Nakama Share Discussion Threads

[stegrego] 19/11/2012 12:53

Well its a toe, probably a little pinkie, but still...

The Company has been notified that Stefan Ciecierski. Chief Executive Officer, acquired 285,745 ordinary shares in the Company at 1.40 pence per share on Friday 16(th) November 2012.
As a result Mr Ciecierski's beneficial holding in the Company has increased to 13,291,882 ordinary shares representing 11.28 per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company.

[paleje] 19/11/2012 11:23

Hi GHF, yes I can see the numbers up top, could be my mistake in fact must be if you're using their numbers. Never mind their toe, a foot or both legs would be better:)

[glasshalfull] 16/11/2012 17:55

Agree with your thoughts paleje but don't believe these figures have been altered...check the header and they confirm earlier forecasts. Certainly no new broker note released, AFAIA.

I truly believe that they are developing in the right International markets given the digital explosion across a multitude of sectors. Hopefully now that NAK have established a footprint we will begin to hear more about delivery rather than promise or potential.

Management have considerable "skin in the game" but nonetheless it would be encouraging to see the Directors dip their toe in at the current price as a vote of confidence in the future prospects.

Regards,
GHF

[glasshalfull] 15/11/2012 18:00

Well, disappointing news in respect of the fraud uncovered by the company which has overshadowed an otherwise positive update.

My primary concern wasn't the £120k hit but centered on what financial controls do the company have in place to prevent this ever happening again AND the impact to them given that HK was a profitable leg of the company.

I've now spoken with the CEO & fortunately the misappropriation of funds only lasted for a period up to 6-months. Decisive action caught the fraud early, so the company felt it prudent to make a full provision (worst case scenario) & launched a police & private action for recovery. 

IMO the CEO appeared extremely disappointed & frustrated as this fraud has overshadowed the progress & strides made, & he suggested that prior to discovery trading was ahead of forecasts. 

The CEO assures that they have financial controls in place to stop similar elsewhere, they are cash positive operationally while continuing to use incvoice discounting. His priority is to build the cash balances over the next 6 months & concentrate on existing operations.

I asked about the future performance of HK and i'm led to believe that a vigorous selection process is currently ongoing to appoint a manager and that Group management have high hopes of a good performance from this arm during Nov/Dec given their internal data.

The CEO is delighted with client wins across the Group and mentioned that they had won or were developing relationships with worldwide blue-chip clients.

Overall I came away reassured. Clearly they need to ensure no further slip-ups and start delivering as we've now had a year where the potential has been apparent but overall they've issued a series of disappointing RNS announcements since the merger. That said, trading in the recruitment sector is highly cyclical and we've now had 4 years of poor macro conditions that have impacted the sector as a whole & NAK are not immune to these conditions although developing in emerging economies thus mitigating this to a degree.

Market cap £1.5 million will appear v cheap IF they deliver anywhere near that previously promised.

Regards
GHF

[bam bam rubble] 15/11/2012 15:23

Since overpaying for Nakama (£1.3m shares) they've reported an annualised loss of -£0.3m or -£16k after taking out exceptionals. Looks a poor acquisition. The underlying Highams business was cash generative with aggregate £0.9m profit in 30 months to 2011 (£0.35m/yr)

Only £20k gross cash left at end June. Even if 100% of trade receivables/payables are met net cash would only be £0.3m so one bad trading period and solvency becomes in question.

With the likes of Harvey Nash on PE close to 6, this still looks somewhat fully priced. Needs to be doing around £0.25m annual profit to justify the current valuation.

[paleje] 15/11/2012 11:37

Looks like they recruited the wrong man for HK. Sorry couldn't resist that.

The rest of the statement reads well to me so it's a pity but it's a big management gaffe to get over and restore confidence. They seem, other than that, to be doing ok and better than many (ITQ recently reported flagging reading between the lines) so perhaps a bit of an overreaction.

[saucepan] 15/11/2012 08:16

I am out. Thanks for the research, GHF, all the same.

[stegrego] 15/11/2012 08:13

I don't think my week could get any worse....

Well some appear to be selling out at sub 1p, which is a bit extreme IMO.

Not exactly what I was expecting, but these things happen.

[stegrego] 29/9/2012 22:47

Welcome Stefan,

It's highly encouraging to see a CEO that is willing to engage with investors and potential investors alike.

Being what would be commonly described as an 'AIM tiddler' on these boards, means that investor relations are very important. This along with news flow is the life blood of companies such as yours.

Regular news, such as trading updates and publishing of any notes, as GHF states above, would really help your cause. It's very easy for good news to get lost these days and also difficult to keep people's interests piqued.

