Member Info for Adastra

Why oh why is everyone missing the point. Operational cashflow has gone positive from H1 and Porta is generating cash. Legacy, exceptional and start-up costs are falling away rapidly and fees and margins are increasing as we chase bigger clients. Debt refinancing was only ever going to be possible when we turned cash-generative and that has now happened. With increased large contracts using better integration of various disciplines within the business, concentration on bigger players, and renegotiated debt; Porta should be able to thrive with the addition of a hungry MD. Steffan Williams is the ideal candidate alongside the seasoned BoD. There's a lot of investor confidence building ahead to educate that EPS is growing strongly but the groundwork is in place and the bombed-out share price gives real scope at present.

Steffan joined Finsbury in 2014 following a twenty year career spent providing communications counsel to enterprises, organisations and governments. A former investment banker, he previously founded Capital MSL, which he ran for twelve years before selling it to Publicis Groupe. Steffan has led a large number of high profile financial and corporate communications campaigns during his career, particularly working at CEO or practice leader level, and often dealing with multiple geographies and stakeholder audiences. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford University, and is an Old Members Trustee. He has served for over ten years as a Member of the Board of Management at the PRCA, is a member of the Development Committee at Policy Exchange and is a Special Adviser at the Iraq Britain Business Council. He provides communications advice to a number of charities pro bono and is a frequent guest speaker on communications. Jackie Elliot, now an independent comms consultant and UK CEO of MS&L when it funded Capital, says: 'Steffan is the sort of man you really want to count as your friend and someone towards whom people gravitate in a room. 'He is a visionary. Steffan is the man who says "we're going to change the world".

Excellent choice - watch this space.

JS has sound comment on many shares. Porta is working very hard on debt to enhance earnings. This is the nadir IMO.

Yes as far as I know the analyst meeting went ahead with several analysts attending. Given that we are a small company by MCap I suspect that the figures will be being assessed and acted upon in due course. I am happy that the accounts are fairly presented and an accurate assessment of the business. We are a growth business, not a value business and should be trading at a premium to our peers which we are clearly not. My previous comments regarding EBITDA show how well the business is doing, and despite cost increases, we are now cash-generative. Porta are focusing on the expanding businesses and concentrating on driving down the debt aspect as the organic growth escalates - the market seems to be missing this key point. Quick amortisation on acquired intangibles from the recent acquisitions is a very positive move as it may be a temporary drag, but allows a quick rerate as earnings progress. One day the analysts will awake to the 2015 transformation of Porta from its 2014 profile and realise both value and growth.

Look at the increase in Gross profit per employee - from £49k per employee to £54k per employee - that's 10% and admirable given the three acquisitions last year. Very positive indicator for H2, f/y 2015 and beyond and shows that we are getting excellent growth as we add staff to the businesses.

Regarding the d&a which was £1.4m in the first half, this consists mostly of amortisation on acquired intangibles (client lists and brands) which would increase after doing the three acquisitions last year. The conservative policy Porta has taken regarding acquired intangibles should be welcomed by shareholders because the quicker acquired intangibles are written off, the more the impact is reduced of a potential impairment event. The d&a is obviously a non-cash item, like share based payments for example, and really should be added back to PBT to determine the true underlying financial performance. Adding back £1.4m of d&a to the £1.1m loss and flowing through the £0.5m ebitda exceptionals results in an adjusted pbt of around £0.8m. Also worth noting that most of the cost increase came from consolidated acquisitions and businesses that are growing top line as well as bottom line. The reaction looks really overdone given the solid underlying growth and very conservative policy taken. The future looks good and EBITDA should grow strongly in H2 and beyond IMO. A seasoned BoD and strong hands on the tiller.

Not posted as just returned from Barcelona. Excellent update on progress from all three divisions -especially cyber. You've summed up prospects well and it shows the traction that could result in nice surprises as contracts are signed off. Investments seem to be starting to pay dividends and a snowball effect from the Principia tie-up looks very possible. Near term horizon is looking very good.

Back from Barcelona to EBITDA £828k - I'm happy with that as I predicted EBITDA between 500k and £1m at interim stage. As the legacy costs and exceptionals fall away more quickly in H2 and we are gaining from the announced cost saving initiatives, the emerging picture should look good. Management are doing the right thing in concentrating on the growth engines and divesting peripherals. It's taking longer than DW anticipated but in comparison to our peers we are doing rather well. The share-price is failing to reflect the prospects so sentiment could change swiftly. Reducing DD and A costs appear to be a management priority in order to allow strong growth to be reflected in the bottom line in 2016. Given the Board quality, I expect that to be very achievable within 12-18 months. We need a couple of visionary institutions buying into the quality and growth story, allowing our MCap to reflect the future. Once that happens, then we will roll forward and gain momentum. It is about time that institutional confidence was shown in the ability of management to drive Porta forward; hopefully the analysts meeting provided the criteria. Management incentivisation, as practiced by Porta, is achieving the results, its just gaining increased institutional confidence that seems to be the barrier. The track record is excellent to date.

