Stephan Bernstein, CEO of GreenRoc, details the PFS results for the new graphite processing plant. Watch the video here.
London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Operational highlights In line with our 'More Space' strategy, we continue to focus on driving organic growth by striking the right balance between occupancy and rate growth to maximise RevPAF. UK - responding well to strategic investments and pricing change Trading in the UK is responding well to our strategy of driving performance through enhanced sales and marketing and a focus on yield management. Total revenue in the UK for Q3 2012 was up 5.8% compared to Q3 2011. Major contributing factors included strengthened brand awareness following our advertising campaign launched in May 2012, which has received more than one million views on the internet; further pricing strategy refinements and further growth in national accounts, with total occupied space from these now almost 188,000 sq ft., up 48% on the same period last year. UK RevPAF was £18.71, up 6.0% on the same period last year. Occupancy across all stores in the UK was 2.69 million sq ft or 65.5% at 31 July 2012, up 4.5 percentage points compared to 31 July 2011. Occupancy in the UK mature store portfolio stands at 67.6%. The average self storage rate per sq ft for Q3 in the UK was £22.99, 4.4% lower than Q3 than last year, reflecting our pricing strategy and the changing mix effect as we deliver higher growth from long-term customers and in lower priced new and regional stores. France - further growth from mature stores and new suburban markets Trading in Paris remains robust, reflecting our strong competitive position amid the challenges of the Eurozone economy. Total revenue for Q3 2012 was up 5.6% over the prior year in constant exchange rates but down 3.4% in sterling, reflecting the significant fall in Euro exchange rates. Paris RevPAF was €31.87 up 7.2% on the same period last year. Occupancy in Paris was 0.74 million sq ft or 74.4% at 31 July 2012, up 1.9 percentage points compared to 31 July 2011. Occupancy in the Parisian mature store portfolio now stands at 77.6%. The average self storage rate per sq ft for Q3 2012 in Paris was €36.48, 1.0% lower than the same period last year. The blended average rate reduction is largely driven by the rapid growth in our recently opened suburban stores, which trade at a lower price point than their central Parisian counterparts. Finance Expense Gross debt remains broadly unchanged from the half year at approximately £353 million. Following our successful refinancing earlier in the year, the terms of which were announced on 9th May 2012, this is expected to result in a full year net bank interest expense of approximately £19.5 million. This excludes the exceptional items arising from our refinancing and interest on finance lease obligations. Tax The company's total reported tax, using the EPRA6 measure which includes deferred taxes, is expected to be approximately £5.1 million for the full year. However, we expect the company's cash tax for the full year to be
Outlook We have seen a slower start to the fourth quarter in terms of new lets, particularly during the London 2012 events. However, this is traditionally one of our softer trading periods and revenue growth remains solid, with August revenues up 5.4% on last year in constant exchange rates and up 2.7% in sterling. As we progress through the fourth quarter, macro-economic conditions remain challenging and the Euro exchange rate remains weak. The Euro exchange rate for Q3 2012 was 10.4% lower than Q3 2011 and we estimate this negatively impacted group revenue by around £600,0005 in the quarter. With Euro rates remaining at similar levels, we would expect a similar impact in the fourth quarter. In the UK, the Government intends to impose standard rate VAT on all self-storage with effect from 1 October 2012. We continue to actively pursue all options available to us to challenge this decision on behalf of our customers and shareholders. However, as the majority of Safestore customers pay in advance for their storage, to comply with anti-forestalling legislation we have already been required to inform customers of the increase in VAT. We therefore estimate a potential negative revenue impact in the final month of this financial year of approximately £500,000, consistent with the assumptions for the estimated full year impact we set out in our results in June 2012. Despite these challenges, trading for the full year remains in line with the board's expectations. Adjusted EPRA earnings for the full year will be impacted by the changes in interest expense and slightly higher EPRA tax levels outlined above. Looking beyond the short-term headwinds of foreign exchange movements and the introduction of VAT, the company remains well positioned to drive further RevPAF and growth.
Peter Gowers, Chief Executive Officer commented: "While macro-economic conditions remain challenging, we are making good progress as we implement the 'More Space' strategy outlined in January 2012. During the quarter, we delivered strong constant currency revenue growth, as well as further progress on our strategic priorities to strengthen the brand, drive operational excellence, build a powerful team and create value. As we progress through the fourth quarter, our scale and strong competitive position leave us well positioned to withstand the short-term headwinds of adverse foreign currency movements and the introduction of VAT on UK self-storage."
