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Underlying profit before tax for the six-month period eased to £8.1m from £8.2m the year before, with the company noting that profits were £0.2m lower this time round because of currency fluctuations. Reported profit before tax eased to £7.83m from £7.97m a year earlier. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was up 3% to 14.4p from 14.0p at the half-way stage last year.
The group's core patent translations business, which accounts for around 70% of group sales, grew its revenues to £23.5m from £22.9m the year before. The information business, which accounts for 7% of group sales and a significantly higher proportion of operating profit, grew its revenues to £2.5m (2011: £2.2m). This performance was primarily driven by an approximate 15% growth in revenues from PatBase, its subscription database services arm.
Patent translation and search services provider RWS has seen a recent pick-up in its order book, underlining its confidence for the full year. The company's revenue at the half-way stage were 4% ahead of the year before, with sales for the six months to March 31st coming in at £33.7m versus £32.4m at the interim stage the year before, and £33.0m in the second half of the preceding financial year.
"Whilst RWS is not immune to global economic conditions, especially in the Eurozone, the provision of intellectual property support services has proved to be a resilient niche and we are well placed to continue to grow our share of the patent translation and intellectual property services markets," said Executive Chairman Andrew Brode.
The group has drawn attention to the World Intellectual Property Office, which last month published figures that showed a 10.7% year-on-year increase in patent application filings to set a new record, "demonstrating that procuring international patent rights has remained an integral part of many IP strategies despite the economic conditions."
ntellectual property support services group RWS Holdings expects first-half revenue to be just slightly ahead of the same period the year before, held back by a continued weak performance in Berlin. Revenue in the six months to March 31st 2012 is expected to be £33.5m, compared with £32.4m the year before, driven by the performance in RWS's core patent translations business and the initial benefit of strong subscriptions for the high-margin PatBase service.
Arbuthnot Securities reiterated its "buy" recommendation for RWS Holdings (RWS), with an increased target price of 511p, from 470p. The intellectual property support services provider delivered a strong full year performance, with revenues up 8% at 65.4 million pounds, which the broker attributes to a good performance from its core patent translations business and strong growth in China. Arbuthnot's target price increase is based on expected overhead cost reductions and beneficial foreign exchange movements. RWS shares declined 16.63p to 465p.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112140700189053T
The main drivers for the RWS business are macro-economic trends, and the level of innovations coming through that clients such as Porsche and Huawei, the Chinese telecoms group, want to protect, says the Tempus column in the Times. Now the company is moving further along the production chain by buying the New York-based inovia, which provides the logistics to allow corporates to take a patent granted in one territory and register it in other countries by putting them in touch with patent lawyers. The deal is cautiously structured, with $5.8 million (£3.7 million) up front for a third and a maximum of $25.4 million for the rest heavily tied to future revenues and earnings. The deal makes sense and, those analysts say, could increase pre-tax profits by 15 per cent once it is bedded in. The shares are on about 16 times this year’s earnings. A positive trading statement today could spark some interest, but that rating looks about right for now, the paper says.
Arbuthnot upgraded its rating for RWS Holdings (RWS), the patent translation specialist, from "neutral" to "buy" with an increased target price of 470p, up from 355p. The broker said the interim results were much as it had expected, with a double-digit increase in revenue driven by robust growth in core patent translations, continuing recovery in technical translations and further progress in China. With that said, Arbuthnot added that it has increased its earnings estimates by approximately 2% to reflect slightly higher forecast growth in the Translations division, a less aggressive medium-term growth profile for the Information division, and a maturing PatBase subscription revenue base. RWS shares fell 7.625p to 437.375p.
RWS provides intellectual property (IP) support services for a wide range of industries. Moves to introduce a European Union-wide patent regime seem to have fallen foul of EU law, which removes what might have been something of a hurdle to the company. Supported by a strong balance sheet and an attractive yield, RWS’s shares appear an interesting commitment to a somewhat arcane dimension of the industrial and investment universe. Buy, says the Scotsman.
