Bond International Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 30/4/2008 11:27

An interesting view from an industry insider:



"Bond Talent are making headway into the corporate market with a solid agency base behind them which could make them interesting for someone like Taleo or Kenexa."

Also:
"The bigger ATS vendors: Taleo, Vurv, Brassring (now Kenexa), Jobpartners and Stepstone are all offering the full Talent Management suite which puts them into the ERP type position; thereby losing some of their BoB proposition potentially making it easier for the likes of Peopleclick and Bond Talent to win based on specialism"

EDIT - ta for the update Stefield.

[stefield] 30/4/2008 11:24

l2, 2 v 1 but still very low volume :(

[rivaldo] 30/4/2008 08:51

According to the Times "the group had secured a five-year deal worth at least £1 million to supply ATS Euromaster, a tyre services provider, across all its European offices":



Hopefully it's a high six figures contract then :o))

[stefield] 30/4/2008 08:50

hopefully this will pull us out of the downward channel
:)

[njp] 30/4/2008 07:23

Yet another win outside the cyclical recruitment sector. How long before people wake up to this? ;-)

[rivaldo] 30/4/2008 07:20

Nice timing stefield :o))

As if by magic to back up my assertions about BDI saving companies money so being more attractive in hard times - and giving recurring income - here's a new contract. And in a new sector too:



"Bond wins 5-year Europe wide contract with ATS Euromaster

Bond International Software, the world's leading provider of staffing software
solutions, today announced that the Company has been chosen by ATS Euromaster,
the largest comprehensive tyre service provider within the UK, to implement Bond Talent online recruitment & talent management software in a European-wide
contract.

The new five-year, six-figure contract is for a fully Bond-hosted recruitment
system which will enable the company to manage its entire recruitment through an online portal. In implementing the software, ATS Euromaster predicts numerous operational benefits, including significant savings in administration costs.

The Bond Talent system will be initially used by 100 staff in the UK head office and over 480 centre managers within the UK. The next phase will see the European roll-out across all of the European branches.

Sigrid Barnes, Group Resourcing Manager for ATS Euromaster, commented:

'We are expecting that the system will free up significant amounts of time for
our managers. From now on, we will be able to process all of our recruits
through one centralized, online portal. We chose Bond International Software
because what the company offered us fitted perfectly with our criteria. We
needed a recruitment system with the ability to go pan-European. Bond were able
to offer us that capability as well as being an extremely cost-effective
solution.'

Tim Richards, Managing Director of Bond International Software, added:

'ATS Euromaster is a great example of the sort of international corporation that has appreciated the significant cost associated with the administration and management of recruitment and talent acquisition. The replacement of their
largely manual systems will allow them to make substantial savings through
efficiency and productivity gains, and aid them operationally, by having clear
visibility of their recruitment position and requirements at any time.'"

[stefield] 29/4/2008 14:25

hi riv
have bought 20k over the last few days. will wait and see what happens for a while. hopefully this is the bottom, but full prepared for it to drop lower as well. very confident it will do well over the next few yrs.

[rivaldo] 28/4/2008 15:42

Is that you then stefield?!

BTW, the acquisitions were more than a year ago and have been integrated succesfully.

As a software company that reduces costs for clients BDI should do pretty well in a recession.

BDI has high recurring revenues and long-term contracts in place with the biggest players in the sector.

It's also diversified away from the recruitment sector if you're ignoring the high recurring income or are worried about that particular sector.

The founder retains a large tranche of shares, and Fidelity subscribed £5m at 220p per share.

Sentiment is important re any share on the market. So if BDI reports a positive outlook in the upcoming AGM this will hopefully prove to be the low.

[stefield] 19/4/2008 07:14

slap,
all good points, but i think this has more than been reflected in the share price already ?
i will be buying some more at these levels

[slapdash] 19/4/2008 00:00

there is nothing necessarily wrong with this company but the simple facts remain:

- It has bought loads of businesses recently which might have been the top of the market. It is not clear that all these disparate businesses can be integrated well.

- As a software company it is higher risk in a downturn and in general due to low amounts of tangible assets and operational gearing

- It has little cash on the balance sheet

- The recruitment sector and HR sectors are in a recession. Bond will be affected and a large part of their turnover is discretionary.