Highlights · Continued strong revenue and RevPAF growth in constant exchange rates · Further occupancy gains, building on last year's record levels, with closing occupancy4 up 8.8%, at 67.2% of Maximum Lettable Area ("MLA") or 3.43 million square feet ("sq ft") · National accounts occupancy up 48%, further strengthening our corporate customer base · 49,500 sq ft store opened at Paris-Vélizy in August, with no further new builds currently planned.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209130700041393M
Unfortunately for Safestore though, the market seems to only really care about the loss. At 09:52, the stock was down 9.3%
Safestore, the provider of self storage in the UK and France, has dropped dramatically in morning trading after revealing a near-12m sterling pre-tax loss. Figures for the six months to April 30th, show the company's property portfolio valuation has been reduced by £24m (or 3.4%) compared to the end of October last year. Obviously, Safestore has to reflect that loss in the numbers released today, as well as £12m in currency translation losses incurred in moving money from France back to HQ. Combined, those two effects have lead to a pre-tax loss of £11.8m and a loss per share of 3.31p. The group's other metrics look reasonable, one indicator often used by storage firms is revenue per available foot, which has risen 7.6%, while total revenues have climbed 6.4% on the prior year to £48.4m
Investec Securities maintained its "buy" stance on Safestore (SAFE) with a target price of 140p. With the self-storage group successfully completing a refinancing of 400 million pounds the broker believes that the company now has a significantly derisked balance sheet. Investec also noted that Safestore was the first UK business of its kind to complete a placing in the US, with an over-subscribed issue raising 73 million pounds. The broker forecasts full year (ending 31st October) EBITDA growth, before exceptional items, of 5.1% to 53.1 million pounds, on revenues of 102.6 million pounds.
Oriel Securities initiated coverage of Safestore Holdings (SAFE) with an "add" recommendation, expecting the self storage firm to see an increase in occupancy from 64% to 70% over the next three years. The broker noted that the firm is still looking to expand and expects to see further acquisitional and organic growth. Oriel noted that Safestore will have a major debt refinancing even in August 2013, but does not foresee any difficulty. The broker forecasts adjusted net asset value of 219p for 2012, meaning the shares trade at a discount of 44.1%. The shares inched up 1p to 122.5p.
Must admit I am surprised how resilient Safestore has been other self storage operaters are reporting lower occupancy levels. A lot of competition in this sector especially every man and his dog with an empty warehouse are turning to self storage in a desperate attempt to generate some sort of income. In most towns and cities in the last 18 months a number have popped up letting space at much lower rates than those proffered by Safestore
Peter Gowers, Chief Executive of Safestore, commented: "Safestore has delivered another strong operational performance, our fifth successive year of growth in sales, profits and the total value of the property portfolio. Demand for self-storage has been increasing and as the market leader we have driven growth while making targeted investments in our future. Since the year end we have continued to see further growth in personal and business new lets. While we continue to monitor the wider economic conditions, our recent performance has been encouraging and as the market leader, the board believes we are well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities ahead."
