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21 Aug 2023
Hunting : Platform for growth - Buy

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Hunting : Platform for growth - Buy
Hunting PLC (HTG:LON) | 321 -19.3 (-1.8%) | Mkt Cap: 525.4m
- Published:
21 Aug 2023 -
Author:
Alex Smith -
Pages:
11 -
A more balanced portfolio – In the past 24 months we have seen significant momentum in the non-Hunting Titan segments, such as OCTG (oil country tubular goods), advanced manufacturing and subsea product groups. OCTG and Subsea product demand has significantly increased internationally, with premium connection and high-spec products in high demand among large international providers, providing a strong macro backdrop for the business.
Earnings momentum – Hunting has delivered 18 months of strong demand recovery and the company appears poised to continue delivering robust revenue growth, simultaneously driving an increase in margins and, ultimately, improved profitability. We have seen multiple upgrades in EBITDA guidance over the past 12 months, with latest FY23 guidance of $96-100m and FY24 guidance of $125-135m, given a record order book and visibility on current trading of c.$530-550m. This would be the strongest year since 2019 and back to pre-covid levels, and a route to its 15% EBITDA margin target.
Robust balance sheet – Beyond this year, we expect the company to considerably build its healthy net cash position, generating strong FCF which can then be used for additional shareholder returns, or to potentially strengthen its M&A capabilities and organic growth developments.
Catalysts to come – Hunting has multiple investor events over the coming weeks that could act as important milestones for the company: interim results 24th Aug, analyst briefing Sep 8th, CMD Sep 13th. The key focus for us will be the CMD, which will provide further detail on the ‘Hunting 2030’ strategy, where we expect further insight on the medium-term and energy transition strategy.
Valuation – We update numbers for new guidance and our TP increases to 445p from 400p, driven by the uplift in our forecasts.