Initiating with a Buy rating. We initiate our coverage of Proton Motor Power Systems (“Proton Motor”) with a BUY rating and a target price of 201p. Our valuation equates to a market capitalisation of £1.47bn, compared to a current share price of 65.5p and a market cap of £479m.
Companies: Proton Motor Power Systems Plc
Companies: TMT PPS GWMO AQX MCL TPG RBD KOD
Registration document approved for Helios Towers. The Group provides essential network services, flexible infrastructure solutions and reliable power supply to mobile network operators in five African growth economies. Revenue increased 7 per cent. year-on-year to US$191m (H1 2018: US$178m), with Adjusted EBITDA up 15 per cent. year-on-year at US$99m (H1 2018: US$86m) for the six months ended 30 June 2019. Pricing rumoured at 115p to 145p implying valuation of up to $1.8bn. Expected Oct 2019.
Companies: SHED SSY SYS1 CBOX OMG PPS RMS RNO CER RENX
Techniplas –global producer and support services company providing highly engineered and technically complex components, making the supply chain to original equipment manufacturers more efficient. FYDec17 rev $515m. Loungers plc—the operator of 146 café/bar/restaurants across England and Wales under the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, announces its intention to seek admission on AIM, offer TBC
Companies: NWF PPS RFX GHS SQZ WATR CNC
Network International Holdings—Potential Intention to Float— leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa region, operating across over 50 highly underpenetrated payment markets that contain a total population of 1.5 bn. 2018 rev $298m, underlying EBITDA $152m. Techniplas –global producer and support services company providing highly engineered and technically complex components, making the supply chain to original equipment manufacturers more efficient. FYDec17 rev $515m. Diaceutics, a data analytics and implementation services company which services the global pharmaceutical industry, is looking to join AIM late March, offer TBC.
Companies: LWRF GBP VELA GCM SYM OMG XLM PPS BPC
Circassia Pharma (CIR.L) - specialty pharmaceutical company focused on respiratory disease transferring from the Main Market. No funds being raised. Due 4 Feb. Greenfields Petroleum (TSX-V:GNF) production focused company with operated assets in Azerbaijan seeking AIM dual listing including $60m private placement. Mkt cap $12.6m CAD. Expected late January 2019.
Companies: MIO CAML MPE PPC WINE PPS SIS SOS UNG RMS
Azalea Energy—oil and gas production and development company based in Louisiana, United States. Net production of 13 MMcfe/D (2,200 boepd) and total 1P proved reserves of 91 Bcfe (15.1 mmboe), 2P reserves of 111 Bcfe (18.5 mmboe) raising up to $38m, expected mkt cap over $100m. Due Oct Summerway Capital investing company established to acquire companies or businesses which the directors of the Company believe have the potential for strategic, operational and performance improvement so as to create shareholder value. Offer TBC, market cap TBC expected 19 October Admission is being sought as a result of the proposed RTO of Cambian Group plc following completion of the acquisition by CareTech a leading provider of specialist social care services, supporting adults and children with a wide range of complex needs. No raise, market cap TBC expected 19 October. PetroTal (TAL.TO) - The exploration and production company focused on oil assets in Peru is seeking a secondary AIM quotation before the end of 2018. Path Investments— First acquisition of a 50 per cent. participating interest in the producing Alfeld-Elze II gas field located 22 kilometres south of Hannover in Germany. Seeking £10m raise. Due late Oct Green Man Gaming—pure play e-commerce and technology company in the digital video games industry. revenue CAGR growth of 26.7% in the last three years to £47.5m. Due Mid October 2018. EBITDA Profitable. Offer TBA Crossword Cybersecurity PLC* (NEX:CCS)—the technology commercialisation company focusing exclusively on the cyber security sector is exploring its options in relation to a potential move to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange which, if it were to proceed, would likely take place over the next few months.
Companies: IQE OMI SIM PPS GLR CORA AEG TEK VLS
Proton Power Systems (PPS) has signed a seven year framework agreement worth €15m with a blue chip German customer for fuel cell emergency power units. These are expected to be delivered and installed over a seven year period. This follows the first binding order received in April 2016 from the customer worth €1.8m in 2016. As this agreement covers only one of Germany’s regions there is potential for it to grow substantially. We view this news positively and will reinstate formal research coverage in due course.
