7bulls.com shifts focus yet again
7bulls.com, the Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed company, expects to return a profit this year, as the market for car deliveries has entered a period of growth, stimulated by increased capital spending. Experts predict that the market for car deliveries, which provides most of the company's revenues, will continue to have favorable market conditions in the months ahead. So why is the stock a complete non-flyer on the exchange?
"As far as I know, no analysts cover this company," says an analyst at a large brokerage house. "We don't even know which sector it would fall into. How do you cover a firm like that?" His comments reveal the problem that investors have with the company, which began its operations under the name of AS Motors.
At the heyday of the dotcom bubble in 2000, the firm acquired a Poznań-based IT service provider 7bulls.com and soon re-branded itself, moving its truck-distribution business to a subsidiary company - Uni-Truck. The shift of focus to e-commerce came just months before the market collapsed and, within eighteen months, 7bulls underwent another period of restructuring. The core business was again moved to a subsidiary, a controlling stake in which was then offloaded to strategic investors. 7bulls.com now holds less than a 20 percent share in its IT spin-off of the same name.
Since then the firm has also sold its truck business to Jaguar Poland for zł.7.5 million. Or so the company thought. It has now transpired that Jaguar failed to pay for the acquisition and Uni-Truck is back in 7bulls.com group. The group now consists of six companies, three of which are dormant and do not conduct any business activities.
It might seem that 7bulls.com has gone a long way, only to return to its starting point, but the firm's management do not seem to share this prspective.
"We never really left this market, and the auto industry has always been part of our business," says Jacek Łuczak, the firm's director. But he goes on to say that the current revenue structure, dominated by the truck business, does not determine the direction it will take in the future.
"We are firmly committed to shifting our profile to real estate," Łuczak says, referring to the plans for yet another shift of the firm's business profile. In May this year, 7bulls.com announced it would drop all its activities to date and attempt to make money on the various properties it holds across the country.
The company kicked-off its new business with a deal with Tarnów Podgórny-based developer Kampa Polska, which builds exclusive residential housing. Under the contract, a special purpose company will be set up, with 7bulls.com contributing 19 hectares of land in Stara Wieś, near Nadarzyn, with an estimated value of zł.12 million (e2.6 million). Under the deal, Kampa would build a residential development on the site within two years.
According to Kampa Polska, the investment has not yet begun and the company's CEO was in Warsaw last week negotiating the details of the contract. Meanwhile, the future of the IT integrator-cum-real estate developer-cum-auto distributor 7bulls.com remains as much of a mystery as ever.
"As far as I know, no analysts cover this company," says an analyst at a large brokerage house. "We don't even know which sector it would fall into. How do you cover a firm like that?" His comments reveal the problem that investors have with the company, which began its operations under the name of AS Motors.
At the heyday of the dotcom bubble in 2000, the firm acquired a Poznań-based IT service provider 7bulls.com and soon re-branded itself, moving its truck-distribution business to a subsidiary company - Uni-Truck. The shift of focus to e-commerce came just months before the market collapsed and, within eighteen months, 7bulls underwent another period of restructuring. The core business was again moved to a subsidiary, a controlling stake in which was then offloaded to strategic investors. 7bulls.com now holds less than a 20 percent share in its IT spin-off of the same name.
Since then the firm has also sold its truck business to Jaguar Poland for zł.7.5 million. Or so the company thought. It has now transpired that Jaguar failed to pay for the acquisition and Uni-Truck is back in 7bulls.com group. The group now consists of six companies, three of which are dormant and do not conduct any business activities.
It might seem that 7bulls.com has gone a long way, only to return to its starting point, but the firm's management do not seem to share this prspective.
"We never really left this market, and the auto industry has always been part of our business," says Jacek Łuczak, the firm's director. But he goes on to say that the current revenue structure, dominated by the truck business, does not determine the direction it will take in the future.
"We are firmly committed to shifting our profile to real estate," Łuczak says, referring to the plans for yet another shift of the firm's business profile. In May this year, 7bulls.com announced it would drop all its activities to date and attempt to make money on the various properties it holds across the country.
The company kicked-off its new business with a deal with Tarnów Podgórny-based developer Kampa Polska, which builds exclusive residential housing. Under the contract, a special purpose company will be set up, with 7bulls.com contributing 19 hectares of land in Stara Wieś, near Nadarzyn, with an estimated value of zł.12 million (e2.6 million). Under the deal, Kampa would build a residential development on the site within two years.
According to Kampa Polska, the investment has not yet begun and the company's CEO was in Warsaw last week negotiating the details of the contract. Meanwhile, the future of the IT integrator-cum-real estate developer-cum-auto distributor 7bulls.com remains as much of a mystery as ever.
