Steve Markus
@stevem1.bsky.social
250 followers 87 following 530 posts
Chesterfield UK based Investor, like small caps and general industrials. Fundies based on the whole, like to buy and hold. Background in management consulting and software/database tech across the development and implementation lifecycle.
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GB Group #GBG.L H1 TU reads OK, in line with revenue £135M, well positioned to achieve H2 growth in Americas business. Acquiring DataTools address and data validation in Australia and NZ, for £7.9M, immediately earnings accretive. Well positioned to 'achieve our revenue outlook for full year' inline
Sanderson #SDG.L interims look reasonable, revenue down slightly with profitability flat. Some bright spots with licensing revenue up 6%, net cash £7.8M, brand sales up 5% in first 9 weeks of H2. Confident of meeting expectations for the full year. Slightly more positive than last few statements.
Robert Walters #RWA.L Q3 TU, Asia Pacific (largest sector in terms of net income) saw broad based imprvmnt, UK saw Specialist Recruitment grow by 6%, Europe still difficult. Seeing signs of sustained improvement in select markets but conditions fragile. Net cash £26.6M, to review divi in March 26.
Morgan Advanced Materials #MGAM.L Q3 TU sounds quite gloomy with 'we now expect full year sales to be 4% lower than the prior year' and adj operating profit margin of ~10%, implying a guiding down of expectations but not in any specific way. Meanwhile they are busy buying back shares.
Hollywood #BOWL.L FY TU reads OK (apart from reporting adj EBITDA) with record revenue £250.8M, adj EBITDA in line with expectations, net cash of £15.2M, good growth in Canada 32.9% and 6.4% in the UK. Strong pipeline of new centres, confident in outlook for 2026 and beyond.
That should be Renew subsidiary Escalon acquiring Emerald Power.
Thanks for the correction, need coffee!
Oxford Instruments #OXIG.L H1 TU, warning that full yr revenue and adj operating profit to be similar to last year, quite a big downgrade. Multiple reasons but difficult markets and currency headwinds, particularly on Imaging and Analysis business. Adv Technology remains strong.
Renew Holdings #RNWH.L acquiring Escalon Holdings, specialist in overhead power line maintenance, immediately earnings enhancing, looks like a good fit in a busy area. Initial consideration of £7.8M with further potential £4.5M, looks good.
Treatt #TET.L scheduled FY TU, nothing much changed since their most recent profit warning, with FY25 performance expected to be within range of revised expectations. Conditions still difficult due to high citrus oil prices and low N American confidence. Latest offer of 290p may well succeed.
Aston Martin #AML.L Q3 TU includes 'Revised Outlook' in the title. At least they're upfront about it. Tariffs and macro difficulties mean wholesale volumes down mid-single digits, Valhalla to ship in Q4, later than expected. Outcome is adj EBIT below lower end of consensus, no free cash flow.
Finally... Headlam #HEAD.L oust CEO Chris Payne with immediate effect. High time IMO, he has presided over a continuous decline in the business whilst #LIKE.L have stolen their lunch. Can they recover with different management? Not sure whether it has gone too far.
Advanced #ADVT.L H1 TU looks ok, revenue not less than £25M, adj EBITDA £7M both look like > 50% consensus, double digit increase YoY, continuing to trade inline. Cash and investments £116.1M. Mention increased investment in H2. Continuing to explore acquisition opps, see organic grwth potential.
James Halstead #JHD.L finals show resilience but look like a slight miss on revenue PBT and EPS, still creditable though and include a divi increase for the 49th year running. N America and Malaysia doing well, Europe short term headwinds, expect to make further progress in 2026.
Renew Holdings #RNWH.L FFY TU, record revenues and operating profit, expect to end the year in line with consensus, will have modest net cash, better than expected. Significant flexibility to take advantage of active acquisition pipeline. Record order book underpins confidence for 2026 and beyond.
Billington #BILN.L H1 results look poor even though f/c was for a reduction in EPS, warning on FY25 but apparently FY26 remains in line. Not sure this was communicated well by the company. Commiserations to holders.
Babcock #BAB.L AGM TU, trading encouraging, progress towards medium term targets, full year targets remain unchanged. Macro environment remains supportive.
Impressive volume on GB Group #GBG.L today. And the share price seems to be moving out of the recent doldrums, maybe an overhang from one of the IHT funds has cleared.
Goodwin #GDWN.L TU, cheery.
TT Electronics #TTG.L H1 results claim 'significant progress on operational turnaround' but not apparent from these results. Going to be a step up in profitability in H2, main problems in N America, review Components biz, close Plano site. +ve cash flow, order intake up, claim full yr in line.
Henry Boot #BOOT.L selling their construction business to management for £4M, looks well structured with additional payments due in cases of exceptional performance or disposal. Will be interesting to see the difference it makes to the parent company, valuation wise.
Raspberry Pi #RPI.L H1 results, headlined 'encouraging first half', figures tell a different story with revenue, profit/EPS and cash all down YoY. Gross margin up to 25% (24%). Outlook sounds positive though, expecting a better H2, full year expectations unchanged. Adj EPS 4.76p, FY consensus 12.8p
Wilmington #WIL.L finals read well, growth in revenue, margins and profitability, adj EPS 23.72p looks like a beat (consensus 22.9p). In the process of acquiring Conversia for £105M, quite a mouthful. Recent acquisitions doing well. Outlook vague but good start with revenue/profits in line.
Possibly but I wouldn't pretend to have any significant insight. Perhaps just more profitable owning your sub contractor/partner.
I think more a case of Kainos buying one of their close collaboration partners, not sure it will make a huge difference overall but I have no knowledge of Davis Pier.