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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT Commun. | ATCG | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00% | 3.875 | 01:00:00 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.875 |
| Top Posts |
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Posted at 04/8/2009 08:22 by cocker Within less than 24hrs a buyer found for atcg assets.Oh what a ROTTEN EGG SCENARIO. Why on earth could the board not do the deal & perhaps secure shareholders some cash. |
Posted at 21/7/2009 22:32 by davidosh I wonder what happened to Ian Crawley the FD who bought £1m shares in ATCG then left his job a few months later ? He does not seem to have appeared anywhere else and cannot surely have sold his shares as he was a 3% plus holder and well aware of the rules to notify a sale. |
Posted at 08/6/2009 12:43 by tradertrouble Notready,Recognise you from the RCG thread. Can I get your take on what the current situation is re: the delayed project and also the resignation of the FD. Used to invest in ATCG at 40's level. Also worked for a competitor up until a year ago and I always heard good things, especially about Tupman. Cheers Trader |
Posted at 07/6/2009 15:09 by gyau found on the old vanco thread Dan Gardiner, a Bridgewell analyst, said: "Over the last four and a half years Vanco has reported £20m of profit, but they have consumed nearly £30m of cash." He claims Vanco flatters results by recognising installation revenues upfront that are paid over the life of a contract. This results in a mismatch between reported profitability and cashflow. Vanco directed queries to the house broker Dresdner Kleinwort, which said: "We remain confident about Vanco's long-term cash generation capabilities and the profitability indicated by accrual accounting." Last year - wasnt atcg cash consumptive? Whats happened to vanco? |
Posted at 05/6/2009 14:01 by staymour notready, good luck once again!Is ATCG an ailing business? I think not. Once the directors can re-assure the market that ongoing funding is not an issue then the price should pick up smartly from these levels. |
Posted at 05/6/2009 10:57 by staymour The recent announcement said that sales were a bit behind the curve, so to speak, but new business still being won.They also said that they were beginning the process of better matching staff levels to anticipated revenues, that is slimming the business down to a more appropiate level. Perhaps this slimming down has been somewhat overdue? However what has scared investors into such dumping over the last few days is the worry that because of the project delay they will need to secure an increased level of bank financing and that the banks might be unwilling to accomodate this. Now the banks have been supportive of ATCG for some time and at quite high levels of debt. So has ATCG's business collapsed to the extent that their bankers would view it as an unjustifiable risk? Well according to the recent announcement ATCG's directors feel that the cost reductions together with current trading will help to mitigate the project delay. This being the case the banks should remain supportive. |
Posted at 02/6/2009 08:39 by staymour Can't help thinking that this sad state of affairs we've come to with ATCG is all down to failings of the top management to run the business tightly.Contract win after contract win, solid base for the future, blah blah blah, how many times did we hear that guff? But maybe if this new team are any good and can get a grip on the business then there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Just unfortunate that a major project has been delayed because the market was in no mood to cut ATCG any slack. Oh well let's hope they can report back soon on this project delay. |
Posted at 15/4/2009 07:09 by masurenguy Rocom was clearly an acquisition too far and prior to its disposal net debt was up yet again to £18m. However having disposed of Rocom for £12.45m and written off the remaining Goodwill of £5.9m post y/e they have cleared the decks and are now in a much stronger position to grow their core remaining divisions with net debt down to circa £6.5m. The strong growth in sales and profit contribution from Servassure in particular should provide a solid basis for future growth in both sales and profits..................... RNS Number : 5667Q AT Communications Group Plc 15 April 2009 Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2008 ATC reports strong operating performance in continuing activities and a positive outlook/ AT Communications Group plc, the award-winning supplier of Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") solutions announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2008. Financial