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Started: rivaldo, 19 Jun 2024 12:29
Last post: rivaldo, 19 Jun 2024 12:29
Alliance Pharma, a key customer of VLG, has reported positively today - in particular regarding the comments re Kelo-Cote which VLG manufactures for APH. Which hopefully bodes well for VLG's trading update next month.
Key highlights were:
'a strong second half performance drove record sales for the Year and further underlying profit expansion. With continued investment planned to support new product development and increased marketing, the Group is well positioned for growth over the medium term'.
'Consumer Healthcare see-through revenue up 11% at constant exchange rates to £136.4m (2022: £125.2m) and up 9% on a reported basis'.
'Continued strong consumer demand driving significant recovery in Kelo-Cote franchise revenues in H2, with FY 2023 revenues reaching £63.2m, +29% at constant exchange rates'
Started: rivaldo, 4 Jun 2024 07:34
Last post: LearningG, 6 Jun 2024 07:55
Well corrected Jatw yes Stocko have them as the 23rd Sept. Thx
LearningG,
The July results are a sales update near the end of July. The H1 financials are not out until September. Previous years RNSs give an idea on the timing if there is no formal calendar entry.
I would expect a further drop and then a run up to results in July. Bit vague July its 4 weeks to go surely late or early would have helped. Today most SPs under pressure so longer term this will rerate.
It’s frustrating. Despite the company putting out decent results / rns and the stock market rising in general, this seems trapped at around 40p. After the recent results I was expecting nearer 50.
A reassuring update - good enough at this stage to be confident about trading in line, whilst the business "continues to perform well". Upgrades can come later in the year as confidence grows.
Also pleased to see major shareholders taking an active role in getting the resolution for the proposed disapplication of pre-emption rights withdrawn:
Https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/venture-life-VLG/share-news/Venture-Life-Group-PLC-AGM-Statement/93976247
"The business continues to perform well and our increased focus on promoting the VLG owned brands is delivering pleasing results, with an additional 35 new listings secured within UK retail since the beginning of the year. We remain confident about the outlook for the year ahead and our ability to deliver full year performance in line with management's expectations. Further commentary over first half trading will be provided as part of our usual business update in July."
Started: Agricore, 5 Jun 2024 10:09
Last post: Agricore, 5 Jun 2024 10:09
Started: rivaldo, 30 May 2024 13:18
Last post: rivaldo, 30 May 2024 13:18
Good to see the upward trend here continuing - and encouraging news re Gelclair too:
Https://www.accesswire.com/866208/jaguar-health-to-initiate-commercial-footprint-in-cancer-supportive-care-at-american-society-of-clinical-oncology-asco-annual-meeting-with-exhibit-booth-for-fda-approved-gelclair-oral-mucositis-product
Started: rivaldo, 29 Apr 2024 10:04
Last post: Jatw, 11 May 2024 15:06
Must admit to being a bit disappointed by the share price and that it barely moved with the results.
I guess the next upward move may come with the sales update at the end of July as a preview of the HY results in September. There is always the prospect of an acquisition with an ad-hoc update.
I doubt anyone here is holding for a dividend.
Buying new product and extending brands is the name of this game. Pay cash, take on debt, bring the debt down. Repeat.
Not sure if paying off debt first would be more beneficial, before paying dividends
A move to the main market could be beneficial to the share price, would then appear on the radar of more investment fund managers.
Yes, this share seems to have everything going for it right now, except a divi but if this they can deliver on the growth then I guess it doesn’t matter.
Cavendish's latest research from earlier this month hasn't been posted here yet in detail.
They have a 68p target price, and they forecast 5.5p EPS this year rising to 6.9p EPS and then 7.9p EPS.
Here's some extracts:
"Strong organic growth; focus on EBITDA
Venture Life has reported FY23 results to December 2023, following the February trading update. Revenues grew 17% in the year to £51.4m (our est. £50.7m) and adjusted EBITDA was £11.6m (our est. £11.6m). Cash conversion was 85%, generating £9.8m of cash from operations. Cash generation and no M&A in 2023 allowed the company to de-lever, closing FY23 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.3x.
