John Laing Share Discussion Threads

[grahamburn] 04/11/2016 14:45

jonwig. IMO the two statements do not contradict each other. The sale announced today will not be settled in 2016, but in 2017 and as the accounts are made up to the year end, presumably that is where the figure will reside because even though the initial agreement has been made today, completion will not occur until the next financial year.

PS I too had your thought initially, but then thought about it a little harder!

[davr0s] 04/11/2016 08:59

I'm out for the time being - breaking 280 seemed to much a stretch. Still been a decent journey from the 200 level. Good luck to holders - I may be back at some point!

[jonwig] 04/11/2016 07:29

Incidentally, how can it say it's sold something for £131m, then later say:

"John Laing has given guidance for total realisations in 2016 of approximately £100 million ... Year to date, John Laing has achieved realisations of £56 million towards this guidance and is currently working on other disposal processes which, combined with its realisations to date, are capable of meeting its £100m guidance" ...?

[jonwig] 04/11/2016 07:22

This disposal (motorway, Poland) is interesting more for what it doesn't say than for what it does.

On a profits basis, it looks to be sold at 15x earnings, and 0.3x gross assets. But the project appears to carry debt, which (as always) is non-recourse. So net assets will be lower, naturally.

But we don't know the cost except that it's in the equity £10m - 25m range (prospectus) so there ought to be some profit in there!

[jonwig] 21/10/2016 08:01

The presentation is on the website:

[igoe104] 21/10/2016 07:53

Hopefully we will get some interest from yesterday.

john Laing Group plc (John Laing), the international originator, active investor and manager of infrastructure projects, announces that it is holding an analyst and investor morning for institutional investors and analysts in London today.

[igoe104] 13/10/2016 12:12

October 13 (SeeNews) - UK infrastructure company John Laing Group plc (LON:JLG) is
investing in a 29.9-MW wind project in New Mexico in its first venture in the US renewable energy sector.
John Laing said today it is investing USD 20.5 million (EUR 18.6m) in the Sterling wind development in a partnership with project developer Akuo Energy USA Inc, which is a unit of French-based Akuo Energy.
The wind farm, located in Lea County, will feature 13 GE 2.3-116 turbines. It has a 15-year fixed-price power purchase agreement (PPA) with a regional utility and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2017.
In addition to John Laing's equity investment, the construction of the facility will be funded with a loan from BayernLB. That loan will bridge an equity contribution from GE Energy Financial Services.
John Laing recently announced its first investment in an offshore wind farm, the 110.7-MW Nordergruende project in the German North Sea.

[jonwig] 30/9/2016 06:45

IC tipped. Summary:

The shares are trading at a 9 per cent discount to forecast December 2017 NAV and a 17 per cent discount to expectations for the following year. While the prospective dividend yield on offer is not awe inspiring, it is forecast to hit the 4 per cent-mark by 2018. We rate the shares a long-term buy.

[alan@bj] 24/9/2016 08:05

Good interview/write-up on Oliver Brousse in the Business section of today's Times.

[skinny] 21/9/2016 14:39

A new high @275p.

[igoe104] 13/9/2016 11:23

Barclays have upped there price target to £3.15.

[igoe104] 10/9/2016 21:43

John Laing acquires 21.6-MW French wind project.

[igoe104] 08/9/2016 11:19

Looking good now gents, it keeps finding new highs.

[capricious71] 31/8/2016 17:03

Not Laing-uishing anymore.

[capricious71] 31/8/2016 17:03

Not Laing-uishing anymore.

[igoe104] 31/8/2016 08:05

Latest IC comments.


John Laing's gilt-edged valuation boost and state spending hopes

John Laing's gilt-edged valuation boost and state spending hopes
Most sentiment-based business surveys in the immediate wake of the EU referendum can be taken with a pinch of salt, but others warrant closer inspection. Figures from Barbour ABI, a construction consultancy that supplies industry data for the Office for National Statistics, showed a 20 per cent fall-away in the value of infrastructure construction contracts in July - all the more troubling when you consider that contract activity for the general industrial and commercial office construction segments raced ahead during the month.

