AT Communications Share Discussion Threads

[hastings] 19/11/2007 13:11

Certainly looks to be a good sign, but the share price still suggests that they won't quite make the numbers.

[dorisken] 19/11/2007 11:55

Well I have bt 2 tranches of this in the last 3 mths attracted in by dirs buying. I am a big fan of following dirs dealings and it is usually a pretty failsafe measure in my experience. Only time when it failed for me was Torex Retail (another software / computer related business where the main man made big and repeated purchases and the business then went under)..... Still tempted to go for another tranche now though on back of latest buying...

[rivaldo] 19/11/2007 09:10

It's getting pretty close to the year end. To buy another 500,000 shares now is either a supreme gesture of confidence or an act of reckless idiocy :o))

As jwe says, the director share purchases are incredibly large sums to invest -there have to be good reasons.

[jwe] 19/11/2007 08:02

Yes another substantial purchase.It had looked for a little while that the 34p offer price was being supported by a large buy order,and yet again itis one of the directors.You must feel that patience here will be well rewarded.You just do not invest these sorts of sums(consistantly) if the company is not doing well

[qs9] 19/11/2007 07:23

Have read all above posts, all well made, however 500k purchase speaks volumes...

[fft] 19/11/2007 07:21

Chairman seems happy enough to buy another 500K, and with his level of his (16.3%) and the FD's holdings, this is definitely looking like a good time to buy.

[jm barrie100] 16/11/2007 13:26

Good spot by Rivaldo.

As a general comment, my problem with ATCG is Rocom, it seems to be dominating on the new news front. Rocom to me means high volume/low margin/big working capital requirements. If this is the case, then ATCG is going to have pull something significant out of the bag to show that working capital requirements for H2 2007 have not resulted in a further increase in debt.

SteMis' comments seem valid - it seems a big ask for ATCG to make market expectations for H2 2007, which includes debt not increasing, profits substantially increasing.

I remain nervous - hopefully 2008 will be a much brighter year for ATCG.

[masurenguy] 16/11/2007 13:11

Post #832 - well spotted Riv !

[recruiter] 16/11/2007 12:51

"Rocom' dedicated Siemens team of 11 include internal and external sales, marketing, technical support and procurement people".

its all good, but with that amount of staff, sales are not exactly going to be in the millions.

why did nt ATCg put this out as an RNS ?

[rivaldo] 16/11/2007 12:43

Now this sounds rather good - note it's "based on the highest volume sales this year".....



"Rocom Reclaims Siemens Distributor of the Year - 16/11/2007
Rocom has won the Siemens Distributor of the Year award, based on the highest volume sales this year. The award was accepted on behalf of the Siemens business unit at Rocom by Operations Director, Alex Lister at the Siemens Partner Conference Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony in Telford last month.

During 2007, Rocom and Siemens partnered on a number of high profile projects that developed key support areas for existing and new resellers, ensuring that they received the best possible service in the channel. In particular, Rocom has increased its reseller specific marketing activity, the most recent being a direct mail campaign with reseller Utilise. Rocom has also taken a 'business partner' approach with its customers to help improve their practices and maximise business operations.

Rocom say the increase in sales is borne from building a team that support each other and work together to support the needs of the growing Siemens reseller base. Rocom's dedicated Siemens team of 11 include internal and external sales, marketing, technical support and procurement people. As we move into 2008, Rocom looks to scale this operation.

Sales Manager Paul Burn said, "We're thrilled that the Siemens award is back in our hands, where it belongs! And it's all down to the team and our capability that truly differentiates us from our competitors. We're fully committed to continuing to deliver this high level of support to all our Siemens resellers, which is going to be even more important in the forthcoming year due to the exciting opportunities that are coming up.

We are currently preparing for the launch of Siemens' latest unified communications solution. The HiPath OpenOffice ME for SMBs is designed to increase productivity and efficiency by enabling them with a variety of communications, collaboration and mobility features.""

[nuttynige] 15/11/2007 13:48

Thers's a little cash to take off that EV. Fair point though.

[stemis] 15/11/2007 13:18

Consequently the current market cap, with the share price at 35.5p, is only £27.5m against forecasted 2007 sales of circa £92m and a PBT of £6.2m.

Market cap may be £26.6m now but if debt is £15m then enterprise value is £41.6m.

Current forecast PBT for 2007 is £6M (which looks to have been recently cut by £0.6m?). Assuming interest at say £1.2m (av £17m at 7%) then EBIT is £7.2m.

So EV is about 8.25 x taxed EBIT.

Personally I would be worried about ATCG making £7.2m EBIT. In H1 they did £2.49m (or £2.99m if you add back to £0.5m 'non recurring' expenses). If they only did £6m for the full year then the rating is 9.9 x taxed EBIT.

Investors (well those that don't hold and are needed to buy for the share price to go up) are clearly concerned about them meeting forecast and their ability to reduce debt. If they do both of those then the shares will go up. If they don't, they won't. It depends which you think is most likely and whether you want to take a risk on the outturn. At the moment, with market (especially towards small caps) so fragile, I don't.

[recruiter] 15/11/2007 12:55

have to admit I really fancy buying more, but with the amnount of stock th ebrokers seem to have, it doesnt seem worth it yet.

A trading statement would be ideal.

[masurenguy] 15/11/2007 09:57

MMs have excess stock. Actual online spread is currently 34.1p/34.5p and the Offer has been reduced by 2p from yesterdays 34/37 spread at the close to 34/35 this morning.

[masurenguy] 15/11/2007 00:47

Yes - based on full year projections the debt is covered nearly 5 x by the projected PAT and the £19.8m debt figure at the half year should decline to at least £15m, after the August placing is taken into account. Consequently the current market cap, with the share price at 35.5p, is only £27.5m against forecasted 2007 sales of circa £92m and a PBT of £6.2m.

The share price has drifted back 25% since the interims largely because the debt was higher than expected. This was principally due to some one off exceptionals and the addition of some 60 new staff. ATC need to deliver on sales, both in H2 and 2008, in order to pay down more of the debt from cashflow and to increase profitability. Since around 65% of current sales are contracted and recurring this would then have a very positive impact on the bottom line in 2008.

[nuttynige] 14/11/2007 16:04

It's becoming a dirty word isn't it? It would be nice to see it reduced, yes, but is it a problem? It's well covered, isn't it?

[jasper28] 14/11/2007 13:29

Richardbees - Debt -
If we see a reduction in debt on the balance sheet, we will see investors.

I personally think, if debt is reduced in this last quarter a buyer will come in.

[richardbees] 12/11/2007 20:14

I fail to understand how atcg refuses to attract investors!

[welsheagle] 12/11/2007 19:34

Gryphon,
That seems to be happening with alot of shares at the moment, but sentiment always changes.

[gryphon2] 12/11/2007 19:17

contracts annoounced and still we have nothng but sellers!

[masurenguy] 12/11/2007 18:08

Where is the 'quick profit' for those who participated in the 48p fund raising ?

[high noon] 12/11/2007 17:20

I suspect there is selling by some of those who participated in the 48p fund raising on the basis of a quick profit.Once they are cleared away,it should begin to motor but may need to wait for next actual results and debt statement before there is a full re-rating.

[masurenguy] 12/11/2007 15:48

Good sign - maybe there is a buyer in the wings :o)

[jwe] 12/11/2007 15:31

But the price has held