Baqus Group Share Discussion Threads

[masurenguy] 27/4/2011 15:40

Just spotted the delisting announcement. Another tiddler I looked at over a year ago and decided to pass. Good call - I've already got one AIM delister in my portfolio although paradoxically it is doing quite well !

[liarspoker] 27/4/2011 09:48

Yep, still a bit over my target buy price. Just a pity it took a delisting to drop it down so far.

[addict] 27/4/2011 09:40

Another listing about to say byeeeee....

[thearcticfox] 28/2/2011 07:39

-- Revenue GBP3,510,000 (H1 2009: GBP3,845,000)
-- Gross profit GBP893,000 (H1 2009: GBP606,000)
-- Profit before tax GBP120,000 (H1 2009: loss of GBP470,000)
-- Profit after tax GBP86,000 (H1 2009: loss of GBP339,000) --- Basic EPS of 0.08p (H1 2009: loss of 0.3p)

[thearcticfox] 18/2/2011 12:27

Hello...? Anyone left here...? Doesn't seem the most lively thread, thats an understatement. Just bought as the share price rose just before they announced the results date... Hope they're better than expected.

[tonester30ccfc] 04/6/2010 12:13

Listed QS Baqus has issued a profit warning as its public sector contracts dry up in the wake of the election


Clive Sayer, its chief executive, said the group expected to make a £750,000 loss in the year ended 30 June, compared with a previous forecast of a £500,000 loss. Turnover is expected to be £7.4m rather than £7.8m.

It is the first time Baqus, which was founded when three consultancies merged and floated in December 2007, has made a loss.

Sayer said that contracts had dried up since the change of government last month. "The election has made it worse because there's been a moratorium on a lot of things. There has been a distinct slowing down of activity."

He pointed to a slowing of NHS contracts in particular, which had hit the consultancy's involvement in several hospitals and GPs' surgeries.

"Quite a lot of the NHS projects are disappearing or going slow. We have got projects sitting there on the books but clients are soft-pedalling them," he said.

Sayer added that the company made about 60% of its turnover in the public sector, scooping the largest proportion of state contracts from the NHS. It also has contracts in education, social housing and infrastructure.

Sayer said the group was pricing work more aggressively to secure contracts, and that profit margins had fallen, although he declined to say by how much. Margins stood at about 9% this time last year.

Patrick Lineen, Baqus' finance director, said: "Some firms are putting in suicidal bids. We are going in low but not putting in loss-making bids."

Despite the profit warning, Sayer predicted that the company would recover its position in the near future. "We expect to break even in the next financial year, starting in July," he said.

[masurenguy] 29/5/2010 16:30

Looks like a number of us made a good decision not to invest here !
________________________________________________________________

RNS Number : 0533J
Baqus Group PLC
24 March 2010

Interim results for the 6 months ended 31 December 2009

Financial highlights

Revenue £3,845,000 (H1 2008: £3,980,000)

Gross profit £606,000 (H1 2008: £1,131,000)

Loss before tax and exceptional items £347,000 (H1 2008: profit of £365,000)

Exceptional items £123,000 (H1 2008: NIL)

Loss after tax £339,000 (H1 2008: profit of £262,000)

Basic EPS of (0.3)p (H1 2008: 0.23p)

Operational highlights

Cost base reduced by £0.5 million per annum

Order book maintained at £8.0 million (H1 2008: £8.2 million)

Successful integration of Nigel Rose group

Commenting on the results, Clive Sayer, Chief Executive of Baqus Group plc, said: "Although trading in the construction industry remains challenging, the Group's diverse client base spread across both the public and private sectors has enabled Baqus to enter the second half of the current financial year with a steady forward order book.
___________________________

RNS Number : 6884M
Baqus Group PLC
28 May 2010

Trading Update

Baqus Group plc, one of the leading building consultancy and quantity surveying groups, announces the following trading update in advance of its year end on 30 June 2010.

As previously detailed in the Group's interim results on 24 March 2010, trading in the construction industry remains challenging with lead times on certain projects being extended. This slow-down has been increasingly pronounced since the result of the General Election and the continued lack of bank lending for construction schemes.

The Group continues to maintain a tight control over its cost base; however, with this increased slow-down, the Group now expects results for the year ending 30 June 2010 to be below current market expectations. Baqus has a positive cash position and still has access to an undrawn overdraft facility totaling £0.5 million.