Gemalto security expert, Paul Hampton, warned that the findings disclosed in the report are likely to represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to global breaches – as they record only those announced publicly. “It seems safe to assume that for every breach that is made public there are others that aren’t announced,” he told Infosecurity. “These numbers are likely to change once the European disclosure rules come into effect, as organizations will have to collect, store, access and secure data in new ways. Most importantly, they will have to notify both authorities and affected individuals when a data breach occurs.” What’s more, many organizations are incapable of detecting the increasingly sophisticated targeted breaches aimed at their networks, he added. “Given that attackers perpetrating identity theft breaches are usually only intent on obtaining a copy of confidential data rather than on causing malicious damage to systems, it is quite possible that many organizations haven’t even noticed that a breach has occurred,” Hampton argued. Haha! Enter Falanx-Assuria 24/7/365 protective security monitoring methinks - CERT UK accredited. Categories: Cyber Risk News

Falanx-Assuria is offering a new mobile cyber-security solution for firms using BYOD as well - Nice when you read latest news like this from cyber-risk and insurance: One in Two iPhones Runs Old, Insecure OS Version Info Security - Fri, 09/11/2015 - 09:54 An estimated 50% of iPhones are running outdated versions of iOS, exposing organizations to unnecessary risk, according to new research from Duo Security. All playing into the field of Falanx-Assuria-Principia.

Agreed; as is evidenced by the latest research report published last week: A new report from Gemalto last week claimed that the UK saw more data breaches in the first half of the year than any other European nation. There were 63 reported incidents in 1H 2015 as opposed to just eight in second placed Germany and six in the Netherlands.

As a long-term shareholder in Porta, it is worth a quick note for potential shareholders. Porta was unable to use accumulated UK start-up tax losses against profits made overseas [particularly relevant with respect to Newgate Australia last year]. The aquisition of Redleaf, PPS and Publicasity in the UK in 2014 has effectively opened the door to being able to stand off their profits. This would have the effect of reducing tax. Add this to the escalation in EBITDA and falling away of legacy costs and it is little wonder the company have announced an analyst presentation with the interims. I suspect that there may be increasing interest up to 22nd September and considerably more thereafter.

Agree. Right time-Right place. Falanx has all the characteristics and qualities of a share whose fortunes could change overnight. CERT-UK contract is pivotal and MUST be opening many doors alongside the Falanx-Assuria-Principia roll-out. Very interesting times ahead on all timeframes imo. Great entry price for those having done the research.

In cyber security, self-learning analytics and anomaly detection techniques have the potential to be a game changer. These analytics can monitor activity across multiple network assets and real-time data streams in order to identify threats as they occur. Analytics that immediately detect behavioural anomalies in network traffic and data flows, while also quickly recognising new “normal” activity, thus minimising false positives? Technology that is not just for the world’s biggest firms but may be even more important for smaller firms? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/business-reporter/11842137/Why-cyber-security-needs-a-new-approach.html Goodness me! I think 24/7/365 protective monitoring may actually be what he is talking about - and we have it :))

Yep - I went to the AGM. The statement by DW issued as a separate RNS summed it up - EBITDA rising strongly with legacy costs falling away. Unfortunately I can't attend next week, but I expect analyst interest as we are now experiencing strong organic growth. Most analysts dismissed Porta initially as they saw it as an out-of-favour buy and build company. It wasn't - it was a buy and integrate. Start-up costs are now falling away, exposing the emerging animal as strong fee-earning company in the organic growth phase. To David Wright's credit, he has NOT diluted out existing supporters of Porta; never issuing shares below par value 10p for any previous acquisition. I firmly believe that these interims will mark a turning point and strong change in institutional sentiment. This maiden analyst presentation fits perfectly with DW strategy. He has the kudos and experience, having grown and steered a major company (Citygate) before. The experience of the team working under the Porta umbrella is formidable - I expect the interims to reflect it.

Yep, I think this is a really strong move in the right direction. I suspect the analyst presentation is to fully explain the unrecognised growth potential now EBITDA is climbing strongly and legacy costs falling. Certainly not indicative of any nasties in the pipeline so I hope they can muster a lot of institutional interest for the presentation. I've suggested if there is possibility of a presentation webcast to the media PR team.

Onward and upward once interims out or in anticipation...

and making your own decision. The Falanx/Assuria/Principia combination is outstanding insurance against hackers. http://www.falanxassuria.co.uk/

Current price is actually 7.01/7.39!