highlights: * Group revenue up 11% to GBP98.4m (2007: GBP88.4m). Continuing revenues (post disposal of Rocom) up by 22% to GBP52.9m (2007: GBP43.3m) * Underlying EBITDA up 5% to GBP8.7m (2007: GBP8.3m). Continuing underlying EBITDA up 40% to GBP5.3m (2007: GBP3.8m) * Operating profit before amortisation, impairment, non-recurring expenses and share based payments increased by 3% to GBP8.0m (2007: GBP7.7m). Continuing operating profit increased by 41% to GBP4.8m (2007: GBP3.4m) * Pre-tax profit, before amortisation, impairment, non-recurring expenses and share based payments decreased by 4% to GBP6.0m (2007: GBP6.2m) * Net debt increased to GBP18.1m at 31 December 2008 (2007: 15.0m) * Underlying profit after tax increased by 41% to GBP4.8m before charging GBP5.9m of impairment of intangible assets relating to the disposal of Rocom Ltd * Adjusted EPS decreased to 7.5p (2007: 7.9p) Operational highlights: * Investments in people and service development for our Servassure division during the period resulted in 58% increase in revenues for that division * Success of this strategy evidenced by period contract wins with OGC Buying Solutions and further new maintenance wins with Comet (via BT), IBM, as well as post period end contract wins with BT. * Contract wins during the period include distribution agreements with Amazon, AVAYA and Ericsson, a global IPT roll out with De La Rue and Voice and Data contracts with Carpetright. Post balance sheet events * ATC balance sheet improved though Rocom disposal * Rocom disposal for a consideration of GBP12.45m * Further post period end contract wins include an agreement with BT to expand third part maintenance revenues and a series of IPT Healthcare contracts with four NHS Primary Care Trusts. Commenting on results, Scott Kean, Interim Chief Executive, said: "2008 has been a year of transition in which we have again, despite the economic downturn, achieved organic revenue growth. The disposal of Rocom, post year end has strengthened our balance sheet. It also allows us to refocus on our core divisions and capabilities with a view to continuing to reduce our levels of debt while still growing profitably. Our Servassure division has performed well, achieving 58% growth during the period. Significant new contract secured after the year end reflects the market's confidence in our capabilities, which will further underpin our future success. Despite these challenging times, I am confident of the future prospects for the refocused Group and look forward to updating shareholders with further news in due course." Board strengthened with appointment of New Non-Executive Director and prospective Chairman The Board of AT Communications is delighted to announce the appointment of John Standen as Non-Executive Director and, following Gerry Spencer's announcement today of his intention to step down from the Board at the Company's forthcoming AGM, John will succeed Gerry as Chairman. John (60), spent almost 30 years with Barclays Plc before retiring in 1998 having held a number of senior management positions. His career with Barclays was mostly spent in corporate finance and included being CEO of the Corporate Finance division of BZW. Post 1998, John has developed significant Non-Executive Director experience across a range of sectors and has been involved in some major corporate challenges, such as being Chairman of Reg Vardy plc when it was acquired by Pendragon plc in 2006 for GBP500m. He was also Chairman of Chapelthorpe plc, a mini conglomerate, which reduced its banking indebtedness substantially during his involvement up to 2006. He has held other non-executive roles within a variety of IT, technology and software companies over the last ten years. He is currently Chairman of Xploite plc, an IT data storage business, Stanelco plc, a bio plastics business and a senior non-executive director of Lavendon Group plc Europe's market-leading 'powered access' equipment rental group. Commenting on the appointment, Scott Kean Interim CEO of AT Communications, said: "I am delighted to welcome John to the Board. He brings extensive City experience to the Group and will be invaluable to the management team as we grow our recently restructured business. Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gerry for his significant contribution over the years and wish him the very best for the future." Save as disclosed below there are no additional disclosures to be made in accordance with paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM rules for John Standen. |