Commenting on the trading update, Clive Sayer, Chief Executive of Baqus Group, said: "Trading conditions in the construction industry remain challenging. Our focus remains to move to a break-even position over the next financial year whilst retaining the Group's core expertise and skill base to ensure that we are in a strong position to benefit from any improvement in market conditions."

[masurenguy] 26/2/2010 18:16

RNS Number : 7174H
Baqus Group PLC
26 February 2010
Group's results for the year ending 30 June 2010 are now expected to be below current market expectation. This is in part due to deferred or cancelled projects in the public sector & private sector schemes held up by the reluctance of funders to commit.

Ooops - hardly a surprise in this sector ! Looked at this last autumn but figured they were too illiquid and over valued at around 6p. Price has halved since then but still no compelling valuation here.

[madmadscorpioman] 21/1/2010 10:34

Only 20% of total shares available on open market, list of major investors listed above

[madmadscorpioman] 21/1/2010 10:33

Major Shareholders
Shares in issue: 113.2m 5p Ordinary Shares in Issue, as at Last Close.

Major Shareholders Information Shareholder Amount % Holding
Clive Alexander Sayer* 18,190,054 16.06
S Marsden 16,279,313 14.37
Robert Charles McNeill* 16,279,313 14.37
PM Hurford 9,847,278 8.70
TRM Denley 8,900,581 7.86
Graham George Williams* 6,629,727 5.85
JA West 6,523,177 5.76
Calculus Capital Limited 5,000,000 4.42
Williams De Broe 4,084,000 3.61
PC Hurford 3,637,836 3.21
Director Shareholdings Director Amount % Holding
Patrick James Lineen 1,681,500 1.48

[madmadscorpioman] 07/1/2010 10:54

Your opinion and thanks, i like them and think there is an upsideto 8 or 10p from here, we will see

[tonester30ccfc] 07/1/2010 10:43

Your biggest investment is a £5m market cap company in a distressed marketplace with a market profile that at best can be described as a "second liner"???

This company sits in the "anyone else who knows me category"

Best of luck to you. You are a braver man than me

[madmadscorpioman] 07/1/2010 10:25

It is a company in profit and taking advantage of weaker companies in distress by looking for aquisitions on the cheap, i believe in these and they are my largest investment, conditions will get better history proves that

[tonester30ccfc] 07/1/2010 10:20

Let's see where it goes when the government max'es out its credit card and realises that there is no more money available to invest in the public sector.

With a fragile private sector not prepared to spend, trading conditions are likely to get even tougher in the construction industry 2H2010. Where will that leave BQS???

[madmadscorpioman] 06/1/2010 17:59

Up over 30% from its lows and still seems to be out of everybodies radar

[madmadscorpioman] 18/12/2009 07:53

We shall see, for me companies making a profit and paying a dividend are where i want to be long term, will add more if the price stays low

[tonester30ccfc] 17/12/2009 09:59

The "God of Quantity Surveyors"?????

Where do the likes of Davis Langdon, EC Harris, Gardiner & Theobold, Cyril Sweett, Gleeds, Capita Symonds etc etc etc sit then???

Long road to travel if this outfit is to win market share, particularly in this environment

[madmadscorpioman] 17/12/2009 09:42

Very very quite board, maybe thats a good thing :(

[madmadscorpioman] 20/11/2009 11:53

Very quite board

[madmadscorpioman] 09/11/2009 13:52

These are a bargain at these prices, in profit and paying a dividend with cash on the hip, more aquisitions coming, i can only see growth as this firm and the ecnonomy expands

[cl2201] 27/10/2009 23:53

Same here. I think the drop after issuing the final results was unwarranted. Profit of over 750k GBP and a dividend (albeit small)!! How many small caps can boat that! I'm looking for 6-6.5p short term.

[madmadscorpioman] 27/10/2009 15:20

Not bad results plus a dividend, in for afew ore at these prices

[tonester30ccfc] 26/8/2009 06:37

Why should the departure of Mr Knowles be seen as significant?

The market is still poor, and this company does not appear to be making the inroads into market that the launch document anticipated

[59david] 25/8/2009 22:12

Must be the illiquidity which drove price up so much today with relatively little trading