Preliminary results announcement for the year ended 31 October 2011 'Market leader driving growth' Operational Highlights · Closing occupancy at record level of 3.21 million sq ft, 64.1% of Maximum Lettable Area ("MLA") · Average self storage rental rate up 2.2% to £26.11 per square foot ("sq ft") (FY2010: £25.55) · Revenue per Available Foot4 ("RevPAF") up 3.0% to £18.99 (FY2010: £18.44) · Ancillary sales up 8.3% to £13.2 million (FY2010: £12.2 million) · Two new stores opened in Paris, two replacement stores opened in the UK Financial Highlights · Revenue up 6.6% to £95.1 million (FY2010: £89.2 million) · Underlying EBITDA1 up 2.7% to £50.5 million (FY2010: £49.2 million) · EPRA2 Adjusted profit after tax3 up 4.8% to £16.1 million · EPRA Adjusted Earnings per share3 ("EPS") up 4.8% to 8.58 pence (FY2010: 8.19 pence) · Final dividend increased 9.2% to 3.55 pence per share (FY2010: 3.25 pence per share) · Profit after tax of £13.0 million (FY2010: £26.3 million) reflecting the impact of non-cash movements in the (loss)/gain on investment properties, exceptional items and the associated tax · Basic EPS of 6.95 pence per share (FY2010: 14.05 pence per share)
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201260700171987W
Pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 October 2011 Another solid quarter Safestore Holdings plc ("Safestore" or "the Company"), the largest self storage retailer in the UK and Paris, is pleased to report on its trading progress (unaudited) for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 October 2011. During the fourth quarter of the year (August to October 2011): · Revenue for Q4 20111 was £25.2 million, an increase of 5.5% compared to the same period in the prior year and 4.6% over Q3 20112. · Total Revenue per Available Foot ('RevPAF')4 for Q4 2011 was £20.10, an increase of 2.9% compared to Q4 2010 and 4.4% over Q3 20112. · Occupancy increased by 61,000 square feet ("sq ft") in the quarter compared to a decrease of 38,000 sq ft in the prior year. · Average self storage rental rate per sq ft for Q4 2011 was £25.85, a decrease of 0.3% compared to Q3 2011 and 0.4% over the prior year. For the full year to 31 October 2011: · Revenue was £94.9 million, an increase of 6.4% compared to £89.2 million in the prior year. · Total RevPAF for the year was £19.05, an increase of 3.8% over the prior year. · Total occupancy increased by 268,000 sq ft in the year compared to 168,000 sq ft in the prior year. · Closing occupancy5 at 31 October 2011 was 3.21 million sq ft. This represents an overall occupancy level of 64.4% of Maximum Lettable Area ("MLA") compared to an overall occupancy level of 60.5% at 31 October 2010 calculated on the same basis. · The average self storage rental rate per sq ft for the year was £26.11, 2.2% higher than the prior year. In our third quarter update in August we indicated that while we maintained a cautious outlook due to the fragile prevailing economic conditions, we had seen a positive performance in the third quarter. This performance has continued into the fourth quarter. We saw solid occupancy growth in the fourth quarter of 61,000 sq ft which is 99,000 sq ft ahead of the prior year. This was driven by solid enquiry growth and improved conversion rates, which more than offset the increase in vacates we had indicated was likely in our third quarter update. We made targeted adjustments to our rate strategy for some key segments during the quarter, in line with the approach we outlined at our half-year results to focus on optimising total revenue and revenue per available foot. This helped drive the occupancy performance and resulted in a slight dilution of the overall self storage rental rate. This balanced approach to driving growth and managing rental rates, together with an MLA increase of 123,000 sq ft compared to the prior year led to a 2.9% increase in Total RevPAF over Q4 2010. Revenue growth has been strongest in London and Paris, with personal customer new let growth rates remaining ahead of the business customer
Safestore chief executive locks up some cash Safestore's chief executive Peter Gowers has made his first deposit since joining the self storage company in February, spending more than £100,000. He took 100,000 shares at 105p a time. Gowers is a former chief executive of Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group's Asia Pacific division
Matrix downgrades Safestore from buy to add, target price reduced from 160p to 150p.
Safestore took a knock yesterday after making downbeat noises about the economy and revealing that headline interim pre-tax profits had slumped by 85% to GBP973,000 from GBP6.6m. The latter was largely down to a cautious valuation of the company’s existing property portfolio. At the operating level, things look rather better. Despite the tough economic climate, occupancy was up 3% and customers are paying more to stash their things with the storage group. Buy, recommends the Independent.
Tough times at Safestore again Date: Thursday 23 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Storage space provider Safestore said it has seen signs of the economic recovery slowing as it reported a sharp drop in profits for the half year to 30 April. The company, whose customers include people moving houses, posted a pre-tax profit of £973,000 for the period, down from £6.67m the previous year even as revenues climbed to £45.5m from £42.4m. Safestore, which operates in Britain and France, said that, while the recovery continued in the first quarter “as we entered the second quarter the rate of UK economic growth slowed and our growth rates also slowed.” New lets climbed by 3% in the second quarter against growth of 9% in the first quarter. Safestore said it was seeing “robust trading” particularly in London, the South East and Paris.
CRACKER
ty in numbers!
Ok so why all the big buys then anyone????????????
This share is very cheap, ideal for someone looking to invest for long term.
good long term prospects
Safe.
which way is this going? any opinions welcome.