Scancell founder says the company is ready to commercialise novel medicines to counteract cancer. Watch the video here.
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Absolutely Endion. This company has potentially a huge future and is one of a handful of companies I'm hoping has the potential to enter the FTSE100 within 5 years - ie be worth £4bn+
That's exactly what I told my broker but they were adamant I was wrong lol Many thanks :)
Dividend In line with our progressive dividend policy, and allowing for the need to retain resources to fund future growth of the Group�s business and its strategic aims, the Board is pleased to recommend a final dividend of 0.98p per share which, following the interim dividend payment of 0.48p per share, will make the total dividend for the year ending 31 December 2017 1.46p per share, an increase of 10% compared to 2016. Subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting, the final dividend will be paid on 22 June 2018 to all shareholders on the register at 1 June 2018 and the shares will trade ex-dividend on 31 May 2018. The cash cost of the final proposed dividend will be an estimated �0.7m, subject to currency fluctuations.
Just dipped my toe into this stock last week, my question is, does this company pay a divi? I seem to be getting conflicting information from market sites. Many thanks.
I assume this will be in tomorrow's Daily Mail - should bring in some interest.... Http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-5647103/SMALL-CAP-SHARE-IDEAS-Keywords-Studios-expands-bets-growing-video-games-market.html It's a long article, so I thought this extract was the most interesting, with some titbits of info not previously known: "SMALL CAP SHARE IDEAS: Video games outsourcing firm Keywords Studios expands amid growing industry By Philip Whiterow, Proactive Investors, For Thisismoney.co.uk Published: 12:49, 23 April 2018 | Updated: 16:47, 23 April 2018 "Examples of �larger purchases� include North America-focused VMC Consulting, which it bought for $66million last October, financed by an underwritten share placing. The new shares were sold through a book-build exercise and snapped up in about two hours, which underlines how highly regarded is the video games services group at present. Shares over the last three years have rocketed from 153p to 1,746p as the carefully built portfolio, which ranges from translation services through to augmented and virtual reality services, has driven large rises in sales and earnings. VMC looks to be more of the same. Keywords expects the latest addition to be �significantly earnings enhancing� almost immediately. Adjusted revenue of the US group in the year to October was $57.4million and underlying profits an annualised $6.4million. The purchase will more than double Keywords' customer support operation in the North American market as well as growing market share and footprint. Cross-selling has been a fundamental plank of the strategy and the number of clients using three or more of Keywords� services increased to 93 in 2017 from 64 in 2016 and 51 in 2015. German bank Berenberg, which rates the shares a �buy� and has a price target of 2,060p, sees this trend as evidence that computer games publishers and developers are moving away from �tactical outsourcing� towards strategic arrangements with trusted partners. Crucially, it has made its first inroads into the eSports market, mostly through the provision of its services for game development and in-game support, but also via marketing. ESports � football, rugby, Formula One to name three - are played electronically by teams with increasingly large numbers of people watching. By 2020, the market is tipped to be generating �1billion annually in revenues and, like video games, there is a requirement for localisation and consistent quality. Keywords highlights that it is continuing to seek out ways to �leverage the growth in eSports further,� Berenberg observed. The most recent acquisitions have focused on adding extra music and audio services to the group�s offering."
Is it still worth buying into this stock at this point? Obviously those already with stock will want that, but anyone with a more unbiased view? Seems like this company has a good future.
All systems go.... Http://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/67910/keywords-expands-north-america-hq-in-montreal/ "Keywords expands North America HQ in Montreal April 12th, 2018 - 11:33am By Craig Chapple, Senior Editor Services provider Keywords Studios is expanding its North American HQ based in Montreal as it prepares for a hiring spree. The company plans to invest $1.1 million on the 17,000 square foot expansion, which will include additional workstations and a new common area. In total Keywords has 75,000 square feet of office space in the city and now has a further 10-year lease on its Montreal HQ. Continued growth The firm said the expansion means the office will become a �single end-to-end solution� provider for its global customer-base. Currently the Montreal team focuses on QA, localisation, player support and UI/UX research. Keywords said it now has the second largest games studio in Montreal, a city also home to Ubisoft. �We look forward to continuing Keywords Studios� growth within such a creative and innovative community for games makers here in Montreal,� said Keywords Studios Americas MD Nicolas Liorzou. �Importantly, this provides our staff with a superior fit-for-purpose work environment, as we will now have more capacity than ever to solidify our vision for the future of games development.� Keywords has been on a significant acquisition spree over the last few years since it went public. Recently it expanded its audio services with the purchase of Cord Worldwide, Laced Music and Maximal."
http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/194654/keywords-studios-has-the-firepower-to-continue-its-impressive-growth-rate-194654.html Nice comment from Berenberg from the article: "German bank Berenberg, which rates the shares a �buy� and has a price target of 2,060p, sees this trend as evidence that computer games publishers and developers are moving away from �tactical outsourcing� towards strategic arrangements with trusted partners. �Keywords also indicated it is seeing some benefits from the rapidly growing eSports market, mostly through the provision of its services for game development and in-game support, but also via marketing and communications management of the events themselves. Keywords highlights that it is continuing to seek out ways to leverage the growth in eSports further,� Berenberg observed."
