Member Info for rivaldo

Merlin are to open the first Legoland in South Korea, costing £205m. ACSO will no doubt be in there too:

Https://www.investegate.co.uk/merlin-entertain--merl-/rns/legoland-korea-agreement/201901071100023653M/

Note also from the RNS:

"It will be Merlin's tenth LEGOLAND Park, following LEGOLAND New York's scheduled opening in 2020. Merlin is also in advanced discussions with third parties about a number of sites for LEGOLAND Parks in China and continues to see opportunity for 20 LEGOLAND Parks around the world, over time."

Last year's update was on 16th January, so not long to go. It should be rather good given the outlook from the interims:

"We remain both confident about continuing the positive revenue and profit momentum which is evident in the Group's results for the first six months of 2018 and also enthusiastic about our prospects for the future."

Numis has upgraded EPS forecasts to 11.9p for last year and 12.4p this year (2019). PTSG is extremely cheap on that basis imho.

RNS - Slater Investments have increased their stake in INSE - they now have 33.8797m shares, up from the 33.1m shares they had in early November:

Https://inspiredplc.co.uk/investors-shareholders/

NB: their % holding has obviously reduced due to the placing.

Here's "30 sci-tech leaders we’ll be following in 2019" from Silicon Republic:

Https://www.siliconrepublic.com/companies/sci-tech-100-2019-leaders

"Andrew Day. Image: Keywords Studios.

A major games services firm located in Dublin, Keywords Studios has been at the centre of several success stories of late. Recently, the studios made its eighth acquisition of 2018, snapping up Studio Gobo and Electric Square.

CEO Andrew Day is keen to position Keywords Studios as “a go-to game development partner, and give us ever greater visibility of games in the pipeline, at the outset of their development”. Keywords also reported stellar earnings in August 2018, with revenues for H1 rising by a massive 72pc. Describing company performance as “very encouraging”, Day looks set to help it stay the course."

Around £300,000 traded already today. Always good to see a rise on healthy volumes.

Happy New Year to everyone here.

The £61m Big Ben restoration job is in the hands of RNWH's Shepley Engineers....

Https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6539061/Back-blue-Big-Bens-black-hands-numerals-change-original-navy-colour.html

"All the metalwork has been transported to Sheffield-based Shepley Engineers for restoration or replacement. They are stripping down the 3,222 bronze, copper and brass components, either by sandblasting or with chemicals, before repairing or replacing them.

Head of restoration Trevor Marrs said: ‘Virtually every single element has needed a fairly significant amount of work. There is a lot of damage. A lot of it is to do with the gutters and catastrophic failures of major elements of the roof.’"

Https://inspiredenergy.co.uk/inspired-energy-plc-announce-partnership-with-liverpool-chamber-of-commerce/

"INSPIRED ENERGY PLC ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH LIVERPOOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

17th December 2018

Inspired Energy plc have been announced as the latest major patron supporting the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, offering a wide range of utility services to help members lower their bills and reduce usage.

Inspired Energy plc is one of the UK’s leading energy consultancies, working with corporate and SME businesses to optimise the value of every pound spent on utilities. This is achieved through a range of specialist solutions aimed at lowering bills and protecting businesses against rising energy costs and changes in legislation.

Through this new partnership, all Liverpool Chamber members are entitled to a free energy assessment. This no-obligation service provides peace of mind at no cost; either confirming that your energy and utilities are performing well or unearthing ways that they may be costing you money unnecessarily.

Regardless of how much energy you use, Inspired’s team of experts can provide a bespoke service which meets your specific needs.This will leave you free to focus on running your organisation as profitably and effectively as possible.

Ben Beetham, Head of Partnerships at Inspired Energy plc, said: “We are delighted to announce our strategic partnership with the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. The partnership enables us to deliver a wide range of energy and utility services to Chamber members.

“The energy landscape is varied and complex and we are increasingly seeing businesses face a number of utility challenges. By working with us, you will get access to our specialist teams that are highly experienced in dealing with the energy spend demands of your business.”

