Gordon Stein, CFO of CleanTech Lithium, explains why CTL acquired the 23 Laguna Verde licenses. Watch the video here.
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This RNS seems to be worth at least another million £ a year in profit. The last RNSs that increased expected profits saw the m/cap of the company go up by around 7x. A similar judgement on the improved financing deal would see a jump of around 20% today, and maybe more in the long term.
Should be a good day.
Update from Investor's Champion paid for tip site :-
HTtps://www.investorschampion.com/channel/blog/bonkers-bargains-1pm
Trading update for 9 months ended 29 February 2024 (26/03/24)
Continued strong demand from UK businesses for the Group's multi-product offering is driving further growth in own-book lending origination which has contributed to a record gross lending book of more than £190m at the end of February 2024. That’s the eleventh consecutive quarter of loan book growth for Time Finance.
For the 9 months revenue is up 20% to £24.0m and pre-tax profit 40% higher at £4.2m, surpassing the level achieved for the whole of the previous year. Revenue continues to be driven by strong growth in the larger-ticket, more secured lending areas of Invoice Finance and the 'Hard Asset' subset of Asset Finance.
Despite the very strong growth it is reassuring that net arrears remain unchanged at 6% of the gross lending book at 29 February 2024.
Net Tangible Assets at the period end rose 14% to £37.6m.
Full-year results are anticipated to be “at least in line with the market expectations” as upgraded on 5 March 2024.
Broker forecasts
Following the trading update covering the 9 months to the end of February (see above), the house broker upgraded forecasts for the year ending May 2024 for revenue by 2% to £31.5m, pre-tax profit by 6% to £5.7m and earnings per share by 6% to 4.6 pence (growth 31%).
For May 2025 forecasts remain for revenue of £33.1m, pre-tax profit to £6.3m and earnings per share of 5.1 pence (growth +11%).
As anticipated Time Finance appears to have ridden out the Covid storm through its multi-product lending offering and the flexibility of its business model.
With the significant government support packages no longer in place post-Covid, and with the ever-increasing economic challenges facing small businesses, access to finance will be a key priority for SMEs over the coming months and years.
Bonkers Bargain appeal
At the current share price of 39p (initially 17p) the market capitalisation is still a lowly c£36m, a c5% discount to net tangible assets at 29 February 2024 of £37.6m, which has also been subjected to meaningful provisions. Despite the strong share price performance over the past 12 months the PE multiple is a lowly 8.4x forecast earnings for the year to May 2024. Prior to the pandemic impacting returns, which pulled down earnings per share to 2.6p for the year ending May 2020, this business consistently delivered earnings of more than 6p and 6.8p in 2019 - net income of £6.35m. This equates to a normalised price earnings multiple of approx 6.5x.
While the shares have had a good run over recent months, they remain well down on previous highs and this business continues to look ridiculously cheap on many levels. The Group's multi-product tailored offering to UK SMEs, its own-book lending strategy and its quality of service have become ever more appreciated by introducers a
Agreed if the revenue for FY25 grows at just 10% to £34.6m and costs are held at 8%. PE at 39p = 6.8. Really cheap for a disciplined firm going for growth. I think given 16.8% and 14.3% growth in last 2 years 10% will be exceeded.
Its just a waiting game
An excellent 9 month update. Guidance is that trading will be "at least" in line with the upgraded expectations.
Cavendish have a 71p target here. They've raised their forecasts yet again, with PBT up 6% to £5.7m.
They now have an adjusted EPS of 4.9p to this May (up from 4.6p), rising to 5.4p EPS next year.
That's a P/E of 7.8 falling to 7.1.
In summary:
"Positive 3Q/24E Trading Update
Time has released a positive trading update for 3Q/24E revealing the 11th consecutive quarter of loan book growth to a new record of £190m (As at 3Q/23A: £157m). The loan book has reached this high following £66m (As at 3Q/23A: £53m) of new own-book lending in the 9-month period.
