Accesso Technology Share Discussion Threads

[smithie6] 17/4/2024 20:32

FCF. 17m$
Hmmmmm

Would need to look at the numbers.
Can easily get confusing with adjusted EBITDA (2,4,7) sorry, ACSO (ex-LoQuo) label it "cash EBITDA"...
...(The only listed company imo that uses such a term).
(Many of us who are getting old, will recall the accounting 'problems'/intriques that LoQuo had......and Globo and....
..we are perhaps a bit cautious about triple adjusted numbers....sure it is subjective, but in many businesses there are one-off negatives every year (& some positives) which arguably should be considered on-going & a normal price of being
In business)


....I remember when people used to use eps ...
;-)
----

But yes, FCF is valid, just needs a bit more concentrating to work out a number one has confidence in.

[bouleversee] 17/4/2024 19:49

And I'm still losing quite a lot on my holding. Have come to the conclusion that being a shareholder is a mug's game these days. We carry all the risk and others get all the benefits. I have more losses than gains in my portfolio at the moment.

[wjccghcc] 17/4/2024 19:25

Not sure you should use PBT as that's still being suppressed by the accelerated amortisation of development capitalisation ($6mm amortised vs $2.8mm capitalised). I make it $3.2mm in SBP vs $20mm in free cash flow so reduces the FCF to $17mm. Gives them an EV/FCF of 17.5 at 600p which looks good value vs the rest of the sector, particularly with EBITDA forecast to grow by 25% next year.

[deanowls] 17/4/2024 18:58

Yea smithie, very little thought given for shareholder returns here.

[smithie6] 17/4/2024 17:42

PBT 9m$. (PAT ~8m$)

Money spent on buying shares for the employee share option plans
4m$

& 2.2m$ for shares bought back & cancelled, a benefit for shareholders.

So, 1/2 of the PAT was spent buying shares for employees !

The cost of share benefits for employees, 4m$, was about double the cost of share benefits to the owners of the company (the shareholders). The shareholders have invested a lot of money to get the company where it is now, with the employees as well. Current cap. value is ~£260m. The employees didn't invest any money to get the co. to this stage & they have been paid every month & one assumes other stuff is paid like social security,/Medicare & some pension payments (or in USA-Canada perhaps they don't get that).

Dividend to shareholders. 0.

Interesting.

-----

Normal cost of share payment to employees is 2.5m$/year, every year.
Costing ~4.8p/share for each share. (Higher at 7.7p/share for 2023)

[mortal1ty] 17/4/2024 16:30

...so $27m cash EBITDA forecast... with a $320m market-cap.

Clearly massively undervalued.

Can't think of many tech companies on nearly a 10% FCF yield.

Management should use that FCF to buyback shares instead of acquisitive growth.

Anyway, starting a position.

Just a small one... because the UK market is woeful and this might stay cheap until someone decides to make a bid.

[rivaldo] 17/4/2024 10:36

Shore Capital also say Buy:



Encouraging new interview with the CEO:

- 5 new wins for the new Freedom platform since Jan 1st alone
- won 28 new venues last year organically
- added 273 new venues from acquisitions, inclusing 50 Canadian ski resorts
- "another strong year ahead"

[rivaldo] 16/4/2024 13:48

Peel Hunt say Buy - their last target price was 1,035p, but the article doesn't say if this has been increased:



"accesso operating in a 'structurally growing industry', says broker
Published: 12:57 16 Apr 2024

Accesso, the ticketing and virtual queuing specialist, trades at a discount to both US SaaS and UK SaaS/IT services peers, says broker Peel Hunt, something that it sees as unwarranted.

Results for 2023 were ahead of indications while, since the end of the year, the company has culled its lower margin B2C distribution business.

Added to the removal of the legacy staffing issues, this will help give a step up to gross margins in the current year.