RWS occupies a niche, searching and translating patents and providing other intellectual property-related services. RWS is clearly performing well, boasts a strong balance sheet with nearly GBP20m in net cash at the end of March and, in what we see as the clincher, trades on a thin enterprise multiple of under 4 times. Throw in the robust prospective yield of around 4 per cent, and we reckon this stock could be well worth a punt, says the Independent.
RWS encouraged by strong H1 trading Date: Monday 11 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Patent translation specialist RWS Holdings said it is encouraged by strong trading in the first six months of the financial year and expects revenues to increase by at least 10% to £32.4m. The company also expects profits for the first half will be comfortably on course to deliver market expectations for the year as a whole. "This reflects a strong performance in our patent translations business, which represents approximately 70% of group revenue," RWS explained. Growth was driven by a combination of an increase in the volume of patent translations from existing customers and the phasing in of work from several client wins in 2010. RWS said it had also seen a continued improvement in its technical translations business due largely to a sustained recovery in Germany. PatBase, a part of its intellectual property information business, benefitted from a strong January renewal period for its high margin subscription service. Commenting on the outlook chairman Andrew Brode said, "From our strong financial position, we are well placed to grow our market share in patent translation and benefit from improvements in the technical translations and intellectual property services markets. With our Euro and dollar trading exposure fully hedged for the current financial year we expect to make continued strong progress during the second half of the year." CJ
Andrew Brode, Executive Chairman of RWS, commented on outlook: "The Board is very pleased with the Group's performance in the first half of the year. From our strong financial position, we are well placed to grow our market share in patent translation and benefit from improvements in the technical translations and intellectual property services markets. With our Euro and dollar trading exposure fully hedged for the current financial year we, therefore, expect to make continued strong progress during the second half of the year."
Market & Regulatory Update The European Patent Office recently published figures showing that the number of European patents applied for in 2010 increased by 10% over 2009, an encouraging sign that research and development and the protection of intellectual property has remained a priority through the financial crisis and global downturn. There has also been a significant recent development in relation to a proposed single EU-wide patent regime, namely the European Union Patent. On 8 March 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled that the proposed plans for a European and Community Patent Court were not compatible with the provisions of EU law, effectively closing down an important avenue towards reducing expensive litigation for international rights holders. Whilst efforts will be made to circumvent this issue, major corporates are unlikely to risk a new regime for the protection of their rights until a legal structure for litigation and appeal has been ratified, and is seen to be operating effectively, which is unlikely to be the case in the short to medium term.
Trading & Financial Update The Board is encouraged by strong trading in the first six months of the financial year and expects Group revenues to increase by at least 10% to £32.4 million from £29.4 million in the comparable prior year period. Having fully hedged our Euro and dollar trading exposure for the current financial year, we anticipate that profits for the first half will be comfortably on course to deliver market expectations for the year as a whole. This reflects a strong performance in our patent translations business, which represents approximately 70% of Group revenue, driven by a combination of an increase in the volume of patent translations from existing customers and the phasing in of work from several significant client wins in 2010. We have also seen a continued improvement in our technical translations business due largely to a sustained recovery in Germany. PatBase, a part of our intellectual property information business, has benefitted from a strong January renewal period for its high margin subscription service. Having successfully moved into new freehold premises in South Buckinghamshire over the Christmas and New Year period, bringing four separate offices together into one location, we are progressing opportunities to significantly improve the Group's operational efficiency. The Group continues to enjoy a strong financial position with shareholder funds in excess of £53.7 million and net cash of £19.8 million as at 31 March, underpinning the Group's ability to both make acquisitions and support its progressive dividend policy.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104110700126113E
in on this one? Profitable business, pay dividends, groeth prospects.... http://www.rws.com/lang_english/pdf/2008_Annual_Report.pdf