The growth has remained high quality, with the focus being on expanding the secured lending areas of Invoice Finance and Hard Asset Finance. The tilt towards secured lending has meant arrears have kept flat at 6% even as the book has grown substantially, and it is important to note that 6% arrears on a secured lending book is lower risk than 6% arrears on an unsecured book, given the recoverability rate of the loan is not captured in the statistic. Overall, revenues increased
20% to £24m (As at 3Q/23A: £20m) and plentiful operational gearing, aided by net interest margin discipline, pushed PBT up 40% to £4.2m (As at 3Q/23A: £3m).
In-line with management expectations, we have upgraded our FY24E revenue by 2% to £31.5m and upgraded our PBT by 6% to £5.7m. In terms of valuation, Time looks extremely cheap given it is trading on an FY25E basic P/E of just 7.7x and FY25E P/TNAV of 0.8x, despite over 20% ongoing earnings growth. We remain encouraged on Time’s outlook given it has achieved so much during a challenging period for the UK economy. The recent UK inflation figures and BOE commentary about imminent interest rate cuts bode well for continued expansion in Time’s loan book."
Nice coverage on Master Investor:
Https://masterinvestor.co.uk/equities/small-cap-catch-up-time-reat-eman-and-foxt/?mc_cid=8820943cc5&mc_eid=db9f9bbaf2
"Time Finance (LON:TIME) – Ready To Tick Higher
We now know that the full year results from this independent specialist finance provider will be better than market expectations.
We will have to wait until the Bath-based asset, loan and invoice finance company issues its Trading Update, covering the nine months to end February this year, which is due to be published on Tuesday 26th March.
Analyst Andrew Renton at Cavendish Capital Markets was previously looking for the year to end May 2024 to show total revenues up from £27.8m to £30.8m, upon which he expected to see adjusted pre-tax profits improve from £4.4m to £5.7m, lifting earnings up to 4.6p (3.7p) per share.
For the coming year he was forecasting £33.1m revenues, £6.7m profits and earnings of 5.4p per share.
However, after the 26th I wonder whether he will be upgrading his estimates?
The group’s shares have been up to 44p, that was in late February, since when they have dipped to 36p before picking back up to 39.5p by last night.
These shares are cheap and take little account of the £37m capitalised company’s growth potential in the price."
Earnings of £5.7miliion = 6p per share = P/R of 6.7 very cheap😊
Yet again! Great stuff:
"With continued strong demand from businesses across the UK for the range of alternative finance products that the Group offers, and with positive trading momentum continuing throughout December, January and February, the Board has confidence that FY24 Revenue and Profit Before Tax ("PBT") will now be not less than £31.5m and £5.7m respectively, each ahead of latest market expectations(1).
(1) Current market expectations at the date of this announcement are of FY24 revenue of £30.8m and FY24 PBT of £5.4m."
Https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/time-finance-TIME/share-news/Time-Finance-PLC-Notice-of-Trading-Update/93418784
Https://masterinvestor.co.uk/equities/wanted-by-interpol/?mc_cid=daf0130fb1&mc_eid=db9f9bbaf2
"Time Finance (LON:TIME) – Broken Through The 40p Barrier
I was pleased to see the shares of the £38m capitalised Bath-based alternative finance group going through my Target Price yesterday, no doubt helped by new investor interest following a Corporate Presentation on Monday of this week.
The recently announced Interim Results to end November 2023 declared continued strong growth in the group’s activities, particularly with its Lending Book standing at record levels.
Analyst Andrew Renton at Cavendish Capital Markets has current year estimates to end May for £30.8m (£27.6m) revenues, with adjusted pre-tax profits of £5.7m (£4.4m), lifting earnings up to 4.6p (3.7p) per share.
He is already looking for an even better outcome for the coming year at £33.1m, £6.7m and 5.4p respectively.
Non-Executive Chair Tanya Raynes stated that:
“These results show that our focus on own-book lending continues to deliver a strong trading performance.
This is particularly encouraging given the wider economic headwinds and demonstrates UK SMEs’ robust demand for funding from a truly customer-focussed, multi-product provider of finance like ourselves.
