Waterman Share Discussion Threads

[its the oxman] 28/2/2017 09:38

Bit of a harsh reaction to ok results and a dividend hike.

[cheshire man] 28/2/2017 09:10

Yes ,,,,a good company good management and increasing divi buyers will be back once sentiment alters IMV :-)

[muckshifter] 28/2/2017 09:06

I sold my Waterman shares a few months ago because of my belief that they would struggle a bit with the consequences of brexit, as a result of being a bit too London building centric. Coming back to have a look at their results this morning, I think the results are good but there is a notable hint at exactly that scenario, which may have hit the shares a little.

Good dividend increase though, and a good company, so who knows what happens next?
Regards.

[glaws2] 28/2/2017 08:50

Profits increasing - not to mention the share price :)

[robow] 28/2/2017 08:47

roce improving as well as the dividend-what more could you want

[pj 1] 28/2/2017 08:43

It seems to be lacking market sentiment that's all imran IMO.

Good Company, good Management, could take some time for it to be back in favour though thats the problem, cushioned by the decent dividend. Still one for the patient!

[imranawan] 28/2/2017 08:27

Any thoughts on interims this am?

Looked in-line, but market not impressed.

[jimmywilson612] 24/2/2017 15:26

FYI

hxxps://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/waterman-adds-to-senior-management/

[brummy_git] 16/2/2017 07:31

Arcadis' thoughts today on design/construction of UK commercial property
"Buildings revenues declined due to Brexit related delays in investment decisions, which especially impacted the commercial development sector in and around London."

No great surprise I guess given Waterman's similar cautious comments wrt the market. Bigger question though is what will happen in 2017?

[cheshire man] 09/2/2017 09:06

Someone confident paying 86p for 25000 yesterday !

[brummy_git] 01/2/2017 13:44

Many thanks Norbert - much appreciated.

[norbert colon] 01/2/2017 12:25

Confirmed that the majority are employees or hourly PAYE, however, a proportion are Ltd Co individuals and the mgt are currently discussing how best to mitigate this. The March results will provide further clarity. Thanks for flagging it.

[brummy_git] 01/2/2017 11:04

All Aspen's staff should be employees in the AR - the point is how they pay those staff doing the engineering design work for their public sector clients

[glaws2] 01/2/2017 10:44

According to the annual report most of the Aspen staff are WTM employees.

[brummy_git] 01/2/2017 10:39

Thanks Norbert. Although a few will undoubtedly be employees, I suspect the vast majority are contractors, given the low profit margins Aspen make from the division.

[norbert colon] 01/2/2017 09:43

Brummy. As I understand it, most of the Aspen staff are WTM employees with the same sort of benefits rather than being Ltd co or umbrella co individuals so I'm not sure this is relevant but I will make enquiries.With respect to a growing infra order book I see they are now on a recruitment drive: https://www.watermangroup.com/waterman-recruitment-day-birmingham/?preview=true

[brummy_git] 01/2/2017 08:43

Norbert – one area you may want to think about is Aspen, their long-term engineering staffing division for the public sector. As you may be aware, the new IR35 Intermediaries Legislation is being introduced from April 2017 with the aim of reforming off-payroll working.

If rolled out, then there is a danger that some of Aspen's engineers may have to become government employees, which would probably impact the business.

[norbert colon] 01/2/2017 07:52

Blenny. Guess it would be rude for me not to make at least some comment!I am encouraged by the Trading Statement which clarifies the business is on track for 7.6p EPS for YE 2017. Investors can't ask for more than this given the current climate.What is of more interest is 2018 where EPS is forecast to increase by 25% to 9.5p. This puts the company on a PE of 8 which is very modest. Divi will increase to 4p for 2017 followed by 4.8p for 2018. For me that provides a yield of circa 10% based on my average buying price. With infrastructure spending on the increase as confirmed in the Autumn Statement, Waterman are set to benefit from this. The only fly in the ointment remains ongoing Brexit uncertainty, however, the latest RIBA Future Trends survey for Dec 2016 shows significantly increased confidence amongst architects since Nov 2016 and whilst most of WTM's client are developers etc rather than Architects this bodes well.I see an increasing number of investors chasing growth stocks and jumping from one hot stock to another. Each to their own; personally I am happy that WTM is a relatively low risk investment (for me it's one of 25 ish stocks owned) and whilst there will no doubt be bumps along the way I trust the mgt and will remain a long term holder.