Management have focused on growth with three therapy areas generating double-digit revenue growth and online sales up +40%. Our extended forecasts anticipate increased investment, developing new products and expanding distribution channels to drive future revenue growth, with a focus on EBITDA and cash generation. We believe Venture Life has delivered strong organic performance in 2023 and anticipate on-going growth which could be complemented by re-starting the M&A strategy."
"Cash – The company generated cash from operations of £9.8m (FY22: £6.2m), indicating cash conversion of 85%. FCF for debt servicing was £4.8m, up strongly versus £2.8m in FY22. Strong cash generation and no M&A in 2023 allowed the company to deleverage, closing FY23 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 1.3x (FY22: 1.65x), which has subsequently fallen to 1.15x."
"Outlook – We note Venture Life’s stated commitment to improving EBITDA margins, that, while lowered in the near-term, are expected to benefit from marketing investment. This reflects a focus on profit and cash generation across all revenue streams, generally regardless of the differing gross margins. We expect this focus to support profit and cash growth for the business.
Investment thesis – Venture Life has delivered an organic 2023, demonstrating its ability to grow revenues and generate cash, allowing the company to de-leverage. We believe the company exited 2023 in excellent shape, noting a diverse product portfolio with further organic growth opportunities, available manufacturing capacity for expansion into new opportunities and a stronger balance sheet to re-engage its M&A strategy."
They also "expect the company to re-initiate its acquisition strategy during 2024 and beyond", and "as of the end of FY24E, based upon our forecasts of the current business, Venture Life would have £16m of the initial £30m RCF available, plus the potential to draw a further £20m".
Under different scenarios this could add between a further £2.5m-£7.5m of EBITDA to current forecasts.
Started: rivaldo, 19 Apr 2024 07:16
Last post: rivaldo, 24 Apr 2024 11:58
Yep, breaking upwards nicely now. Hopefully soon to attack the early '23 levels of 45p-46p and then to move on up to 60p or more.
Thanks for sharing this Rivaldo. Excellent news and great to see the price move out of the 30’s.
Very encouraging info posted elsewhere (by Celeritas) about the new license and distribution deal in the United States for Gelclair and VLG's partner Jaguar Health.
Jaguar Health is expanding its focus to include cancer-related supportive care, with Gelclair being a foundational element in this strategy.
Https://in.investing.com/news/jaguar-health-names-new-svp-of-growth-strategy-93CH-4133486
Jaguar's stock rocketed 44% "after the pharmaceutical company announced a new license for a chemo mouth treatment", i.e Gelclair:
Https://investorplace.com/2024/04/why-is-jaguar-health-jagx-stock-up-44-today/
And:
Https://jaguarhealth.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/jaguar-health-appoints-biopharmaceutical-industry-veteran
Good to see the new RCF now agreed - and also (as previewed by whythefuss!):
"New Partner in USA
The Company also announces that it has finalised an exclusive long-term license and distribution deal in the United States for Gelclair, an FDA-approved oral mucositis prescription product, with Jaguar Health (NASDAQ:JAGX). This agreement, spanning 5 years, entails license fees, royalties, and product revenue payments to the Company.
"We are really pleased to have partnered Gelclair in the USA, a market where Gelclair has been present for many years," said Jerry Randall, CEO of VLG. "This new agreement will ensure the continued supply of Gelclair to US oncology patients suffering oral mucositis, and generate meaningful additional revenues for the Company in the future."
Https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/venture-life-VLG/share-news/Venture-Life-Group-PLC-RCF-in-Place-and-New-Partner-in-the-USA/93683690
Started: Jatw, 11 Apr 2024 15:47
Last post: Jatw, 23 Apr 2024 12:42
Beza - the Execs (3) each have 1m shares on option, so dont expect them to buy more…but the NEDs should be…or be paid in shares….
