This week: More contracts for Synchronica, LMS is at a healthy discount, and why Tornado is a blast for Faroe Petroleum
Avanti Communications Group Plc (AVN 393.5p/£177m)
It is perhaps fitting that broadband satellite operator Avanti Communications announced on fireworks night that its HYLAS satellite payload has arrived safely at the ISRO satellite assembly facility in India. It is now in the final stage of assembly and is on track for launch from French Guyana in the second quarter of 2010. Crucially, the launch will allow Avanti to transfer its leased satellite capacity to HYLAS, enhancing group margins in the process. And, with the European Commission having set aside funding for regional broadband across Europe, which the company will be well-placed to supply, Avanti’s star looks in the ascendant.
BGlobal Plc (BGBL 54.5p/£40.5m)
BGlobal, the supplier of smart meters, has announced it is raising £2.25m by a placing of new shares at 49p. This placing, coupled with the facility of £15m made available to the company by Barclays, means that Bglobal is in a strong position to make the most of a growing market that will be pushed forward by government legislation. There were 17,666 meter installations in the six months to September 2009, more than double the number installed in the first half of the previous year. Bglobal installed 3,993 meters in September, which is around the number where it will breakeven on a monthly basis.
House broker Charles Stanley expects 45,000 meters to be installed in the year to March 2010 – suggesting more than 27,000 installations in the second half. The cash raised enables 5,000 meter installations a month to be achieved. There is no shortage of customers. Bglobal recently won an installation contract with Gazprom, which is trying to establish itself in the UK. Gazprom is expected to target 100,000 customers over the first three years.
This week the company also announced that it is supplying micro-gen meters for a trial by npower. These meters can be used by customers who export electricity back to the grid. This enables the customer to see how much energy they are using and how much they will be paid for any electricity they supply. Charles Stanley forecasts that Bglobal will breakeven on more than doubled revenues of £13.4m in the year to March 2010. A profit of £4.5m and a…
