Synergia Energy Share Discussion Threads

[boadicea] 03/10/2003 17:52

gedy -
In general, people on this board will tend to think SYN is a good share but I don't extend to giving advice, only opinions.
The better buying opportunity was at the beginning of this week when the trading statement disclosed continuing problems in France but was quite encouraging about most else. I added then and have seen it recover since.
The share has some technical resistance levels to overcome before making big progress and will require the fundamentals to pull it through.
I like the management style, remain optimistic and consider it one of my long-term holdings. I have also heard favourable comment from one of its customers.
(See also my post 253 and other posters valued contributions.)

As always, your own research is what you must act on. Good luck.
Boad.

[gedy] 03/10/2003 13:16

I haven't posted here before. I was given the name of this company as a tip a few weeks ago. I passed that tip onto a friend who has noticed the fall in share price (he hasn't invested yet) and would like to know if this is a buying oppertunity? I would be interested in comments as I have seen software companies go down the tubes in the past. I get the impression that this one won't and I would like to say to my friend "OK go ahead". He will do some research of his own, so he's not totally dependant on my "tip".

[chrissey] 02/10/2003 22:02

I'm just about breakeven on this one boad.

Might top up if I'm feeling brave next week.

An IT co. that makes money is a good start?

salut

chrissey

[boadicea] 02/10/2003 18:03

Aberforth and associates appear to have acquired a further 2.3M shares since May bringing their aggregate holdings up to 20.5M (12.6%).

[maut 2] 01/10/2003 00:10

L2 is one on bid two on offer - 5 out of 7 blue and others green.

looks strong

[boadicea] 01/10/2003 00:02

A few small SELLS and the price going UP again!

[boadicea] 30/9/2003 14:36

Thanks, maut, - looks like I may have done the right thing for once.

[boadicea] 30/9/2003 11:28

Topped up this am thinking it may not get much lower in near future - already covering expenses.
...et tu, chrissey?

Large X-trade and looks like could be a T-trade coming. Anyone with level 2 comment?

[boadicea] 30/9/2003 09:32

I'm always more inclined to accept the promise of jam tomorrow when the bread's already buttered. (ref: Fujitsu cash flow from 2005 on, contract in place.)

[maut 2] 30/9/2003 07:54

after the group warned that weakness in the French IT services market would mar an otherwise promising set of full-year results, dealers said. Although the group's UK and European subsidiaries have performed solidly, Synstar warned that a substandard performance from its French division would see full-year profit at the low end of analysts' expectations. Synstar said it is conducting a full operational review of its French operations, the results of which would be published with its preliminary financial figures in early December 2003.

The warning eclipsed the announcement of a meaty seven-year 200m contract with Fujitsu Services, worth an initial 30-40m per annum from April 2005 onwards. Under the terms of the contract, Synstar will provide Fujitsu with logistics service to support the maintenance contracts of Fujitsu's operations in the UK and mainland Europe.

The arrangement encompasses the delivery of computer parts, and the associated capital purchases, strategic planning, bid support, warehousing and distribution. In reaction to this morning's trading update, Arbuthnot cut its forecasts for this current year and next year to reflect the weakness of current trading at its French unit. However, the broker reiterated its 'buy' rating and upped its profits forecasts for 2005 onwards to take into account cashflow from the Fujitsu contract.

[chrissey] 30/9/2003 00:39

Agree boadicea.

A top up opportunity in th low 60's.

Nous verons oui?

xhrissey

[boadicea] 29/9/2003 08:17

So we have a trading and contract anouncement after all.

Initial market reaction looks unkind. Maybe the effective delay in active implemetation of the Fuji contract until 2005 is a contributing factor while any hint of final figures falling short of mid-consensus is taken hard by investors at the moment.
As usual, reaction is possibly being overdone and seems to be assuming SYN is going ex-growth. The only serious problem area is conceded to be France (where have I heard that before?) and the present pull-back may be seen as a good buy/top-up opportunity imho. However, dyor and choose your moment carefully. In particular, watch for institutional activity. Significant drip-selling could drag it down for weeks; equally if they take my view to increase exposure it should soon recover. Bear in mind also general market conditions.

I repeat, dyor. (I hold).

