Avanti Communications Share Discussion Threads

[j777j] 11/7/2013 10:47

Visibility

Company was operating cashflow positive in June


Our KPI reporting has not generated clarity, so in direct response to the question we are asked most often by shareholders, we will now report our backlog, (i.e. order book), for each of the next three years. Backlog for these three periods currently stands at:

FYE June 2014: GBP42m

FYE June 2015: GBP46m

FYE June 2016: GBP40m

We expect orders under framework contracts (not included in backlog), new contracts and possible renewals (of contracts expiring between 2014 and 2016) to increase these numbers

[molatovkid] 11/7/2013 10:34

Rog, you seem a bit obsessed with this Paul Walsh guy?

[j777j] 11/7/2013 10:21

Is that your contribution?

[jojaken] 11/7/2013 09:41

I just hope that Avanti, and DW in particular, learn from this mess and start keeping the the market, and more importantly Avanti long-suffering shareholders better informed. Even if revenue is slow coming in, if you don't talk the talk and keep investors on side they will leave in droves if produce unexpected shocks. Avanti has a good story to tell, but it is taking more time to get up to speed than first thought, but that doesn't mean the story has fundamentally changed.

DW please please reform Investor Relations or I too will lose patience, or at the very least, I will down scale my holdings over the medium term to reflect the increased risk, not in the company but, in the management. Please behave like you want Avanti to be a FTSE company, not like an startup that's just come to AIM

[j777j] 11/7/2013 09:26

They turned cashflow positive in june and have three years earnings visibility.
The only caveat, being revenues might actually end up substantially higher.

[molatovkid] 11/7/2013 09:21

Going great guns this morning....just remember that stellar customer list; Vodafone, Technicolor and CNN. Anyone who can get them around a negotiating table is doing well, never mind committed to a venture. Upwards and onwards....

[woozle1] 11/7/2013 09:17

It's the same old story of jam tomorrow that DW has been peddling for years. I'm giving him the benefit one more trading period. If HYLAS 2 is not generating significant revenues by then, then this company will probably go bust. I bought in at £2.50 as a major discount to NAV and doubled down yesterday at even bigger discount.

[j777j] 11/7/2013 08:27

Regional Growth Fund fourth round winners announced

Last updated: 11th Jul 2013 at 08:16am










Kaleigh Watterson By Kaleigh Watterson , South West Correspondent


Projects and programmes across the region have secured a total of £19m of Regional Growth Fund (RGF) cash from the fourth round of the government's flagship economic stimulus package.

Seven projects and two programmes have been allocated cash in the latest round which is set to create or safeguard 2,300 jobs over the next ten years.

Yeovil-headquartered manufacturer AgustaWestland is one of the selected bidders in the latest round, after also being allocated funding in round three.

The other winners in the latest round comprise of Atlantic Inertial Systems Ltd in Plymouth, Avanti Communications Group in Cornwall, Melksham-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd, Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Ltd in Swindon, Marine Current Turbines Ltd which is based at the Bristol & Bath Science Park, and Trackwise Designs Ltd in Tewkesbury.

Two programme in the region are also to received funding - Plymouth City Council's GAIN Growth Fund Plus and the University of the West of England's Innovation for Growth Programmes.

The sums continually awarded to each bidder as well as details of the projects are set to be revealed when due diligence is completed later this year.

Earlier this year it was revealed the South West had submitted a total of 31 bids applying for £225m of cash in the fourth round.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: "In tough economic times we need successful schemes such as the Regional Growth Fund which has been vital in stimulating private investment that would otherwise not have gone ahead.

"We have already helped more than 2,600 small and medium-sized businesses through RGF programmes and recently announced a further £600m RGF funding to be available from 2015 so that we can continue to support British business and manufacturing.

"We are laying the right foundations for stability and good solid business growth as well as supporting sectors prioritised in the government's industrial strategy – from automotive to oil and gas. Companies and their local economies are seeing the benefits of the Regional Growth Fund, creating jobs for the long term."

Business minister Michael Fallon said: "The quality of applications was very high which is why we increased the pot to over £506m to accommodate even more projects and programmes which will bring sustainable private sector growth and jobs across the country.

"My focus has always been on delivery and the deadlines I introduced have helped speed up the awards process so that companies have more certainty to invest, hire and grow. We will now work with chosen bidders to quickly agree the terms of their offers and complete due diligence checks.

In total £210m has been allocated to the South West in all four rounds of the RGF.


South West City View - news, analysis and features on the region's key cities - click to view the latest from Swindon, Plymouth, Exeter and Cheltenham or from Bath, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

[buywell2] 11/7/2013 08:01

I did post here before that contracts in Africa might be problematic

When is a contract not a contract ?

