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25 Jan 21

boohoo Group plc (BOO LN) - Transformational acquisition

The acquisition and planned relaunch of Debenhams online business is a transformational deal for the Group, establishing an ecommerce marketplace of immediate scale and high brand awareness. The deal expands boohoo’s target addressable market and opens the Group up to new product categories including beauty, sport and homeware. It is a significant step forwards in realising the Group’s ambition to operate the UK’s largest ecommerce marketplace, combining boohoo’s online capability and multi-brand platform with Debenhams leading brand recognition and extensive established network of third-party brand partnerships.

Companies: boohoo group Plc

21 Jan 21

Somero Enterprises - Strong Q4, robust cash performance

The group’s year-end update points to stronger than expected Q4 trading, boosted by robust sales in North America that translated efficiently to upside on profitability expectations. Cash performance has once again been stellar, resulting in net cash of $35m, considerably higher than forecast, partly profit drop-through and partly from tight working capital management. We are therefore upgrading our FY 2020 EPS by 25% to 33.2ȼ. The strong cash position also results in a boost to the total dividend, giving a dividend yield of 6.7%. We raise our price target from 285p to 435p, based on a target P/E of 17.0x offering upside to the current P/E of 13.8x.

Companies: Somero Enterprises, Inc.

04 Jan 21

Cenkos: HeiQ Plc - Pioneering materials for life

HeiQ is a materials innovation technology company, marketing products that increase the functionality of technical, medical and consumer textiles. The company's core products are at the leading edge of innovating the c$25bn textile chemicals market, while the recently launched antimicrobial technology, HeiQ Viroblock, enables the forward integration into the c$10bn antimicrobial textile market and OTC textile medical devices. The company is grounded on three strategic success factors, materials innovation, mass manufacturing and ingredient brand marketing, which will support the company's ambition to grow its revenues from $30m to $300m in the medium term. HeiQ has listed on London's Main Market via a reverse takeover, raising £20m in new equity. We initiate coverage with a BUY.

Companies: HeiQ PLC

21 Jan 21

A full house

An H1 trading update to December confirms a strong start to FY21, with sales growth accelerating to 22% y/y – a material rebound from a Covid impacted 2H20 (+9% y/y) and +15% achieved prior to this. KPI‘s are strong across the piece, for instance every Geo grew >20%, Connector revenue grew +20% (Shopify: +115%) and ‘enhanced functionality‘ revs grew +20% also. It‘s genuinely hard to find fault with this performance. To us, this evidences how DOTD is executing on its strategy (around products, partners and Geo‘s) while also benefitting from strong thematic tailwinds benefitting its sector and end-markets. We leave recently upgraded FY21 forecasts unchanged, though note the strong H1 sales performance now requires an undemanding +14% y/y growth to hit N+1 estimates, so see upgrade/ outperformance potential. As well as DOTD‘s clear organic growth opportunities, we also highlight how cash continues to accumulate (now £27.6m) and could be deployed in a number of vectors.

Companies: dotDigital Group plc

26 Jan 21

Cenkos: HeiQ Plc -- Trading update upgrade

HeiQ has provided a trading update for the year to December 2020, expecting sales to be above market expectations and operating profit to be ‘in line with market expectations' after record levels of investment in the business in the second half to support future growth. We have upgraded our FY20E revenue forecasts following this announcement, raising our sales by c14% to $49.1m while maintaining our operating profit (pre-exceptionals) at $12.2m. At this time, we have left our FY21E P&L forecasts unchanged, maintaining our conservative approach to forecasting. We reiterate our Buy recommendation with today's announcement supporting this view.

Companies: HeiQ PLC

21 Jan 21

Sumo Group (SUMO LN) - Strong, broad-based growth

Sumo is trading strongly, with several drivers that could lead the company to outperform 2021 earnings expectations, in our view. Even based on conservative earnings expectations, we believe shares offer attractive value to growth.