A higher share price obviously benefits investors and the company alike, should further equity need to be raised as the company grows.

[glasshalfull] 29/9/2012 09:57

You're welcome Stefan. I'm delighted when a CEO acknowledges an investment thread and this will hopefully allow for better dialogue on development.

I'm sure I speak for investors in that we would appreciate updates on trading where possible, perhaps via a trading statement at the end of the interim or full year periods? The RNS announcements such as info on the launch of Nakama Search and Singapore office were welcome & allow for better appreciation of company progress.

Another positive development at many small caps is where they produce any research material or presentations on their web site. See undernoted link in relation to Thalassa as an example. This way both institutional and PIs are on the same page in respect of PTP, EPS & cashflow forecasts, etc.



I see that 167 unique visitors/investors have visited this thread and with regular news flow I'm sure this number will build considerably.

Best wishes for the future...our interests are well aligned!

Kind regards,
GHF

[stef c] 28/9/2012 15:46

Hi,
thanks for all your interest !
And thanks Gordon for setting this up.
As you now I have to be careful what I say.
Its tough out there in the UK at the moment as you know but conditions are much better in APAC.
We are planning more rapid growth in Asia next year, all self funded. We only started there in April last year so having both offices in good nick is a good base to build on. We are eying expansion in egaming,online gambling,digital archiving,digital media and the growing price comparison sector and a number of related ecommerce sectors.
The share price is creeping up.
cheers
Stefan

[attrader] 13/9/2012 13:23

GHF, thanks for the research . Would you know when is the next update ?

[glasshalfull] 13/9/2012 12:51

A few more trades over the last week or so and a tick up on the offer this morning.

As I understand, the recent office opened in Singapore has proven to be a profitable venture, even though it was only established in April 2012. Nakama are currently expanding this operation and have recently opened a further office in Munich, targeting the German financial services sector.

The current group infrastructure is such that they can drive growth without driving up costs.

NAK certainly appear to be operating in something of a sweet spot & hopefully this aligned with cost savings following the Highams & Nakama merger will be reflected in an improvement in earnings this year.

Regards,
GHF

[saucepan] 10/9/2012 14:44

In case anyone else makes the same error as me, posting here, there is now a new thread open for NAK:



Far better to pursue discussion there, I suggest.

[saucepan] 10/9/2012 14:09

Anyone making sense of the huge reported "sells" in the last three trading days?

The share price has not moved, despite these, which seems a bit surprising if there was not something else going on.

[paleje] 07/9/2012 14:45

Nice informative opening Gordon, case sensibly made without ramping.

[stegrego] 06/9/2012 22:57

Superb thread as ever GHF.

[saucepan] 06/9/2012 10:56

"Anybody Interested in Nakama Group?" I see some shrewd investors are, so decided to join you yesterday :-)

[glasshalfull] 10/8/2012 10:26

TechMarketView

Nakama – time to turn theory into practice
Anthony Miller, 08:16, 07 August 2012

After what we tagged a 'best in class' profit warning in February (see Nakama – how to make a profit warning sound like good news), the 'Highams enhanced' digital media and IT staffing firm, Nakama (see Last waltz for Highams as Nakama reverses in), confirmed the bad news in similar style.

Headline revenues jumped by nearly half to £13.3m mainly on the back of Highams, which a year earlier was turning over £9m p.a. (see Highams waltzes on). However, acquisition costs proved more daunting than expected and the combined entity lost money to the tune of £180k net, a performance chairman Ken Ford referred to as 'disappointing'. There will be no 'div' for the foreseeable future.

But on the bright side (and there's always a bright side with Nakama), they are ploughing ahead with their expansion plans, which saw them open an office in Singapore and acquire executive search firm Libby Fisher Associates. Next stop Munich and maybe even China.

As I said before, the Nakama/Highams merger strategy seemed sensible and still does. Now that the combined business has settled down (I assume!), management has to turn the theory into practice.


Regards,
GHF

[glasshalfull] 10/8/2012 09:57

You're welcome steg. I've also picked up a further slug this morning at the same price following the broker upgrade.

Previously £300k was pencilled in for this year but that has now been upgraded by Seymour Pierce to adj PTP of £500k & adj EPS of 0.4p....so these are on a PER 5 in the current year. Seymour Pierce have also now rated the shares as a buy.

Worth mentioning that NAK are opening an office in Munich to capitilise on the buoyant German IT market with net debt reflecting an invoice discount facility given the rise in contractors which have almost quadrupled from what was the previous Highams contractor side.

Regards,
GHF