New client wins across the group have been encouraging while projects such as Saudi Entertainment Ventures (where ACSO is the key provider of ticketing and visitor management technology across 21 destinations) underpin assumptions that it is operating in a structurally growing industry supported by major investment into digitalisation and the tourism and entertainment markets.

“We believe actions made against lower-margin revenue streams help support the future profitability potential and improve the model quality.

While "We continue to see scale opportunities across multiple geographies and sectors.”

'Buy' is Peel Hunt’s investment view.

Shares rose 3% to 580p on a tough day generally in the market."

[rivaldo] 16/4/2024 09:07

Everyone knew that last year was to be one of investment in technology, staff and acquisition integration, whereas today's narrative specifically states that this year will be about improvements in efficiencies and lowering admin costs.

Combined with the guidance for a significant rise in EBITDA I suspect shareholders will benefit rather nicely this year.

It's worth noting that over 84% of all revenues are repeatable, i.e "repeatable where a multi-year agreement exists and purchasing patterns by venue guests do not significantly change, as they did in 2020 as a result of the pandemic".

[deanowls] 16/4/2024 08:00

Is that bought in revenue and profit Riv?

Would like ACSO to become for me a bit shareholder focused, I get the investing for growth but shareholders have seen a decline in returns. Maybe it’s the London market?

[rivaldo] 16/4/2024 07:33

I'm impressed with the update.

EBITDA is ahead of expectations, and 37.5c adjusted EPS and presumably an increase for this year puts ACSO on a cheap rating compared to most of its sector comparators. And even more so when you strip out the $31.5m cash pile.

Most importantly the outlook is very confident. ACSO are guiding a minimum of $160m turnover (up from $149.5m), and a minimum $27.2m cash EBITDA, a lovely 15% up from last year's $23.6m.

The acquisitions have all performed well, and ACSO are global market leaders in a number of areas, incorporating machine learning, mobile solutions etc.

Unless I'm missing something it seems that ACSO are very much back on the up.

[ali47fish] 15/4/2024 09:25

so what can we expect from tomorrow's update

[rivaldo] 03/4/2024 08:30

Here's a transcript of a new interview with the CEO about the contract win:



Extracts:

"securing such a prestigious client not only establishes our presence in the region but also sets a foundation for expanding our operations across the area. This includes staffing and infrastructure development, allowing us to leverage this initial success to explore additional opportunities within the region"

"Our platform will handle all aspects of ticketing and admission, providing seamless access to the venues in various capacities. This includes general entry and individual attraction access. Beyond ticketing, accesso Horizon serves as a comprehensive visitor management and entitlement platform, covering areas like food and retail, enhancing the overall visitor experience by offering an integrated and seamless customer journey"

[rivaldo] 02/4/2024 11:03

Shore Capital very positive about the new Saudi contract:



"Accesso’s Saudi Entertainment deal an ‘exciting opportunity’ - analyst
Published: 14:18 28 Mar 2024 GMT

"accesso Technology Group PLC's (AIM:ACSO, OTC:LOQPF) landmark agreement with Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) ticks all the right boxes for analysts at Shore Capital Markets.

The deal with SEVEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), is “a positive reiteration of the global brand awareness that the acquisition of VGS (accesso Horizon) has added to the group, as well as accesso’s ability to support its clients through complex and multipurpose projects”, the broker said.

Announced in November 2022, SEVEN unveiled plans to introduce 21 cutting-edge entertainment destinations across 14 cities, featuring over 150 attractions, diverse dining outlets, and local and international retail outlets.

accesso will be the key provider of ticketing and visitor management technology for all destinations and sub-venues associated with the project.

“This leaves accesso in a good position to leverage Saudi Arabia’s investment into being a leader in tourism, hospitality, and entertainment,” said Shore Cap.

Shore Cap also mentioned that accesso is making strides in the field of dynamic pricing’.

Dynamic pricing is a strategy where businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market demands, competition, and other factors.

It is “an area which accesso has previously mentioned as a potential opportunity, given its expertise in footfall management and tech-driven solutions”, said analysts.

