Alumasc Share Discussion Threads

[pojscott] 25/2/2010 14:57

Up a bit today!

[pojscott] 24/2/2010 15:58

Lets hope your right!

[rathkum] 24/2/2010 12:25

pojscott-I just can't figure this one out. I am suprised the share price has drifted in light of steady buying over the lasr week or so on top of the recent director buying. There is a remote possibility of the final dividend being reduced but still offers a decent yeild. Patience will pay off I am sure in the medium to long term.

[pojscott] 24/2/2010 11:37

rathkum--I bought for div following tip in press. Not much news or comment on this stock??? Do you have any news or updates?

[rathkum] 17/2/2010 12:14

Just bought in this morning more for the yield with growth perhaps a year or so away. Goes xd on 5th March for a 3.25p dividend and if the final is maintained or even if there is a slight cut it still pays more than what the banks are currently paying.

[pojscott] 17/2/2010 11:59

Not much comment on this stock--any news???

[rossco] 02/2/2010 19:19

We will know on Thursday.

[abc125] 31/1/2010 18:52

Yielding 10% but can they hold the divi?

[pojscott] 09/11/2009 14:22

Anyone any thoughts or info on this stock?

[pojscott] 29/10/2009 12:44

This stock tipped as buy Mail --on sunday MIDAS 25/10/09

[old crow] 02/10/2009 15:04

Could be worth a go.


October 2009
0 comments Here's a company offering a yield over 9% IF it can be maintained -- and the company says it can.

It goes without saying that it's not a good time to be a building products supplier. As people and businesses feel fearful about the future, they of course preserve cash, so any non-essential work is deferred. When your house is going up in value by £800 a week, and commercial property is the hottest of sectors, such considerations are mere trifles it seems. Borrow a bit more against it and get the roof sorted out. Not any more.

Massive profit drop
It came as no great surprise, then, that the full-year results to the end of June for FTSE Fledgling constituent Alumasc (LSE: ALU) were disappointing. In fact, the company reported an 82% drop in pre-tax profit as lower construction activity and weak markets hit demand for its specialist products. Turnover fell from £125.8m to £109.1m.

Almost three-quarters of the group's sales come from its building products division made up of nine separate companies around the UK, making products such as solar shades, drainage products and environmentally-friendly roofing. And as you might expect, the last year wasn't a good one as fewer office blocks and the like got built.

Nevertheless, the company told us that revenues were healthy until the final quarter (April-June) and that infrastructure and public sector construction projects remained robust. But the problems caused by lower revenues were compounded by adverse currency exchange movements which caused imported products to be more expensive to the tune of £1.1m. Things were generally worse, pro-rata, for the company's engineering products division

Not all bad
But it wasn't all bad news. What gave investors a lot of cheer was that Alumasc maintained the final dividend despite the massive fall in profits. This is either sheer recklessness (the dividend is barely covered by earnings) or it speaks of confidence in the future. On a glass half full basis, it looks to me like it could be the latter, so for income seekers, Alumasc could be a good bet.

The boss said that holding the dividend at 6.75p, giving a total for the year of 10p (representing a yield of 9.3% at the mid price of 107.5p), showed "great confidence in the company's position to exit the recession strongly". The pay-out is covered only once over by underlying earnings, though diluted earnings per share fell from 20.2p to 2.9p for the year.

Growth areas
Also, the headline fall in profit was worse than the reality. Before impairment charges and restructuring costs the pre-tax profit figure was £5.2m; not a bad performance at all given the UK's economic woes. And Alumasc is positive about its move towards sustainable products, sales of which held up during the year.

Longer term, the company expects environmentally sustainable products and energy-saving building materials to give earnings a sustained boost. Meanwhile, it expects a better year at its precision engineering unit where cost cutting, new management and contract wins with Caterpillar and Aston Martin will help earnings.

The shares have doubled since the turn of the year despite the setback caused by the less than sparkling results. At 107.5p, though, they're still a long way off their highs -- and the group is valued at less than £39m, with net assets of almost £31m. The broker has earnings of 11.7p pencilled in for 2011 and expects the 10p dividend to be maintained.

