Over-optimism won't help Quickstep investors

Today's Australian Financial Review (AFR) has s special report Defence insert.

It has a piece of overly optimistic reporting on Quickstep and its industry hopes on the F-35.

It states that they hope for $700M over 20 years on F-35 work.

Yet in 2010 that was shown as "potential".




The article also implies that the U.S. is going to get 2400-some F-35s.

Given how the business plan has fallen down for the F-35, that many jets is a very big dream.

Poor investors getting mislead by a puff-piece article by an alleged leader in Australia on big-business finance "reporting".

I wonder where the rent-seekers will see their billions in F-35 work for Australia?

Australia's Quickstep is now shipping F-35 parts...there is a problem though

Quickstep has to show its investors that it is doing something. Take for instance this announcement.

Here is the business they should have been doing, (in blue).

That is a lot of lost money.

Interesting as Lockheed Martin's front man Tom Burbage told Parliament the other day that there is $4.5B in home industry potential.

Interesting because that is a cut by half of what the politicians and business leaders where told when Australia signed up for the F-35.

Hopefully Quickstep can alter their business plans.

Confusion at Quickstep over F-35 business?

When it happened, I was surprised that Production Parts died. Even though it was probably a matter of time.

Bonfire of the SMEs?

Australia's Quickstep--who is involved in F-35 components--has to hope things get better, because hope is all they have. This PDF to shareholders last week tries to state that everything is going good in spite of the bad news.

Quickstep uses the 5th generation fighter meme and tries to make the reader believe that there is a bright future for F-35 work:

It is unfortunate that the business plan that Quickstep based their F-35 plan on is now officially dead.

Quickstep will have to adapt this part of its business on a 30 jet per year order prospect.

That, compared to the spin, is real fact.

Something investors need these days in the defence sector.