Posted at 19/7/2008 10:01 by masurenguy Perplexed by the sudden departure of Ian Crawley after just a year as FD, I had a quick look to see what third party information I could find on ATCG to see if it might provide any insight into this latest development. The most recent comments I could find were a brief GCI comment on a new small cap fund planning to invest in ATCG almost 3 weeks ago and AiW's coverage of the AGM back in April.Both pieces are quite positive although one can never be sure of unforseen events that can subsequently emerge, particularly in this current climate. Anyway, they are reproduced below - I'm sure that there will be some further insight into this sudden and rather unexpected FD change in due course. .................... GCI 30/06/2008: Judith MacKenzie, partner and manager of the forthcoming Acuity Capital Real Active Management (RAM) Fund, is confident that the UK smaller company sector offers attractive investment opportunities. Set for launch at the end of July, the fund will invest in around 25-30 companies, mostly sub-£50 million market cap concerns, with a focus on those that have either fallen from grace or have turnaround potential. MacKenzie believes the fund will take advantage of a 'tipping point' in a cycle now opening up in favour of smaller companies. She points out, 'The situations that we were looking at that were good value and cash-generative about 12 months ago were sitting on price/earnings (p/e) ratios of less than ten times these are now three to four times. 'We are seeing companies with all the right attributes trading at very low valuations. We think it's a good tipping point in the cycle to get involved with these companies.' Having previously been employed as Aberdeen Asset Management's senior investment manager, MacKenzie has a wealth of small-cap experience, which, she argues, sets this fund apart. "Using past experience of private equity means we can look at things in a slightly different way and because we are a petite fund management house, we are more capable of moving quickly. It's also quite difficult to get exposure to small caps in the way that we're doing it, through applying this private equity due-diligence process." Time to call on AT MacKenzie has her eye on £21.6 million telecoms company AT Communications. 'This company has tripped up a couple of times, but has always hit profit forecasts. It was unfortunately caught up in the Torex case a few years back and although it wasn't directly involved, the share price was affected, but it is more or less back on track now. 'This is a company we have known for some time and have done some work on. It is sitting on a p/e of about three times, which is pretty cheap for a company of this size. AT also has a consistent track record, which is very important.' .................... The AiW April 10th AGM report on TMF: Extracts: 1. The presentation was made by Alex Tupman, CEO, and Ian Crawley. AT was in a very colourful shirt. Both Alex and Ian were very welcoming (Ian has a very firm handshake). Ian had to stifle a few yawns, its tough being a FD these days given all the changes to accounting standards, but Alex was very lively, very positive about ATCG's prospects. Ian was also in a very relaxed mood, the atmosphere was friendly, both Alex and Ian were confident and excited about the future prospects of the group. 2. ATCG was a considerably riskier proposition last year compared to the ATCG of today. The message of yesterday is that the three divisions are firing on all cylinders, the business model is the right one. As a result of maintenance and network services being typically three-year contracts, there is good visibility of earnings going forward over 70% of revenues are contracted and recurring. (as in 70% of last year's revenue.) 3. From the presentation: - New bank facilities in place - Net debt reduced by £3.1m in Q4 to £15.4m at year-end - Net debt focus to fall further to c£12m by December 2008 - Restructured business capable of securing global, multi-sited clients: high-margin business - Contracted and recurring revenues over 70% - Board confident of continued growth and future prospects. A few more words on the bank debt: - ATCG very pleased with their relationship with HBOS - The new facility will reduce interest costs going forward - Five-year amortising facility, although there is a significant bullet component. 4. I have seen Alex show signs of extreme frustration in the past when the share price was mentioned, and this was when the share price was above 40p. Yesterday, he just shrugged and smiled. The signs yesterday were positive with regard to the actual business. The dynamics between the CEO and the FD were good, they clearly believe they have done the difficult work, and there was a lot of difficult work to do in 2007. They now can concentrate on the day-to-day issues of driving the company forward. They also very clearly believe that ATCG is one or two steps ahead of the competition, there was quite a lot of discussion about this at the meeting. 5. Today, ATCG seems to be in the position they want to be in. If the smiles on the faces of the CEO & FD are now translated into new contracts, high margins and tight working capital management, we should see a re-rating when the interim results are announced. Complete Post: |
