Gordon Stein, CFO of CleanTech Lithium, explains why CTL acquired the 23 Laguna Verde licenses. Watch the video here.
For FY23, Corero delivered double digit annualised recurring revenue (‘ARR’) growth; we see this momentum continuing into FY24E and have upgraded our forecasts accordingly.
The retirement of all debt, including an inter-company loan, leaves the balance sheet ungeared and clean of FX movements which made reported margins historically volatile.
We see normalised EBITDA margins of 10%+ going forward and potentially rising further. The growth in revenues leaves the stock trading on a forward rating of only 1.8x EV/Sales. This stock has both defensive and growth qualities which should support a higher rating going forward and we reiterate our fair value of 14p price/share.
Link to new research report: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/debt-free-with-growing-margins-we-upgrade
Adam Holland (CEO) and Will Wilkins (Group Finance Director) of Mpac Group conducted an Investor Presentation covering their FY Results for the period ended 31 Dec 2023.
After a short video ("Innovation Unleashed"), management ran viewers through highlights of the period including strong financial performance, returning the Group to revenue and profit growth, and positive net cash. The team updated investors on progress towards strategic objectives and discussed the Group's ambitions, as well as providing a detailed financial review and answering questions in a wide-ranging Q&A session.
The full video is available below, divided into chapters:
0:00:03 Mpac corporate video ("Innovation Unleased")
0:06:49 About Mpac, including case studies (Adam Holland, CEO)
0:21:22 Financials (Will Wilkins, Group FD)
0:30:53 Ambition & Strategy
0:39:38 Summary & Outlook
0:40:35 Questions & Answers
Full video here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/mpac-group-investor-presentation-fy-results-march-2024
For the year ended 31 March 2024, Eco Animal Health reports progress in both the second half and Q4, underpinned by demand for the Group’s proprietary Aivlosin® antibacterial treatment for gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in pigs and poultry. The Group reports sustained demand for Aivlosin® across the territories it targets, which we note are worldwide: China, Japan and SE Asia, the Americas and Europe. The Group expects FY24 revenue to be in line with a market consensus estimate of £88.7m.
Following the November Capital Markets event we reviewed the contribution to valuation of the product development pipeline, particularly in light of the strong track record established by Aivlosin® . Our resulting Fair Value range was 137p - 146p. This contrasts with the current share price, and suggests that the potential contribution to earnings of the product development pipeline deserves far closer attention.
Link to research note: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/sustained-demand-and-continuing-progress
Detailed new research report here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/going-for-growth-fy23-results-ahead-on-all-metrics
For the year to 31 December 2023, Mpac Group reported results which were ahead on all key metrics.
Revenue of £114.2m, +17%YoY, was 7% above ED outlook and EBITDA (adj.) of £10.7m, 12% above our outlook, a 9.4% margin (FY22: 7.0%). The closing order book of £72.5m was up 8%YoY, backed by record £118.5m order intake, an impressive +41%YoY.
Mpac achieved its initial goal of a return to normalised operations and has established a firm platform for growth. Accordingly, the Group has launched a new five-year roadmap with an ambition to broadly double revenue from their existing businesses.
We have raised our Fair Value from 485p/share to 530p/share with the prospect of FY25 adj. EBITDA c.40% above FY23.
We are pleased to host the senior management of Strix Group plc, the global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of kettle safety controls and other complementary water temperature management components, for an Investor Presentation covering the company's Preliminary Results for the twelve month period ended 31 December 2023.
The online presentation will be hosted by Mark Bartlett, CEO, and Clare Foster, CFO.
This event will take place at 2.00pm on Tuesday 2nd April. The webinar is open to all existing and potential shareholders, and you may register below.
Questions can be submitted during the presentation to be addressed at the end.
Link to sign up: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/strix-investorpresentation-2april2024
We are pleased to host the senior management of Corero Network Security plc (AIM: CNS), a leading provider of distributed denial of service ("DDoS") protection solutions, for an Investor Presentation covering their Full Year results for the period ended 31st December 2023.
The online presentation will be hosted by Carl Herberger, Chief Executive Officer, and Phil Richards, Chief Financial Officer.
This event will take place at 10.00am on Wednesday 27th March. The webinar is open to all existing and potential shareholders, and questions can be submitted during the presentation to be addressed at the end.
