November 12

A major highlight of Abano’s annual meeting was the attendance of Mark Stewart and his unwillingness to answer questions regarding his offer for 51 per cent of the company.

Stewart was encouraged to get on his feet by public relations advisor Geoff Senescall after he was asked about his expertise in growing companies and his plans for Abano if he gained control. His response was short and to the point.  He said his main reason for attending the meeting was to listen to Chairman Alison Paterson and Managing Director Alan Clarke and he was not going to answer any questions on his past performance or plans for Abano.

Paterson told shareholders that the company was trading ahead of the profit guidance figures released on October 8. 
 
 Abano guidance – issued on October 8

	FY05*	FY06**	FY07	FY08 Forecast
Revenue	66.7	65.2	89.5	122.7
EBITDA	7.5	6.7	13.9	22.2
EBIT	4.2	4.4	10.7	17.5
Net Interest Expense	(2.9)	(0.5)	(0.9)	(2.6)
Put option "interest"	0.0	(0.9)	(1.2)	(1.7)
NPBT	1.3	3.3	8.7	13.2
Tax	(0.3)	(1.7)	(3.4)	(5.4)
Minority interests	0.0	0.0	(0.3)	(0.7)
NPAT	1.0	1.6	5.0	7.1

 *NZIFRS adopted in 06. FY 05 figures restated.
** Excludes capital gain on sale of ElderCare

She said that three parties had signed a due diligence agreement and two of these had undertaken the exercise. Steward’s Masthead had been sent a due diligence agreement but it had yet to sign and return the documents.

The overwhelming opinion of shareholders, both big and small, was that Stewart’s bid would be unsuccessful. Directors and executives said that there had only been a trickle of acceptances and they didn’t expect Stewart to reach 51 per cent.

A few hours later Stewart issued a bizarre press release saying he had attended the meeting to “find out more about the competing bidders” and “when we could expect an offer (from other bidders)”.

This raises the question whether Stewart is a genuine buyer or whether he is bumping up the share price in order to sell out at a healthy profit?

Brian Gaynor – 9/11/07