Building & Construction

Building & Construction equity research

Explore the most viewed and latest equity research and media content for companies within the Building & Construction sector. Stocks in this sector provide goods such as construction materials and offer services from contractors.

30 Mar 20

LIBERUM: Kier Group - COVID statement highlights essential services

Sites at Kier were paused for a day, but 80% have re-opened. The government is the key customer and is supportive.

Companies: Kier Group

02 Apr 20

Norcros - FY20 outturn affected by COVID-19

The developing coronavirus pandemic has affected year-end trading for Norcros, with an indicated c £4m impact on EBIT. Operational shutdowns mirroring those of its customers have been undertaken and, as elsewhere, actions to preserve cash are being taken. The company has up to c £110m headroom under existing banking facilities representing a strong year end liquidity position. Forward guidance and our estimates for FY21 onwards have been withdrawn pending greater clarity on the scale and duration of the lockdown conditions being widely enacted currently.

Companies: Norcros

02 Apr 20

LIBERUM: Volution* - Strong liquidity as furloughing starts

Volution has announced that it has started to furlough workers in the UK as activity starts to drop off. However, the group has also reported that it is seeing a baseline of activity continuing and expects this to persist.

Companies: Volution Group

08 Jan 20

UK Housebuilding Sector: 2020 vision: Sharpness and clarity for industry prospects

For fighter pilots, it is a minimum requirement. But having 20/20 ‘visual acuity’ (correct term) does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision (as convention assumes); instead, it indicates sharpness and clarity of vision at a distance. It is measured by a Snellen Chart, which displays letters of progressively smaller size and whereby 20/20 means that the test subject sees the same line of letters at 20 feet that a person with normal vision sees at 20 feet (or 6 metres; but 6/6 simply didn’t catch on).

Companies: ABBY BDEV BWY BKG VTY CRN CSP CRST GLE GLV INL MCS PSN RDW SPR TW/ WJG

26 Mar 20

Cenkos: Breedon Group Plc -- In good shape

Breedon is effectively moving to a (temporary) lockdown position on all its sites save Hope cement plant (which will produce to storage) and those in the Republic of Ireland where the principal customer is central and local government and as such will continue to operate until directed otherwise. Crucially, the group is in a strong financial and liquidity position with undrawn facilities of £220m and £60m in cash whilst any unwind of working capital from here is likely to actually generate cash. Moreover, the planned £155m cash outlay on the Cemex assets to be acquired is almost certain to be delayed beyond the coronavirus period due to the associated stalling of the TUPE process and IT migration. This position seen against a cash ‘burn' of probably no more than £15m per month (gross of any government support schemes and noting employee cost is the largest single constituent of fixed overheads) is comfort indeed for shareholders. We are withdrawing our forecasts for 2020 (formerly £200.7m of EBITDA, £113m underlying PBT and 5.6p EPS) and beyond on the simple basis that we cannot predict either the depth or duration of the coronavirus impact. Nonetheless we are happy to retain a Buy on the basis that: (a) there will be no structural damage done to the group's operational, asset or financial base as a result of coronavirus, (b) it should see a rapid scale-up when normality returns and (c) management can be relied on to re-assert relative growth versus its peers which has been a hallmark of Breedon's history to date. For long term investors these are opportune times.

Companies: Breedon Group

03 Apr 20

Epwin Group - Responding to COVID-19

The coronavirus outbreak has led to widespread temporary closures across the UK building materials supply chain and Epwin has taken similar steps. We have brought our FY19 estimates in line with management’s update comments. Clearly, there will be downward pressure on trading for a currently indeterminate period and, it is important to note that estimates beyond FY19 are yet to be adjusted for COVID-19 impacts.

Companies: Epwin Group

25 Mar 20

The Industrial Revelation

US & German manufacturing PMI hits lowest readings since 2009, UK manufacturing PMI heads below 50, BorgWarner expects material financial impact from customer production halts

Companies: AVON CGS HAYD HEAD HILS JHD RNO SCPA TWD TRI ZTF SOM GHH

31 Mar 20

James Halstead*

Solid interims – near term outlook uncertain

Companies: James Halstead

21 Oct 19

Quarterly Research Outlook Autumn 2019

Following continued delays of a Brexit agreement, few sectors within the UK market have remained attractive to investors despite low valuations. One sector which has continued to outperform despite the political drama has been the UK video gaming sector (henceforth UK gaming), which we are fans of. We believe a combination of sector-leading growth, strong cash conversion and timely cyclical positioning support our positive view on the UK video gaming sector.