You may register at the link: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/corero-investor-presentation-27march2024
Link here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/eenergy-investor-presentation-7-march-2024
We hosted an Investor Presentation with eEnergy. Harvey Sinclair (Chief Executive Officer) and Crispin Goldsmith (Chief Financial Officer) provided viewers with an update following the disposal of the Energy Management division.
The team discussed their simplified business model, the strengthened balance sheet, and details of the new £40m facility with NatWest to provide firepower to enhance growth and increase their recurring income stream. Management also answered a range of questions from the viewing audience.
The full video has been divided into chapters as below:
0:00:03 Introduction & summary of key points
0:03:09 Energy Management Division sale
0:05:20 New, simplified eEnergy business model
0:09:00 Market landscape
0:12:33 Balance sheet transformed to fund growth
0:13:49 £40m NatWest facility overview
0:15:36 Operational gearing driving margin improvements
0:16:17 Moving forward
0:19:10 Questions & Answers
Report available from Equity Development: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/guidance-beaten-in-fy23-and-unchanged-for-fy24
Hunting delivered EBITDA of US$103m, ahead of revised guidance and the inferred year-end expectation, representing a 98% y-o-y uplift (and 11.1% margin, +380bp). Significant contract awards boosted Subsea and OCTG activities in particular, but top line progress was also accompanied by good cost control to deliver the full year outturn. A record year-end order book position leaves the company well-placed to deliver further progress in FY24, where guidance is unchanged.
At the headline level, Hunting delivered group revenue growth of 28% and margin progress (ie gross +90bp to 24.5% and EBITDA +390bp to 11.1%), feeding into a fivefold increase in pre-tax profit with EPS up over four times in FY23. The full year dividend rose by 11% to 10c per share, covered twice by earnings.
Against our selected peer group average, Hunting’s P/E and EV/EBITDA multiples sit on discounts of 25-30% and 20-25% respectively. Taking a simple average of our P/E and DCF based analyses generates an unchanged fair value per share of 407p.
New research report available here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/new-40m-facility-to-drive-growth-in-energy-services
eEnergy has announced (1st March) a new £40m project funding facility, which will support the Group’s public sector customers with their energy transition projects over coming years. It is an innovative arrangement, which will see eEnergy retain an interest in the economics of each completed project, enhancing margins and driving growth in Energy Services revenue.
A brief year-end trading update indicated that trading in the 6-months to Dec ‘23 was impacted by balance sheet constraints (prior to the c.£30m disposal of the Energy Management division). This had already been signalled in January and we update our forecasts accordingly.
The disposal of Energy Management leaves the Group in a strong net cash position and wholly focused on its high growth Energy Services business. Our confidence in growth prospects is strengthened by the new project funding facility. We therefore reiterate our Fair Value/ Share estimate of 13p, before factoring in potential contingent consideration from the Energy Management disposal, which could be material (£8m to £10m on management estimates).
EEnergy (AIM: EAAS), the net zero energy services provider, is pleased to conduct an online Investor Presentation on Thursday 7th March at 3.00pm.
Harvey Sinclair (Chief Executive Officer) and Crispin Goldsmith (Chief Financial Officer) will provide an investor update following the disposal of the Energy Management division.
Management will answer questions submitted by viewers. The webinar is open to all existing and potential shareholders, and registration is free.
You can sign up to register at the link: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/eenergy-investor-presentation-7march2024
Strong FY23 results from Hunting plc with revs up 28% to $929.1m, GM at 25% (from 24%), EBITDA +98% to $103m, Total divs of 10c (9c).
Encouragingly, the order book rose 19% to $565.2m which the CEO says ‘provides confidence in our near and longer-term outlook’
"Small cap experts with 21 years of dividend growth"
Athelney Trust (ATY) is a Main Market listed investment trust with a portfolio which is focused on small (£50-230m market cap) UK companies. All investments are liquid, either fully LSE listed or via a trading facility on AIM or AQSE.
Although the strategy is total return, the portfolio is deliberately weighted towards assets with strong income generation characteristics. This supports ATY’s commitment to progressive distributions, reflected in its membership of the AIC’s ‘Dividend Heroes’, a short list of investment companies that increased distributions for at least 20 consecutive years.
