For a December 4 article published in Computer Retail Week, Wettreich said that the prior weekend for Mr. CD-ROM "was very good...basically what we had expected." He offered no specific sales figures then--and declines to offer any now.
Numbers from the quarter ending October 31--the most recent available--show Camelot Corp.'s performance remains underwhelming. The company reported a net loss of $798,696 on revenues of $527,144.
Though Camelot remains unprofitable, Wettreich exudes confidence about its future. For the first time, this past year he reported at least part of his own compensation in the company's annual report. In the past, Camelot's filings have always stated that Wettreich earned no salary directly from the company. Instead, Wettreich acknowledged in depositions, he was paid indirectly, through Wettreich Financial Consultants, which Camelot hired.
The most recent annual report shows Wettreich has entered into a 10-year contract with an annual salary of $250,000 and a cash bonus equal to 5 percent of the company's annual pre-tax profits. The climb in Camelot's shares from a 52-week low of less than $1 per share has boosted the paper value of Wettreich's stock holdings by millions. With the stock price closing on Wednesday at $2.75 a share, the value of his family's 43.5 percent stake in Camelot equals $20.7 million. That total of beneficially held shares includes unexercised stock options Wettreich maintains as well as the holdings of his wife, her companies, and their children's trust.
Wettreich, who for years operated on the edge of mainstream financial circles, also clearly now fully appreciates what favorable coverage from the business press can do for Camelot. At a recent computer-industry trade show in Las Vegas, Wettreich says, he conducted interviews about his company and its software for at least five different television crews, including one from Germany.
This story is another question. "I would only want to express a raised eyebrow about its relevance," he says about discussions of his track record. His concern: dwelling too much on his distant past--a period he defines more than two years ago.
"I would love to see a story that is 20 percent about yesterday and 80 percent about today," Wettreich says. About his battles and bankruptcies of earlier days, Wettreich concedes: "The more inventive a company is about creating its public structure, the more it tends to invite litigation."
How should one judge how well Camelot--and Danny Wettreich--is performing its job today, in Dallas, Texas, a seat of American capitalism?
It's the stock price, stupid!
By that measure--if by few others--it's still doing pretty well.