Commenting on today’s announcement, Lee Stanley Head of Business Development at the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce said: “With the positive growth of our ever expanding network of high level partners, we are extremely pleased that Inspired Energy have joined as new Patrons to the Liverpool Chamber. Inspired Energy’s experience and proven success in this sector will provide us with a proactive and key commercial partner that will support us in our exciting ambitions for 2019 and beyond. We hope their products and services will also provide real value to our members.”

Https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2018/12/28/2-neil-woodford-shares-id-snap-up-for-2019/

"Imperial Brands’ projected dividend yield for the trading year to September 2019 is running above 8%, and City analysts expect Watkin Jones to pay a dividend yielding close to 4% for the year to September 2019. So, at first glance, both companies are good candidates for a dividend-first investing strategy.

Watkin Jones develops and constructs multi-occupancy properties focusing on student accommodation and build-to-rent sectors. It’s a good business and the firm has a record of growing revenue, normalised earnings, operating cash flow, and the dividend. City analysts following the firm expect further annual advances in those measures over the next two years or so. Meanwhile, earnings cover the dividend payment more than twice, and there’s decent support for earnings from operating cash flow. In October, the firm said in a trading update that it has a “strong” development pipeline that provides “excellent” future earnings and cash flow visibility.

Despite the macroeconomic headwinds blowing from Brexit, and the general nervousness in stock markets that we’ve been seeing, there’s no sign that Watkin Jones is suffering any weakness in its operations, and the outlook is robust. I think the firm could be a great example of Neil Woodford’s current-declared strategy of buying out-of-favour UK-facing cyclical firms because, to him, they look undervalued."

The current year P/E is about to become just 9.2.

The divi yield is now around 4%, so it's actually a very good yield at this share price for new buyers.

EPS has risen from 1.27p in 2016 to 1.64p this year (as forecast). By whatever measure, 30% EPS growth in 2 years is pretty impressive.

The new acquisition is stated to be earnings-enhancing this coming year. It's likely that Peel Hunt's forecast for 2019 is deliberately conservative given the quoted "cross-selling opportunities", economies of scale, internal synergies etc laid out in the acquisition RNS.

INSE will never be on a P/E of 25 like the go-go stocks. On the other hand, there are still not that many small cap stocks around on the above combination of attractive metrics which HAVEN'T issued profit warnings.

Or have announced only 3 weeks ago that "The Board remains confident in meeting full year market expectations".

Further to yesterday's approval of the Inprova acquisition, Peel Hunt have today reiterated their Buy and 25p target price:

Http://investing.thisismoney.co.uk/broker-views/index/date/28-12-2018

The forecast for the year about to start remains 1.72p EPS with a 0.65p dividend (a 4.1% yield) per WebFG.

INSE are this fund manager's tip of the year for 2019:

Https://www.yourmoney.com/investing/the-stocks-tipped-for-success-in-2019/

"Ken Wotton, manager of the LF Gresham House Multi Cap Income fund, notes that Brexit is likely to cause further volatility in the UK market. Nevertheless, investors must remember that this will create selective opportunities.

“While large-cap businesses are generally impacted by macro factors, the agility and niche positioning of smaller companies may allow them to react positively to broader economic headwinds,” he said.

He believes Inspired Energy, which provides energy advisory services, is poised for strong performance in 2019.

“While it advises mid-sized corporations, Inspired Energy is paid in commission from contracts with large energy suppliers, with payments based on the energy usage companies incur. This guarantees multi-year revenue and high earnings visibility for the business,” Wotton said."

For the record, consensus forecasts now appear to be as follows after the acquisition and placing (I assume a combination of Shore Capital and Peel Hunt):

year to 31/12/18: 1.64p EPS, 0.58p dividend
year to 31/12/19: 1.72p EPS, 0.65p dividend

So the year about to start sees a P/E of 9.7 and a 3.9% dividend yield.

Terrific news today - a minimum £93m and potential £115m of contract wins guaranteeing those revenues over the next few years, including a new £27.5m contract.

The contract renewals also acts as proof of the high standard of GMAA's services.