Proton Power Systems (PPS) has reported its 2015 final results and while revenues reduced to £0.7m from £1.4m this masks the substantial operational progress that has been made over the last 12 months or so. This manifested itself in the recent £1.3m order for emergency power solutions in outdoor cabinets to be delivered in 2016. This is the most significant order PPS has received in its 21-year history.
Research Tree provides access to ongoing research coverage, media content and regulatory news on Proton Motor Power Systems Plc. We currently have 9 research reports from 3 professional analysts.
Volex’s y/e update points to revenue and adj. operating profit of over $440m and $41m, 9% and 5% ahead of our expectation. Results have benefited from 187% revenue growth in EVs and strong consumer electronics demand. Operating margins grew to 9.3% (FY20: 8.1%) and, absent higher margin acquisitions, we now expect gradual progress towards management’s 10% target, as an appropriate balance is struck between revenue growth and profitability. The drive to be the lowest cost producer of quality product, leveraging the Group’s global platform, is a core objective underpinning growth ambitions. Our updated adj. EPS growth - 14% for FY22E and 9% for FY23E - is cautiously framed in the context of the increased investment now being committed to drive revenue growth. The recent DE-KA acquisition is performing strongly and alongside further accretive moves, Volex should continue to deliver.
Companies: Volex plc
Capital Limited (LSE: CAPD) this morning provided its Q1 2021 trading update. Q1 revenue is the strongest since the company's inception and is in line with our estimates, as are the other operational metrics.
Companies: Capital Limited
AFC Energy announced a fundraising of £36m consisting of an oversubscribed placing with institutional shareholders amounting to £31.2m and a £4.8m strategic investment from ABB (£3.25m) and Dutco (£1.50m). The equity capital raise was priced at 64.5p representing a modest discount of approximately 5% relative to the prior day's closing price. The robust support shown by the capital raise suggests, in our opinion, that the strengths of AFC Energy's technology, its commercial positioning and the growth opportunity afforded by each of AFC Energy's addressable markets have been recognised by the institutional market. The expansion of AFC Energy's strategic partnership with ABB, now a shareholder, into the data centre market is potentially transformative. We outline in this note the potential implications of that development, while deferring the implications of that development on our fair value estimate until we have undertaken more analysis. We place our fair value estimate under review for an upgrade.
Companies: AFC Energy plc
Semper Fortis Esports* recently announced its intention to IPO onto the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. Semper is a multi-operational Esports organisation focusing on gaming technology solutions, brand enhancement and high growth team infrastructures. The company plans to raise £2.5m to develop their three core areas of establishing an esports team, forming partnerships with brands for sponsorship and B2B consultancy services. The Board are highly experienced in sports and corporate deal making (Keith Harris, former Chairman of The Football League), technology and electronic gaming (Nolan Bushnell, founder of the pioneering company, Atari), esports and game tech (Kevin Soltani and Jassem Osseiran) and as FD Max Deeley. Target Admission Date of 26 April. Dispersion Holdings PLC, an investor in the high growth FinTech sector within the UK, the USA and Canada, has announced its intention to IPO on the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Board intends to deploy the majority of the Company’s cash resources in the acquisition of minority interests in a number of different, yet to be identified, companies in the broad FinTech sector, and to apply expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of these companies. Target Admission Date of 30 April. Darktrace plc. Intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (premium). Darktrace was founded in 2013 with a mission to fundamentally transform the ability of organisations to defend their most critical assets in the face of rising cyber threats. Darktrace is a world-leading provider of AI for the enterprise, with the first at-scale in-the-enterprise deployment of AI in cyber security Due early May, musicMagpie is a leader in re-commerce in the UK and US in the circular economy of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and personal computers), books and disc media (including CDs, DVDs and video games). Expected 28 April. Offer details TBA Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April. Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.” PensionBee has confirmed its intention to float on the High Growth Segment of the Main Market of LSE. The online pension provider had approximately 130,000 Active Customers and £1.5bn of assets under administration as at 28 February 2021. The Offer will comprise new Shares raising gross proceeds of approximately £55m and existing Shares to be sold by certain existing small minority shareholders of up to £5m. None of the founders, directors or members of senior management of PensionBee are selling any existing Shares. Expected in April. Imperial X (AQSE:IMPP) to join the Main Market (standard). It is also proposed that on Admission to the Official List, the Company will change its name to Cloudbreak Discovery Plc. With effect from Admission, Imperial X will hold equity positions and royalties in a variety of projects in the natural resources sector across multiple jurisdictions, primarily in the Americas and Africa. The Company is proposing to raise up to £1.5m by way of placing of new Ordinary Shares to support further prospect acquisitions. Current Mkt cap £4.7m Expected April. Proposed move to AIM from the main market (standard) by Emmerson (EML.L) to provide Emmerson with access to a market and environment which is more suited, in the Board's view, to the Company's current size and strategy ahead of pivotal period for the Company with the commencement of mine construction at the Khemisset Potash Project expected by end of 2021. Follows recent award of Mining Licence granting Emmerson exclusive right to develop and mine the potash deposit and £5.5m raise to fund ongoing project development work. Due 27 April.