Posted at 10/7/2007 23:32 by masurenguy A really excellent post from Colin (AliceinWonder) from TMF. I've edited out some of the background data, which we are all largely familiar with, in order to both shorten it and to highlight the information that is most pertinent to his view of the trading potential. His content summarises the investment case quite clearly..................... Executive summary Share price 47.5p (46p/49p) Shares in issue 66.2m Market cap £31m (net debt as at 31 December 2006 was approximately £18.5m) I am quite excited about the prospects of ATCG, so Foolish Friends, the best thing for you to do is to jump to the section on negatives ("What I don't like in March"), and if not put off by the negatives, I suggest you invest in some background reading, starting with ATCG's 2006 accounts. From the 2006 accounts. Rocom "Rocom is the distribution arm of the Group. Rocom has two decades of experience in the communications market with distribution efforts focused on voice and data resellers, network services dealers, retail channels and online retailers. Now that Rocom is part of a larger Group, it is the only UK distributor with the ability to distribute IP-based customer premises equipment, hosted IP communications, and in-house network services, all supported by in-house technical services to assist channels and their customers in managing the transition to IP-based solutions. Servassure "Servassure is the services arm of the Group. It is a fully-independent third party service provider to channel partners in the UK ICT market, including ATC Solutions and Rocom. Servassure was formed to provide traditional and IP-based carrier and engineering services with a 100% channel focus; this division does not sell direct to end-users. Instead, the services are packaged for indirect consumption in the following flavours: resale, distribution and wholesale. Group strategy "The Group's strategy is to deliver long-term and sustainable shareholder value and returns by ensuring total market coverage in our sector. The Group's three new divisions operate as independent businesses: this neutrality allows the individual divisions to maximise their performance by reacting to the demands of their own customers and channels; at the same time, the Group leverages its scale and shared resources to ensure best practice at the business division level with elimination of duplicity." Key drivers "The four key drivers of Group strategy are: - Focus on fast-growing, IP-based sectors of the market the migration of end-user customers to IP is an inevitability, and the Group is well-positioned to benefit from this market evolution. - Breadth of coverage the Group can now reach customers directly or indirectly, from 5 to 50,000+ employees, through various routes to market. - Margin-rich managed services creation the Group has significant in-house expertise in all areas of ICT and is increasingly focused on long-term, margin-rich, service-based customer and channel contracts. These recurring revenue streams deliver sustainable value to the Group. - Acquisitions: the Group will continue to monitor market trends and may consider strategic or bolt-on acquisitions. I will summarise what has happened since I wrote my March review. April placing On 2 April, ATCG announced a placing: "5,300,000 ordinary shares of 1p each, have been placed with institutional investors at a price of 37 pence per ordinary share, raising gross proceeds of £1.96 million before expenses. The proceeds of the Placing will be used to pay down debt and provide additional working capital to support the Group's continued growth." April contract On 18 April, ATCG announced "£2.5 million of annualised reseller contracts. ATC's Rocom division will now manage the reseller contracts on behalf of a leading UK-based telecoms operator and carrier. These contracts were migrated to ATC as a result of the Group's ability to provide a broad range of communications technology and solutions. In addition to the enhanced earnings visibility through the existing annual voice services contracts, ATC is now actively working with these customers to cross-sell additional products and services from the Group's broad portfolio under the existing supplier relationship." May contract On 23 May, ATCG announced: the group "has secured a prestigious three-year contract with the retailer FADS, the