This should re-establish some confidence here:

Https://www.investegate.co.uk/gama-aviation-plc--gmaa-/rns/contract-awards/201812240700073627L/

"Contract Awards

Gama Aviation Plc ("Gama"), one of the world's largest business aviation service providers, is pleased to announce the following special mission contract awards within its European Air & Ground divisions.

The first, an 11-year contract commencing 1st April 2019, is for the provision of maintenance and spare parts logistical support for eight government special mission aircraft and is for substantially the same scope of services and terms as the Company currently provides under a similar contract that is due to expire on 31st March 2019. The contract is expected to deliver revenues of between £66m and £88m over the period.

The second, a new 5-year contract commencing 1st July 2019, is to support four special mission aircraft by drawing upon a range of specialist services unique to Gama Aviation's holistic business model including aircraft modifications, maintenance and flight operations. This new contract is expected to deliver overall revenues of approximately £27.5m over the 5-year term.

The combined effect of both contracts is expected to be neutral to earnings in 2019 and accretive thereafter.

Finally, the Company is pleased to report that it has placed a £20m firm order for 3 Airbus H145 Helicopters to be delivered in Q4 2019. The helicopters will be deployed in support of an existing long term contract from the 1stJune 2020 when the Company will be delivering the rotary element of the service directly rather than through its current sub-contractor. It is expected that at least 85% of the purchase price will be funded through a traditional loan and/or lease structure.

The Company's CEO, Marwan Khalek, commented;

"We are delighted with these contract awards which endorse the Company's strength in the UK special mission market segment. This is as a direct result of our strategy to continue to build our depth of capability and breadth of service offerings to derive steady and profitable revenue growth for our European division. These medium and long-term support contracts, which we have a strong track record in winning, significantly improve the forward visibility of our revenues and enhance our earnings in the mid to long term."

Https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/GAN/13913625.html

GAN Announces Michigan Becomes Sixth State to Regulate Internet Gambling in the U.S.;

Expects to Serve Land-Based Casino Operators in 2019

London & Dublin | December 21, 2018: GAN plc ("GAN" or the "Company") a leading B2B supplier of Internet gambling enterprise software-as-a-service solutions to the US land-based casino Industry, welcomes today's final approval by both the Michigan Senate and the Michigan House of Representatives of HB 4926 a bill that includes provisions for the legalisation of full real money Internet casino gaming in the state as well as Internet sports betting. The bill will now be presented to the Governor of Michigan and may then be signed into law at the Governor's discretion.

GAN anticipates serving one or more land-based casino operators in Michigan with real money Internet gambling technology and supporting services commencing in 2019.

With a population of 10.0 million, the State of Michigan materially increases the number of Americans who will be permitted to play Internet casino games and bet on sports online. The Michigan regulated Internet gambling market is now expected to commence in 2020 and GAN is strongly positioned to serve Michigan casino operators in that State following successful launch of Internet casino and sports betting in the State of New Jersey in September 2018 and the forthcoming launch in Pennsylvania in H1 2019.

Management Commentary

Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GAN commented:

"Michigan is now America's sixth State to regulate Internet gambling, joining Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This reinforces our belief that the regulatory cycle for Internet gambling in the US will now be rapid. GAN is one of only two fully licensed B2B-only platform vendors in New Jersey, the largest casino in Pennsylvania as a client and one of the very few B2B-only technology vendors with the requisite technical expertise and 'day one' New Jersey experience to credibly serve Michigan's land-based casinos."

Johns8773, the next results will be announced in March, but there will be a trading update in mid-January as per last year.

There's been another page - - 9 or 10 of them - of individual building contract wins etc since I last posted, but PTSG have just announced this which looks rather meaty and promising:

Http://www.ptsg.co.uk/news/ptsgs-regular-partner-engie-lands-40-year-contract-with-newcastle-council/

"PTSG’s regular partner, Engie, lands 40-year contract with Newcastle Council

Energy firm Engie has entered into a long-term contract with Newcastle Council worth £20m over the next 40 years.

ENGIE is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. This new contract will see Engie providing design, build, operation and maintenance of district energy schemes as well as contributions to funding and a project development role in partnership with NCC.

