On July 5th2018, GPOR published a trading update for the quarter to 30 June 2018, highlighting another quarter of positive operational activity with healthy leasing, ahead of ERV (Estimated Rental Value), and encouraging occupier interest across the group’s three newly committed development schemes which are already 11% pre-let. GPOR said it continued to attract occupiers, with £4.4m of lettings currently under offer at a 4.4% premium to March 2018 ERVs. CEO Toby Courtauld said that despite the ongoing economic and political uncertainty…”GPE is in great shape with enviable long-term potential: five years of net sales activity gives us unprecedented financial capacity even after returning more than £400m to shareholders; our investment portfolio is well let, off low average rents and we are capturing its reversionary potential; our committed development programme is progressing well; our exceptional income-producing development pipeline offers more than 1.3m sq ft of flexible future growth potential; and we have a first-class team ready to capitalise on our many opportunities.”
On July 16th 2018, BILB published its unaudited accounts for the year ending 31st March 2018. The Group reported a 61% hike in underlying EBITDA to £6.29m, on improved margins and revenues up 23.2% to £78.8m. Basic group EPS rose to 8.61p from a 0.46p loss previously, and a final dividend per share of 2p (2017: 1.5p) was proposed, following an interim dividend of 0.5p. Non-Exec Chairman Sangita Shah said Bilby had delivered a year of excellent progress..”achieving record revenues, profitability and shareholder returns…”We have a clear growth strategy with a dedicated and focused management team to build on the progress we have made in the last financial year and to that end, we look to the future with confidence.”
On July 16th 2018, NTBR announced preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2018. During the year the group completed the acquisition of H Peel & Sons (Holdings) Limited. Turnover from continuing operations rose to £53.6m (2017: £45.6m), with adjusted operating profit from continuing operations up to £3.1m (2017: £2.5m). Adjusted EPS rose to 12.5p from 11.3p, and the group increased the proposed final dividend to 3.0p per share (2017: 2.5p), plus a special dividend of 1.0p per share. Exec Chairman Steve Roberts said he was “delighted to be reporting on another great set of results. With a strong current order book, I am hopeful of another good year to come and would like to thank my fellow Directors and the management teams and staff at all of our companies for the efforts they put into making the Group such a success story. “ “We are pleased to be back on the acquisition trail and will continue to look at opportunities as and when they arise.”
On May 14th2018, CER published interim results for the six months ended 31stMarch 2018. The group reported 6% growth in adjusted EBITDA to £1.6m, an 11% increase in revenues to £8.4m (including a 15% increase in recurring revenues to £2.5m), and growth in back orders to £15.4m (2017: £14.7m). Net cash at 31 March 2018 more than doubled to £2.5m (2017: £1.1m), and the interim dividend was raised by 7% to 1.5p. CEO Louis Hall said the number and quality of the tender processes CER are currently engaged in “is very encouraging at this point in the year, and will underpin continuing progress towards the Company’s financial goals.” “We look forward to the future with confidence and believe that prospects for long term growth remain very positive.” Separately, on May 30th2018, CER announced that it was part of the winning team that secured the “Outstanding Catalyst Business Impact” Award at TM Forum’s 2018 Catalyst Awards at Digital Transformation World 2018 in Nice, France.
UK based Hollywood Bowl Group Plc (BOWL.L) Hollywood Bowl Group is the UK’s largest ten-pin bowling operator, with a portfolio of 59 centres operating across the UK under the Hollywood Bowl, AMF and Bowlplex brands. The Group specialises in operating large, high quality bowling centres, predominantly located in out of town multi-use leisure parks (typically co-located with cinema and casual dining sites) and large retail parks. The centres are designed to offer a complete family entertainment experience with each centre offering at least 12 bowling lanes, on-site dining, licensed bars, and state-of-the-art family games arcades.
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On May 23rd 2018, BOWL announced interim results for the 6 months ending March 31st 2018. The group reported a 17.4% increase in PBT to £14.6m, on revenues up 9.3% at £63.6m. Net debt fell by 46.7% to £7.2m, and BOWL raised the interim dividend by 12.8% to 2.03p. BOWL also noted that spend per game had increased by 5.5% to £9.20. CEO Stephen Burns said the group customer focus, combined with our disciplined capital and cost management, “gives us confidence in delivering another year of progress, and reporting results in line with Board expectations.”
The growth potential within this 10-pin bowling group came to the attention of VectorVest members with a relative value flag as far back as the start of April this year. The RV (Relative Value) rating, an indicator of long-term price appreciation potential logged at 1.42, which is excellent on a scale of 0.0 – 2.0. Other high scoring metrics include a GRT (Earnings Growth Rate) of 27%, which VectorVest also considers excellent. The stock continues to add gains, but even at 232p VectorVest sees more to come, with a valuation of 261p.
The chart of BOWL.L is shown above where the earnings per share (EPS) growth is clear and shown by the blue line study in the window below the price. The share is trending upwards and this trend is defined easily by the blue trendline under the price bars. Over the last month the share has pulled back to this long-term support (which was also an old high) and was aggressively accumulated at this level. This is an extremely positive technical signal.
Summary: To date BOWL management have provided a masterclass in maximising the potential of a niche business. All the group 10-pin bowling sites are leased, keeping centre operating costs and liabilities well under control, while factors such as the increase in profits and growth in spend per game show how management continue to execute an effective strategy to grow the business. With a bullish outlook statement from the CEO, VectorVest backs BOWL management to deliver additional growth throughout the current year. Buy.
Dr David Paul
June 27 2018
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On April 25th2018, W7L announced audited FY results for the year ended 31 Dec 2017. In it’s first full year as an AIM listed company, W7L reported a 15.6% hike in proforma revenues to £31.2m, raised proforma adjusted EPS by 8% to 9.4p and paid a final dividend of 2.6p per share. Subsequently in the AGM statement published on June 12th 2018, Chairman Clive Garston confirmed that the Company continued to trade in line with expectations ..”and that the outlook for the rest of the year is encouraging.” “I am particularly pleased to report that our order book for Christmas sales is ahead of last year, both for W7 and the Retra brands… we look forward to providing a further update at the time of the release of our interim results in September 2018.” In a note published on June 13th2018, well-respected research house Hardman & Co pointed out that the company had made considerable progress since the acquisition of Retra, and was “well positioned to maximise the benefit of the additional assets.”Hardman added: “Warpaint has never made a loss and has a very healthy profit margin; it is also net debt-free, has a much faster growth rate than the colour cosmetics sector, and has a very attractive RoE.”