Insider buying at Carmanah Technologies

Carmanah Technologies CEO John Simmons. Shares of Carmanah Technologies (TSX:CMH) have been falling for the better part of seven years, but some of those closest to the company are betting on better days ahead.

Carmanah CEO John Simmons and Independent Director Peter Berrang have both made recent purchases of Carmanah stock in the open market. Both men picked up more than 300,000 shares on November 25 and 26th, at prices ranging from $.115 to $.013.

Simmons and Berrang joined the Victoria company’s board this past summer, on the same day. The pair came over in a management shuffle that saw CEO Bruce Cousins resign and Robert Cruickshank and Daniel Nocente quit the board. Director Bob Wiens left the board on October 1st.

The company said the changes were the result of AGM voting results in which major shareholders of the company had expressed their interests.

Carmanah produces solar lights that are designed to work in the harshest of environments. The company specializes in lighting for aviation and obstruction and for marine applications, though in an interview conducted before his departure Cousins said the company’s wheelhouse was its self-contained signalling products that are used for pedestrian safety and in the oil and gas market. There has been no official word from Simmons on whether or not he agrees with that assessment.

Carmanah’s revenue, which once topped $60-million has fallen to less than half that, and the company has been awash in red ink. Its recent third quarter revealed a loss of $1.4-million on revenue of $4.9-million.

At press time, shares of Carmanah were down 17.2% to $0.12.

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