Small Cap Catch-Up: Recovery, Chaff And More
Make sure this date is in your diary
Saturday 9th March 2024
FRP Advisory Group (LON:FRP) – Exceeding Market Expectations
This specialist business advisory group yesterday released its half-year results to end October this year, and they were excellent.
The group seeks to deliver solutions that create, preserve and recover value, enabling businesses to navigate a broad range of complex situations.
By developing effective strategies tailored to the needs of businesses of all kinds, it specialises in Restructuring, Corporate Finance, Debt, Forensics and Financial Advisory.
The group’s Interims showed a 19% growth in revenues at £58.7m (£49.4m) while adjusted pre-tax profits were 35% ahead at £13.8m (£10.2m), generating a 25% advance in earnings to 4.20p (3.35p) and easily covering a measly 6% increase in dividend to 1.8p (1.7p) per share.
The company has stated that if current activity levels continue it expects to deliver revenue of £123m and adjusted EBITDA of £32m for the full year to end April 2024.
CEO Geoff Rowley stated that:
“Trading to date has been positive and the Board expects to exceed current consensus market expectations for FY 2024.
FRP is well positioned in our core markets, to support corporates through their business cycle and the Board is confident of continued progress.”
Analyst Peter Renton at Cavendish Capital has upgraded his estimates after yesterday’s results.
He is now looking for the group to advance its revenues for the full year to end April to £123.0m (£104.0m), lifting its adjusted pre-tax profits to £27.8m (£24.1m) and its earnings to 8.6p (7.8p) and covering a dividend of 4.8p (4.6p) per share.
Renton has now upped his Price Objective from 165p to 175p for the shares.
The shares closed 7p better at 135p last night.
Tuck some away and Hold.
(Profile 15.02.21 @ 104p set a Target Price of 130p*)
Chemring Group (LON:CHG) – Highest Ever Order Book Level
The final results for the year to end October, for this high technology products group that supplies the aerospace, defence and security markets, were better than anticipated.
Order intake was impressive across the group, with contracts taken in for £541m on its Countermeasures & Energetics side, while Sensors & Information signed for £215m – building up a record intake of £756m.
The actual closing level for the group’s Order Book was a decade-High of £922m.
This really is a ‘class’ company, its shares touched 338p last Friday but dipped to 321p after Monday’s results.
From a low of 259p in mid-October, the group’s shares have enjoyed a recent strong improvement in price.
Last night they closed at 328.50p.
The analyst consensus average Price Objective for the shares is now 380p – showing room for more upside yet.
(Profile 20.06.19 @ 177p set a Target Price of 300p*)
Currys (LON:CURY) – Ready To Spark In 2024?
They have yet to set the market alight, the shares of this electrical goods retailer are taking time to build upon recovery hopes.
The question now is whether its trading times are getting any better?
Perhaps the Interim Results for the six months to end October will be interesting enough to spark some fresh buying in the group’s shares.
After having arranged to sell off its Greek interests, there have been many whispers that the Scandanavian side could be on the selling block too, as the group pulls in its operating activities, giving it much more direct control of its own business.
Just what are the intentions of Mike Ashley and his Frasers Group, currently the biggest holders of its equity, with 12.72%.
The interims tomorrow, Thursday 14th, could make very interesting reading.
The shares closed last night at just 46.20p, valuing the group at around £523m.
(Profile 10.07.23 @ 49p set a Target Price of 61p)
Time Finance (LON:TIME) – Quickly Ticking Away
Hopefully the Trading Update, to be issued by this finance group next Wednesday, will be encouraging enough to garner even further investor interest.
The group’s shares closed last night at 37.25p, after hitting 39.80p earlier this week.
Hold very still, I feel that they really are heading so much higher.
(Profile 23.12.20 @ 21.5p set a Target Price of 30p*)
(Profile 07.01.22 @ 23.5p set a Target Price of 30p*)
Windward (LON:WNWD) – Comfortably In Line With Expectations
Ahead of its 2023 full-year Trading Update being announced in January, this £65m capitalised Tel-Aviv based company, on Monday gave investors a quick note on its performance toward the end of this current year.
Windward’s AI-powered solution allows stakeholders including banks, commodity traders, insurers, and major energy and shipping companies to make real-time, predictive intelligence-driven decisions, providing a 360° view of the maritime ecosystem and its broader impact on safety, security, finance, and business.
Last Monday, as it closes out its 2023 year, it proudly reported ongoing momentum as it continued to win new customers in all the group’s business lines.
Ami Daniel, Co-Founder and CEO of Windward, commented:
“Our teams are delivering great progress across all areas of the business, growing our customer base, expanding with existing customers and innovating at pace. The pressing need for visibility across all facets of the maritime industry continues to drive adoption of our maritime AI platform and we are confident in maintaining momentum through to the end of the year and beyond.”
This still loss-making group is racing toward break-even within the next couple of years, by which time I would expect its shares to have broken back well over the 100p price barrier.
At the current 80p this stock is certainly one of my 2024 ‘specials’.
(Profile 03.04.23 @ 37.5p set a Target Price of 47p*)
H&T Group (LON:HAT) – Jump In For A Few And Take Swift advantage
I am very sorry to see the fallback in the shares of this pawnbroking to jewellery to gold dealing group’s shares subsequent to its Trading Update on Monday.
They have been as low as 390p, some 78p down on last Friday night’s close.
But don’t worry, we have seen such market aberrations before as dealings get overheated, one way or the other.
The message from the announcement was that costs are coming under some pressure going forward.
However, canny investors might use the price dip to their buying advantage.
Despite a gentle scaling-back of analyst estimates for the next couple of years, I am still convinced that this group’s shares are undervalued and will rise way back over the 500p mark.
The shares closed at 396p last night.
A percentage of any spare investment cash now utilised in tucking a few away at these lower levels, could offer some useful early returns.
(Profile 06.07.22 @ 332.5p set a Target Price of 400p*)
Billington Holdings (LON:BILN) – Structurally Safe
They touched 429p on Monday of this week, that was the best that the shares have been since the 2023 peak was achieved in very early May, at 476.20p.
This really is an excellent tuck away for any portfolio and I feel that 2024 will see the group’s stock gaining even more stature.
They finished the day yesterday at only .
Hold very tight.
(Profile 02.04.19 @ 266p set a Target Price of 314.5p*)
(Profile 13.06.22 @ 217.5p set a Target Price of 295p*)
(Asterisks * denote that Target Prices have been achieved since Profile publication)
HAT didn’t issue a trading update on Monday ??