time so there’s an element of not always being fully informed too. That’s my justification at any rate.

I’m still holding a further 500 shares and the price is still rising (it’s just touched £3.70 as I type) so I’ve still a got a few weeks left to decide whether to follow Renesola to the US.

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