Companies: ABBY AMS ANX ARS ATYM AVON BLVN PIER BUR CGS CAML CDM CSRT TIDE CYAN DTG DEMG ELM EMR FPO FDEV GTLY GENL GHH GRI GEEC GKP HMI HAYD HEAD HILS HTG HUR IBPO IOG INDI JHD JOG KAPE KEYS KWS KCT KGH LAM LIT LOK MACF MANO MOD OXIG PCA PANR APP SRE PHC PMO RBW RMM RBGP REDD RSW RNO ROR SUS SCPA SEN SHG SOLG SOM SUMO TM17 INCE TWD TRAK TRI VNET VTC ZOO ZTF

19 Mar 20

Cenkos: TClarke Plc -- Lights very much still on

TClarke has delivered on cue in 2019 highlighted by a robust £400m order book, attainment of target 3% operating margins, (tax-aided) EPS growth of 22%, dividend up 10% and maintained net cash of £12.4m. To date there is no identifiable impact on trading from COVID-19 but inevitably there will be. Acknowledging this, we maintain our 2020 and 2021 forecasts, simply because the AGM in May would seem a more appropriate and considered time to re-assess on the basis of known events. Today however, we believe TClarke is in a far stronger position both operationally and financially to face the immediate challenges, the latter referencing cash balances, liquidity and available facilities. Medium-term we see a resumption of growth from sustained margins on a rising top-line driven by demand for data-centres, regional up-scaling of contract values and potential European penetration. A prospective 2021E PE of c4x, EV/EBITDA (ex-pension deficit) of 2x and yield over 6% is worth keeping in mind for when markets eventually stabilise.

Companies: TClarke

14 Jan 19

Opportunity knocks

We are introducing our Best Ideas for 2019 and also review the performance of last year’s picks. We suggest ten solidly financed stocks with good business dynamics that ought to be considered for core portfolio holdings and six UK domestically focused stocks that our analysts believe should perform strongly in the event that uncertainties unwind. We also introduce a new style of research from N+1 Singer which presents a Company’s dynamics and metrics in a clear and concise manner and concentrates on the pivotal issues affecting that Company and an investment decision.

Companies: BCA CLIN CLG CBP DNLM EAH STU FCRM FUTR GTLY INS GLE NICL SDL SPR TRI

08 Aug 19

Positive momentum maintained

Leading engineering and construction group nmcn has maintained its positive momentum and outlook in its interim results to June. Revenue, profits and cash rose significantly, while the order book grew by 11% despite near-term uncertainties in some end markets. The group – which addresses relatively sustainable markets including non-discretionary water and infrastructure investments – maintained FY guidance. Based on what we believe to be conservative estimates, the shares are trading on a FY 2019E P/E of 9.5x and yield of 3.7%.

Companies: NMCN Plc

07 Oct 19

Acquisition marks further step up value chain

Water and built environment construction services group nmcn has acquired process solutions provider Lintott Control Systems (LCS) for up to £3.8m in what appears to be an attractive earn-out structure for nmcn. LCS’s technological and manufacturing expertise, in our view, takes nmcn further up the value chain with its main clients and reinforces its existing supply chains. We are not changing our estimates at this point but believe the deal could materially benefit our estimates for FY 2020E and FY 2021E.

Companies: NMCN Plc

04 Feb 20

Interim results, cost reductions on track for the full year

On lower revenue, H1 profit and dividend were both maintained. Despite a challenging H1, operations are responding to management action and despite the greater H2 weighting remains on target to achieve existing full-year expectations, with £2.0m of cost savings on track, a turnaround in Levolux performance, much lower pension deficit, reduced annual pension costs and a 10% increase in the order book. The shares have started to respond, with some improvement in post-election optimism in the construction sector. The shares remain significantly undervalued and we raise our price target from 122p to 150p, with 37% EPS recovery prospects and attractive 6.8% dividend creating a compelling mix that should produce share price outperformance.