Companies: KIBO MTW GWI MTR DUKE ITM GDR MSMN CMCL PTRO
Spectra Systems Corporation, a leader in machine-readable high speed banknote authentication, brand protection technologies, and gaming security software, has announced that it has executed an agreement with a major central bank customer, in addition to the sensor agreement announced on 2 February 2021, to include a new capability in those sensors to detect “exotic counterfeit” bank notes.
Companies: Spectra Systems Corporation
AFC has announced a £36m equity issue with £3.3m from ABB, £1.5m from Dutco and £31.2m from institutional investors. It has also announced that its partnership with ABB will develop a new product offering to serve the data centre market. While the extra share count marginally dilutes our existing valuation (from 191p to 184p) we expect this to be more than offset by the profit opportunity in data centres and in the marine/rail markets that are being explored in conjunction with Ricardo. We will quantify these issues in a future report, but we are confident that the addressable markets for AFC are vast and it has a good chance of succeeding in them.
Ince has announced a trading update for the year ended March 2021 with revenue of £97m, up slightly on a like-for-like basis vs. FY20, a good performance considering the impact of COVID. With net debt down to £7.1m and available cash and facilities of £10.8m, up substantially year-on-year vs. £5.3m in FY20, the Group is in position to fund growth through FY22.
Companies: Ince Group plc
Despite the pandemic causing major disruption to many of the group's customers, Filta navigated FY20A well, generating positive Adj EBITDA (£1.1m) and FCF (£0.8m). Successful vaccination programmes in Filta's core USA and UK markets are enabling venues to steadily reopen. With consumers sitting on record levels of savings, and there being significant pent-up demand for leisure activities that Filta service (eg restaurants, sports venues etc), the outlook appears increasingly positive for the group. Filta enters FY21E with a stronger business profile, having launched new products and services, and expanded its customer list (c1700 added in FY20A). Given the improving prospects, we believe Filta remains attractively valued on a FY22E EV/EBITDA of 9.7x. We leave FY21E and FY22E forecasts unchanged and reaffirm our Buy rating.
Companies: Filta Group Holdings PLC
Anglo Asian Mining* (AAZ LN) - STRONG BUY – Quarterly production update and CY21 guidance Botswana Diamonds (BOD LN) – Moving to a further stage of drilling at Thorny River Capital Limited (CAPD LN) – Q1 2021 delivers strongest ever quarterly revenue GoldStone Resources* (GRL LN) – Update paves way for production ramp-up at Homase Kenmare Resources (KMR LN) - Q1 production rises on higher grade and production despite Covid-19 isolation for management and staff Rainbow Rare Earths* (RBW LN) – Temporary suspension of REE concentrate exports Serabi Gold* (SRB LN) –– Grade improvements drive higher Q1 gold production
Companies: CAPD AAZ BOD GRL KMR RBW SRB
Semper Fortis Esports* recently announced its intention to IPO onto the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. Semper is a multi-operational Esports organisation focusing on gaming technology solutions, brand enhancement and high growth team infrastructures. The company plans to raise £2.5m to develop their three core areas of establishing an esports team, forming partnerships with brands for sponsorship and B2B consultancy services. The Board are highly experienced in sports and corporate deal making (Keith Harris, former Chairman of The Football League), technology and electronic gaming (Nolan Bushnell, founder of the pioneering company, Atari), esports and game tech (Kevin Soltani and Jassem Osseiran) and as FD Max Deeley. Target Admission Date of 26 April. Darktrace plc. Announcement of Intention to Publish a Registration Document and Potential IPO on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Darktrace was founded in 2013 with a mission to fundamentally transform the ability of organisations to defend their most critical assets in the face of rising cyber threats. Darktrace is a world-leading provider of AI for the enterprise, with the first at-scale in-the-enterprise deployment of AI in cyber security Timing TBA musicMagpie is a leader in re-commerce in the UK and US in the circular economy of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and personal computers), books and disc media (including CDs, DVDs and video games). Expected 28 April. Offer details TBA Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April. Advance Energy to complete an RTO on AIM indirectly acquiring up to 50% of Carnarvon Petroleum Timor which holds a 100 per cent. working interest and is the contractor under the Buffalo PSC, offshore Timor-Leste. Carnarvon Petroleum Timor is a subsidiary of ASX listed company, Carnarvon Petroleum Limited. The net proceeds of the Placing of approximately £20.01m (approximately US$27.51m) will be used to fund the Acquisition. Due 19 April. Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.” PensionBee has confirmed its intention to float on the High Growth Segment of the Main Market of LSE. The online pension provider had approximately 130,000 Active Customers and £1.5bn of assets under administration as at 28 February 2021. The Offer will comprise new Shares raising gross proceeds of approximately £55m and existing Shares to be sold by certain existing small minority shareholders of up to £5m. None of the founders, directors or members of senior management of PensionBee are selling any existing Shares. Expected in April. Imperial X (AQSE:IMPP) to join the Main Market (standard). It is also proposed that on Admission to the Official List, the Company will change its name to Cloudbreak Discovery Plc. With effect from Admission, Imperial X will hold equity positions and royalties in a variety of projects in the natural resources sector across multiple jurisdictions, primarily in the Americas and Africa. The Company is proposing to raise up to £1.5m by way of placing of new Ordinary Shares to support further prospect acquisitions. Current Mkt cap £4.7m Expected April. Proposed move to AIM from the main market (standard) by Emmerson (EML.L) to provide Emmerson with access to a market and environment which is more suited, in the Board's view, to the Company's current size and strategy ahead of pivotal period for the Company with the commencement of mine construction at the Khemisset Potash Project expected by end of 2021. Follows recent award of Mining Licence granting Emmerson exclusive right to develop and mine the potash deposit and £5.5m raise to fund ongoing project development work. Due 27 April.
Companies: GAL AXS IDH GWMO AGL YEW INFA HE1 PPC CASP
Semper Fortis Esports* recently announced its intention to IPO onto the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. Semper is a multi-operational Esports organisation focusing on gaming technology solutions, brand enhancement and high growth team infrastructures. The company plans to raise £2.5m to develop their three core areas of establishing an esports team, forming partnerships with brands for sponsorship and B2B consultancy services. The Board are highly experienced in sports and corporate deal making (Keith Harris, former Chairman of The Football League), technology and electronic gaming (Nolan Bushnell, founder of the pioneering company, Atari), esports and game tech (Kevin Soltani and Jassem Osseiran) and as FD Max Deeley. Target Admission Date of 26 April. Dispersion Holdings PLC, an investor in the high growth FinTech sector within the UK, the USA and Canada, has announced its intention to IPO on the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Board intends to deploy the majority of the Company’s cash resources in the acquisition of minority interests in a number of different, yet to be identified, companies in the broad FinTech sector, and to apply expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of these companies. Target Admission Date of 30 April. Darktrace plc. Intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (premium). Darktrace was founded in 2013 with a mission to fundamentally transform the ability of organisations to defend their most critical assets in the face of rising cyber threats. Darktrace is a world-leading provider of AI for the enterprise, with the first at-scale in-the-enterprise deployment of AI in cyber security Due early May. musicMagpie is a leader in re-commerce in the UK and US in the circular economy of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and personal computers), books and disc media (including CDs, DVDs and video games). Expected 28 April. Offer details TBA Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April. Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.” Imperial X (AQSE:IMPP) to join the Main Market (standard). It is also proposed that on Admission to the Official List, the Company will change its name to Cloudbreak Discovery Plc. With effect from Admission, Imperial X will hold equity positions and royalties in a variety of projects in the natural resources sector across multiple jurisdictions, primarily in the Americas and Africa. The Company is proposing to raise up to £1.5m by way of placing of new Ordinary Shares to support further prospect acquisitions. Current Mkt cap £4.7m Expected April. Proposed move to AIM from the main market (standard) by Emmerson (EML.L) to provide Emmerson with access to a market and environment which is more suited, in the Board's view, to the Company's current size and strategy ahead of pivotal period for the Company with the commencement of mine construction at the Khemisset Potash Project expected by end of 2021. Follows recent award of Mining Licence granting Emmerson exclusive right to develop and mine the potash deposit and £5.5m raise to fund ongoing project development work. Due 27 April.
