Techinvest very positive on PEN5 Jan 2024 10:44
Techinvest had a nice review of the interims in their November issue FYI:
"Pennant has reported solid progress in the first half ended June 30. Revenue for the period was up 2.9% to £7.1m, with 46% of the total generated from software licensing and associated activities. Gross margin reached a record 47% (H1 2022: 41%). EBITDA doubled to £0.8m and the loss before tax was £0.4m compared to a loss of £0.8m a year earlier. Order intake secured during the first half was worth
£6.5m, which resulted in a three-year contracted order book of £25m at the period-end. Net-debt at the end of the first half was £1.9m, down from £4.1m a year earlier.
Management’s plan to re-engineer the business to build on software, services and
other higher-margin work is working well based on recent results. EBITA has been positive now for the last four reporting periods and the strong uptick in gross margin this time is particularly encouraging. Given the burgeoning technological complexity in Pennant’s military, aviation and rail platforms markets, the demand
for innovative integrated product support solutions is only likely to grow, particularly with increasing defence budgets globally.
Small acquisitions are also adding to the momentum and re-shaping of the business. The most recent addition is Track Access Productions in April, broadening Pennant’s existing rail offering and customer base, and adding circa £0.3m of subscription-based recurring revenues. Further positive news since the period-end is that new
orders worth around £1.5m have been secured during July and August. The company also announced a strategic partnership with Aquila Learning to collaborate on a number of projects.
The broker consensus forecast for the current year is for earnings per share of 3.5p rising to 4.2p for fiscal 2024. A prospective P/E of 6.1 for next year looks attractive if the progress in the business can be maintained. We rate the shares
a Strong Hold."