Companies: Sumo Group Plc

21 Jan 21

IQE - FY20 revenues ahead of November guidance

IQE has announced it expects FY20 revenues to be c £178m. This is ahead of our estimates, which we revised upwards in November, reflecting outperformance in both the wireless and photonics segments. We have updated our FY20 forecasts. Given IQE’s leveraged business model, this results in a 64% uplift in EPS. Noting the uncertainty about the effect of a pandemic-related recession on the rate of smartphone sales growth, we leave our FY21 estimates unchanged for the time being.

Companies: IQE plc

25 Jan 21

Cenkos: Inspiration Healthcare Group Plc -- Revenue and profit upgrade

Inspiration Healthcare has announced it expects revenues and profits for the year ending January 2021 to be ahead of market expectations. Revenues are expected to be at least £36.5m and adjusted EBITDA at least £4.9m. We have moved our FY21E forecasts into line with these expectations, which are c3% and c11% ahead of our previous forecasts for sales and adjusted EBITDA, respectively. We note the key driver of the upgrade was performance at S.L.E., which Inspiration Healthcare acquired in July 2020. We reiterate our Buy recommendation on Inspiration Healthcare.

Companies: Inspiration Healthcare Group PLC

27 Jan 21

Cenkos: Seeing Machines Ltd -- Snapdragon wins underpin market share expectations

Last night, Qualcomm delivered a keynote speech at its Automotive Redefined event where it iterated its partnership with Seeing Machines for DMS on its ‘Snapdragon Ride' platform. In the same keynote speech Qualcomm noted that it has won 20 different OEMs (through many different tier 1 suppliers and partners, including Seeing Machines) which are going into production in 2021 with its Gen 3 Snapdragon Ride platform. We do not see this as meaning that these OEMs will automatically adopt Seeing Machines DMS in 2021 for these platforms (other PR materials imply the optimised DMS solution is not yet ready), but the implication from the Qualcomm slide (on the page 2) is that a number will. We also believe it is unlikely that these OEMs will chose an alternative DMS solution for these vehicles when they want or require it. With regulatory compliance needed for NCAP and EC by 2024, it is our view that most of these OEMs will eventually source Seeing Machines DMS for at least their EU sales using the scalable Gen 3 Snapdragon Ride platform. In a separate press release Seeing Machines and Qualcomm have also announced a deepening collaboration with Seeing Machines further optimising its technology stack for the Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platform architecture as the two companies market the combined framework to automotive Tier-1s and OEMs. In addition, Seeing Machines's previously announced Embedded Development Kit (EDK) for Qualcomm's Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Development is now available to select Tier 1 and OEM customers. We increase our target price to 12.9p from 8.6p based on increased confidence in our long-term automotive market share expectations.

Companies: Seeing Machines Limited

26 Jan 21

Cenkos: TP Group Plc -- FY20 Trading Update

TP Group experienced a material improvement in trading in H2/20, with the period accounting for nearly two thirds of the group's £3.8m FY20 Adj EBITDA, mainly due to the timing of some larger contracts. The order book remains robust at c£69m (up c20% YoY); however, the pandemic continues to create uncertainty around the timing of contract deliveries, and consequently, our forecasts remain withdrawn and our rating Under Review. Notwithstanding, we believe the significant operational changes made over the past year help to accelerate the business' software and consulting services, and leave the group well positioned for future growth.

Companies: TP Group Plc

26 Jan 21

Ergomed - PrimeVigilance excels; CRO strengthened in US

Ergomed’s H220 trading update highlights a successful end to 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing restrictions for much of the year. Total revenues were £86.4m (up 26.5%). Like-for-like revenues in the PrimeVigilance segment grew 30% (or 56% including the acquisition in January 2020). Unsurprisingly, the CRO segment was flat. However, in H220 revenues were up 11.2% over H120 and up 15.2% y-o-y. Ergomed’s key markets are the US and Europe, where vaccine deployment should be relatively efficient, so we expect the CRO segment to rebound throughout 2021. The recent MedSource acquisition will also significantly add to the 2021 top line. Because of the well-balanced pharma services offering (pharmacovigilance and CRO), Ergomed has proved to be a resilient business with further growth prospects intact, in our view. Net positive revisions to our estimates and an expansion of peer multiples have led to an upgrade of our valuation to £501m or 1,113p/share (from 845p/share previously).