Engie is an established, first-tier partner of Premier Technical Services Group PLC (PTSG). Engie has contracted the Group’s engineers to provide a range of expert services over a number of years, including access maintenance work at Liverpool Central Library and fixed wire and emergency light testing at hospitals and a police station in Wales.

Partnership working has featured strongly in PTSG’s portfolio of 17,000 buildings over the last 11 years. Other first-tier partners include Skanska, Mitie and Multiplex. The Group has also partnered a large number of organisations which are household names in the UK, including Marks & Spencer, British Airways and HSBC.

PTSG received the Partners in Corporate: Private Sector award at the 2018 PFM Partnership Awards. This was for the design and installation two of the world’s largest BMUs at The Scalpel in the capital, through the Group’s London-based cradles specialist, Integral Cradles."

Good news - Carnival Cruises are to introduce the Ocean Medallion technology to their Regal Princess from February.

This presumably means the initial design and implementation phase on the Caribbean Princess boat is over and has been a success. These comments state the rollout will steadily continue across the rest of the fleet....

Http://www.cruiseandferry.net/articles/regal-princess-to-offer-ocean-medallion-from-february-2019

"Regal Princess to offer Ocean Medallion from February 2019

Regal Princess is to become the second Princess Cruises ship to offer all guests the new Ocean Medallion experience from 17 February 2019.

Designed to offer guests a fully personalised cruise experience, the Ocean Medallion can be worn or carried by passengers to anticipate their every onboard need. The fully automated device gives guests access to personalised dining experiences, interactive entertainment and games, wayfinding capabilities, transaction-free payments and expedited embarkation and disembarkation. Other benefits include touch-free access to staterooms, enhanced interactions with crew members and other guests, and the ability to connect to portals throughout the ship to see a real-time overview of shipboard events and activities.

The roll out comes after Ocean Medallion’s debut on the 3,140-guest Caribbean Princess this October. Princess will now carry out a phased implementation of Ocean Medallion across the rest of its fleet.

“We’ve received excellent feedback from guests and crew members who have experienced the Medallion on Caribbean Princess as we continue on our path to fleet-wide activation,” said Tony Roberts, vice president Princess Cruises UK and Europe. “The more personalised service we are now able to provide is benefiting guests from the moment they step foot onboard. The Medallion enhances so much of what we offer, from speedy embarkation, to staying in touch with friends and family, to finding your way across the ship, to ordering drinks.”

Interesting - and long - article on RTC's Ganymede here from only 3 weeks ago:

Https://www.railstaff.uk/2018/11/21/ganymede-at-20/

Extract:

"Ganymede is now the primary supplier of contingent labour to Network Rail in the London North Eastern (North), Wales, Western and Wessex regions and secondary supplier in the East Midlands along with other Tier 1 contractors across the UK."

"Looking ahead, Ganymede has big plans to build on its success. Paul added: "We obviously have HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Transpennine coming up. We see there is a lot of growth in the rail market and we want to continue to be a supplier of choice for Network Rail and the Tier 1 contractors in IP [Infrastructure Projects] and outside of IP."

Not exactly a huge response to today's news, or the new simulated gaming casino deal last week, but these are more bricks in the wall.

Last week's RNS was re Mississippi's largest casino resort, in a new market for GAN which has seen a "strong initial response". GAN now has "Simulated Gaming websites for 14 clients across 11 states". They're quietly getting on with market leadership in the USA, it's just a case of patience and time for investors.

Good to see PEG featured as a major riser and holding in December's newsletter just out of the Downing UK Microcap Growth Fund:

"Petards made no material announcements during the period. We believe it is in a strong position, current orders for H2 2018 are in excess of £9.5 million and almost £8 million in orders are scheduled for 2019. EyeTrain orders of over £6.5 million add to coverage for 2019 and beyond."

Good results here, in line with expectations. A decent outlook too, with natural caution re Brexit.

Stockdale retain their 12p target price. They forecast 0.74p EPS this year, reflecting £2.05m EBITDA and £1.63m PBT.

Any decent buying interest should result in the price bouncing back given the low valuation/m/cap. The question is if and when that will happen...