Member Info for chrisc32

... to see the recent buying here, albeit still low volume. Think we could be about to break that longstanding downtrend. If a seller has cleared as I suspect may be the case, it could move relatively quickly.

What if there were £100m prefs repayable over 1000 years at £100k per year. And the business made EBITDA of £2m with a market cap of £5m? Would it be £2m EBIT v £5m mcap + £100m prefs? To fail to consider the length of the repayment schedule is to miss the point. And to rely solely on formulas without applying common sense logic is certainly not the approach I take.

Let's not forget that the redemption schedule is over 7 years ... it's not like they need to redeem them all at once. EPS figures for the last few years have also been "hit" by a c.1m GBP notional interest charge for preference shares. That's not cash outflow, just accounting treatment. Operating profit trend from 2009 to FY2012 was extremely positive. This full year will be worse as we know, but H2 FY2013 has seen a strong performance, and things look positive for the year ahead, as per the RNS.

The market is valuing the business at 5m GBP. The market capitalisation is 5m GBP. The prefs shares get redeemed, all being well (starting with 1m GBP next month). Think of them like a loan. The interim statement was upbeat, with more revenue next year from the banking frameworks etc. Pretax profit forecast for next year are 2.5m ... i.e. enough to cover pref payment schedule if met and maintained. Then we're left with a business with a PE of less than 3. The question is this: to what extent does the market have confidence that STY can meet the redemption schedule from operating profits and cashflow. Perhaps the ordinary shares should be valued at zero, to reflect the 15m prefs and the profit for FY13? That's the ultimate extrapolation of your argument. Think through the logic.

... I added today and it took 4.5 hours to fill. :-/

Fair dos ... very happy holding here personally. EV/EBIT becomes a false measure IMO if STY prove capable of hitting forecasts for next year. Need to see profits hitting the bottom line, but if they achieve pretax of £2.5m, I'm pretty confident the market will value the business at much more than £5m. All the best elsewhere.

... wasn't your post it was someone else's. But do check out the FY14 forecasts for STY.

... haven't been loss making for 4 years now. Market expectations are for £0.7m pretax profit for the full year. That means an h2 profit of £2.7m. That's more than enough to cover the £1m this December. Markets slowly improving. Extensions to banking frameworks that are expected to drive extra revenue. Retail markets picking up and post office work from now. £2.5m pretax forecast for next year ... now we know where that's coming from. Again, more than enough for next year's prefs. Just buy them quickly tomorrow as per your post the other day stating that you were looking to add ;-)

Apols for typo. Damn Android keypad.

When the market cap is as bombed out as this one is (£5m), it only takes steady news to move the share price. I think this' ll double at least from here on realisation that the business is improving steadily, and not about to go bust as its shareorice suggests. I'd class today's news as good. Particularly the update regarding banking frameworks and the forward order book. The SP is on the verge of breaking out from a multi-year doentrend, so as the update is absorbed properly we could see a fairly rapid move up. A look on Digital Look to see forecast Fy14 pretax profit dhows why this is undervalued at these kind of prices. All just in my opinion etc.

... I reduced around 8p. But pleased to still have a good chunk that i'll keep long term. Cracking update. I have a huge soft spot too having bought my first lot at just 2.3p. Worth a look now ...STY and NTBR my key picks to double or more. Both VERY cheap, high turnover, profitable and in the recovering UK construction and property support sectors.

... not far away. Good update over at STY today. Another share on a silly-low valuation IMO.

... this isn't higher on that update. Pretty solid, market expectations for profit this year which equates to over £2m pretax in h2. And market expectations for £2.5m pretax next year. £5m cap is much too low IMO.

... is that the next set of results and accompanying outlook will be very positive. The roofing division will have benefitted from the good summer weather, and the business as a whole from the more positive growth in the construction sector. All IMO. Tiny market cap still, could go significantly higher.

... with the upwards movement

http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2013/nov/05/construction-retail-uk-economic-recovery

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24801821 Construction on the up. STY to follow IMO.

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2013/10/25/construction-growth-drives-uk-economy-forward/ The upturn in the construction is in step with the more positive outlook statements from the likes of STY and ISG. Hopefully this should lead to improved margins as competitive pressures ease, and a greater volume of opportunity.

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2013/10/21/construction-to-rebound-with-four-year-boom/

this morning ... any views on this?