- The last financials weren't too overwhelming with modest changes in EPS due to dilutive placings.

- the founder sold a reasonable amount of stock about a year back.

- On a sentiment basis it is not a great area of the market to be in.

Slap

[williebiz] 18/4/2008 17:24

Bit of the old scoff factor when I said sub 120p a couple months back but look at the chart, FWIW I'd be a buyer now but no funds

[liquid assets] 09/4/2008 11:38

agree it looks cheap and v tempting likewise but slap has a fair point - sentiment aint great and sentiment (in absence of decent volume) means it goes lower. imo will be a time to buy just not sure when...sometime soon....axa would appear to be taking a view prob medium term (as investors) and keep averaging accordingly. all depends on one's investment horizon and whether you want to try and get the ultimate bottom ! still on sidelines myself.

[rivaldo] 08/4/2008 14:10

AXA are buying again - now up to 4.076m shares (12.39%), so they've acquired another 350k shares:

ADVFN competitor.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200804080903228442R.html

Couldn't agree more kruger. Market sentiment may determine whether BDI's share price goes anywhere for a while, but BDI's acquisitions have been spot on in both earnings-enhancing terms and in diversifying BDI away from the very cyclicality which previously made it vulnerable - giving BDI high recurring income at a stroke.

At some point imo either the market or a predator will recognise that strength, especially given that BDI has record order books and is able to make further acquisitions in a nicely timed bear market - and on a P/E of only 7.

[kruger2004] 07/4/2008 14:19

nice one slapdash- talking down the share without a shread of a fact. BDI is a good company with a good spread of businesses- recruitment and hr- and best of all a big slug of recurring revenue. Now trading on a PE for 2008 of less than 7.

[slapdash] 07/4/2008 12:41

as I have previously said chart to me looks like it will go under £1...

You have to consider the perspective of a buyer... would you buy a software company serving the recruitment sector? I doubt it and so with no buyers there will be net selling until this hits bargain basin and value people come in..

also I have been concerned at all these acquisitions at the top of the market..

slap

[rivaldo] 07/4/2008 11:03

AXA have increased to 3.73m shares (11.35%) - they did have 3.67m shares, then reduced a touch, and now now at a bigger holding!



PI's selling now are surely being mugged on a P/E of 7 given the recurring income, diversification, record order books etc. I can understand caution, but still....as a world leader in its niche I'd have thought BDI will be attracting predatory interest at these levels.

[njp] 03/4/2008 09:40

331k at 111p bid. Obviously the MMs have a buyer for that lot. Turning point perhaps?

[napoleon 14th] 31/3/2008 21:52

& by the by.........
the IC's conclusion in today's write up is:

"Bond's shares have fallen prey to the weak sentiment surrounding the recruitment sector. That said, its diversification away from the sector, coupled with clear earnings visibility and a strong order book should provide some positive impetus. Good value.

Last IC View: Good value, 213p, 11 Sep 2007 "

[napoleon 14th] 31/3/2008 21:47

At least 120p looks very solid, unless the markets get even worse - not to be discounted... I'll be patient with the eps as BDI's business building has diluted it for the time being, provoking doubt in some peeps. The share price is cheap enough anyway!

I'm also in RCG, Boady, & it's the same story there & many others too, as we all know.

IMHO these are the times that test PIs & sort out the fair-weather artists from the long term serious investors who, having the required attribute of patience, make the real profits in this game.

When the pendulum swings back to normality................

In the meantime, back to the VSOP!

[rivaldo] 31/3/2008 18:56

Oriel have conservatively kept a Strong Buy on BDI and their forecasts at flat for this year, i.e about 15p EPS I assume - but as they say, the share price is so low that any worst case scenario is already in the price.

I hope any Far Eastern acquisitions are paid for with cash/a little gearing rather than shares. BDI certainly have lots of headroom to do so:



"Mon, 31 Mar, 14:12 GMT

INTERVIEW Bond International Software set for Far East expansion in 2008 - CEO
LONDON (Thomson IM) - Specialist software provider for the international recruitment and human resources industries Bond International Software Plc. is set to expand in the Far East in 2008.

In an interview with Thomson Financial News this morning, chief executive Steve Russell said the resilience of the Far East makes it a key expansion target for the group.