Accesso stock is a 'buy' at 531p, reckons Shore Cap."

[rivaldo] 28/3/2024 10:14

Yesterday's contract win probably reflects the progress made as reflected in this news from just a couple of weeks ago:



‘Innovative solutions for today and for the future’ as accesso looks forward to year ahead

As the customer experience becomes increasingly immersive, accesso is placing its focus for 2024 on seamless experiences through use of its cutting-edge technologies

Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 12 Mar 2024

s one of the leading global providers of technology solutions aimed at redefining the guest experience, driving increased revenue, streamlining operations, and supporting data-driven business decisions for leisure and entertainment operators, 2024 is a big year for accesso.

This year, the company is eyeing an increase in immersive customer experience operations, with its focus on seamless experiences and cutting-edge technology.

Among its offerings, the recently launched Accesso Freedom restaurant and retail platform has been developed to “redefine the guest experience”. A cloud-native platform Freedom allows venues to seamlessly integrate restaurant and retail operations, supporting mobile food ordering, self-service kiosks, and mobile point-of-sale.

The recent acquisition of VGS adds the Accesso Horizon ticketing and visitor management system to the company’s product portfolio, providing venue operators with a comprehensive solution. Also, the latest version of the Accesso Passport ticketing suite introduces a range of enhancements, streamlining operations and options to enhance the user experience.

etc"

[aimingupward2] 27/3/2024 10:05

Let’s hope that this the start of a long build up in the share price. it really has been rather poor for quite a while for no really justifiable reason.

[rivaldo] 27/3/2024 09:43

Looks like not long to wait for the Saudi project to start delivering - the first guests are expected early next year in Al Hamra:



Al Hamra alone - just one of the 14 cities, 21 destinations and 150 attractions involved - "is expected to attract 6 million visitors per year":

[rivaldo] 27/3/2024 08:42

Today's announcement may have had to be issued as an RNSNON as there isn't a measurable immediate financial impact, but it's still big news.

Saudi Arabia is building "21 cutting-edge entertainment destinations across 14 cities, featuring over 150 attractions, diverse dining outlets, local and international retail outlets".

And ACSO has been appointed as "the key provider of ticketing and visitor management technology for all destinations and sub-venues associated with the project".

Quite a coup. And presumably pretty materially financially rewarding. The only question is how long until fruition:

[davidosh] 25/3/2024 19:16

Dynamic pricing introduced

[supernumerary] 01/3/2024 19:22

Boozey - been drinking? That's really only 1 sale, but done in 2 tranches, and not heavy, but as dictated by the tax bill. One can argue the rights and wrongs of it, but best to start with facts not emotions.

[rich1e] 01/3/2024 18:35

Hopefully dividends will be next if they're looking for a use for any more spare cash in the future. And the less shares in issue the higher divi per share. I'll keep an eye on the investment funds holding shares, they no doubt periodically discuss strategy with the management

[bouleversee] 01/3/2024 18:16

Why do they want to remove more stock from the market? It hasn't increased the share price whereas paying a decent dividend would be more likely to do so. We don't buy shares to put huge amounts in directors' pockets. With rampant inflation and a fixed rate annuity taken out over20 years ago, I need income not losses from my investments.

[boozey] 01/3/2024 17:38

CEO selling heavily this week - twice.

[supernumerary] 01/3/2024 15:33

Well that's the theory, anyway!

Am I the only one who remembers the days when posters whinged about the lack of liquidity here? Not sure why anyone would want to return to that state - a certain amount of liquidity helps to reduce volatility.

From what I've seen, buybacks are usually linked to the terms of directors' bonus schemes eg eps targets, or an absence of more productive uses for the money. Neither is a good sign.

[rich1e] 01/3/2024 15:08

If it goes lower, then that's better for removing more stock from the market, which is the company's current aim. And in the end whatever the sp, the fewer shares outstanding, the greater each one's worth as a portion of the overall value