Now that the dust has settled on the latest update, it would be good to see some decent sized Director buying to further demonstrate their confidence here.
Jatw - lots of different words in your response but seeing straight through that, you are saying the exact same thing I posted previously ie. you have no confidence in the growth and status of the Company in the short, medium or even long term. In response you have simply underlined that.
But you remain a Shareholder!
PS: My user name has nothing to do with football.
I have been a shareholder since 2018…..including taking up rights in the days these traded at 90p.
I was attracted by their strategy of a growth story with newly acquired brands introducing new distributors through which existing products can be sold. The brands they buy are all small, although they may be leaders within their niche.
My comments about them being a small company are factual - they are tiny and would not qualify for even the smallest indices. Small companies are out of favour hence they also experience the undervaluation referred to by the CEO as a reason why they would not issue shares as part of M&A.
Theirs is a very crowded market (just go into a Superdrug and see if you can locate one of their products without staff assistance to see what I mean). What they refer to as power brands are only within a narrow therapeutic area. If they continue going down this route of small brands they will become an increasingly complex business with more small scale sub-businesses.
I dont see a plan to change this and so they will continue to be a small business (even if they double sales, profits and market valuation they will still be tiny.
I do consider them undervalued by the market, so I continue to hold, but sometimes we need to recognise what is holding back that valuation and I think it is the lack of a core product which has significant potential to change the market perception of this company.
As an apparent Chelsea fan, you will be familiar with the problem of having paid for a more valuable asset that the market now values considerably lower. Do you sell at a loss, or hope that new coach will improve the asset. Chances are the asset limps along for a bit until their contract expires and you have to buy a new asset. The VLG squad of brands is a League 2 squad. How to get promoted to League 1?
Jatw you say “ they are operating a small company in some small market niches and I dont see anything here to change that even if they do increase sales by low teen % for a few years”
Translates to you having no confidence in the growth and status of the Company in the short, medium or even long term.
Are you actually a Shareholder here?
Started: PippiLongStockin, 19 Apr 2024 07:21
Last post: Chelsea11, 19 Apr 2024 08:02
Suspect opportunities have already been identified and are potentially already in the pipeline undergoing due diligence. I expect at least one M&A announcement in Q2/Q3.
Shows the stability and strength of this company to have RCF under 3% … that seems very good and will be a huge advantage funding expansion plans in the current climate…. Pick up some bolt on acquisitions on cheap multiples and they will pay back fairly quick
Started: whythefuss, 17 Apr 2024 19:03
Last post: whythefuss, 17 Apr 2024 19:03
Https://jaguarhealth.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/jaguar-health-licenses-fda-approved-oral-mucositis-product-us
New partner in the US for their oncology product
Started: DANNYBAREY, 12 Apr 2024 13:11
Last post: DANNYBAREY, 12 Apr 2024 13:11
Started: DANNYBAREY, 12 Apr 2024 13:08
Last post: DANNYBAREY, 12 Apr 2024 13:08
Started: Rich62, 9 Apr 2024 18:40
Last post: krull, 11 Apr 2024 16:03
VLG is no stranger to M&A, been there done that, hopefully if/when it will be another good one
Can’t deny there is risk attached to M&A. However, there can also be reward that propels a company forward, rather than treading water (and the SP doing the same or worse). From what we’ve seen since Dec 22, they seem to have got it right with HL Healthcare.
Yes, one can see that Randall is itching to get net debt down so that he can resume splashing the cash on M&A again. Makes me nervous. Buy & build is such a tricky strategy - full of pitfalls. Some managements are good at it, but not many.
Wouldn’t class Earol as a small brand Jatw, hence why they bought it and as I previously said, there was hint of further M&A activity from Jerry Randall. That would be in addition to any in-house product development / launch which they say is “ready”.
They need one blockbuster product (preferably in house created rather than purchased). At the moment they have no “power brands” or if they do they are only powerful in very small market niches.
Extending small brands with product updates and refreshes will still leave you with small brands.
