Chelford Share Discussion Threads

[tole] 01/9/2005 08:00

Now this is a nice aquisition. The MM must have been shaking recently because they knew this was coming...

[cockneyrebel] 01/9/2005 07:41

looking at the profit this acquisition makes it should add 25%+ to next years earnings imo.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 01/9/2005 07:36

Yep, what a cracking time to get into RFID

I'm holding CAR asnd BVM for the RFID play in them, this is every bit as interesting. My bet is in 12-24 months the whole investment community will be raving/chasing RFID plays.

Significantly earnings enhancing next year - that will boost Charles Stanley's forecast imo

CR

[baughfell] 01/9/2005 07:19

A good time to get into RFID and it looks a decent price for a profitable company especially one with cash of half a mill

[aspex] 01/9/2005 07:15

Quote:
We expect Agility to be earnings neutral in 2005 and
significantly earnings enhancing in 2006.'

[aspex] 01/9/2005 07:14

Woweee!


Chelford Group PLC
01 September 2005

CHELFORD GROUP PLC

ACQUISITION OF AGILITY SYSTEMS FOR UP TO £3.8M



Chelford Group plc ('Chelford'), the IT supply chain software/services and SAP
solutions Group, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Agility Systems
Limited ('Agility') for a maximum consideration of up to £3.8 million.



Agility is an IT software and services business which specialises in Supply
Chain execution and Warehouse Management systems integrating to ERP systems,
including GEAC, J D Edwards and SSA within the consumer packaged goods and
transport and logistics markets. Agility customers include Exel Logistics,
Morphy Richards, Sara Lee, Courtaulds and BAE Aerospace.



Agility has developed a significant capability in RF (radio frequency) data
capture systems and in RFID applications (radio frequency identification),
particularly within asset tracking and supply chain applications. Agility is a
Premier Honours Partner of Intermec, the leading RF and RFID hardware
manufacturer, and was Intermec's first RFID approved partner in the UK. A new
subsidiary, RFID Solution Centre Limited, has been formed to develop the
potential of Agility's RFID consultancy services and integration software. The
first RFID order has been received from GeoPost, the express parcels delivery
service. Agility employs 23 staff in its Darlington offices. Kevin McDaid,
Managing Director of Agility, will remain with the enlarged Group.



Agility's business complements Chelford's existing SSI and SAP Divisions and
adds additional supply chain execution and warehouse management systems and RFID
capabilities to the Group's existing product and service portfolio. In
particular, there is potential to develop Agility's RFID activities and the
Intermec relationship and to establish the new RFID Solution Centre business as
the RFID delivery arm for the Group's SSI and SAP Divisions. The acquisition of
Agility offers the enlarged Group the potential for further growth in new supply
chain sectors, with the additional benefits of a strong position in the emerging
market for RFID applications and cross-selling opportunities within the enlarged
Group.



In the year to 31 December 2004, Agility's turnover was £2.55 million and profit
before taxation was £427,000. Net assets at 31 December 2004 were £673,000. At
completion, Agility had a cash balance of approximately £550,000.



The initial consideration has been satisfied as to £1.8 million in cash and
486,815 new Chelford ordinary shares, valued at £1.2 million at the mid-market
closing price on 30 August 2005 of 246.5 pence. Further deferred consideration
of up to £0.5 million and £0.3 million in cash will be made, subject to the
performance of Agility, in the financial years ending 31 December 2005 and 2006
respectively. The new ordinary shares being issued to the vendors of Agility
will be subject to a lock-in for twelve months from the date of acquisition.



Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the 486,815 new
ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that Admission
will become effective and dealings in the new ordinary shares will commence on 1
September 2005.



Chelford's Chief Executive, Trevor Lewis stated: 'Agility is an excellent fit
with Chelford's existing activities and conforms to our strategy of acquiring
complementary companies with good organic growth potential. Agility extends the
Group's reach within the ERP software applications arena and adds RFID
capability at a time when a strong upsurge in demand for this technology is
expected within the supply chain and distribution market in which the Group has
a strong presence. We expect Agility to be earnings neutral in 2005 and
significantly earnings enhancing in 2006.'