Companies: Ergomed PLC

20 Jan 21

2021 markets; fertile hunting grounds

Ahead of the FY Trading Update at the end of January, we revisit RBG’s investment case, and respond to investor concerns over Convex’s M&A pipeline and the short term cash requirements of Litigation Financing. Outperformance of the UK legal industry vs UK GDP over 2020 validates RBL’s continued performance. M&A market data shows an encouraging recovery in deal completions which looks set to continue into 2021, and we anticipate Convex to be well placed to convert its pipeline of >20 deals (c.£18m) into revenues, underpinning forecasts. LionFish is now well seeded, and the Group’s early cash realisations of cases ensure cashflows for the business are broadly neutral. Whilst case outcomes are binary, the de-risked option value here is a compelling addition to the investment case. We see intrinsic value as c.100p; highlighting the breakout potential in these shares.

Companies: RBG Holdings Plc

27 Jan 21

Strix Group plc (KETL LN) - Seamless performance in FY20 and strong growth in FY21

Today’s FY20 trading update indicates that the business did not miss a step in FY20. Underlying profitability was very marginally ahead yoy and net debt has peaked and, with the factory move completing later this year this, will fall increasingly quickly. Looking forward, FY21 will see significant growth, underpinned by the LAICA contribution, but importantly underlying organic growth is expected to be c.10%. Trading has started well in the new financial year providing confidence in forecasts at this early juncture. Strong organic and acquisitive growth drives an 10% increase in profitability and the dividend for FY21. With the platform to deliver significant growth in revenue and earnings over the next five years, 15.5x current year earnings is appealing. Particularly for a business with such defensive cash flows. This is evidenced by a prospective dividend yield of 3.6%. We increase FY20 profit forecasts marginally to reflect guidance in today’s statement and lower net debt.

Companies: Strix Group PLC

22 Jan 21

Trackwise Designs - Year-end trading update

The group’s year-end trading update highlights that the group is on track with its growth and expansion strategy. At the end of the year, a couple of COVID and Brexit-related delays to customer ordering were seen, which have reduced revenue by £0.7m. Nevertheless, operating profits are in line with expectations due to continued cost control. Our forecasts have therefore been adjusted accordingly. The investment case remains sound and this doesn’t alter our view of the company’s prospects, where we forecast a robust scale up over the next few years, focused on significant growth opportunities in the EVs, Medical and Aerospace markets.

Companies: Trackwise Designs Plc

22 Jan 21

Treatt - Another Treat(t)

Treatt has once again delivered an exceptional performance in the first four months of FY21, with strong momentum across multiple categories contributing to growth. Operating margins have benefited from the improved product mix as Treatt continues to move up the value chain and partners with its customers to develop new products. Despite only being four months into the new financial year, the board is cautiously optimistic about continued growth and exceeding current market expectations. We raise our sales forecasts by 7–10% over the next three years and our operating profit and earnings forecasts by 20–32%. Our fair value also moves up to 870p.

Companies: Treatt plc

27 Jan 21

Dentsu Group – executive interview

27 Jan 21

Could 2021 really become a stronger year?

Healthineers lifted on the back of the strong performance in Q4 of CY 20 and its FY guidance. But one of the drivers, if not more, look slightly fragile to us: normalisation of the underlying business. The latter might be really attributable to the more machine-related divisions, but for Diagnostics we have some doubts. Released preliminary figures were stronger than expected and also beat consensus.

Companies: Siemens Healthineers AG

27 Jan 21

A close shave!

