We have done a very conservative valuation of the company, based on less than half the expected revenues over the coming 5 years, with no valuation for the unsold shares and no valuation for Associate Vanilla sales. It does not yet include the valuations of Gardens 15, 16, and 17, which is for an expected 12,000 plants, almost half again the current valuation.
The total is
Rp38,099,065,317.52, which amounts to some
US$2,665,410.
Please bear in mind this is the current asset valuation. An accountant would say it is a fraction of this, an MBA would value it as about twenty times this! When we make our first sale, the value will skyrocket.
Current share price is Rp1,400,000 and this is imminently due to rise to Rp1,500,000.
Attached is the calculation, which actually shows a ten-year value of US$16 million. Very simple and basic, all we need at present for I am intending to use this to keep track of the company's growth.
We currently have
17,741 vanilla vines in the ground, with shade trees waiting to receive a further
11,000. There are
3,200 cuttings ready for transplanting, which are earmarked for
Garden 16, and in two weeks we shall start
10,000 cuttings for
Garden 17.
Garden 18 was verbally agreed, another 8,000 plants, but fell through when the owner realized we would cut down the coconut trees. Not to worry, we have early agreements in place for a lot more land. This is not something we worry about…
We are offered land in four different locations in Bali, which we need to inspect, and also in Kalimantan and Sulawesi. We aren’t ready to expand outside of Bali yet, probably not for another 6 months at least.
One thing that has pleased me is we have discovered a pest of vanilla; Actually, two
! A particularly unpleasant slug and a nocturnal caterpillar. Why am I pleased? Because it isn’t natural to have a mass of nice food plants and not have something wanting to eat it. And because we can control them simply and easily, with two methods. I wish to fill the Gardens with the Keeled Slug-eating snake, a lovely little snake about 25cm long that is a voracious eater of slugs and snails. Sadly, our farmers don’t believe it is not absolutely deadly and are not as keen as me… So our second method receives preference. We make a liquid feed by putting onions and sugar in water, and this is sprayed on the vanilla every two weeks. The slugs and caterpillars don’t like it… I still prefer the snakes.
I hope you are keeping up with the reports on the new website,
https://www.royalspicegardens.com/investor-insights/ and so won’t repeat these stories here.
We are increasing our share sales activity. Paul has delivered a presentation in South Bali to a special group of businessmen, and we are looking at doing some targeted advertising. I am still assured that a Singapore asset company wishes to sell our shares, and we shall see some progress in November. We are also asked to participate in the World Vanilla Festival, about which I know very little.
Our Genotype report from the Brawijaya University in Malang is complete and has at last been issued to us. Oh, I just love bureaucracy! Talking of which, the notaris should have the new Akte with new shareholders done shortly, and we will then have to immediately start on the next one as I doubt that all of you are included.
In mid-October we are due to meet with a representative from IFF, the major vanilla buyer, to discuss possibilities and we expect to find out their expectations of the global market. This tends to be different to that publicized. Madagascar has announced that in future all vanilla will be harvested in the same week, the final date to be determined each year. To our mind, this is total folly and will ruin the quality of Madagascan vanilla. Surely they will not keep up with this. We shall continue to harvest only ripe beans and focus on top, top quality.
The weather has been poor, but now we are getting a few days of strong sunshine and the vanilla is responding with lots of buds. Still early days, the vines will continue to flower through to January, but our attempt to force the vines to flower earlier by pruning hasn’t worked. Like all farmers, we are at the mercy of the weather! Not that the vanilla cares too much, I think, and there is always a benefit for every setback. The rain gets the young vanilla going strongly.