Started: krull, 9 Apr 2024 14:20
Last post: Chelsea11, 9 Apr 2024 14:41
Thanks Krull.
I’ve watched and Jerry Randall appeared convincing when talking about the strength and direction of the business. It caught my interest when they spoke briefly about M&A and I got the impression there will be some activity in 2024.
Started: rivaldo, 9 Apr 2024 07:43
Last post: Beza, 9 Apr 2024 11:32
True!!
I think my comments are slightly borne out of frustration with the market.
Of my shares this, MFX and IPF have all reported great results recently and yet the shares, despite being on lowly valuations are all still trading at the same price.
This looks very lucrative
Starting from 2024, a new revenue segment called Private label will be introduced to the Group, referring to products manufactured by VLG-owned factories, which develop formulations for retailers, who will sell these products through their own retail channels. This is aimed at providing a more comprehensive understanding of our business performance by segregating these revenues from the currently reported segments. As revenue from this segment grows, the Group will consider reporting and disclosing performance separately in future periods.
Customer Brands refers to products manufactured by VLG-owned factories, which co-develop formulations with customers, who will distribute and market these products under their own brand names
Debt reduced further in 2024
Group net leverage7 reduction to 1.30x (2022: 1.65x).
Group net leverage7 reduced further to 1.15x at 31 March 2024
Good results, perhaps people expected more information on outlook?
Today's price movement is just traders in and out from yesterday.
Will need additional fresh buyers to get this into the 40p's IMO. I reckon this will happen over next 2 weeks.
Simon Thompson in Investors Chronicle is a fan and regularly reviews and tips this as a buy.
It’s only been an hours trading!
The Results are as good as the Trading Update indicated. No nasty surprises at all. I wouldn’t have thought 40p+ is too far into the future.
Started: Rich62, 4 Apr 2024 07:19
Last post: Jatw, 8 Apr 2024 12:54
Back to where it was following the FY trading update….which was very positive.
Whether the accounts will translate to another gain tomorrow is anyone’s guess, but management credibility is on the line if they dont measure up to the TU.
I would expect MMs to mark the shares up tomorrow, but whether that sticks is debateable.
Nice bit of movement this morning. Wonder if someone knows something ahead of tomorrow?
Started: rivaldo, 20 Mar 2024 11:55
Last post: rivaldo, 20 Mar 2024 11:55
Good to see the share price moving upwards in the run-up to the results in "early April" - last year's were on 4th April, so not long to wait.
As a reminder, the positive trading update concluded:
"Benefiting from our robust growth, clear strategic priorities aimed at refining our operation, substantial generation of free cashflow and a strong balance sheet, we are now in a prime position to deliver strong shareholder returns and I look forward to presenting the FY23 results to shareholders in April"
Started: rivaldo, 23 Feb 2024 07:28
Last post: Jatw, 10 Mar 2024 17:35
The Q4 update was really positive, but the SP has slipped back recently.
Tempted to acquire some more in the mid 30s this week as I suspect it will bounce up on results in early April.
Jerry Randall was saying in the podcast, the iced cherry flavour mouthwash was selling well, in that case, perhaps they should introduce more flavors just to be different from the rest, like Apple, Strawberry, Blueberry, even bubble gum flavour might sell well.
https://youtu.be/wVVkU9gG_J8
Someone is loading up ahead of next news, volume is much higher than normal.
After a bit of a soggy patch, today’s rise is possibly a result of Haleon impressing with their self treatment products indicating that customers continue to purchase.
Roll on the results in early April.
Thanks Rivaldo, missed this holding update. Good news as you say.
About time share price started to move upwards again - slight rise yesterday, but still a bargain at current price.
Started: rivaldo, 6 Feb 2024 10:56
Last post: rivaldo, 6 Feb 2024 10:56
Good to see Slater Investments buying more - they now own 18%, with 22.77m shares
Https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/venture-life-VLG/share-news/Venture-Life-Group-PLC-Holdings-in-Company/93213683
A 30% increase in profits and a reduction in debt should add up to a 30% increase in share price, at least I would have thought.