PS. abdab posted while I was writing this!

[abdab] 29/9/2003 08:14

Synstar PLC
29 September 2003
29 September 2003
Synstar Plc
£200m seven-year contract with Fujitsu Services signed
&
Year-end trading update
Synstar plc, ('Synstar' or 'the Company') the pan-European IT services provider,
today announces the signing of a £200 million contract with Fujitsu Services and
provides an update on trading for the year ended 30 September 2003.
Trading update for the year ending 30 September 2003
The second half of the financial year has been characterised by good profit
growth in the company's core UK operations. The majority of Synstar's European
businesses have performed in line with our expectations, with the exception of
France. Our operations in Holland have been performing well and our Spanish
operation has made significant progress in terms of contract wins on which we
expect to build next year. Our businesses in Belgium and Germany have performed
in line with our expectations
Our operations in France - where, as highlighted in our interim results, our
business is under performing - are the subject of a further operational review
and Synstar will report on the outcome of this review at the time of its
preliminary results in early December 2003.
Cash generation for the year is expected to be strong, adding to the £19.2
million in net cash reported as at 31 March 2003.
Synstar expects to be able to report a small year-on-year increase in both
full-year operating profit and earnings. However, the preliminary results for
the year ended 30 September 2003 are expected to be around the low end of market
expectations.
Steve Vaughan, CEO of Synstar said today:
'Our European operations are beginning to respond well to the roll out of the
Group's strategy to sell multiple services to larger clients. In combination
with solid profit growth in our core UK business, this has underpinned a solid
performance for the financial year that is expected to show like-for-like profit
growth. Cash generation remains a strong feature of the Group and the signing
of this very significant, pan-European contract with Fujitsu Services validates
the company's strategy and is expected to be margin enhancing as these revenues
come on stream.
Clearly more robust action is required within our French operations and we will
report on the scope and progress of this in the announcement of our preliminary
results in December.'
£200 million Fujitsu Services contract signed
On 17 June 2003, Synstar announced that it was in advanced negotiations with
Fujitsu Services concerning a material contract. This contract has now been
signed and will be worth approximately £200 million over the course of seven
years.
Synstar will be providing Fujitsu Services with a logistics service to support
the maintenance contracts of Fujitsu's operations in the UK and mainland Europe.
The arrangement encompasses the delivery of computer parts, and the associated
capital purchases, strategic planning, bid support, warehousing and
distribution.
Synstar currently provides logistics services to its own network of UK and
European operations and both companies have established that there are clear
benefits in combining the investment and sharing economies of scale involved in
this activity. The agreement will see Fujitsu Services enhancing its logistics
capability significantly.
The contract will run in two phases. The first 'interim' phase is expected to
run from now until April 2005, which is the conclusion of the contract with the
incumbent supplier. Revenues to Synstar during this phase are not expected to
have any material financial impact on projections for the financial years ended
September 2003 and 2004. The second 'active' phase of the contract is due to
commence in April 2005, and is initially expected to be worth approximately £30
million to £40 million per annum. Synstar expects the contract to be margin
enhancing.
The business was won in a competitive tender with 12 other firms.
Synstar CEO, Steve Vaughan, said: 'This is our first logistics deal and the
largest contract Synstar has ever won. It clearly demonstrates again the
success in winning larger contracts, one of the corner stones of our business'
strategy. This deal will provide significant cost savings for Fujitsu Services
and provides Synstar with the foundation to build one of the most significant IT
services-based logistics operations in Europe. In addition, this contract will
produce a significant improvement in our long term growth and profitability. We
very much hope that in time, we will be able to develop other opportunities that
arise from this increase in our logistics footprint and capability.'
Fujitsu Services Group Commercial Director, Andy MacNaughton said: 'We have been
piloting Synstar's service since January and have been impressed by the dynamic
and flexible service delivery that we have received. This, coupled with the
innovative nature of the commercial deal, made the Synstar offer compelling.'
Ends
For more information, please contact:
Steve Vaughan / Stephen Gleadle / Christine Jones Tel: [phone]
Synstar Plc
Ed Bridges / James Melville-Ross / Juliet Clarke Tel: [phone]
Financial Dynamics
About Synstar:
Synstar International is a pan-European, independent provider of Business
Availability services. Business Availability is a full range of integrated
services and solutions in five principal areas: business continuity, data
management, networking, lifecycle management and computer services.
Synstar has customers in the defence, telecommunications, utilities, banking,
retail, aerospace, public sector, and automotive industries. Synstar has over
3000 employees with operations across Western Europe and is quoted on the London
Stock Exchange (Symbol: SYN).
About Fujitsu Services:
Fujitsu Services is one of the leading IT services companies in Europe, Middle
East and Africa. It has an annual turnover of £1.86 billion (?2.8 billion),
employs 13,100 people and operates in over 20 countries. It designs, builds and
operates IT systems and services for customers in the financial services,
telecom, retail, utilities and government markets. Its core strength is the
delivery of IT infrastructure management and outsourcing across desktop,
networking and data centre environments, together with a full range of related
services, from infrastructure consulting through integrated and deployment.
Headquartered in London, Fujitsu Services is the European-centred IT services
arm of the Fujitsu Group. The Fujitsu Group is US$38 billion (?35 billion)
leader in customer-focused IT systems and services for the global marketplace.
Fujitsu Services website: uk.fujitsu.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