He explained: 'We're always on the look-out for new opportunities and we're looking to expand to the Far East.

'We already have an office in Hong Kong, and we think the economy's held up very well while there's been global turmoil.'

Bond International Software today said its full-year pretax profit rose on higher revenues, adding that trading in the first quarter has been encouraging with a strong order book.

Pretax profit for the year ended December 31, 2007 rose to 5.1 million pounds compared to 4.6 million last year.

Revenue for the year advanced to 29.5 million pounds from 17.2 million in the previous year.

The company declared a dividend of 1.6 pence compared to 1.4 pence a year ago.

Russell said the bumper numbers -- which also show recurring revenue up by 86 pct -- is a results of several years' planning.

He explained: 'We made two major decisions three or four years ago. The first was to increase the percentage of recurring revenue while the other was to move in to the wider human capital management market.

'We changed our existing products and with the acquisition of Gowi Group we diversified somewhat.

'Now all that upheaval is proving good and we're dealing with different companies to before.

'It's not just the recruitment companies now but also the corporates we're dealing with too.'

The group has a 'flagship' 'Adapt' recruitment software applications product, claims Russell, who explained that they provide HR, e-recruitment and payroll solutions for clients.

He said: 'Rather than our sales team just going in and pitching a product to a company, rather they ask about the business and will tailor our software around the specific business.'

Customers include Michael Page International Plc. and Easyjet Plc., but nowadays smaller companies also comprise a fair share of Bond International Software's client base.

Russell explained: 'We do a lot of business with the small companies, whereas 10 years ago we couldn't have got to the bottom-end of the market-place.

'But now we can and the smaller companies are a very profitable area.'

With strong results for the past few years, the question looms of whether the momentum of growth can be sustained.

Noting the group's diversification into the wider human capital management arena through the acquisitions of Gowi and Strictly Education and the good start to the current year, Russell said: 'Obviously no-one knows how 2008's going to go. There may be hard times ahead, so we're being very cautious.

'But we're also optimistic and I think we're as protected as can be against any downturn, due to a combination of things.

'We have a high recurring revenue and we ended the year with an order book at record levels.

'I think we also have support as far as the economies are concerned and in terms of the market place we're in as so far we've not seen any slowdown.'

Oriel Securities today kept a 'buy' rating on Bond International Software, calling the results 'strong'.

But it noted that the shares have already fallen so heavily that they appear to discount any worst-case scenarios.

Reviewing its forecasts, the broker said: 'In light of the financial misery all about we have reined in our estimates and now -- we hope conservatively -- look for flat earnings in 2008 and 10 pct growth in 2009.'

At 11.36 a.m., Bond International Software shares were flat on 120-1/2 pence, but outperforming the FTSE Small Cap index which dropped 11.0 points to 3,021.1.

Russell added: 'I think the share price is very depressed, which means it's probably not a great time to raise capital for further acquisitions just yet.

'But if we see M&A opportunities which make sense we would do it.

'We don't have any specific companies in mind right now, but the human capital management sector is where we're looking to expand within, so we'll see what comes up.'"

[rivaldo] 31/3/2008 12:57

EPS was 14.6p per share, as calculated by the method used by everyone with any sense in the markets to exclude intangible amortisation etc - including analysts, fund managers etc. Which is why adjusted EPS is used for virtually all broker forecasts.

Incidentally, BDI also said "We are pleased with the way these new businesses (me - from a year ago as NJP says!) have bedded into the group and we believe that there are yet further benefits to be gained through cross selling and product rationalisation."

In addition we should find the dollar weakening rapidly, which would benefit BDI nicely.

GHF could well be right, though it's not long till the AGM, so that should give BDI a boost if today's positive outlook continues to be the case.

In summary, I agree with zipstuck and have said before that imo the price has been hit by sellers wanting to take maximum taper relief before 5th April. It may be the case that some of these will come back in, but more to the point I too feel that as a market leader in its sector, with high recurring income etc etc BDI will be an attractive takeover target at these levels. We shall see - hopefully sooner rather than later!

[still waiting] 31/3/2008 12:36

EPS was only 11.66p per share, they can dress it up and adjust for what they like but at the end of the day the acquisitions and dilution have not increased eps.