Started: krull, 1 Feb 2024 22:23
Last post: Nutmegmilk, 5 Feb 2024 09:11
Patience required, still significantly undervalued and I am holding for +60p+
Thanks for this - and the share price is looking good now with this morning's break above 40p.
Started: rivaldo, 1 Feb 2024 07:37
Last post: ggrantsu, 1 Feb 2024 17:00
Massive massive well done to holders here....epic patience has been rewarded. I was a complete mug selling months back...the value on offer was more than clear but I was impatient.
genuinely always great to see patient investors rewarded like today! Hats off!
Superb rise now. Glad to see our patience has been rewarded.
Now up over 10% on over 750k shares traded, so hopefully any sellers are being squeezed out.
Cavendish summarise in today's note as follows:
"Delivering organically
Venture Life Group has released a positive trading update, with revenues expected to be in-line with our forecasts at £51m +16% YoY and a c2ppts uplift in EBITDA margin. FY23E revenue growth was delivered completely organically, a first since 2019, in-line with the company’s near-term focus on organic growth. Significantly, cash from operations increased over 70% to c£9.5m (in-line with expectations) supporting our analysis of free cash generation and yield. Cash generation also supported a reduction in group net leverage, which was 1.25x at December 2023 versus 1.65x at the close of 2022. Looking forward, Venture Life aims to build on its momentum through targeted investment in sales and marketing to position the group for sustained future growth and profitability."
And:
"Cash – The group delivered strong cash from operations, generating c£9.5m (Cavendish est. £9.5m), up over 70% YoY. This cash flow has helped further lower group net leverage to 1.25x at year-end 2023 versus 1.65x as of December 2022. The company notes further improvement to c1.1x post period end.
- Operational – Management has seen encouraging sales from newly developed products, noting improved sales volumes supported by price increases through H2/23A, which will clearly be supportive into FY24E. The company’s digital transformation strategy delivered online sales growth +40% to £3.8m for the year (H1/23 £1.6m). Through the year 28 new listings were achieved across UK retailers, which will further support our FY24E revenue growth expectations."
Undervaled so much still holding for 60p+
After today's update, Finncap have reiterated their 68p target price and their forecasts of 5.4p EPS for last year, rising to 6.4p EPS this year.
Net debt is due to fall to a mere £5.3m at the end of this year (from £16.6m at the end of 2022).
Which puts VLG on a current year P/E of just 5.3.
Started: rivaldo, 1 Feb 2024 07:28
Last post: rivaldo, 1 Feb 2024 07:28
Excellent - a solid trading update in line with expectations, and with no hiccups whatsoever:
- cash coversion and net debt both improving nicely
- own brands revenues growing well organically and now 59% of total revenues
- margins up and benefit of price increases still to come
- and a strong, confident outlook:
"Benefiting from our robust growth, clear strategic priorities aimed at refining our operation, substantial generation of free cashflow and a strong balance sheet, we are now in a prime position to deliver strong shareholder returns"
Time for a re-rating.
Started: rivaldo, 29 Jan 2024 09:32
Last post: rivaldo, 29 Jan 2024 09:32
From Alliance Pharma's trading update today - hopefully bodes well for VLG's Kelo-Cote production:
"Continued strong consumer demand, particularly in China, drove significant recovery in Kelo-Cote franchise revenues in H2, leading to FY23 revenues of £63.2m, up 29% CER (FY22: £50.0m)"
Started: Rich62, 21 Dec 2023 07:12
Last post: Rich62, 21 Dec 2023 07:12
20th Dec 23 RNS - Slater Fund have increased holding 16 to 17%. Good show of confidence that VLG is due to bounce back.
Started: Nutmegmilk, 2 Dec 2023 16:03
Last post: Nutmegmilk, 2 Dec 2023 16:03
Still holding for 60p which I think the stock should easily amount too!