UK high street decorating specialist, for the provision of SiNET, the Group's hosted IP telephony service. ATC has SiNET trials with several major retail chains and this contract win is the first to have concluded successfully. Other and new trials are continuing. The contract with FADS covers the provision of SiNET, combined with voice minutes, IP trunks and full installation and maintenance services, across 60 sites and FADS' headquarters. The service will be delivered to FADS via a single monthly bill." 2007 AGM The Chairman commented as follows at the 2007 AGM, 24 May: "I am delighted to report that current trading continues to be in line with the Board's expectation. The Group continues to benefit from its strategy to focus on large enterprise customers with significant new contract wins including Nottinghamshire Primary Care Trust and Thistle Hotels. The Nottinghamshire PCT win is a good example of cross-selling; a previous Rocom Corporate customer, the account is now part of ATC Solutions, and the historical trading relationship was a crucial factor behind ATC Solutions winning the IP telephony contract. Thistle Hotels is benefiting from our Servassure service delivery business through its contract with BT." I was lucky enough to attend the 2007 AGM with Carmensfella. Observations: - The board seem to work well as a team. - The non-execs both worked for BT for many years. - The execs are all between the ages of 40 and 45. I was particularly impressed by Richard Carter, who is in charge of Rocom. Alex Tupman, CEO, softly spoken, very focussed. - The board acknowledged that they need to do more to get the message across that they have, in their eyes, a distinctive USP. They were excited about the potential of ATCG. "We have been at the forefront of both the IP technology revolution and the consolidation in the UK market by anticipating changes to the landscape, the Group will continue to be a leading light in the ICT sector." June - Board strengthened Two new appointments: - Ian Crawley (aged 45) appointed as Group Finance Director. - Andrew Parsliffe (aged 52) appointed Commercial Director. Both chartered accountants. Mr Crawley has a very impressive CV: - Most recent position was with Shell International, where he was responsible for major international M&A and project finance transactions. - Prior to Shell: CFO at BT's Openworld division where he played a key role in transforming the business from a loss maker to a profitable UK leading internet service provider. - Earlier in his career he was a Director of Commercial Contracts at BT heading a group responsible for BT's customer and distributor contracts worldwide. - Prior to that, he was joint Head of Corporate Finance with responsibility for BT's M&A transactions worldwide. - Prior to BT: CFO of Interoute Communications Group Ltd, an international telecommunications services provider. - He began his career as a commissioned officer in the Parachute Regiment. - On leaving the Army he trained as an accountant with Deloitte before embarking upon his career in telecommunications with Cable & Wireless. Wow. New FD opens his wallet On the date Mr Crawley's appointment was announced: "The Board of ATC was informed today that Ian Crawley, recently appointed Finance Director, today purchased 1,511,429 Ordinary Shares of 1p each at a price of 38p per share which represents 2.28% of the Issued Ordinary Share Capital of the Company. Mr Crawley held no shares in the Group prior to this purchase." On the assumption that Mr Crawley did some due diligence before agreeing to join ATCG, the share purchase is a very positive message to the market. June contract On 18 June, ATCG announced: "a significant contract win with PC World Direct, a division of Dixons Stores Group International, which is anticipated to generate revenues in the region of £2m over the next 12 months. ATC will advise PC World Direct on achieving the optimal sales mix of telecom products and will be responsible for product supply, direct branded delivery as well as marketing and training. All telecom products will be supported by ATC's inventory management system which will supply the client with a data feed providing instant product pricing and stock information. The contract, secured via the Group's Rocom division, is for an initial 12 months." July contract On 9 July, ATCG announced a significant contract win: "The Board of ATC is pleased to announce that, in addition to its recently extended six year contract with BT to support a wide range of Traditional and IP Telephony systems, it will now include the supply of the Mitel 3300 ICP and SX-2000 range of products. This is a significant announcement for the Group as it is now combining its traditional support role