..... some countries have different definitions of this .... below perhaps expected is too stronger word .... hoped is better

''Revenue guidance for the period included the value of several major contracts in Africa that were expected to close before 30 June 2013 but which are now expected to be completed in the next financial year. At the same time, since the period end, the revenue due from a contract which was signed during the financial year is no longer assured. As a result, revenues for the financial year ended 30 June 2013 are likely to be up to GBP10m below previous market consensus.''




From the disused AVN Yorgi thread


10 Oct'12 - 15:33 - 10945 of 11944 0 0

Yes but now AVN SATS are to satisfy Africa foreseen demand

Which is dubious methinks

[jojaken] 11/7/2013 07:34

Jefferies have the advantage in being able to talk to Avanti though, as management is truely awful at communication.Take it as you will, but they state "Avanti believes the FY13 revenue shortfall is principally a timing issue." And therefore "It remains confident of delivering previously-guided revenue targets of c.£60m in FY14e and c.£90m in FY15e" Having said that trust in management has been shot to pieces. So it's a question of whether you can just Jefferies confidence in management after all this.

[someuwin] 11/7/2013 07:24

Jefferies are the house broker.

[togglebrush] 11/7/2013 06:50

Just a reminder re Broker report

Date____________________Current___Old____New_____Note
'
10-Jul-13 Jefferies Buy 158.75p 640.00p 640.00p Reiteration

[malcolmmm] 11/7/2013 00:11

Sold £18k at £7.20 for a profit after TW kept ramping these with targets around £12-£22 mark, EK is right again, should have shorted them along with other ramps, ASMP etc

[malcolmmm] 10/7/2013 23:55

Sold £18k at £7.20 for a profit after TW kept ramping these with targets around £12-£22 mark, EK is right again, should have shorted them along with other ramps, ASMP etc

[jeffian] 10/7/2013 23:43

There is nothing wrong with debt 'per se', as long as appropriate profits are being generated to service and repay it. The only "KPI's" that Avanti need to concern themselves with are revenues and cashflows.

[rathkum] 10/7/2013 23:36

Eventually their high level of debt will strangle this company

[j777j] 10/7/2013 22:10

[Satellite TODAY 07-10-13] Avanti Communications, the U.K. based satellite operator, has issued a trading update, which indicates revenues for 2013 have fallen "below expectations" as of the end of June 2013. The company said that revenue guidance for the period included the value of several major contracts in Africa that were expected to close before the end of June this year, but are now expected to be completed in the next financial year.



Eric Beaudet, a satellite equity analyst at Natixis Securities, said the trading statement contained both positive and negative elements.



"Overall, the results are below expectations for FY 2013 and this will most likely weigh on the stock today. Full year sales are well below estimates. These could come almost 10 million pounds ($14.90 million) below market consensus - 32 million pounds ($47.68 million) due to delays as the revenue from a big contract that was signed during the year is no longer assured. This contract – and the attached revenue – is now expected to close in FY 2014," he said in a research note.



However, there were still positive elements to the story. "Backlog gives confidence in the future. In order to reassure on its prospects, Avanti gave for the first time gave a detailed view of its backlog, 42 million pounds ($62.58 million) for 2014, 46 million pounds ($68.54 million) for 2015, 40 million pounds ($59.60 million) for 2016, which is a minimum," Beaudet added.



Avanti is set for a busy 12 months. "[Over the next year], a new contract will be added. Secondly, three large contracts are currently under negotiation. Thirdly, contract renewals will be signed and some contracts may be extended. In the end, Avanti therefore reiterates its ambition to reach 610 million pounds ($908.61 million) in sales as soon as June 2014. Nevertheless, recall that this amount of backlog is sufficient to guarantee a positive FCF as group has operating expenditure of approximately30 million pounds ($44.70 million)," Beaudet said.



And Beaudet still retains a bullish outlook on the stock. "The stock should be down today but our investment case on Avanti remains intact. Firstly, the company has just passed break-even and doubled its sales year-on-year, even though this is less than what was targeted. Secondly, we see a big end user market as there are more than 50 million households without any terrestrial broadband solutions in Europe, Middle East & Africa, and total capacity is less than three million total in the industry," he said.



Avanti also revealed that there were many causes for optimism. It called recent sales progress "encouraging," and pointed to signing contracts with major telecoms and media companies including Vodafone, Technicolor and CNN. It has also gained significant traction in the VSAT market and has signed new contracts in the year with Speedcast, TTcomm and Bentley Walker among others.


The company is one of the ambitious new operators in the satellite sector, and the launch of its Hylas 1 and Hylas 2 satellites were some of its key milestones. In an interview with Via Satellite almost two years ago, David Williams, Avanti's CEO, said the operator had highly ambitious plans. "I would say in the next 10 years, there is a very good chance that Avanti could deploy at least half a dozen additional satellites. If we do that successfully, there is no reason why Avanti cannot become one of the most significant public companies in London," he said.

[andy] 10/7/2013 18:43

maybe he's just an all round nice guy?