www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/194618/keywords-studios-up-sharply-after-berenberg-increases-price-target-194618.html "Keywords Studios up sharply after Berenberg increases price target Berenberg has raised its target price for Keywords Studios PLC (LON:KWS) following the two acquisitions announced by the provider of computer game development services. The acquisitions, both of which were focused on beefing up Keywords� audio services capability, should enhance earnings, prompting upgrades of 1-3% in Berenberg�s forecasts for fiscal 2018-20 and a 20p increase in the target price to 2,060p. Management has previously indicated it aims to make six small bolt-on acquisitions each year and one or two larger purchases, so �further material accretive M&A is inevitable�, in Berenberg�s view. �We maintain our FY18/19 organic growth forecasts of 12.5%/10%, but acknowledge that if current momentum is sustained that is likely to prove conservative,� Berenberg said. Warming to its theme, the bank noted that the number of clients using three or more of Keywords� services increased to 93 in 2017 from 64 in 2016 and 51 in 2015. It sees this as evidence that computer games publishers and developers are moving away from �tactical outsourcing� towards strategic arrangements with trusted partners. �Keywords also indicated it is seeing some benefits from the rapidly growing eSports market, mostly through the provision of its services for game development and in-game support, but also via marketing and communications management of the events themselves. Keywords highlights that it is continuing to seek out ways to leverage the growth in eSports further,� Berenberg observed. Shares in Keywords were up 7.2% to 1,736p on Tuesday Morning, still more than �3 below Berenberg�s price target, which is based on a discounted cash flow model that does not take into account future acquisitions. And Peel Hunt reiterate their 1850p target this morning: Http://investing.thisismoney.co.uk/broker-views/
Today's numbers are nicely ahead of expectations for both EPS and revenues per Edison and Finncap. And it seems there are three more acquisitions to boot :o)) This new interview with the CEO confirms results "a bit ahead of expectations". VMC is the largest acquisition to date, and its integration is almost complete. Great also to see KWS today entering the music and sound effects sectors, plus "audio branding". More acquisitions to come "across the board" to add further scale - KWS has a "tremendous future": Http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/stocktube/9011/keywords-studios-makes-two-further-acquisitions-to-bolster-audio-services-line-9011.html
Profit of $43M puts them on a 2018 FY p/e of 30. Plenty of value here for a swiftly growing tech co.
Great interview, thanks for sharing skittish.
https://venturebeat.com/2018/04/01/keywords-acquired-11-game-services-firms-in-2017-as-external-development-grows/view-all/ A flavour - Day: We�re now 5,000 people around the world in 42 locations. We�re about a third in Asia, a third in North America, and a third in Europe. We have, for instance, about 700 [to] 800 people in China, 250 in Tokyo, 350 in Manila, and 500 in India. Here in North America, we have about 900 people in the U.S. and then about 1,500 in Canada. The U.S. people are in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Day: Our revenues for this year are expected to be round about $308 million (250 million euros). I have to be careful here. I think the consensus from the analysts is around $43 million (35 million euros) in profit margin. We�re publicly traded in London. But of course, those numbers are before any acquisitions. Any acquisitions we make this year will affect those. Looking forward, the numbers that you see exclude the effect of acquisitions. You have to add however many, six to 10 acquisitions that we might make during the year.
More on Peel Hunt's initiation from Citywire: "Peel Hunt has initiated coverage of Keywords Studios (KWS), which offers outsourced services to the video games industry, and is growing twice as fast as its peers. Analyst Ashu Sony initiated coverage with an �add� recommendation and target price of �18.50 on the shares, which fell 2.5% to �15.70 yesterday. Sony believes the company is �attractively positioned to corner the market� thanks to its established position, �blue-chip� client base, significant cross-selling opportunity, and �unmatched record of value-accretive mergers and acquisitions�. Based on his valuation methods the company is growing earnings �over twice as fast as the relevant peer group� at 38% versus 15%. He said Keywords would �win out� in its industry."