Unfortunately, cyber attacks have become part of our everyday business life as laptops, mobile devices and digitalisation have invaded our behaviour. Knowing this, a company needs to be prepared. This seems to be the case at Symrise, which looks to have reacted with a pre-defined protocol. As isolation and shutdown of compromised systems are usual procedures, production and logistics typically suffer the most. Nevertheless, the released preliminary figures fit into our strong view on the company. Consensus was not met.

Companies: Symrise AG

27 Jan 21

Q4 as expected but with good growth in bookings

Software AG’s Q4 results beat our expectations in terms of bookings but were broadly in line with regards to other financial metrics. Q4 showed a brisk pace in subscription & SaaS bookings. Annual recurring revenue also increased qoq as well as yoy. The group also put forward its FY21 guidance and re-confirmed its FY23 ambitions mentioned in the previous quarter.

Companies: Software AG

27 Jan 21

Handbags immunise LVMH

LVMH has reported another good year despite the pandemic. On the back of an “in line” top-line performance, the operating profit was almost €1bn above consensus expectations. The group’s impressive profitability was mainly driven by the incredible resilience of the F&L division and outstanding profitability of the group’s major brands, notably, LV and Dior. The enduring demand for the iconic products of LV and Dior has confirmed again that both brands are on their way to catching up with Hermès.

Companies: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE

27 Jan 21

artec technologies - Positive FY20 progress, focus on MULTIEYE

In a post year-end trading update, artec reported strong sales growth, with FY20 revenues rising 50% y-o-y to €3.2m (FY19: €2.0m), marginally below consensus (€3.25m). Management expects a significantly improved FY20 profit figure y-o-y when it reports its FY20 results. 24% of FY20 revenues are recurring, with contract terms of up to four years giving increasing forward visibility. Two-thirds of sales came from the security side of the business, which continues to show good momentum, while the media business suffered from contract delays due largely to uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. Management remains confident in the outlook for both media and security segments, with security its key focus for FY21.

Companies: artec technologies AG

27 Jan 21

Confusing reporting

We had expected Lonza’s FY 2020 release would be difficult to read, but the presentation of the figures with no helpful tables requires patience to find all the jigsaw pieces. This makes the reported strong performance and margin increase less important in our view. All in all, the FY figures met our expectations. A comparison to consensus does not look very helpful as it appears not to reflect the latest changes.

Companies: Lonza Group AG

27 Jan 21

Extra provisions on Polish CHF mortgages

As warned in Q3, the Polish subsidiary decided to set aside more provisions to cover the pending legal losses on its CHF mortgage book. Like the PPI scandal in the UK, this story will probably last for a long time. On the positive side, losses are likely to be spread over several years and the subsidiary’s value accounts for a limited 13% of BCP’s market capitalisation.

Companies: Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP:ELI)Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. (BCP:LIS)

27 Jan 21

Impressive Q4 order intakes and Q4 growth

Q4 order intakes up 70% yoy Q4 order intakes reached EUR202m, up 70% yoy. This was above the bracket guided by SES Imagotag at the end of last year (EUR160m to EUR200m). Over the FY, the majority of order intakes came from the company''s ability to gain new clients, notably Kesko. The company also estimates that its hit ratio on new clients was above 50%, implying that SES Imagotag is gaining market share. As we enter FY21e, the pipeline for new business also looks rock solid. Sharp acceleration in Q4 sales Q4 sales reached EUR97m, up 28%, and came 19% above our expectations. International sales were particularly dynamic, up 40% yoy (vs +20% expected). Over the FY, North America and Asia led the growth, while Europe recovered in H2 after a weak H1. Back to positive net cash (excluding IFRS16) at the end of FY20 The company ended FY20 with a net cash position of EUR3m excluding IFRS16. This is a sharp contrast to the situation at the end of H1 20 (EUR26m net debt excluding IFRS16). The main causes were the improvement in WC (partly supported by higher downpayments) and most likely an improvement of H2 profitability as compared to expectations. Guidance for EUR400m in sales in FY21 In spite of potential component disruption (TFT screens, semiconductors), SES Imagotag is aiming at sales of EUR400m in FY21 and is confident of reaching EUR800m in FY23. We have raised our forecasts and increased our net profit for FY21e (from EUR1 to EUR8m) and FY22e (+79%). Valuation range lifted to between EUR38 and EUR49 Our valuation methodology remains unchanged. It is derived from peer multiples (EUR38 to EUR40), a DCF (EUR49, WACC at 8.5%, terminal growth 2%) and 12m forward EV/sales (EUR44).

