To the Shareholders of
I wanted to provide you with a detailed update on Cemtrex’s activities over the last several months. If you have been following our progress closely then you will know that we have made many changes to our organization with the hope that we will generate attractive returns for all of you as we go forward. I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk a little bit more in depth about our Company in a way that might provide additional insight into why management has made some of the decisions we have, and how management views the current opportunities in our portfolio.
Over the last five years we have made a number of different investments. Some have proven to be quite fruitful while others, unfortunately, have not led to great results. We cannot change the missteps we have taken, but we have certainly learned from them and learned how to avoid them in the future. While we remain bullish in the emerging opportunities that
Looking ahead, we can confidently say that the path we are on today is clearer than ever, with the highest assurance of success that we have had since the Company’s inception. But what does success mean? For us, a company over the long term should be able to generate a higher return with its cash than would be possible by investing it in the S&P 500 index. Everything starts with this fundamental premise. Sadly, today there are many public companies that do not meet this test, including ours in recent years. Over the last ten years, despite making several smart decisions, we made some unforced errors which resulted in relinquishing any positive returns in our common stock that could have been realized. However, despite these setbacks we remain well poised for a positive turnaround on this front. Based on the numerous changes over the last twenty four months and restructuring of our business that we undertook in November of 2022, I am confident that we are on the right track to start consistently driving above average returns. Let’s dive into why that is the case:
With the restructuring completed
When we make an investment, we primarily look at two measures of capital return efficiency. The first is with respect to our investment. What is the cash-on-cash return of the investment over its life compared to the S&P 500? Additionally, we look at, on an annual basis, what is the Annual Net Income against the starting FY Shareholder’s Equity in the business?
We acquired AIS during our FY 2016 for a total purchase price of
Furthermore, when we look at our second measure for this business, the annual return on equity, we see additional encouraging results. The annual return on beginning shareholder’s equity for AIS, on average, over the last 8 years, again excluding PPP benefits in 2021, has been approximately 35%. This important measure encourages management to continue investing its equity into this business to drive outsized returns. Additional factors that make AIS an attractive business are: 1) approximately 70% of our sales come from repeat customers we do business with; 2) attractive 30%+ gross margins that we see further opportunity to drive higher as we grow the business; 3) the macro-economic factors in the
For FY 2023, AIS produced strong results, with sales reaching
Regarding our Security segment, let’s focus on our investment in Vicon of which we own 95%.
In FY 2023, Vicon produced significantly better results, with sales growing from
The exciting part is that we believe relative to our current investment, limited additional capital, if any, will be required on Cemtrex’s behalf to drive further growth at Vicon. Based on the continued opportunity for growth, we believe that Vicon has tremendous potential to increase its enterprise value over the next five years that would maintain or exceed the annual return on our capital. This will be accomplished primarily by driving further topline growth, increasing operating profits, and scaling Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) products that we believe can drive multiple expansion.
In our segment reporting we now carve out our Corporate costs, essentially the costs to manage these portfolio companies and the costs of being a public company, as a separate segment so that it is easier for our shareholders to better ascertain the underlying performance of the businesses we own. The Corporate costs today reduce our operating income meaningfully, but as we scale the business these costs will continue to remain at low levels relative to our earnings.
As legendary investor
All the above certainly doesn’t summarize all the accomplishments that have taken place within our Company this past year. We have added a number of talented employees, restructured some of our debt to give us greater flexibility for growth, completed an important acquisition at AIS, and launched several exciting products at Vicon that will set it on a path for long term success for years to come. We feel, based on the results above, that FY 2023 represents a key turning point for us, as we have a renewed focus, clarity, and resolve to deliver exceptional results going forward.
Sincerely,
Saagar Govil
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
About
AIS –
For more information visit www.cemtrex.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the closing of the offering, gross proceeds from the offering, our new product offerings, expected use of proceeds, or any proposed fundraising activities. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward looking statements. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. These risks and uncertainties are discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in our Form 10-K filed with the
Investor RelationsChris Tyson Executive Vice President –MZ North America Direct: 949-491-8235 CETX@mzgroup.us www.mzgroup.us
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