The strategic positioning of the Group within the market has enabled it to generate increasing levels of demand whilst also maintaining control of credit and spread risk.
As a result, the Group is well positioned to deliver further growth and increased value to our shareholders.
We look forward to being able to report on further progress at the year-end.”
It is quite possible that we will get a Q3 Trading Update out in the next couple of weeks or so, perhaps the anticipation of more good news will help to drive the shares even higher.
It is well worth noting that Cavendish Capital Markets currently have a Price Objective out on the shares at 71p. "
Excellent summary of TIME, including an interview with the CFO, by the always reliable Private Punter:
Https://martinflitton1.wixsite.com/privatepunter/post/time-isn-t-standing-still-30-01-24
From Mark Watson-Williams on Master Investor last night:
"Time Finance (LON:TIME) – Ready To Travel Higher
With its lending book standing at record levels after ten quarters of consecutive growth, this specialist finance provider is reflecting continued strong demand for its alternative finance products.
The Interim Results to end November reported revenues up 19% at £15.7m (£13.2m), while its pre-tax profits were up 35% at £2.7m (£2.0m), lifting interim earnings to 2.33p (1.73p) per share.
Non-Executive Chair Tanya Raynes stated that:
“These results show that our focus on own-book lending continues to deliver a strong trading performance.
This is particularly encouraging given the wider economic headwinds and demonstrates UK SMEs’ robust demand for funding from a truly customer-focussed, multi-product provider of finance like ourselves.
The strategic positioning of the Group within the market has enabled it to generate increasing levels of demand whilst also maintaining control of credit and spread risk.
As a result, the Group is well positioned to deliver further growth and increased value to our shareholders.
We look forward to being able to report on further progress at the year-end.”
Analyst Andrew Renton at Cavendish Capital Markets is looking for the full year to end May 2024 to show revenues up to £30.8m (£27.6m), adjusted pre-tax profits of £5.7m (£4.4m), hoisting earnings up to 4.6p (3.7p) per share.
The shares, which touched 39.80p in the middle of last month, did not quite break through the 40p level that I sought in my mention on 20th November last.
Having eased back to 32p by 16th January, they are now looking a lot firmer, closing on Friday night at 39.70p.
I really like this £37m capitalised group and see its shares going considerably higher yet."
Here's the rest of ST's tip in the IC FYI:
""On course for double-digit earnings growth
Time Finance uses wholesale funding facilities to finance its lending and remains funded to continue cherry-picking business to hit its £230mn lending target by June 2025. That’s worth noting since an increasing proportion of incremental gross profit earned on new lending converts into operating profit given the company has a relatively fixed cost base.
This helps explain why house broker Cavendish expects 30 per cent growth in operating profit to £5.6mn on 12 per cent higher revenue of £30.8mn in the 12 months to 31 May 2024. On this basis, expect both pre-tax profit and earnings per share (EPS) to rise by more than a quarter to £5.4mn and 4.3p, respectively.
Factoring in further growth in loan receivables to £210mn by 31 May 2025, analysts expect annual revenue of £33.1mn to deliver operating profit of £6.6mn, pre-tax profit of £6.3mn and EPS of 5.1p in the 2024-25 financial year. This implies the shares are rated on modest forward price/earnings (PE) ratios of 8.5 (2024) and 7.3 (2025).
Moreover, by recycling profits back into the business, tangible net asset value (TNAV) is also delivering double-digit growth, rising 13 per cent to £36.4mn (39.3p) year on year and on course to hit £38.8mn (42p) in May 2024 and £44mn (47.5p) in May 2025. The value being created for shareholders has not been lost on investors, hence why the share price has risen 41 per cent since I spotted the opportunity (‘Alpha Research: Business is booming for this underrated lender to SME’s’, 18 August 2023) and is up 19 per cent since my last buy call (‘Six micro-caps worth buying’, 9 November 2023).
The modest single-digit earnings multiple and 21 per cent discount to May 2025 TNAV estimates suggest the re-rating has further to run and I upgrade my target from 40p to 50p. Buy."