[paulq] 27/9/2003 05:13

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[hari] 27/9/2003 02:00

Ian ,

Is that you?

[boadicea] 26/9/2003 17:04

Last Aegon notification I can find was of 3.29% dated 17.12.02 implying a recent modest increase.

[nuit] 26/9/2003 14:27

CAS Synstar : Holding in company
26-Sep-2003 14:09

The Company received notification on
25 September 2003 from AEGON Asset
Management UK that the AEGON UK Group
of Companies has a notifiable interest
in 6,300,000 ordinary shares (3.88%).

ICV Edited News from Dow Jones
1309 GMT Sep 26 2003

[nuit] 25/9/2003 09:17

mostly you get trading statements only when the market thinks differently to the actual situation and therefore no statement means the company thinks they are in lne with general forecasts. The actual figures will not be known yet but when they are the company masy issue a trading update if they think they are better than expected but assumption is they will not be worse. Some companies use them as a more general means of communication to shareholders but not aware syn thinks this way.

Market is a little tech unfriendly at this time but no reason to assume it will effect syn results

[boadicea] 25/9/2003 08:53

Investors like re-assurance particularly in recent times and its absence will nevertheless be negative on sentiment whether indicative of rather mediocre performance or not. Hence I consider it to be poor PR.
Obviously absence is preferable to a profit warning but the market appears to have been expecting some encouragement and may be suspicious of a break from 'tradition'.

[nuit] 25/9/2003 08:35

They can issue a trading statement at any time - end of year is a few days away but I wouldn't expect a statement unless they were aware of problems. I read this as a good sign

[boadicea] 25/9/2003 08:27

The price performance in the past month has not been encouraging and from the chartist point of view (not being one myself) I suspect that 71p is seen as a critical support level.

On this day in each of the last two years a Trading Statement was issued (i.e. Thursday of week 39). Absence of one this year could be expected to have a further negative effect. I think they have until next Tuesday to issue one before a close period starts. Can anyone confirm?

Next question is - Time to top up or time to get out??

[foxster69] 17/9/2003 14:14

Anyone any idea when Fuji deal will be announced hopefully. Needs some news to kickstart climb again?

[octopus100] 16/9/2003 09:20

Wouldn't worry about it - if the directors have all bought in recently - who do you think has a better idea about where things are going to be in the next 12 months - the directors or Fidelity?

[boadicea] 04/9/2003 21:36

Unless the notifications from FMR/Fidelity are confusing and inconsistent, this represents a further drop of 1.76M shares compared to 28th August when they declared 17.37M shares. It now appears that all the remaining shares are held in the name of Chase Nominees and that the other (non-beneficial) holders - Mellon Bank etc - have all sold out. I'm rather sceptical about this. Have they merely shunted them to other nominees? Can anyone explain?

[angeloflight] 04/9/2003 13:01

CAS Synstar : Holding in company
04-Sep-2003 12:23
FMR Corp. and Fidelity International
have a non-beneficial interest in
15,610,993 (9.61%) shares in the
company.