SCVR weekly roundup – Paul & Jack Podcast – 21 Jan 2022
Small caps specialists Paul Scott and Jack Brumby write the long-running Small Cap Value Reports each weekday on Stockopedia.com (subscription required).
Here is our quick-fire weekly summary of small cap trading updates & results statements that we reviewed this week. See below for agenda & times.
NB. This is NOT financial advice, or recommendations! The ethos of Stockopedia is all about doing your own research, and taking responsibility for your own portfolios. Remember that we are not time travellers, so we don’t know what the future share price of any share is going to do!
Companies mentioned below & timings. Share prices & market caps are as at end of week, not on day of announcement.
Mon 17 Jan 2022 –
00:25 – Hostmore (MORE) (Paul holds) £137m – “well ahead” of market expectations. Shares look cheap on forecast EV/EBITDA basis. I interviewed management here.
00:55 – Brighton Pier Group (PIER) £32m – “comfortably in line” with expectations. Looks quite good value if Cenkos forecasts are achieved.
01:25 – Access Intelligence (ACC) £145m – profit warning. Still looks over-priced to Paul.
01:47 – CentralNic (CNIC) (Jack holds) £344m – raised guidance – recurring revenues & cash conversion good. Possible GARP share?
03:03 – H&T (HAT) £118m – pawnbroker – solid results, H2 returned to pre-pandemic level. Quality/income share, but no long-term share price rises – tends to zigzag sideways. So decent divis are main reason to invest.
Tues 18 Jan 2022 –
03:45 – Sanderson Design Group (SDG) (Paul holds) £126m at 177p – raised profit guidance by 13%. Strong turnaround under new CEO. Still looks cheap on a PER basis. Strong balance sheet, with surplus cash.
04:55 – Gattaca (GATC) £29m at 90p – profit warning – big reduction in guidance, to breakeven. Paul now sees this company as uninvestable, as confidence in management & forecasts has gone.
05:23 – Brickability (BRCK) £293m at 98p – ahead of exps – good value. Possible one-off benefit from increased timber prices? Good value.
05:58 – Hotel Chocolat (HOTC) £704m at 513p – marginally ahead exps – Paul likes the company, but shares are expensive. The market is now selling off growth shares, so could be vulnerable to a fall?
06:22 – Blancco Tech (BLTG) £175m at 231p – ahead of exps – but Paul is sceptical – little profit/cash generation in the past, and uses aggressive accounting.
06:50 – Henry Boot (BOOT) £379m 284p – ahead exps – solid, family run property developer. Jack sees steady progression, not fireworks likely here.
07:52 – Anexo (ANX) £174m at 150p – significantly ahead, sustained recovery. Low PER. Jack isn’t keen on the business model. Sounds similar to a smaller version of Redde’s original business.
08:39 – Ramsdens (RFX) £55m at 175p – another pawnbroker – in line with exps update. Jack thinks it could be worth a closer look.
Weds 19 Jan 2022 –
09:28 – Accrol (ACRL) £72m at 22.6p – interim results as expected, after profit warning last week. Lag in passing on higher costs to customers. Paul not keen on business model. Turnaround at some point maybe?
10:10 – BOTB (BOTB) (Paul holds) £40m at 425p – Interim results in line, but outlook was profit warning for H2, due to big rise in cost of online marketing – hidden flaw in the business model that nobody spotted: dependence on Facebook/Instagram, can’t control a key cost – read-across for other eCommerce businesses?
11:27 – PCI-Pal (PCIP) £41m at 62p – Paul’s pick of the day. Strong trading update. Risky, due to patent legal case. But very good organic growth. Still loss-making, but has enough cash.
12:14 – Christie (CTG) £31m at 115p – Strong trading update. Reasonably priced. Worth a look for value investors, mainly for divis.
12:38 – InTheStyle (ITS) £48m at 91p – small fast fashion business – in line trading, but outlook is a profit warning due to supply chain costs, forecasts lowered. Doesn’t appeal to Paul – operating around breakeven in a crowded market.
13:08 – Eve Sleep (EVE) £7m at 2.45p – poor results. Still loss-making, and cash pile has halved. Paul has given up on this, and doesn’t think the business model is likely to work.
13:25 – Midwich (MIDW) – £584m at 658p – profit upgrade – PER 22 times, so not cheap for a distributor. Good momentum. Jack is neutral due to valuation.
14:10 Science in Sport (SIS) – £93m at 68.5p – slight beat on revenue. Still loss-making. Jack quite likes the company’s potential. Cash burning though.
Rest to follow later…