Small Cap Report (8 Feb) - BYOT, IMTK, VNET, CNS, INL, TRCS, CUP
Byotrol (LON:BYOT) issues a "Commercial & Trading Update" - surely they are the same thing? Semantics aside, there is some good news and some bad. They have secured an agreement with Marks & Spencer for them to use Byotrol sanitisers across its UK stores, which are for surface hygiene. Overall revenue growth in the first 10 months (to date, since they run a 31 March year-end) have grown 15%.
On the negative side, this is slower growth than expected, due to delays in obtaining European regulatory approvals. It looks to me like this company is near the last chance saloon, as they are resorting to invoice discounting and cost control to take them to anticipated breakeven in H1 of 2013/14 (i.e. towards the end of this calendar year).
I note that the number of shares in issue has risen by a material amount each of the last 6 years, and that the company is permanently loss-making, so it is of no interest to me. A £12m market cap appears very generous, given the company's long-term commercial failure to date. Having turnover of £2m every year, and making a £2m loss every year is not business, it's charity. Expect a continuation of the 3-year down-trend shown in BYOT's price chart, once investors have got over the excitement of the M&S contract.
In a similar vein, I note that Imaginatik (LON:IMTK) shares plunged over 50% yesterday on news of it considering de-Listing its shares, reducing its market cap to just £2.4m (although that's still generous in my view). This is the reason I don't usually invest in sub-£10m market cap companies, or anything small which is trading very badly. The risk of a de-Listing is just too high, especially if they are loss-making, strapped for cash, and there is little liquidity in the shares.
We've seen in several cases how an intention to de-List will at least halve the share price, as many investors get out at any price, not wanting to hold unlisted shares. I have mixed feelings on this. Generally speaking, once a company has Listed, it should remain Listed in all but the most extreme circumstances. However, once it has become blindingly obvious that the business is going nowhere, then…
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Byotrol plc is engaged in the development, patenting, licensing and sale of anti- microbial products and technologies for business and consumer use. The Company manufactures products based on anti-microbial technology in the United Kingdom. Its segments include Professional (including food service, food manufacturing, industrial and health), Consumer and Pet. Its products include 24 hour Foot Odour Protection Spray, Actishield, Actizone, Anti-viral Hand Foam, Bathroom Cleaner, Byotrol Antimicrobial Hand Sanitiser, Byotrol Antimicrobial Sanitising Wipes, Multi-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitiser+ Antimicrobial Surface Sanitiser - large format, Pet Environment Cleaners and Pet Grooming Wipes. It focuses on identifying macromolecules, which when combined with biocides extend the biocidal action. Its customers are based in the United Kingdom, North America and the Rest of the World. Its operations are located in the United Kingdom. more »
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Imaginatik plc is engaged in the provision of collaborative innovation software and related consultancy services to large and medium-sized enterprises. The Company operates through two segments: Technology and Consultancy. The Company's full service innovation offering spans the three sectors within the innovation industry, being Innovation Advisory Consulting, Innovation Capability Building and Innovation Software platforms. The provision of its suite of technology products include provision of software licenses, hosting and maintenance. The Company's software offerings include Innovation Central, Discovery Central and Results Engine. Innovation Central is a platform for collecting ideas, incubating concepts and allocating resources for innovation projects. Discovery Central is a digital platform for capturing, mashing and synthesizing insights to capture new whitespace opportunities. Results Engine is a project and portfolio management system. more »
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Vianet Group plc is a provider of real time monitoring systems, data management services, and actionable insights for the leisure and vending sectors. The Company's segments include Leisure Services, which includes design, product development, sale and rental of fluid monitoring equipment, data management and related services; Vending, which includes design product development, sale and rental of machine monitoring equipment, data management and related services; Technology, which includes the provision of data management and technology related services, and Fuel Solutions, which includes wet stock analysis and related services. Its Leisure division consists of the core beer monitoring business (including the United States), and gaming machine monitoring. Its subsidiaries include Brulines Trustee Company Limited, Vianet Americas Inc and Vianet Limited. more »
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5 Comments on this Article show/hide all
Hi Paul,
On the subject of hard-to-see-why sudden movements, I notice Begbies Traynor (LON:BEG) is down ~8% today....any idea what's behind this?
regards, Francis
In reply to fek47, post #1
Hi Francis,
Sounds like you've got a glitch in your price feed, as BEG shares are up 0.25p today, showing 34p Bid, 35p Offer as the current live prices (at 10:30am)
Incidentally, I see that on CUP, Peel Hunt have put out a comment supporting the company, saying nothing has changed, but that a particular Blog has caused some damage (that's referring to the TradingResearchPoint article I mentioned in my report today).
Regards, Paul.
Agree there's a glitch somewhere on Begbies Traynor (LON:BEG) , as shares are indeed trading @ 34-35p. I think the error may be stemming from the recorded value of yesterday's closing price, as Stockopedia (as well as others) are reporting that the price is down 2.8p today, implying a close yesterday of 37-38p (which I don't think was the case).
I guess the systems will refresh and correct themselves overnight!
In reply to fek47, post #3
Indeed. Sometimes the end of day price will pick up a delayed trade at a different price earlier in the day, which happens to be the last reported trade of the day. I tend to look at real-time prices all the time, so remember the prices of all the shares I monitor in my head! Sad git that I am :-)
P.
Hi guys, our prices are all 15 minute delayed but there was a strange lag with Begbies this morning which we picked up from this thread - we're trying to figure out what it was. If anyone spots anything similar, do feel free to raise a support ticket via the Green Help & Feedback button, as it may help us isolate the issue.