23rd Mar 2018 IRISH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ATTENDS MSA SIGNING CEREMONY IN CHINA BETWEEN KEYWORDS AND YOOZOO GAMES During a recent state visit to China, T�naiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Simon Coveney, witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between Keywords Studios and YOOZOO Games. The signing ceremony took place in Shanghai on March 14th, during Mr. Coveney�s Saint Patrick�s Day visit. Partnering since 2016, Keywords Studios has supported YOOZOO with a range of services that has allowed them to focus on their core businesses. Under the Master Service Agreement (MSA), Keywords Studios and YOOZOO Games will collaborate in art design, localization, audio localization as well as functional QA testing. The MSA was signed by Giacomo Duranti, COO of Keywords Studios and Libiao Chen, Co-founder and president of YOOZOO Games
Good news - Peel Hunt today initiate coverage with a Buy and an 1850p target: Http://investing.thisismoney.co.uk/broker-views/
The Sunday Times today: "The computer games developer behind hit titles such as Worms is planning a �200m stock market listing. Team 17, headquartered in Nottingham and Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has appointed stockbrokers from Berenberg and GCA Altium to work on the float. A sale is likely to lead to a sizeable windfall for Debbie Bestwick, 48, who founded the business in 1990. Bestwick was appointed MBE in 2016 for services to the computer games industry. Team 17 has published more than 70 games, including Forged Battalion, Mugsters and Genesis Alpha One. Plans to list on the London Stock Exchange could be announced within days. Companies House documents show the business generated revenues of �6.5m, for the year to the end of December 2016, posting a loss after tax of �37,686. Two years ago, LDC (Lloyds Development Capital), the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, paid �16.5m for a stake in the company"
On one my "band of 5" companies which could potentially be in the FTSE100 in 5 years time: the others are FDM, GBG; SCH, and XLM.
Keywords Studios CEO Andrew Day explains why the company is so active with acquisitions #KWS @KeywordsStudios - thanks to @Chris_Dring & @GIBiz hTTps://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-03-12-could-games-development-transition-to-a-complete-outsource-model
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/game-on-for-london-listed-irish-firm-that-operates-below-the-radar-1.3411329 Some great excerpts: "Keywords provides services to 23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies globally, including Tencent, Electronic Arts, Oculus, Supercell, Activision, Microsoft, Sega, Nintendo and Ubisoft." "Day says the company has only just begun, with plans underway for it to make several more acquisitions in 2018 and beyond." �This company is in a really good place and I believe we will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. I think that in five years time we�ll be three times the size we currently are and that there will still be people wondering where we�re come from,� Day told The Irish Times on a recent visit to Dublin." �A lot of the competition is small so we�ve plenty of room to grow and there are lots of opportunities,� he added."
Tips in IC certainly don't have the rocket power they once possessed. But hopefully will introduce KWS to a new audience, and will lead to steadily more interest over time. Given the massive popularity of games, something which most over 35's cannot readily comprehend (me included), this is probably as close to a no brainer you can get.
Here's the text of today's Buy tip (cheers mate): "The global video games market is expanding at a rapid pace with a compound annual growth rate of 8.2 per cent forecast between 2016 and 2020, which according to industry expert NewZoo, will increase the industry's size to $143.5bn (�102.3bn). The opportunity for companies offering services to video games makers, such as Keywords Studios (KWS), is even greater given a burgeoning trend towards outsourcing. And that's before even taking into consideration the attractions of Keywords' industry relationships (it counts 23 of the world's 25 best-known games companies as clients), its scale and its potential to continue to act as a consolidator in a �highly fragmented� market. Keywords' repertoire is extensive: it offers art services, software engineering, audio services, player support and localisation services � including language translation for international games. The company has consistently beaten forecasts. A recent trading update maintained this trend: revenues and adjusted pre-tax profits for the year to December 2017 will be �comfortably ahead of consensus market expectations�, reaching at least �150m and �22.5m, respectively, up from �96.6m and �14.9m. The top line was buoyed by strong organic growth, coming in at 20 per cent by FinnCap�s estimation � up from 16 per cent in 2016. Among the drivers of this is the move towards an outsourced development model, and Keywords� emergence as the �go to� service provider. In turn, this is generating wider-reaching client agreements covering more of Keywords' services. Keywords has supplemented its underlying growth with acquisitions. Indeed, in 2017, its most transaction-heavy year to date, the company made 11 purchases across all of its service lines � collectively valued at $89m. The two largest were VMC and Sperasoft. The former, bought for $66.4m, enhances the group�s relatively nascent engineering segment. Having made $57.4m in adjusted sales and $6.4m in adjusted cash profits during the year to October 2017, it is expected to provide a significant boost to EPS in the first full year of ownership. Meanwhile, Sperasoft facilitates Keywords� move into �co-development� � whereby various services such as game programming and artwork are bundled together in the game development phase. Purchased for $27m in December, the business is expected to have grown revenues to around $20m during the 12 months ending December 2017 � up from $16m in 2016. Acquisitions have also helped Keywords to develop footholds in new territories, and the company has 42 facilities in 20 countries strategically located in Asia, the Americas and Europe. Of course, shopping requires cash. A �75m placing at 1,400p in October to fund the VMC deal provided an encouraging endorsement of the acqui
Anyone got the full tip pls? Https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/search/?q=keywords "Tips of the Week Ride the video games boom with Keywords Studios The digital games services provider is growing organically and through M&A, against a strong addressable market"
Excellent news - suggests that there remains significant upside here. Not that I doubted that this could keep going for quite some time yet.