The shares trade at a c 10% discount to 204.7p NAV/share (31 January 2024) and ATY agreed a 9.8p/share dividend in FY23 equivalent to a 5.3% yield. The underlying portfolio is also well diversified by company and sector, invested in entities in sound financial condition and well positioned competitively.
We see the portfolio as well placed to benefit as market sentiment towards UK smaller companies and investment trusts progressively improves. We would consequently expect the trust’s NAV to appreciate, along with the existing high discount of its shares to NAV diminishing.
Link to report: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/small-cap-experts-with-21-years-of-dividend-growth
Mpac, a global packaging and automation solutions group, will be conducting an Investor presentation covering their Full Year results for the period ended 31st December 2023.
The online presentation will be hosted by Adam Holland (CEO) and Will Wilkins (Group Finance Director).
This event will take place at 9.45am on Friday 22nd March.
The webinar is open to all existing and potential shareholders, and registration is free. Questions can be submitted during the presentation to be addressed at the end.
Sign up to register here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/mpac-fypresentation-22march2024
Innes Smith, CEO, Iain Logan, CFO and Martin Egan, COO of Springfield Properties hosted an Investor Presentation where they discussed highlights of their Interim results (period to 30th November 2023).
The team talked through the decision actions they have taken to strengthen the company's position and commented on current trading being in line with market expectations. Management provided a detailed Financial Review and insights into the Scottish housing market. They also answered a wide range of questions from the viewing audience.
The full video is available below and has been divided into chapters for ease of viewing:
0:00:03 Introduction & Summary of key points
0:03:20 Financial Review
0:08:40 Large, high-quality Land Bank
0:11:31 Operational & Strategic Review (Private Housing, Affordable Housing, Build quality)
0:15:52 Housing market in Scotland
0:24:37 ESG: Environment and People
0:25:07 Conclusion
0:26:23 Questions & Answers
Link to video: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/investor-presentation-interim-results-february-2024
Trond Williksen, CEO, and Septima Maguire, CFO of Benchmark Holdings hosted an Investor Presentation following publication of their Q1 results for the period to 31 Dec 2023. Revenues were £40.5m for the quarter, 26% below a particularly strong Q1 FY23, but 11% above Q4 FY23, maintaining quarterly momentum.
In Genetics, management discussed solid performance in the core salmon business and progress in growth vectors. In Advanced Nutrition, the company posted strong performance in Europe and in the Health division significant steps have been taken to transition to new business model for Ectosan® Vet and CleanTreat®.
Watch the full presentation for more details on period highlights and operational performance per division, including a Financial overview and an update on Outlook. The video has been divided into chapters, as below:
0:00:03 Introduction
0:00:36 Overview of Q1 & period highlights
0:05:40 Operational Update - Genetics
0:13:28 Operational Update - Advanced Nutrition
0:17:47 Operational Update - Health
0:23:46 Financial Update
0:30:26 Outlook
0:33:23 Questions & Answers
Link to video: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/investor-presentation-q1-results-february-2024
Research note here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/new-partnership-supporting-growth
Corero has announced a new partnership agreement with TechEnabler, a Brazilian network solutions provider. Latin America is a relatively untapped market for Corero and this agreement should yield considerable upside as it develops. We continue to see fair value at 14p and upside risk to our current forecasts.
Kentik channel partner. TechEnabler is a Kentik channel partner and integrator headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Kentik is a US based network observability platform which visualises cloud and network traffic. Kentik enables the resolution of any troubleshooting problems many times faster than normal and helps mitigate cyber-attacks.
$1m+ booked. The partnership agreement has already generated bookings for Corero’s products and services in excess of $1m as part of its Scrubbing-as-a-Service offering.
Strong trading in FY24E. Corero recently highlighted that revenues for FY24E are to be in the region of approximately $22.3m, indicating YoY revenue growth of +11%. Corero closed last year with annualised recurring revenue (ARR) showing even stronger growth of +17% YoY to $16.9m.
Debt free. Corero is now debt free and, with a very experienced CEO Carl Herberger now onboard, it can focus on executing a growing pipeline of new business. We see plenty of capacity for upside risk to our FY24E forecasts. The business is self-sustaining and, in our view, undervalued on an EV/sales ratio of 1.8x this year.