Tipped by ST in the IC - but subscription-only so I can only see the article's intro:
Https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2024/01/25/tap-into-this-bargain-priced-sme-lender/
"Tap into this bargain-priced SME lender
Business is booming for a lowly rated alternative provider of finance to SMEs
January 25, 2024
by Simon Thompson
Gross lending up 24 per cent to record £188mn
First-half pre-tax profit and EPS up a third to £2.7mn and 2.33p
Business continues to boom for Bath-based Time Finance (TIME:37.5p), an alternative provider of finance to more than 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In the latest six-month trading period, own lending book origination increased 29 per cent to £47.3mn, which in turn boosted gross lending to a record high. Importantly, credit quality remains robust, a reflection of the fact that invoice and hard asset finance account for 70 per cent of total lending, up from 50 per cent in 2021. A doubling of the average deal size since then and dealing with a lower number of enquiries from more established and credit-worthy businesses is another reason why delinquency levels are holding steady at 6 per cent. All lending is made from the company’s own balance sheet or through brokering on business that does not meet its strict lending parameters."
ShareSoc is hosting a webinar with Time Finance (TIME) on 26/3/24, which may be of interest to current shareholders or potential investors. Ed Rimmer (CEO) and James Roberts (CFO) will be presenting. You can register here: https://www.sharesoc.org/events/sharesoc-webinar-with-time-finance-plc-time26-mar-2024/
This was covered fairly well at the Q&A section; they seem comfortable and are able to explain the situation fairly well.
I missed yesterday's presentation, but it is on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KblglfU7XX8
The market is starting to warm to Time Finance. First bought this at around 17p back when they were 1pm in the days of the pandemic.
However, Ed Rimmer deserves a lot of credit for putting them on the growth path and even in these difficult economic times they are making excellent progress.
Bought in here yesterday for the first time on the morning dip as it just looks too cheap and management have performed well consistently and for some time now.
Given the H1 figures, together with the order book expansion, it's likely imo that TIME will certainly meet and most likely beat expectations of 4.6p EPS for this year ending in May (which rise to 5.4p EPS for the year commencing June).
Finncap's upgrade to a 71p target (from 47p) is summarised by them as follows:
"Time to celebrate another strong set of interims
Time Finance has released a strong set of interim results to the period ending 30 November 2023. The origination capabilities were firing away with 29% YoY growth to £47m, taking the gross lending book to a new record of £189m. The quality of the book remains uncompromisingly high with invoice and hard-asset financing now making up over 70% of the book and arrears flat at 6%. Revenues increased 19% to £15.7m and PBT increased 35% to £2.7m, reflecting the operational gearing from the organic top-line growth.
Time looks extremely cheap, trading on an FY25E P/E of 7.1x and FY25E P/TNAV of 0.8x. With the sustained period of strong performance through a rising rate environment, we believe that growth will continue or even accelerate in what should be a more benign future environment and as a result we have increased our 1-year price target from 47p to 71p."
Really good numbers. I particularly liked the final comment
"· Continued positive trading momentum throughout December 2023 gives significant confidence that full year trading will be at least in line with Board expectations".
Cheers Neil, looked good. Punted a small amount....up already.
HE1 HIT HELIUM AND HYDROGEN [SEE RNS BELOW]
GET IN QUICKLY.. SHOULD DO 200% PLUS
https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/itumbula-west-1-well-has-successfully-reached-td-vmkkvswza9v67ua.html
Agree. Profits of £5.4m expected in 2023 and £6m in 2024. Using a conservative PE of 10 that's almost 100% upside.
Arrears remain at 6%; lending book increased by £18.4m, so the arrears have increased by £1.1m but overall profit is up by only £0.7m. To me an increase in arrears of £1.1m bringing only an increase in profit of £0.7m is not a good tradeoff as the vulnerability to bad debts has increased too much.
Hopefully this will be explained in some detail at the Interim Results meeting on 25th Jan 2024.
In case you missed our webinar Time Finance plc (TIME), the recording can be found on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMvKjaKsc24
Break out today?
The return of the bull market co-coinciding with TIME upping guidance. This should double over the next 6 months IMO