[cockneyrebel] 31/8/2005 13:54

diplets and rallilets are par for the course here, if you wet yourself at the odd 5-10p up or down this isn't the stock for you imo.

What matters is what happens at the results in a fortnight imo.

Results should be fabulous from what the company says. Charles Stanlety should be upgrading and their 295p target should get great exposure and probably be raise too imo.

CR

[pc4900074200] 31/8/2005 13:12

Are they desperate? Do they need / want shares?

Every small sell and they shake that tree like it's in a hurricane.

pc

[tole] 30/8/2005 11:15

Craven - no worries mate - good buy.
Did actually get a quote for a few k first thing, then the greed set in thinking i'd pickem up a little cheaper. lol. Just goes to show.
aspex- Nice spot on the victrex deal too

[cockneyrebel] 30/8/2005 11:08

yes - you may be right!

Just a bit more to add to the earnings growth then - Looking forward to Charles Stanley upgreading at the interims as they suggest.


I bet net cash is over £3m too now :-) 20% of the mkt cap.

CR

[aspex] 30/8/2005 11:00

CR,
Tell me it has nothing to do with Victrex which looks great.

[cockneyrebel] 30/8/2005 10:57

definitely a lack of stock, last weeks wack by the mm's was to drive out the weak 1K/2K types of sells imo.

Moving up nice now, results soon, breakout imminent, just a matter of how soon imo.

CR

[aspex] 30/8/2005 10:55

No one seems to have posted the Victrex deal....
....or have I missed something??
It appears to be dated 26th August

Victrex backs customer commitments with SSI's Optimiza decision support system
A world leader in high performance materials, Victrex is to deploy an Optimiza decision support system from SSI to help deliver ambitious product supply commitments as it expands its global business. The Optimiza Demand Planning and Inventory Optimisation decision support system will optimise stock, analyse manufacturing requirements and forecast future demand for Victrex business across three world regions.

Lancashire based Victrex grew profits by an impressive 26% in the six months to March 2005, mainly on the back of worldwide sales of its VICTREX® PEEK high performance thermoplastic premium product. Potential uses for the polymer material have burgeoned in industrial, aerospace, automotive, electronics, food and medical sectors, because of its exceptional resistance to chemicals, wear, electricity and temperature change.

Crucial to business success for Victrex has been its proven commitment to availability and supply of the products manufactured in its Lancashire plant. The group must ensure production capacity will always exceed customer demand, and customers will get security of supply.

"Our customers are buying premium products, and they expect us to meet their demand from stock within a few days, rather than buying and storing more than they need," says Victrex IT Manager, John Cafferty. "When we produced only a few product lines and had lower capacity, we were able to achieve that aim without too much detailed analysis. Now we are manufacturing 20 product lines and have doubled capacity, so we need much more control over the variables and pinch points in the supply chain."

"We are also planning more products and new product gradings in future. We are expanding our operations in Asia Pacific right now, so we have to factor in new business requirements to make sure we optimise our stock levels and manufacturing planning if we are to keep our customers happy," says John Cafferty.

After discussing detailed requirements, SSI proposed Optimiza Demand Planning and Inventory Optimisation decision support system. A proof-of-concept study convinced the management team, and in June 2005 the group ordered the system, including SSI implementation consultancy, technical and application training and support services.

"We were very impressed by SSI from the start of the process," says John Cafferty. "They actually listened to what we needed rather than what we thought we wanted. They then changed their proposition entirely – and they were right. Their case was very strong – both to our users and senior management. The users could understand Optimiza right away. It's very intuitive and simple to use."

"We particularly liked the 'out of the box' analysis of Optimiza and how it handles forecasting. It's also important that with the kind of growth we're experiencing it's scalable to meet our future demands," says John Cafferty.

By the end of 2005, Victrex will have an analysis tool to drive its customer focus and help plan manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Optimiza will gather a range of Victrex data from the plant, the three global regions and from the group's ERP system. It will take sales and supply history and consolidate it with sales, distributor and customer forecasts, and production capability information. Optimiza will be able to model expected future demand and manufacturing requirements. Victrex can ask 'what if?' questions to get recommendations about manufacturing and stockholding levels, and the system can be run when ever required.

