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Latchways as the independent Devizes company has gone. Fully taken over. Good luck all
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Global safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE: MSA) today announced the terms of a proposed cash acquisition of United Kingdom-based Latchways plc (LSE: LTC), a provider of innovative fall protection systems and solutions, for £11 per share. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/msa-safety-incorporated-to-acquire-latchways-plc-300135798.html
Latchway had a massive issue about 5 years ago, £1.2 million product recall, as the post, a key factor in the safety critical nature of the works, started rusting, it was kept low key, all posts were never recovered, and are still being found today, this is now common news in the industry, and companies, are shying away from Latchways, hence sales dropping like a rock
I don't know why the spread (difference between buying and selling price) of this SP is very high. It is currently 2.04%. Seems like the MM are ripping people off.
nice rise in SP - after flat-lining at around £7.40 for some months - and just ahead of FY results next week.
For current year using run rate for prof bt is 9.4 at present. Worth further look
Small stable stocks http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/114631/3-stable-small-cap-stocks.aspx
That was true of my purchase yesterday. Exact time and quantity - must have been mine.
11-Feb-14 09:52:24 1,100.00 496
are you long term invested here? Trying to figure out if this surge has legs over 1300.
There we go another near 4% and still going . every body take a look
This has gone up 10percent in ten days and still plenty of life in it
Held up quite well,sneaking up slowly,topped up again today. Once pis read yesterdays rns they will now where this companys heading gla
well great news today,made a hell of a lot of profit. should keep going up north from here rapido. DYOR looks good and good divi
A strategy of growth through increased geographical representation and product innovation will continue as the group moves into the fourth quarter. "Our enhanced sales team has introduced a number of new customers during the year and we expect these to generate further revenue growth in the future," Latchways added. "Our balance sheet and cash flows remain strong and we are well placed to benefit as and when the economic climate improves."
Latchways received record orders during the third quarter, boosted by strong sales of its Wingrip and Vertical products, the fall protection company announced Monday. The group, which develops safety products for people working at heights in aerospace, power transmission, utilities and telecommunications, reported strong performance in the three months to February 10th. Business was buttressed by sales of Wingrip, a vacuum anchor fall protection system for use in aviation maintenance and manufacturing of aircraft, and of Vertical safety systems for use on towers, masts, monopoles and steel lattice structures. "We therefore expect the second half to be considerably stronger than the first," Latchways said in a statement. The company said while the underlying business climate remained challenging and customers were cautious over spending plans, the opportunities arising overseas were encouraging.
Walker Crips, an integrated financial services group, has told investors it suffered 'difficult trading conditions' in the half year ended September 30th and said broadly lower transaction volumes in what were weaker equity markets results in a negative impact on performance. As a result, the dividend was slashed to 0.47p per share (2011: 0.94p per share), although this will be combined with the previous announced special dividend after the company disposed of Liontrust Asset Management, which resulted in a one-off gain of £10m. In a statement the company said: "The depressed market conditions of recent years show no signs of abating, as fragile investor confidence stutters in the face of Euro and market uncertainty. However, [the] board is confident that the group is well positioned to benefit from any longer term improvement in market activity. "The group has been implementing a strategy to refocus and build its investment management division. This process is now well advanced. We are very encouraged that twelve advisers, along with their clients, have joined the company since the beginning of the financial year bringing with them substantial new revenue streams, most of which will take effect in the second half of the year. Further recruitment is in prospect." During the period revenue fell from £10.65m to £8.84m, with gross profit at £5.18m (2011: £7.4m) and profit before tax at £7.7m, significantly up on the £0.83m generated in the same period the previous year. Administrative expenses remained stable at £6.3m, just slightly up on the £6.6m spent in the same period in 2011.
Latchways' share price has retreated from its 12-month high of 1,238p, but at 990p it could be in for further falls. Broker N+1 Brewin recently downgraded current year forecasts by 5 per cent to pre-tax profits of £10.9m, giving EPS of 70.1p. That puts the shares on a PE ratio of 14 times - arguably a punchy rating for a business that, despite its niche, basically sells safety harnesses in a construction downturn. Exposure to the euro only makes the picture worse.......BUT AS ALWAYS DYOR GL
Latchways' main source of income is its Safety Products division, where sales were up 5 per cent and operating profits rose 12 per cent to £9.1m in 2011-12, contributing over 90 per cent of the group profits. The other division, Safety Services, which installs Latchways products, was less inspiring - revenues were 8 per cent up in 2011-12, but operating profits fell by 25 per cent to £0.9m. Inventories have been backing up as well, with an increase of £1.6m, some 43 per cent during 2011-12, to finish at £5.4m. Latchways isn't concerned, though. Its balance sheet is strong with £8m of net cash and its bosses say the stock allows them to respond quickly to customer requests; besides, they remain confident that new technology such as the Personal Rescue Device can pull them through, adding that the product is attracting strong interest. Chairman Paul Hearson is confident of a strong year in 2012-13, saying that the levels of prospects and opportunities are at an all-time high.
Working at heights is a dangerous occupation and support services company Latchways has created a niche industry out of making sure that, for workers who do slip, the worst doesn't happen. Management hopes that new technology in fall-protection systems will defy the downturn, but shares in the company could be facing a drop of their own as sales slow in the US and the weakness of the euro is set to hit the European business. With inventory on the rise and management pointing towards a slow start to the year, we think it's time to sell the shares. After showing resilience, the US economy is showing signs of faltering; for the three months to June, growth was 1.5 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent in the first quarter. This is bad news for Latchways' US business, which in the year to March was already feeling the pinch - sales were down 30 per cent to £4m. The specific reason for the slump was that the US military decided not to repeat a contract for the new Wingrip product; but US defence spending is likely to stay under pressure. Yet the US only accounts for 10 per cent of group sales. More concerning is the weakness of the euro because a third of Latchways' sales - £13.9m in 2011-12 - are made in Europe. Management says that, despite efforts to mitigate the impact: "The current crisis in the eurozone will have some adverse impact on margins." The situation is compounded by dismal confidence readings from the eurozone; ominously, the Markit Purchase Managers Index for Germany recently showed the fastest falls in confidence for three years.
The board is recommending a 10% increase in the final dividend to 22.73p, lower than market expectations of a 32.60p dividend.
"Given the current level of economic uncertainty, it is not surprising that the new year has started slowly. Despite this, with the level of prospects and opportunities at an all time high, and the resources now in place to service these, we are confident of achieving a strong performance for the year as a whole," he added.
Analysts had predicted revenue of £42.9m and pre-tax profit of around £10.20m. Commenting on trading, chairman Paul Hearson said: "Following the very strong growth achieved in 2010/11, the past year has been a period of solid progress for Latchways, despite the increasingly difficult global economic environment. We have achieved good growth across the majority of geographies and product lines, with the exception of North America."
Safety systems specialist Latchways unveiled record full year revenue and pre-tax profit after growth in all regions except North America. The maker of devices to stop roofers and window cleaners falling said revenues rose 5% to a record £41.4m for the year ended 31 March 2012. Pre-tax profit also rose to a record £9.9m during the year compared to £9.3m the year before.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108100700080150M