Companies: ADME RTC SAV DFCH HUW TEG ANIC KOO MIRI SPSY
A capital markets day presentation and demonstration highlighted the extensive capabilities of Sea/, the group’s modular SAAS offering for the shipping industry. Adoption by key clients should drive shipowners and other brokers to follow suit, allowing it to become the pre-eminent industry platform. Embedding into customers’ workflows, and a revenue model based on annual subscriptions and transaction fees, point towards high quality recurring revenues protected by barriers to entry. Our recommendation remains BUY, with an unchanged DCF-based target price of 3200p.
Companies: Clarkson PLC
The UK market showed a continued recovery in the first quarter albeit the indices are still well short of their all-time peaks, unlike many of their international peers. The FTSE 100 has risen by 1,186 points (21.4%) since the end of October and the FTSE 250 by 4,304 points (25.0%). The comparable performance since the start of the year is less spectacular- the FTSE 100 has risen by 253 points (3.9%) and the FTSE 250 has risen by 1,070 points (5.0%). The factors behind the sustained rally are familiar. The belief that the roll-out of the vaccine and some relaxation of lockdown limitations will lead to a significant economic recovery, compared to the collapse seen in the first half of 2020, due to lockdowns. Indeed, the recent economic picture is becoming more optimistic than previous expectations. According to the ONS, the economy grew a little more than initially estimated in Q4 last year. This means GDP for 2020 as a whole contracted by 9.8%, revised up marginally but still the worst contraction on record. Markets, in general, have focused upon the potential scope and extent of the recovery. The sectors and stocks that have outperformed have been seen as ‘recovery’ plays with a rotation from stocks seen as ‘lockdown’ winners into those set to benefit from the ‘unlocking of society’ and/or exposed to the consumer. We expect 2021 will continue to be a “stock-picker’s” market. The sharp increase in the household savings ratio in Q4 highlights the scope for a recovery driven by expenditure. As further lockdown limitations are lifted, evidence of this growth will help to underpin the more optimistic outlook for Q2 and beyond.
Companies: AMYT ARBB BPC BAG BVC BEG BONH BLVN BRSD CML CWK CRPR EYE ECHO FDM FAR FA/ GPH GSF HUW INSE JDG KAPE KP2 MACF MPAC MNZS NESF NBI OTMP OBD PREM QFI RUA SCS SEN SOS SUR TON TOU TXP TGL TCN UEM VLS WYN
Recovery and outperformance have been hallmarks of the building materials and merchants sector since lockdown ended and whilst Brickability may not have been in the vanguard of this re-appraisal by investors it has certainly made up for it over recent months doubling in value since last November and rising over 20% in the past month to a new high. There will probably be few surprises that it is moving FY21 (to March) guidance up for a second time, nor that management is expecting to deliver growth in FY22 but we believe price upside exists from here based on the possibility of future upgrades driven by either continuing market trends, organic growth initiatives or acquisition accretion, of course coupled to its strong cash flow characteristics. A current year (conservative) rating of 14x PER, 10x EV/EBITDA and 2.5% yield remains undemanding in actual and sector relative terms.
Companies: Brickability Group PLC
Volex has reported interim results that are in-line with expectations following a strong trading update in mid-October. Of far greater significance is today’s announcement of the proposed acquisition of DEKA for a consideration of up to €61.8m on a debt free basis. DEKA is a leading and highly profitable power cord manufacturer, strategically located in Turkey, that serves leading European white goods manufacturers. The acquisition should close in early CY2021, subject to expected Turkish Competition Authority approval. We foresee 15% earnings enhancement in FY2022E with further opportunities for revenue synergies with Volex in the Far East as its operations also vertically integrate, production efficiencies increase and the cost of production falls. The statement highlights that pro forma net debt/EBITDA remains under 0.4x and this provides scope for further bolt-on acquisitions alongside a new $70m RCF and $30m accordion, also announced with the interims.
