Good morning, it's Paul here with the last report for this week.
Today's report is now finished.
Yesterday was a bit of a rush, because I had to write the usual SCVR here, and then go into the City for a meeting with the management of Intercede (LON:IGP) . Sod's Law being what it is, I was actually invited to two meetings, both at 1pm in the City - the Intercede one, and another with Sosandar. Both of these companies are key positions in my personal portfolio. So I had to chose which one to go to. Given that I'd already spoken to SOS management earlier this week, and know the company very well, then the time seemed better spent getting to know IGP a little better.
Intercede (LON:IGP) meeting
(at the time of writing, I hold a long position in this share)
This is a small software company, which specialises in cyber-security (digital identities) which replace passwords, ensuring that only authorised users can get access to computer systems for large organisations.
I've written about it loads of times here in the last 5 years, mainly negatively in 2015 and 2016, then turning positive more recently, at the potential for a turnaround under new management. Here's the archive of articles.
The exciting part is the client base, which includes US Federal agencies, and 5 out of the world's top 6 aerospace companies. Plus major banks, and others. It's the client list that makes this stand out. In the past, it didn't seem to gain traction, in terms of growth.
New management has slimmed down the costs, so that it's now operating around breakeven, and is cashflow positive. The existing client base is very sticky, and has recurring/repeat business. So new management has stabilised the business.
I reviewed its latest interim results here, on Monday this week.
This is clearly subjective, but it seemed to me that the tone felt a bit more upbeat than at my last meeting in June 2019. In the past, the discussion was all about stabilising the business, cutting costs, etc. This time, it was more positive, about the sales pipeline, and what the company is doing to attempt to win new business.
5% revenue growth in H1 was a bit disappointing, but hopefully that can…