SSI Managing Director, Trevor Lewis believes that Victrex's vision will show other manufacturers that Optimiza has potential as an inventory modelling system. "Optimiza is widely used in distribution industries, but less so in manufacturing. It would suit any manufacturing company selling from stock and able to choose when to manufacture. Victrex management had great vision to see this potential," says Trevor Lewis.

[cravencottage] 30/8/2005 10:54

You can blame me for that Tole - Sorry Mate

A 2500 delayed buy should appear at some stage

CC

[tole] 30/8/2005 10:27

Gonna wish I topped up now ;(

[cockneyrebel] 26/8/2005 19:52

Yep, I've got the GCI buy rec Tole and the end of it sums it up well.

They also said this of the recent charles stanley note:

"The impact of this market-beating revenue growth is a rapid increase in earnings,' analyst Ian Mitchell suggests. 'The company is trading on 12.5 times prospective earnings, which we continue to believe is too low for a company taking market share and displaying such high growth in earnings.' Mitchell retains his strong buy evaluation of the stock."

This stock is still very cheap imo.

CR

[silverfern] 26/8/2005 18:59

I'll buy more if it falls further, end of point. SO if market makers are looking to stimulate trade they've done it!

[money4me] 25/8/2005 23:12

it really is a solid company I feel, not like my other holdings which are mining based so very hit and miss - excuse the pun

[cockneyrebel] 25/8/2005 21:07

The Charles Stanley note on July 21 is better and more recent:

"Strong Buy"

"Target 290p"

"Both division SSI and SAP contributing to growth."

"Given Chelford's strong expertise in the Food sector, we expect this to make a significant contribution to growth in 2006 and beyond"

"The impact of this market-beating revenue growth is rapid increases in earnings. On a normalised tax basis, earnings grew 186% in 2004 and we are forecasting growth od 49% in 2005. The company is trading on 12.5x prospective earnings, which we continue to believe is too low for a company taking market share and displaying such high growth in earnings."


They are waiting for the interims to ammend their forecasts.

CR

[tole] 25/8/2005 20:42

A few months old - but was reading part of Edison Investment Research notes from back in April 05 - and thought this of interest from their industry outlook -

"The major food and drug retailers have for some time demanded more effective systems at their suppliers to trace the sources of various ingredients. This pressure has been reinforced by recent scares, leading to the speedy withdrawal of products containing certain raw materials. Moreover these moves have been supported by EU directives effective from January 2005. Systems supplied by Chelford facilitate such tracing."

This must have generated some interest from those suppliers without effective systems especially as the Food Dye scare Sudan 1 earlier this year was quoted as being the largest recall in history...



Also with this bird flu epidemic on the horizon and the possibilities of contaminated foods etc etc, I should think suppliers must be waking up to this way of thinking. Can only be benefiting Chelford and its supply chain solutions imo....

Anyway still holding out for a least 3 quid + and will add on any more weakness, anything back around 220-230 would be bargain time in my eyes, especially on the run up to the imminent results and especially after their last update -

Chelford Group PLC said its order intake in the first half was up nearly 50 pct year-on-year and it has a healthy business pipeline going forward.

Chief executive Trevor Lewis said: "We have maintained good momentum during
the first half year and we start the second half year with a strong order book,
a healthy new business pipeline and new revenue opportunities which give us
confidence for 2005 and also provide a firm foundation for 2006."

It can only get better :)

[pc4900074200] 25/8/2005 16:26

Well, 10k dumped, 3.5k grabbed straight away.

pc

[pc4900074200] 25/8/2005 16:19

They do love to give this a caning.

Normal MM's tricks. Mark it down [hard] on a 10k sell.

You have to buy 40k for it to move 00:01p.

Sit tight, it will recover.

pc

[cockneyrebel] 25/8/2005 16:15

But results in a couple of week, the company says it's order in-take is up 50% and can already say the full year is in-line although we're only half way.

Charles Stanley target 295p before any upgrades at the results too.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 25/8/2005 16:11

MM's bashing CHR now - been through my whole portfolio now with ACE, PNT, WNN, WHI all taken a beating.

The'll scare a few out then mark it up again as ever imo.

CR