Companies: Alumasc Group

24 Feb 20

Condititoning

Initiation of our coverage was 16 March 2016 at 101.5p. In February 2018, the price was 215p and it stayed north of £2 for another year. In fiscal 2019, though, Titon weathered a perfect storm most notably in its largest profit earner, South Korea. Titon’s PBT dropped by a fifth and, now, early in fiscal 2020, a profit warning. Titon is a veteran with branded products and core financial strength. It is battening down the hatches and cutting costs (including Hardman & Co). It will prevail.

Companies: Titon

07 Dec 17

Capital Network's Ed Stacey on Morgan Sindall Group PLC

17 Sep 19

ANALYST INTERVIEW: Epwin Group ‘Look compelling’ – Zeus Capital

Premium

22 Mar 19

Henry Boot - 2018 Final Results

17 Sep 19

Epwin Group ‘Look compelling’

Premium

07 Mar 18

Breedon Group - Full-Year Results 2017 Interview

09 Aug 19

INTERVIEW: Epwin Group ‘Valuation Looks Very Compelling’

Premium

30 Nov 17

Capital Network's Ed Stacey on Norcros PLC

09 Aug 19

Epwin Group ‘Valuation Looks Very Compelling’

Premium

11 Mar 20

Breedon Group - Full-Year Results 2019 Interview

25 Jul 19

Breedon Group PLC - Interim Results 2019 Interview

25 Aug 17

Henry Boot - Interim results

25 Jan 19

Capital Goods Value trap – 2019 Outlook

Premium

06 Mar 19

Breedon Group - Full-Year Results 2018 Interview

15 Nov 18

Norcros plc - Half year results for the six months to 30 September 2018

17 Jun 19

T Clarke (CTO) Presentation at Mello May 2019

Latest Content

Epwin Group - Responding to COVID-19

Epwin Group

03 Apr 20
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Norcros - FY20 outturn affected by COVID-19

Norcros

02 Apr 20
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LIBERUM: Volution* - Strong liquidity as furloughing starts

Volution Group

02 Apr 20
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James Halstead*

Solid interims – near term outlook uncertain

James Halstead

31 Mar 20
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LIBERUM: Kier Group - COVID statement highlights essential services

Sites at Kier were paused for a day, but 80% have re-opened. The government is the key customer and is supportive.

Kier Group

30 Mar 20
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Morning Note – 27 March 2020

Alumasc (ALU): Corp | Photo-Me (PHTM): Corp

Alumasc Group Photo-Me International

27 Mar 20
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Cenkos: Brickability Group Plc -- Strategy still in place

Few companies can be better equipped than Brickability to bunker down and withstand almost whatever trading difficulties coronavirus subjects the industry to. In ‘lockdown mode' the group has c£25m to potentially £40m of cash resources and a ‘burn' rate of fixed overhead of no more than £1.5m (gross) per month. It will survive this period and emerge with a strength that enables it to pursue its organic growth strategy (new products, larger customer wallet size and share gains) and make accretive acquisitions (hopefully at cheaper prices to come). Brickability's attractive ‘buy and build' story is only temporarily on hold and long-term investors will not find much better value out there in the sector today.

Brickability Group

26 Mar 20
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Cenkos: Breedon Group Plc -- In good shape

Breedon Group

26 Mar 20
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COVID-19 update

Epwin has announced that it will implement a controlled shut down of its operating facilities for a temporary period in response to the anticipated reduction in demand. FY19 results, that had been scheduled to be released on the 2nd April, will now also be delayed as per guidance from the FCA that has been supported by the QCA. This is in line with many other companies. Epwin benefits from a strong balance sheet that has significant headroom and will come through this difficult period in a strong position relative to competitors that have much weaker balance sheets. Frustratingly trading in the new year had started well and was ahead of budget.

Epwin Group

25 Mar 20
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The Industrial Revelation

US & German manufacturing PMI hits lowest readings since 2009, UK manufacturing PMI heads below 50, BorgWarner expects material financial impact from customer production halts

AVON CGS HAYD HEAD HILS JHD RNO SCPA TWD TRI ZTF SOM GHH