[blenny1] 31/1/2017 15:39

No comments on the trading update? At least they have promised an increased interim divi!

[cheshire man] 27/1/2017 15:51

Good to see buyer's here today pushing the share price up :-)

[mfhmfh] 24/1/2017 22:55

positive article in the IC today. EPS flat this financial year but should pick up nicely for financial year 2018.

[norbert colon] 12/1/2017 16:30

Philip. I think you will find they are all promotions rather than new starters with the exception of Michael Strong the new non-exec announced at the Dec AGM

[glaws2] 12/1/2017 16:18

The WTM twitter feed has been announced 5 senior appointments in the last couple of weeks. They have either got a lot of churn (and I thought they prided themselves on staff retention) or are expanding. Let's hope it is the latter.

[cheshire man] 11/1/2017 12:31

Been buying a few recently,,,,,,,,,all looking positive to me on the run up to the interims :-)

DYOR


Notification of Half Year Results

Waterman Group plc (WTM.L), the engineering and environmental consultancy, will announce its interim results for the six months to 31 December 2016 on 28 February 2017.
09 December 2016



9/12/16

WATERMAN APPOINTS NEW NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Commenting on the Board changes, Michael Baker, Chairman, said:-

"We are delighted to welcome Michael to the Board. His diverse experience brings a breadth of expertise which will be of considerable value to our business."

Waterman Group PLC

09 December 2016


Annual General Meeting Statement and Trading Update

Waterman Group plc ("Waterman" or "the Group"), the engineering and environmental consultancy, will be holding its Annual General Meeting at 10.30am today. Its Chairman, Michael Baker, will make the following statement:

"During the first four months of the current financial year to 31st October 2016, the Group's overall performance was in line with the Board's expectations, with revenue slightly above the prior year period, in part due to beneficial exchange rates. Cash collection has remained strong, supporting the Board's aspiration to maintain a progressive dividend policy increasing the level of dividends payable to shareholders over time.

Over recent months, excellent progress has been made on several projects where Waterman is providing engineering and environmental support to clients during the early phase of development design.

Additionally, It is with great pleasure that I can update you on the following commissions and prospects:

· In November 2016, we announced that Waterman has been appointed to the Ministry of Defence's Army Basing Programme delivered by Aspire Defence to complete, by 2020, 130 new buildings and over 2,600 additional bed spaces for single soldiers at new and enhanced garrison facilities at Bulford, Tidworth, Perham Down and Larkhill across Salisbury Plain and at Aldershot. The value of the construction programme is anticipated to be approximately £680 million and Waterman is involved in over 50% of the works.

· We have been instructed to progress scheme and tender information for the planned 90,000m2 extension to the Brent Cross shopping centre in London for Hammerson and Standard Life. This exciting new development continues our involvement in large retail projects throughout the UK where we have recently been the designers for the 40,000m2 Victoria Gate Centre, Leeds for Hammerson which opened in October 2016 and the 80,000m2 Westgate Centre, Oxford for Land Securities and The Crown Estate which will open in Autumn next year.

· We are pleased to announce that as part of the Priority Schools Building Programme, PSBP2, Waterman has been appointed by Turner & Townsend to provide technical advice for the feasibility studies of each school. Under PSBP2 the Government is aiming to improve and refurbish 278 schools by 2021. Waterman's involvement will be nationwide and cover approximately one quarter of the schools.

· Waterman Aspen, our specialist Highways and Transportation outsourcing business, has welcomed the recent Autumn statement by the UK Government confirming its commitment to invest over £1.3bn to ease congestion on the country's roads. Of particular note is that included within this investment is £1.1bn for the upgrade of local roads. Waterman currently provides engineers on secondment to over fifty County, City and Borough Councils throughout the UK as well as Highways England and Transport for Scotland."

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff and shareholders for their continued support and valued contribution during the last financial year."