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Montreal Business Magazine Top 30
Small- and Mid-Cap Quebec Companies 2000
Montreal Business Magazine/The Globe and Mail
7/3/2000
Armed with a 10-year patent and a clutch of convinced insurers, R.A.N.K.I.N. Technologies Inc. is ready to take a big bite out of crime. The company''s Boomerang system for tracking stolen vehicles has already found favour with more than 550 customers whose SUVS, cars and boats have been recovered, often within ninety minutes of being swiped.

"Satellite tracking is great when you''re lost and need directions, or for fleet management," says company President and CEO Peter Lashchuk, "but not for stolen vehicles. Professionals can easily defeat the system. It doesn''t work indoors, and it''s expensive. Also, we can pinpoint to within one foot, which satellites can''t, giving police coordinates so they can obtain a search warrant. We don''t consider satellite systems to be competition."

Boomerang is a cellular-based system that works wherever your cell phone does, including being able to transmit a signal from inside a metal freight container. ''We''ve had a few recoveries from those, including a Mercedes and Lexus the other day, in a container in Toronto, ready to ship," says Lashchuk.

R.A.N.K.I.N., about to change its company name to Boomerang, went public in May 1999 after three years as a private company. It is targeting the U.S. for expansion, and is intent on opening sales offices to support an increasing network of car dealers and alarm installers that use the product.

The company has already expanded outside its core market of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. it granted a license to a representative in the Dominican Republic after the licensee demonstrated a market there in high-end cars such as Jaguar and Mercedes. Head office is eschewing further licensing agreements, however, and will keep control of any expansion in North and South America.

Some insurers have written Boomerang into its policies as a "must-have" before insurance is granted for such high-risk vehicles as the Cherokee, Pathfinder and Ford Explorer. Others offer a rebate, which offsets the $349 retail price tag and ongoing $10 monthly fee to access the cellular network.

Comparing recent financial statistics with previous years indicates the potential growth of the company. First quarter results showed a 155-percent increase in revenues, which reached $739,235 as compared to last year''s $343,973. Customers installed and activated 1,850 units over that same period, representing a 161 percent jump from the previous year.

The most recent figures continue that upward swing: fully 4,080 units were activated this past quarter, and revenues for that quarter alone rose 232% from the previous year to hit $1.44 million.

A LEADER IN THEFT PROTECTION SYSTEMS for vehicles, the system called "Boomerang" tracks and finds stolen vehicles through cellular technology, thanks to a pact with Bell Mobility. The company behind Boomerang, R.A.N.K.I.N. Technologies, has also lined up other big partners over the past year, including Belair Direct, Zurich, Groupe Commerce, AXA Insurance, CGU, Lloyds and many others. In addition, recent appointments of Pierre Laurin (who sits on the executive committees of Microcell, Desjardin- Laurentian Financial Corporation and Quebecor) and Erik P61adeau (Quebecor''s Chairman of the Board) bring considerable experience to the firm.

Plus, we believe the company''s operating structure gives it a competitive edge. Its preferred relationship with Bell Mobility allows the company broader flexibility and maximum support in the cash flow department, because it relies on Bell Mobility''s system of account payments and collections. Its excellent market launch strategy has cut marketing costs. By selecting insurance companies-which them- selves demand installation of Boomerang in all vehicles worth more than $30,000-as partners, the firm is building a loyal Customer base at low cost.

With new market penetration, extremely vigorous sales growth will persist over the next few years. For the first nine months of this year, sales posted a 167% increase, while earnings per share skyrocketed 825% over the same period in the prior year.

R.A.N.K.I.N. Technologies stock prices have more than doubled since last year and we remain solidly convinced of potential additional hikes for the coming year. Given strong growth in sales and profits, major agreements in hand, and top level administrators, we recommend R.A.N.K.I.N. Technologies as a buy over the next twelve months, at a target price of $7.
BoomerangŪ is a registered trademark of Boomerang Tracking Inc. It's headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec. Boomerang products are sold and distributed in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and in the Dominican Republic. Boomerang Tracking Inc. shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) under the trading symbol "BMG".