Sign Up NowThis Month's Tiny Gems - December 2012

Calpian, Inc. (CLPI)
Heavy Earth Resources, Inc. (HEVI)
Hydrogenics Corp. (HYGS)

 

 

 

Calpian, Inc. (CLPI)

 

Calpian, Inc. (CLPI), the Dallas-headquartered electronic payment processing industry specialists focused on Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) who serve some 2M small merchants ($1B plus in annual residuals) across the country, made quite an impact at the prestigious 5th Annual LD Micro Growth Conference recently.

 

CLPI was one of the select small-cap/micro-cap companies invited to this year’s LD Micro Growth Conference, having been chosen for their innovative stitching up of a massive position of portfolios acquired from ISOs here in the U.S., their consistent publication and trade show presence, as well as their exciting Money-on-Mobile vector, which is tapping into India’s huge consumer market in a compelling way. With a decade together acquiring residuals (over 35k merchant contracts and 200 transactions), the CLPI team is capitalizing for shareholders on a combined 70 plus years of industry experience and it shows in the strength of their domestic game, even landing a $5M funding boost recently on merit of the strength of their U.S. credit card residuals business.

 

The metrics in India are exceptionally interesting and the angle CLPI has devised is even helped by a flagging Rupee. You see, out of some 1.2B people in the world’s second fastest growing G-20 economy behind China, only roughly 16.7% of the population has a bank account. Let that sink in a minute and then consider the metrics of an all cash economy like that with a very limited payment mechanism infrastructure (debit, credit, and check), where there are nevertheless over 650M cell phones. You tack on the raw logistical transportation issue, with people having to physically walk to and pay for items at point of transaction, and the upside for a solution like Money-on-Mobile becomes overwhelmingly clear.

 

The company is creating shareholder returns while making it easier for consumers and other payment processing industry entities to do business; it’s a win-win across the board. The strength of the domestic ISO capture capability will continue to drive baseline growth while the company’s India front continues to heat up. It is a dynamic phase for CLPI and as investor awareness grows, the stable presence already established through numerous/frequent industry publications in places like Transaction World Magazine, will no doubt be catalyzed.

 

 

 

Heavy Earth Resources, Inc. (HEVI)

 

Heavy Earth Resources, Inc. (HEVI) has assembled a significant position in some of the most exciting hydrocarbon targets Colombia and Guatemala have to offer. The company is continuing to pursue an acquisitive strategy focused on diligent identification of strong petroleum geology fundamentals in proven production areas, as well as under-explored targets showing equivalent commercial promise.

 

HEVI holds a 50% interest in a large (some 57.3k acres) exploration and production contract in the prolific Llanos basin (~1.5B bbls total documented recovery potential), including the exceptional Morichito block, via their Colombia-focused subsidiary, DCX SAS, who is busily managing the company’s interests in the country from their HQ in Bogota. Morichito is sandwiched between four producing fields, including two 20k bopd producers (CEPSA’s Caracara field and Hocol, S.A.’s Guarrojo block). This play also takes advantage of the Bicentennial Pipeline (Morichito block to Coveñas) construction, in combination with the expansion of production/storage infrastructure in Cartagena.

 

Latest word has it that HEVI is ready to enter the first stage of their current drilling/development program for the Morichito block and the company has retained noted industry veteran (and recent Board appointee), B.A. (Brian) Hepp, to take the COO position. Production was slated to commence on the Morichito-5 discovery well in the October report (as the company had acquired all necessary accoutrements to start commercial production on the Morichito-5), with drilling on the Morichito-5B sidetrack well also beginning.

 

HEVI looks to be on-target for their projected Q1 2013 production milestone and the latest report on the company’s net share of prospective resources at Morichito (P10 calculation with customary discount at 0 and 10% before deduction of income tax) indicates a value on the 37.42M bbls somewhere in the range of $1.079B to $585M (P50 calc on 7.89M bbls using the same application yields a range of roughly $128M to $80.1M). HEVI was also able to capture a huge database of 3D seismic data on the Morichito (some 58 square miles worth), opening up even more potential production targets and reinforcing the rich resource model for the site already envisioned by the HEVI team.

 

 

 

Hydrogenics Corp. (HYGS)

 

Hydrogenics Corp. (HYGS), the 60-year veteran Mississauga, Canada-headquartered developer of commercial/industrial hydrogen systems, is known around the world today for their cutting-edge designs, robust manufacturing practices, and extremely professional installation jobs. The company’s tech portfolio spans hydrogen generation, energy storage, and even the fuel cell/hydrogen-based power systems needed to execute a total hydrogen solution (small or large scale), thus encompassing a truly full-spectrum approach that is also modular enough to satisfy single application markets.

 

Projects like the €2.86M, European Commission-funded Don Quichote facility, for which the company recently announced having won a key hydrogen storage system award (as part of an influential 9-member consortium), are a gold mine for HYGS. This particular project will see Hydrogenics demonstrating the technical viability of an integrated hydrogen storage system, something the company has great experience with helping many remote communities and utility-scale customers to completely move from diesel gensets to a 100% renewable energy infrastructure based on environmentally sound hydrogen. The Don Quichote project (slated to take five years to complete) will also incorporate a 350 bar electrochemical compressor, 30Nm3 PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolyzer system, and a 90 kW fuel cell system.

 

These are areas where the company has tremendous technical strength, having developed their HySTAT™ A (alkaline) and HySTAT™ PEM Electrolysers (using the company’s proprietary PEM stack technology), with industrial-scale deployments in mind. Their systems are ideal for a wide range of industrial production scenarios that require serious on-site generation with a low-maintenance profile. HYGS first demonstrated their smaller-scale HyLYZER™ PEM setup back in 2004 and it has since been incorporated into Toronto’s Hydrogen Village initiative. The market for clean transportation fuel is massive and HySTAT™ Electrolysers coupled with a fueling station offers compelling consumer dynamics, with fuel cell-grade hydrogen and zero emissions. The company has all the gear needed to set up hydrogen “gas stations.”

 

Fuel cells like the 90kW component needed for the Don Quichote facility are another strength for HYGS, with fully executed hydrogen solutions in bus, forklift, and other fleet utility vehicle applications. The company’s HyPX™ Power Packs offer unbeatable uptime with units able to refuel in just 3 minutes, as well better overall powertrain efficiency (longer lifespan, less maintenance) due to more consistent voltage than standard lead-acid battery packs, which are also time consuming and hazardous to change out. Similarly, the HyPM™ HD Fuel Cell Power Modules bring the same powerful and flexible, yet highly dependable functionality to busses and public transport vehicles.