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Chairman bails “with immediate effect” just prior to the trading update not a good look at the very least ....
The way the share price is going, the discount to NAV of £3.21 is about to disappear for the first time ever?
Perplexing to put it mildly: 20pc vote opposing adoption of the accounts at the AGM. If anyone has any idea what that was all about, pls advise. The accounts do disclose two post balance date deals, one a $2m film financing and an $A2m acquisition which appear to be routine. It has also ruled out a buy back to take advantage of the share price downturn, which would appear to be at least due to the limited liquidity...
Well, the shares have been steadily grinding higher, with the odd setback, and Citi reckons there is more to come, pencilling in a £4.35 price target, up from £3.50. Film may continue to drag, but Peppa Pig and also TV programming underpin it’s view.
So the mid-term revenue target has been set at Stg50-75 million in three to five years time. Since this thing is only doing stg15m in revenue at the moment, expect scrip to be littered around like confetti if we are to get there, especially since APC has a busted balance sheet, so can’t borrow much money, which the latest placement may begin to redress. Getting critical mass may be great for Management, and their bonuses, but the fear is so much additional scrip on issue may leave the share price all at sea.
Whether the shares ran too hard Thursday on the trading update, or will face upside resistance nearer 100p is something we will only know some way down the track. When releasing its interims, the company warned of the adverse effect the new GDPR regime was having on client activity, which has hung over sentiment since. The fact that second half revenue surged pushing full year revenue ahead 35pc vs the 25pc gain in the interims took the brakes off, for now, especially since fourth quarter growth eclipsed the previous quarter, which has continued.
But it won’t be until we see the results in detail and get a better grip on EPS growth that a more informed debate on the worth of the shares can take place.
What a stunner! First half revenue was up 25pc, which was way outdone in the second half, lifting full year revenue growth to 43pc. And a big chunk of that is ending up as cash.
When the books were ruled off in mid-17, it had Stg20m on the balance sheet. It used Stg11m for an acquisition leaving Stg10m on the books mid year, which has now risen back to Stg15m. This gives the board plenty of fire power especially since at this rate of cash generation, it will have around Stg20m on the balance sheet by the end of 2018
Nice try with the latest RNS but given that FBM was added to the existing APC Locator arm, so while FBM might be achieving a higher run rate, just how the original APC Locator biz is performing has been left unsaid.
Still, taking the statement at face value, it is hard to see the news pushing the share price clear of 10p to get that big swag of warrants (5.5m) exercised before they expire next month.
Well, this company does know how to keep investors off balance: it is usually the new CEO that makes their mark by swinging the axe and then looking good as earnings recover. This time around, it was the outgoing bloke who did the deed, even before the new bod entered the building. But the good news of the week is the new investor which has popped up with a 3.4 per cent stake, Gran Fondo Capital. It bills itself as a value-based investor, which uses a bottom up, fundamental analysis "with a ten year horizon and a willingness to hold on .. during a crisis". Not only that but it boasts a "high conviction contrarian view" while also being willing to "drive value creation via constructive activism when necessary". So now we can sleep easy, eh?
Another day, another Tesla accident with questions over whether it was on auto-pilot .. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180513/p2g/00m/0bu/062000c
I feel your pain, Yes2014, and I think the corporate plod has questions to ask, since clearly, the bidder had access to privileged information, to put it politely, that wasn�t in the public domain before bidding. When the books were ruled off last Sept just 571 of the banks clients were using the Freeagent software, which had grown to circa 1300 by the time the numbers were released in early Dec. That figure now stands at over 10,000. Bidding only a matter of days ahead of a trading update, locking up FreeAgent Directors so the usual caveat of backing the bid unless a higher offer is forthcoming and with the subscription growth trajectory front of mind, the deal is great for the bank but maybe not so for everyone else.
I wish I could share your enthusiasm, nameless. Twenty per cent growth in revenue barely passes muster in this sector. Of more interest, ARPU is not headed anywhere special. Looking at the end �17 numbers v end �16, ARPU for its smart vault product is flat, while for virtual cabinet, it is down 17 per cent. Similarly, customer numbers are up just 1000 since mid �17. Plenty of people are looking (its registered users) but converting them to paying customers just ain�t happening. The sole positive is the director buying.
So who�s going to the AGM, since that will likely be the only chance to get some idea of why the CEO has gone? From a cursory reading of the full year earnings, there has been an unholy fight over �revenue recognition� given the mention that the CFO and her team should be �congratulated for their diligence and integrity in standing up for the correct treatment� of when to recognise revenue and who �in difficult circumstances upheld the company�s standards of honesty and integrity�. That at least is one clear positive to take from the extended delay in finalising the accounts for shareholders. So the 6PM purchase has proven to be worse than anticipated since due diligence failed to clarify the poor state of its accounts prior to the acquisition, leaving IDOX in breach of loan covenants. So much for buying an entity listed in Malta. More to the point, along with the loss this arm turned in, before all of the accounting noise with provisions and the like, management is finding it hard to figure out just how to engage with the NHS with an internal review underway which may see this unit remain lead in the saddle for some time yet, which is unfortunate given the need to ramp up revenue and cash conversion to bring debt back under control.
It is now four months since the books were ruled off at the end of October. Typically annual accounts and annual meetings must be held within a prescribed number of months of ruling off the books, or risk having shares delisted. Anyone know what the rules are for AIM traded securities? The accounts of this outfit were to be announced originally before Christmas. With Easter not too far off, still nothing despite a promise of accounts by the end of Feb.
With the update due �by the end of February� there should be only a few days to wait. Given the numbers were due originally on December 20, a two month delay to sort out a minor number of revenue items seems a tad odd. All the more so that these same few items were worth some �3 million at the EBITDA level. It makes you wonder whether the CEO will return from sick leave, or not ...
Well, we�ve had near enough to a 50pc share price gain in six months, so we�ll be doing well for the shares to hold where they are for a bit longer, to give some existing holders the chance to move on, and for newcomers to get set. While revenue was up a handy 25pc in the half, we don�t know how much of that growth will be seen in EPS, since there�s been a fair bit of margin compression the past few years ...
So it went public in 2007 issuing shares at 125p, and follows this up with a raising in 2013 at 120p. Then it comes back twice last year for more money, at 117p and 129p. It has raised �123.2m so far, with not much to show for it, at least in terms of share price appreciation. Given the major restructuring of the past year or so, it is now likely to be another few years before it becomes clear whether the �new look� R&Q business model can lift returns. The shares have grossly underperformed the sector and the market since the IPO (as can be seen on its website) while senior management continues to live very well, thank you very much.