New research report with audio summary here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/interim-results-24-looking-to-the-future-with-confidence
Springfield has reported encouraging H1 results, reiterating full year expectations and confidence in longer term growth prospects. The strategy to maximise cash generation is bearing fruit, costs are being carefully controlled and there are signs of market recovery, both in terms of Affordable contract successes and, more recently, a pick-up in Private Housing activity since mid-January. It is too early to extrapolate but the average weekly reservation rate in Private Housing since mid-January has been 62% higher than for the year to that point
Debt reduction is a clear priority for management and today’s results highlight the progress that has been made in realising cash from the land bank in recent periods. Springfield has one of the largest land banks in Scotland and an excellent reputation in both Private and Affordable Housing.
With increasing confidence in forecasts and improving market sentiment, we believe the 40%+ discount to sector peers is unwarranted and reiterate our ED Fair Value/Share of 130p (Price/ Book multiple of c.1.0x).
We are encouraged by several aspects of the pre-close trading update covering H1, not least the outcome and movement in net cash. A renewed focus on the cost base should result in improving conversion rates, offsetting any further shortfall in fee income during H2. We also remain confident that a recovery in Gattaca’s markets should emerge during Q4 ‘24/early FY25 supporting a further re-rating of its shares.
The yoy shortfall in NFI of 16% during H1 includes a large RPO contract which ended in September. The H2 ‘23/H1 ’24 comparison is as a result more favourable, with the larger contract included for just two months of the former period, with fee income down 8.6%. Overall, contract NFI was more stable, declining 6% yoy, compared to 38% in perm.
H2 ’24 onwards will witness a greater focus on productivity, resulting in outgoing sales heads in the business not being replaced and further room for cost cutting within perm focused employees. Over the medium term, we expect administration headcount as a proportion of total heads to move towards best industry practice of c.25%, down from the current 32%.
Should we be proved correct on expecting a recovery in the Group’s markets then the current valuation appears too low. Based on a DCF model we retain our fair value / share at 175p.
New research report here: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/profit-expectations-maintained
Link to new research report: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/cash-generation-drives-shareholder-value
Ultimate Products’ (UP) sales fell by 4% in the first six months of FY2024, with the likelihood of a broadly flat full year. But the company’s FY2024 profit expectations - and our own EBITDA forecasts - remain unchanged as improved gross margins should offset lower sales.
UP’s first half sales setback was caused by 3 important temporary effects. First, the company lapped an unusually strong period a year earlier when demand for air fryers was at a peak. Second, supermarket overstocking has taken longer to dissipate than might be expected. Third, UP was negatively affected by disruptions to global supply chains related to conflict in the Red Sea. In contrast, the gross margin outlook is significantly more positive as the uplift to gross margins achieved in the second half of FY2023 appears likely to be retained in FY2024. We increase our gross margin expectations in FY2024 from 25.5% to 26.6%.
Some idea of buyback potential is available from today’s trading update. The company targets long-term net debt/EBITDA at 1.0x. If our expectations for end-FY2024 net debt of £8.0m are met and £21.6m EBITDA are met, the implied headroom for share buy-backs would be of the order of £13m to £14m – equivalent to around 10% of the company’s current market cap.
With positive news on the scope for buybacks in our view offsetting lower than expected sales revenue in FY2024 we maintain fair value of 250p for the shares.
We hosted a webinar given by Brusk Korkmaz (CEO and Founder) and Paul Wheatcroft (CFO) of Hercules Site Services on 8th February 2024. Management discussed recent Full Year numbers which included record results and the importance of its newly opened Construction Academy.
The team provided a financial overview, discussed the company's growth strategy, and commented on current trading. Management also answered an extensive range of questions submitted by viewers.
The full video is available to watch below, divided into chapters for ease of viewing:
0:00:03 Introduction from Brusk Korkmaz
0:02:45 Highlights of 2023 & revenue growth
0:08:17 Group Financial Overview (including Labour Supply and Construction Services)
0:24:55 Post Period End
0:31:58 Current Trading and Industry Outlook
0:34:03 Growth Strategy
0:36:37 Questions & Answers
Link to full video: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/research/investor-presentation-with-qa-february-2024