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Bateman Litwin Investors - BNLN

Share Name	Share Symbol	Market	Stock Type
Bateman Lit	BNLN	London	Ordinary Share

	Price Change	Price Change %	Share Price	Last Trade
	0.00	0.00%	2.90	01:00:00

Open Price	Low Price	High Price	Close Price	Previous Close
			2.90	2.90

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Top Investor Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 04/11/2008 11:08 by barnetpeter Yes as pointed out by investors C last week. Very cheap at this price - not such fun if you bought at the 200p first recommended by IC though! Just look at that order book. The price is 95% down, the directors are buying, the company is buying. Sounds like a fair time to , um, buy to me! Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 24/4/2008 19:19 by stegrego Shares mag Bust-up over Delta-T If you looked at Netherlands-based Bateman, which principally operates in the engineering and construction sub-sector, purely on a PE basis then you might think it represented an attractive investment opportunity. An increasing part of its business revolves around providing proprietary technology in the renewable energy, phosphate and solvent extraction industries. It trades on a lowly eight times' 2008 earnings after receiving a battering for posting less than stellar results for the first six months. However, those results did raise some important questions about the company's strategy.The main black mark being the ill advised investment in the US refinery plant designer and biofuel technology firm Delta-T.The deal resulted in a lawsuit filed by Bateman Litwin against the founders, who were forced out of Delta-T last Autumn. They countered suggestions that they had misrepresented the financial status of the company, suggesting instead that Bateman was acting out of 'buyer's remorse'. Management admitted alongside the results that the market for ethanol in the US would be 'dead' for the rest of the year and it cannot see the picture improving until spring next year. Delta-T could be a significant drag on performance and sentiment in the intervening period. While overall results were still solid the outlook statement lacked the bullish tone adopted by many peers, and the company stressed the impact Delta-T would have on performance in the second half. Given the challenges facing engineering and construction specialists in the sector, in the form of high raw material costs and reliance on overstretched subcontractors, a focused approach will be crucial. Investors may be concerned that Delta T indicates a lack of focus on the part of Bateman's management. Joanna Craig, of house broker Oriel Securities, downgraded the stock to hold in the wake of the disappointing interims. On the other hand Evolution Securities reiterated a buy recommendation and set a 300p price target, saying: 'In our view there could be a strong turnaround story here, starting at a low multiple.' While it is possible that the stock will rebound in the short term, in the long term the level of growth on offer does not match that of its peers. If investors become more selective in the wake of a fall in the oil price then the stock could be punished more than some others. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 27/3/2008 15:14 by mirshahik FT: Bateman Litwin berates share fall By David Blackwell Published: March 27 2008 02:00 \| Last updated: March 27 2008 02:00 Shares in Bateman Litwin fell more than 20 per cent in spite of the engineering contractor's interim revenues and pre-tax profits more than doubling. Shuki Raz, chief executive, described the results as the best yet from the company and added that the market reaction to news that contracts in the ethanol industry would be harder to come by was "a little overdone". The company designs and builds facilities for the oil and gas, power, chemical and renewable energy sectors. The latest results include a four-month contribution from Delta-T, the US builder of biofuel processing plants acquired in July for $45m (£22.5m) in cash and 11.8m new shares. A legal dispute with the vendors over alleged misrepresentation of Delta-T's liabilities and profitability is not expected to be concluded until later this year. However, the company is expecting the 11.8m shares issued conditionally on the acquisition's performance last year to be returned and cancelled. Turnover for the six months to December rose from $197.6m to $444.3m. Pre-tax profits, which benefited from a hedging gain on a Saudi contract, increased from $10.8m to $25.3m. The company said demand for its traditional services remained strong. However, second-half trading was "being affected by the current instability in capital markets", with a likely reduction in new contract awards at Delta-T. Nevertheless, the group's order backlog was 33 per cent ahead at $1.27bn. Earnings per share rose from 11 to 21.4 cents and the interim dividend is increased from 2.3 cents to 3.5 cents. The shares, which were 180p on flotation on Aim less than two years ago, closed down 54p at 178p. Mr Raz, who will be replaced by David Lamont in June, said the company was still planning to move to the full list later this year to broaden the investor base and increase liquidity. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 26/2/2008 20:26 by stegrego Worth a cut and paste i reckon... Bateman Litwin, (BNLN), the specialist engineer, is an interesting situation. This Netherlands-based company (which accounts in US dollars) has seen its shares plunge from near 330p last summer, back to the level around 180p where it floated in May 2006. Bateman serves the oil, gas, power and renewable energy sectors with engineering, procurement and construction services; all of which ought to offer robust prospects if energy demand holds up reasonably well. You can learn more by visiting www.bateman-litwin.com. The overall commercial context is positive. Last November, Bateman declared 2006/07 pre-tax profit up 31% to $20.9 million on revenues up 64% to $444.2 million, with basic earnings-per-share up 20% to 24.2 cents. Besides a six cents dividend, at end-June there was $147.5 million net balance sheet cash. You could hardly ask for a better picture of corporate health. Problems encountered If only a few problems had not appeared, that have jolted investors into viewing Bateman as higher risk than envisaged - just when the market has turned risk averse. This likely explains the de-rating. On 12 December, it was announced that a customer, Agra Industries Inc, had cancelled a contract as a result of instability in the project finance markets - a sign of the wider 'credit crunch'. Although the cancellation will not affect Bateman's profits in the current year (the subsidiary is being fully reimbursed for work to date) it will impact on value over the 18-month contract. Then Bateman dropped a clanger for Christmas. On 24 December, it announced litigation against the vendors of Delta-T Corporation, acquired last July to give the group more exposure to renewable energies. Bateman had agreed to pay $45 million in cash plus 11.8 million shares, conditional on Delta-T's performance, but on getting to grips with the business its financial condition turned out materially different from that represented. A $30 million capital injection is being made, representing about one third of the group's cash reserve. Bateman estimates it will take until May to get a court decision on the matter although it has the company under sound control and expects the $30 million to be repaid in about 18 months. Another issue affecting sentiment is Bateman's involvement in developing the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan. Although Kazakhstan barely represents 10% of the group's order book, and the work is substantially completed, various UK-listed firms doing business there (for example Max Petroleum and Roxi Petroleum) have lately seen their shares pressured as investors fret whether the regime is altogether friendly to foreign investors. Following a series of high-level disputes with oil majors, the Kazakh prime minister has said their contracts will be cancelled if obligations are not respected. To be objective here, any growth company has its setbacks. The challenge is to discern whether these really justify the extent of Bateman's de-rating, when this is otherwise a sound business. 'Bullish pre-close trading' On 22 January, the company issued a bullish pre-close trading update for the six months to end-December 2007, citing revenues of US$ 420 million which would be over twice those achieved in the comparable period. Underlying operating performance has been "comfortably ahead of analyst expectations" and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, net profit for the full year (to end-June) will be ahead of market forecasts (ranging from $31.5 million to $36.5 million). Trading in the current second half year is being supported by strong markets in energy, phosphate and solvent extraction. The overall order book is up from $737 million a year ago to $1.25 billion as high oil prices boost construction of energy facilities. You can expect Bateman to be pulling out the stops, to reassure investors, yet there is a genuine sound basis in the current commercial momentum of oilfield services. The question is for how long this can continue, since the sector is notorious for its volatility. Yet if China and India's economic growth and oil supply problems continue to underpin prices, this could prompt further years of above-average growth. On 31 January, Bateman affirmed "significant progress" resolving Delta-T, which is expected to generate positive working capital from September 2008, now being 'on a much sounder financial footing'. Obviously there is an incentive to re-assure regarding Delta-T, after the humiliation. A new company broker, Oriel Securities, has been appointed to work alongside Credit Suisse Securities, which could help the drive to restore investor confidence. Oriel projects earnings per share of 18p for the current financial year hence the prospective PE is about 11 times. This is similar to the pitch from Evolution Securities, an independent broker arguing Bateman is cheapest share among the engineers and constructors in the oil services sector. Interims for the half year to end-December will be released on 26 March. It is likely that Bateman will be continuing to work to restore investor confidence, and stands a fair chance of doing so given its commercial momentum. In conclusion, the shares look to be cheap in relation to earning power and prospects for the industries involved, unless there is a serious recession. The general sell-off on AIM and investors' de-risking their portfolios has coincided with some unfortunate news from Bateman, but it looks well worth getting to know the company in order to judge the forthcoming interims - likely to be key to the shares' medium-term trend. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 01/2/2008 22:11 by stegrego Moneyweek The one thing the City hates more than bad news is uncertainty, especially in the current climate of fear. Stocks exposed to any sort of risks are being indiscriminately sold-off as fund managers batten down the hatches.That means there are now several companies trading on attractive valuations, which seem to offer good value for money for more adventurous investors. Take Bateman Litwin. It is a specialist engineer based in the Netherlands serving the oil, gas, power, chemical and renewable energy industries. Bateman basically does two things. It provides comprehensive engineering, procurement and construction services; and it develops its own proprietary technologies, such as its patented solvent extraction process. Last week, despite concerns over the health of the global economy, Bateman posted a bullish pre-close trading statement saying that underlying first-half earnings would "significantly exceed City forecasts", with revenues "over twice that of the comparable period". Moreover, second-half trading was said to be in line with expectations, with the order book up to $1.25bn from $737m only 12 months ago. Growth is being driven by the construction of new energy facilities as oil prices push towards $100 a barrel. For instance, the firm recently won contracts for a $120m oil storage site in Morocco, and the design of two ethanol plants in Italy and Hungary. Joint house-broker Oriel is forecasting turnover and underlying EPS of $907m and 18p respectively this year, rising to $1.04bn and 22.3p in 2008/2009.That puts the shares on p/e ratios of 8.4 and 6.8, which looks far too cheap for a company with such a healthy order book. So what's behind the share price's demise from 328p in July to just below the original 180p level at which Bateman floated on Aim in May 2006? Much of the sell-off has been due to fears over its civil action in the US against the previous owners of Delta-T: a business it acquired in August. Under the terms of the deal, Bateman paid $45m plus 11.8 million shares but has since discovered that the "financial condition of Delta-T" was "materially different" from that represented by the owners. Hence substantial damages are being sought.The next risk relates to Bateman's exposure to Kazakhstan, and especially its $530m of fixed-price contracts to develop the Kashagan field which although now 80% complete, still represents around $110m of the orderbook. Eni Spa, the field's operator, has been criticised for delays and cost over-runs by the local government, and as a result has been forced to hand over more control to the state. The danger for Bateman is that greater intervention by Kazakhstani officials could affect its future growth in the country. Finally, as an international contractor, it is also exposed to the usual risks of foreign currency, geopolitical risk and the management of large turn-key projects. But with its markets buoyant, the City's mark-down looks over-done. Interim results are due out on 26 March. Recommendation: SPECULATIVE BUY at 179p (market cap £201m) Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 31/1/2008 13:55 by rampmeister Azalea well done on making quick profit but thought you were more of a buy and hold investor as with ACHL. RM Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 29/1/2008 11:14 by azalea bluefix2 According to the IC, the disclosure failures by Delta-T are sufficiently well evidenced to pursue the Swains in court for $45m plus damages. " Yet all this should make little difference to BNLN earning expectations". City analysts agree. IC - "Ironically, a wider issue wth BNLN shares is that instituional investors cannot get hold of enough shares as the free float on AIM was too small. That may change if BNLN moves to the main market, as Mr Rekem says they will" ! The 2x 50k buys at 10:46 & 48hrs were interesting - clearly looking for the share price to move much higher. If not today, tomorrow could see that happen in the wake of the Feds rate cut. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 09/11/2007 16:52 by surfer2 investors champion note out - very positive on BNLN results echoing my comments - order book , net cash , large increase in revenues ect ect ect Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 24/10/2007 19:09 by surfer2 very quiet BB this , been watching this for the last yr looking for an entry point after i missed getting into Lamprell. winning lots of contracts in stable mkts such as USA and emerging mkts. good earnings visibility , in the oil / gas / ethanol / power sectors . P/E of 13.5 i think , forward peg ratio under 0.5 for 2 yrs out , forecast 50% plus increase in profits for 2 yrs out ,expected dividend increases for next 2 yrs ,35% price pullback from high , Company is established a long time nearly 70 yrs and not new . tipped in moneyweek a good while back . 80 million contract wins in the last few weeks - maybe 5% profit on these would be reasonable or 5 million USD? wakey wakey oil services sector investors , others like PFC are on p/e of 25? all in my humble opinion , dyor , ive picked up some today Read Full Thread Reply

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