via the Group's Servassure division with complementary product supply to BT via the Group's Rocom division. The inclusion of the Mitel product line together with associated support services is expected to generate revenues in the region of £9m to the Group over the next three years." Expectations Per the ATCG website, the company has helpfully included the following: Profit before tax and goodwill amortisation: 2004 - £0.3m (actual) 2005 - £1.1m (actual) 2006 - £4.6m (actual) 2007 - £6.0m (forecast) Per Digital Look: Turnover: 2007 - £95.7m 2008 - £107.0m Profit before tax: 2007 - £6.3m 2008 - £7.8m Adjusted EPS (before goodwill amortisation): 2007 6.8p 2008 8.6p IF ATCG achieves an adjusted EPS of 6.8p in 2007, the company will be on a PE ratio of marginally less than 7. Working capital Note ATCG achieved in 2006: Turnover: £54m Profit before tax: £4.2m As at 31 December 2006: Stock - £7.3m Debtors - £21.9m Short-term Creditors excluding bank overdraft - £26.6m Working capital requirements - £2.6m The directors intimated that they did not expect net borrowings to fall substantially in 2007 notwithstanding: - Sale and leaseback announced in February, proceeds £3.5m. - Placing in April, gross proceeds £2.0m. The reason being that working capital requirements are likely to increase in 2007, mainly due to turnover almost doubling. Note also that Rocom is a lower margin business compared to ATC Solutions and Servassure, the bulk of the increased turnover coming from the Rocom division. Recapping on what I didn''t like (in March 2007). - Mark Woodridge, ex-FD. - The auditors. - I don't understand what the company does. - ATCG continues to evolve. - Acquisitions remain on the agenda. - The high level of stock. - Debt on the balance sheet. - The recent sale and leaseback. FD I am very happy with the appointment of Mr Ian Crawley as the new FD. Auditors MRI Moores Rowland: I met up with the partner in charge of the audit at the 2007 AGM, he has as clients a number of companies of a similar size to ATCG, seemed 'switched on' for an auditor. I am not punching the air with the delight, but at least we are not talking Baker Tilly. The business I still don't understand the business particularly well, but I like the concept of cross-selling, I like the idea that ATCG is at the forefront of changes in the communications business, not least VoiP, and I like the client list and the relationships with the likes of BT. Acquisitions I doubt if Alex Tupman would turn down the opportunity to purchase a company that would add value to the ATCG business model, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that opportunities do not arise in 2007, or at least until the forecast PE ratio of ATCG is 10+. Stock a bit of a red herring, Rocom is a distributor of comm's equipment, so Rocom means stock. Having said that, I hope stock levels do not become significant compared to turnover. Debt this is my main concern. As long as ATCG continues to generate profits in line with forecast, the company's friendly bank manager should continue to be friendly. With circa £18.5m of net debt, and assuming the 2007 forecast is close to reality, ATCG is expecting to generate £6.3m PBT and goodwill, assuming 30% tax rate, net debt is about 4.4 times operating profits less tax, which is not either particularly high or low. I would be more happy with a ratio of 3, and more nervous with a ratio of 6. Sale and leaseback (and the placing) indicative that ATCG would like to see the debt figure lower. My ideal scenario would be to see ATCG's share price tick up as the market gets more comfortable with the business model. Tempting fate, but if the share price reached 65p+, I would then like to see a placing which materially reduced debt, but hey, I am an accountant. One for all, all for one? Alex Tupman owns 19.3% of the equity Scott Kean, COO, owns 4.3% Ian Crawley, FD, owns 2.3% So I guess management are as keen as shareholders to see the share price tick up. The announcement of a significant contract in each of the last four months indicates that the directors are working hard to achieve that objective. Conclusion The ATCG share price fell when Mark Woodridge departed, and it is only now reaching the giddy heights last seen in the third quarter of 2006, and yet ATCG seems to have achieved so much in the last 12 months. I guess that it will take one or two more 'good news' stories to get the share price motoring. A good start would be a trading update for the first half of 2007. The omens look good (fingers crossed), in particular: - The contract wins indicate that ATCG has a reasonable business model. - The newly appointed FD investing close to £575k in ATCG. Regards, Colin |
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