I Read The News Today Oh Boy! 11-Apr-2018

11th Apr '18 by matylda

3 comments 3364 reads

Morning all!

EasyHotel ( easyHotel (LON:EZH) ) – 111.65p – £112.2m – PER 50.1

Trading Update For The 6 Months To End March 2018 – Strong H1 but no mention of inline or not.

It’s cheaper now than last time I looked at it (PER was 78.5). However, I reiterate - I am still wary of this sector (with the rise of Airbnb and Booking) and will not be paying up here, I’m Neutral for now.

Norcros ( Norcros (LON:NXR) ) – 185.75p – £148.9m – PER 5.92

Trading Update For The 12 Months To End March 2018 – Expected to be in-line, meaning nothing spectacular. Well placed to make progress despite challenging market conditions.

Looks quite good (if the forecasts are achieved) but I will remain Neutral for a few reasons. There’s a decent sized pension deficit and Net Debt here, re-organisation (job cuts), plus concerns on the South African (and I guess UK) side of the business. The ROCE and Operating Margin are nothing to write home about either.

Arena ( Arena Events (LON:ARE) ) – 50.15p – £58.8m – PER 11.1

Results For The 12 Months To End December 2017 – Looks slightly better than in-line. Order book looks good and 2018 has started well.

I quite like this but I just find it difficult to get involved as it just doesn’t ever seem to make any real profit. I am going to put this on my Avoid list now – Due to my inability to value it in a sensible way. There’s plenty of simpler, for me, to understand numbers out there.

Volex ( Volex (LON:VLX) ) – 66p – £59.6m – PER 9.05

Trading Update For The 12 Months To End April 2018 – In-line.

After a decent run up from sub 40p to 80p, that 80p just looks like a ceiling here.

Epwin ( Epwin (LON:EPWN) ) – 79.5p – £113.6m – PER 7.43

Results For The 12 Months To End December 2017 – Headline is “Resilient performance despite subdued markets”.

To me these latest results look awful but…

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MrContrarian

11th Apr '18

My morning smallcap tweet:

Air Partner (LON:AIR), SRT Marine Systems (LON:SRT)

Air Partner (AIR) shenanigans update: total restatement will be <£4m. "The Board believes that no shareholder should be further disadvantaged by the impact of this matter... intends to recommend that the final dividend payable for the year will be 3.8p." Reiterates underlying pre-tax guidance of not less than £6.4m. Review ongoing.

SRT Marine Systems (SRT) guides FY rev up 22%, pre exceptional pretax £1.3m, broadly in line with market expectations. "These results reflect the excellent progress we have made across all our business operating segments." Well, as a holder, I ain't dancing yet.

andrea34

I feel the static order book in the Severfield (LON:SFR) update is a little disappointing.

I don't think any update from Norcros (LON:NXR) will ever be exciting owing to the nature of the business; the H2 lfl in the UK is disappointing, as is the ongoing loss-making performance of Johnson Tiles (don't know why they don't just shut it down). I hold for the good yield only.

It's a bit of a dull day, the most interesting updates to me are from Tesco (LON:TSCO) (turnaround in profits, improved margin, etc) and Liontrust Asset Management (LON:LIO) which has issued the following update:

·Assets under management ("AuM") were £10.5 billion as at close of business on 31 March 2018 (31 March 2017: £6.5 billion), an increase of £4 billion or 61% over the financial year to 31 March 2018

·Net inflows of £255 million in the Period (2017: £200 million ) and net inflows for the financial year to 31 March 2018 of £1,004 million (2017: £482 million)

It has been a very successful and transformational year for Liontrust. We have delivered £1 billion of net inflows and a 61% growth in our AuM, reflecting the power of both our fund management and distribution capability and the investment we have made in these areas over the past few years. Liontrust had the 11^th largest net retail sales in the UK in 2017 and had the 13^th largest total net sales, according to the Pridham Report.

Having acquired the Sustainable Investment team at the start of the financial year, its AuM has increased by £500 million over the past 12 months to reach nearly £3 billion. The demand for sustainable investing continues to increase and we are well positioned to benefit from this.

Oh, I've just spotted this update from BCA Marketplace (LON:BCA) - on a current P/E in the region of 15, these look good value to me considering interim operating profit was up over 20% and the 'ahead of market expectations' indication below.

The positive outlook reported in the Interim Results of 28 November 2017 has continued during the second half of the financial year culminating in a strong trading performance for the full year.

As a result the Business has traded ahead of market expectations with strong profit growth and with a net debt position lower than market forecasts.

The Remarketing businesses have been successful in winning a number of new contracts along with continuing contract renewals. The UK's leading buyer of vehicles, webuyanycar.com, continues to succeed and grow as the number one company of choice in its sector for consumers.

Additionally, BCA has made good progress in growing and integrating its services business.

BCA's business solutions systems, data and hero digital products also continue to enjoy strong customer uptake - allowing the Business to become a valued and embedded partner with many of its customers - along with driving internal performance.

With the above stated successes, the Board believes the Business is on a strong footing as it enters its next financial year and for the future.

I Read The News Today Oh Boy! 11-Apr-2018

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Matylda

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