Companies: SES-imagotag SA

27 Jan 21

SP Angel Oil & Gas Daily Flow: 27/01/21

Companies: DGOC PANR TLW

27 Jan 21

Strong capital but a high degree of uncertainty is looming...

SEB released this morning its numbers for FY2020. These were better across-the-board aprt from the level of loan losses. In terms of financial targets, management is targeting a 100–300bp CET1 buffer vs 150bp previously but the CET1 ratio is 160bp higher qoq at the same time. Management is paving the way to SBB once the Swedish FSA’s recommendations on capital distribution are dismissed (+ a 50% pay-out ratio).

Companies: Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB Class A

27 Jan 21

SDX Energy - PRODUCTION AND CAPEX GUIDANCE FOR 2021

27 Jan 21

One investment banker drives out another

We give Mr Orcel the benefit of doubt. The task is challenging but the opportunities could prove numerous in a digitalising environment. We are looking forward to seeing the group’s updated business plan and the financial terms of the likely acquisition of BMPS.

Companies: UniCredit (UCG:BIT)UniCredit S.p.A. (UCG:MIL)

27 Jan 21

The nomination of Andrea Orcel will help to keep Generali Italian

Even at the age of 85, Leonardo Del Vecchio kept his power in the Italian financial system. He seems to be behind the appointment of Andrea Orcel as the new CEO of Uncredit, a key issue for the possible acquisition of Monte dei Paschi di Siena and for the future of Generali.

Companies: Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.

27 Jan 21

Small Cap Feast

Supreme, a leading manufacturer, supplier and brand owner of fast moving consumer products, announces the successful pricing of its initial public offering at 134 pence per share with institutional investors, to raise gross proceeds of £67.5 million. It is expected that dealings in the Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 1 February 2021 on AIM It is expected that dealings in the Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 1 February 2021NQ Minerals, the base and precious metals producer from its 100% owned flagship Hellyer Mine and the 100% owner of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine, both in northern Tasmania, Australia, has submitted a draft prospectus to the UK Financial Conduct Authority for approval. The Company is considering applying for admission of its ordinary shares to the Official List of the FCA by way of a Standard Listing and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange . Details TBA Foresight Group , the award-winning infrastructure and private equity investment manager to IPO on the Main Market (Premium). The Offer will primarily comprise a sale of shares by existing shareholders (c.80% of the Offer) with a smaller offering of new shares (c.20% of the Offer) to be issued by the Company. Details TBA. Baskerville Capital plc (to be renamed Oberon Investments Group Plc) is a boutique financial institution providing a personalised wealth management service for retail and professional clients, as well as a corporate broking arm for small and mid-cap companies. Oberon’s strategy is to progress through the organic growth of assets under administration in its wealth management division and by the acquisition of complementary businesses in the financial services sector and by creating a trusted brand for the provision of advisory and fundraising services for companies in the small and mid-cap sectors. Expected admission date 9 February 2021. Cornish Metals (TSX-V: CUSN) intends to list on AIM. The Company is proposing to raise £5m by way of private placement of new Common Shares to advance the United Downs copper-tin project. The Company expects that Admission will become effective in February 2021. The Company's Common Shares will continue to be listed and trade on the TSX-V in Canada. VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities plc, a closed-ended investment Company focused on making sustainable energy infrastructure investments announced it intends to launch an IPO of shares on the Official List (Premium) of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Due by Early Feb.

Companies: CCS RNWH MTFB KETL VCAP CFX DNL DOTD UPR MWE