Income and growth
It'll take a while, but things will pick up for the likes of Alumasc. And this bears the hallmarks of a sensibly run company that is very aware of the needs of its shareholders, as demonstrated by its maintenance of the dividend. This is a rarity indeed these days, particularly in such a small company.

It's far more common in these troubled times for small shareholders in small companies to feel like an unwelcome thorn in the side of directors and large shareholders more intent on feathering their own nests. This is a comfort for Alumasc shareholders who look set to benefit from a combination of income and capital growth over the long term.

[tullynessle] 09/9/2009 11:02

I'm surprised that there is no activity ahead of the ALU's final results tomorrow (Thurs 10th).

[meadow50] 17/8/2009 10:28

see post110

[bryan2] 17/8/2009 08:27

Why the jump today?

[meadow50] 15/8/2009 13:52

tipped by David Schwartz in FT today.His tips often put on 20%,but sometimes slip back thereafter

[oniabsta] 10/7/2009 07:42

THE ALUMASC GROUP PLC

Pre-Close Trading Update


Alumasc (ALU:L), the premium building and engineering products group, expects to announce its results for the year to 30 June 2009 in September 2009. Prior to entering its closed period, Alumasc today issues a trading update.


Alumasc expects its underlying trading results for the year to 30 June 2009 to be broadly in line with management's expectations at the time of our interim management statement in May. During the year, management has responded rapidly to address increasingly challenging market conditions by reducing costs. Actions taken to date are expected to deliver substantial savings of around £6 million on an annualised basis. Non-recurring exceptional restructuring costs associated with these actions have been circa £0.8 million for the year.


These results reflect the continuing strong performance of the group's sustainable building products activities. Moreover, the Board is increasingly confident in the long term future of Alumasc Precision Components ('APC'), the larger of the group's two precision engineering businesses, under its new management team led by Warren Roberts, who joined Alumasc in February from Mahle Powertrain Limited. This view is supported by both longer established customers who are increasingly placing new work with APC and new customers who, in several cases, have also been attracted by the strength of the group's balance sheet. Customer demand since December has been running at a level around 45% down on the prior year, and this has led to an operating loss at APC. In turn, a review of the utilisation of certain assets has been carried out. It is anticipated that it will take some time for demand to recover fully and therefore a decision has been taken to make an exceptional, non-cash, impairment charge at the year end under IAS36. The charge is currently estimated to be in the range £1-2 million.


The group's cash performance has remained resilient, due to the high level of cash generated by the Building Products division, in particular, and also management's tight control over capital expenditure and working capital. Net debt at 30 June 2009 was £10.3 million (30 June 2008: £9.4 million). This represents utilisation of only 52% of the group's committed banking facilities.


The Board believes that, with its leading brands and market positions, the continued careful management of cash resources and its strong balance sheet, Alumasc remains well placed to manage through the rest of the recession, benefit from the opportunities that this will bring and emerge a stronger group when economic conditions improve.

[oniabsta] 16/6/2009 17:53

Some buying on Plus mkts.

[meadow50] 16/6/2009 15:40

why the rise on no volume anybody?

[taylor20] 23/1/2009 10:02

The Jaguar / Land Rover production halt deflating the share price at the moment. Also suspect Austin Martin sales must be pretty slow too.

[mpilot] 07/11/2008 22:11

Got mention by David Schwartz in FT last weekend, as one on his "watch list".

All seems very quiet though, with large spread, and a couple of comments about Pension deficit.

Think it deserves a sit and watch for a while whilst reasearch is undertaken.

[noiseboy] 17/10/2008 09:18

you will be liking that 9.5% divi then!

[hybrasil] 14/10/2008 18:32

still have a lot of these - oh dear.

[taylor20] 21/12/2007 16:05

MM's not wanting to take stock on? Massive swing on, as far as I can make out, paltry volume. I put a limit buy on @ 160p just in case, but well done anyone picking any up at 175p.

After that shocking trading statement, can't blame anyone wanting to sell at this price ?!?!

I guess anything even remotely related to construction/house building is getting hit, but I see ALU as very defensive, given the geographic spread and markets they target.

[hybrasil] 14/9/2007 09:25

Thats the biggest trade (500k) that I have seen since I started following this share