Criminal though the directors may be, it became 100% clear to...

Criminal though the directors may be, it became 100% clear to the astute investor that something was not right in this company as of about 3-4 years ago.

Up until 2004, ROE was running at a respectable (if not outstanding) rate of somewhere between 10-25%, and capital expenditure was running at approximately 2-3 times operating cashflow. Having capital expenditure running at a multiple of operating cash flow is not healthy, but it's not the end of the world if only temporary.

However, from 2005 onwards, the ROE plunged to an anaemic rate of somewhere between 4-7%, which is an absolute disaster considering one could earn about 6-7% in bank deposits back then. Furthermore, from 2005 onwards, capital expenditure exploded to become about 5-6 times operating cashflow, which is also an absolute disaster. I have never known a company to have capital expenditure running at 5-6 times operating cashflow and be successful in the long run.

People with a reasonable understanding of fundamental analysis could see this company was heading for trouble at least 2 years ago. Unfortunately, many investors, analysts, and other market participants lack these basic fundamental analysis skills.