Industry pundits now expect Theresa May's government to announce new spending plans in the autumn. That's good news for infrastructure specialists like John Laing Group (JLG), though the group's latest set of results since its re-admission as a publicly traded entity suggest it has been faring pretty well anyway. An 8.3 per cent increase in net asset vaue since the year-end was ahead of market expectations, driven in part by favourable currency translations and a 40 basis point reduction in the benchmark discount rate to 9.1 per cent.

The portfolio valuation increased 12 per cent from the year-end to £945m (split equally between primary and secondary investments), on a fair value uplift of £128m. While the fall-away in gilt yields should prove beneficial to valuations through lower benchmark rates, the group's pension deficit - though stable at the half-year mark on an accounting basis - could eventually swell.

You would be hard pressed to identify any Brexit-linked effect on the project pipeline, up 19 per cent to £1.78bn, reflecting a commensurate step-up in potential public private partnerships. Midway through August 2016, the group had either been shortlisted, or achieved preferred bidder status, on seven key new projects. Not only that, but John Laing has just acquired a 30 per cent stake in the Nordergründe offshore wind farm in the German North Sea - its first venture in that segment of the energy market.

HSBC gives respective book value and earnings of 290p and 55.7p a share for the December year-end, against 242p and 26.9p a year earlier.

JOHN LAING (JLG)

ORD PRICE: 241p MARKET VALUE: £882m
TOUCH: 237p-241p 12-MONTH HIGH: 242p LOW: 184p
DIVIDEND YIELD: † 3.0% PE RATIO: 5

NET ASSET VALUE: 263p* NET DEBT: 10%

Half-year to 30 Jun

Turnover (£m)

Pre-tax profit (£m)

Earnings per share (p)

Dividend per share (p)


2015* 64.4 32.6 9.3 1.60
2016 141 108 29.1 1.85
% change +118 +232 +213 +16

Ex-div: 29 Sep

Payment: 28 Oct

*Pro-forma figures as company listed in January 2015. †Includes a special dividend of 2.1p per share paid in May

IC VIEW:

The need to shore up the UK's creaking infrastructure was seen by many as a national priority prior to June's vote, but the practical rationale has now been interlaced with the perceived need to apply the jumper leads to the economy. This certainly augurs well for John Laing, whose shares are now changing hands at just four times forecast earnings: that's too cheap to ignore. Buy

[alan@bj] 26/8/2016 17:04

I also read the Tempus article this morning and didn't entirely agree with it. I think £3 is certainly attainable.

[mfhmfh] 26/8/2016 15:31

Can't argue against Tempus, but the majority opinion (if that counts for anything) is going against The Times.

Olivier Brousse bought around £14,000 worth yesterday and I'm sure he has an idea of futre deals in the pipeline.

[grahamburn] 26/8/2016 12:33

Though Tempus in The Times only rates it a hold for its prospective 3%+ yield (including special dividends). It feels the share price is up with events and is now almost in line with NAV. It also argues that PPP deals in the UK are in decline, though there's still scope for expansion in overseas markets such as Australia which are catching on to the perceived benefits of such deals.

Always interesting to see the spread of views on any share just after a results statement.

Take your pick?!

[mfhmfh] 26/8/2016 11:39

'HSBC today reaffirms its buy investment rating on John Laing Group Plc (LON:JLG) and raised its price target to 315p (from 275p).'

[skinny] 26/8/2016 08:22

HSBC Buy 258.25 275.00 315.00 Reiterates

Barclays Capital Overweight 258.25 270.00 270.00 Reiterates

[alan@bj] 26/8/2016 08:17

Got a push from Investors Chronicle. Their summary states:-
"The need to shore up the UK’s creaking infrastructure was seen by many as a national priority prior to June’s vote, but the practical rationale has now been interlaced with the perceived need to apply the jumper leads to the economy. This certainly augurs well for John Laing, whose shares are now changing hands at just four times forecast earnings: that's too cheap to ignore. Buy."

[mfhmfh] 25/8/2016 19:29

Forward PE of <7 which would fall to <6 based on 2017 expected results. EPS forecast to rise around 35% this year and around 15% in 2017. PEG of 0.2 (2016) and 0.4 (2017). IMHO.