Costain Share Discussion Threads

[ltcm1] 28/10/2020 12:32

Private builders never have any premium, so perhaps it is right not to put any onto plc builders too???

The trouble is that if Kier are going to buy contracts at 2% margin then what real hope have Costain of getting their margins higher than this???

If all Costain do is compete on price then I don't see this as much of an investment personally.

[imastu pidgitaswell] 28/10/2020 10:32

:-)


Market cap (34.8p) of £95.7m. They raised £93m net of expenses in April. So the business as it was is being valued at nil, give or take. Sobering.

Anyway, the business as it is, after taking off the £80m net cash they are projecting at 30.06.21 (don't forget they reported over £140m at 30.06.20), is being valued at £15.7m, or 5.7p per share.

And yet not a smidgeon of institutional interest or director purchases.

This is either a monumental opportunity that will probably never recur, or a fraudulent trading scenario.

[sophia1982] 28/10/2020 09:35

Any news here?

[imastu pidgitaswell] 22/10/2020 13:50

Mmm, would be nice if it made some money.

Until this/these seller(s) stop, this is going nowhere. Every little attempt to pull up off the bottom, like a submarine stuck on the ocean floor, gets slapped down. No great volumes either, which suggests it will take some time to stop being sold. No institutional appetite for now.

I'm blaming Kier, which needs to go under and stop being a drag on the sector.

Zzzzz.

[skinny] 22/10/2020 13:39

A meatier article on post 225 :-

.

[skinny] 21/10/2020 12:32

.

"A feasibility study which contributes to ongoing assessments looking at the use of existing UK gas transmission and distribution networks to transport hydrogen, has been released by smart infrastructure solutions company Costain, in collaboration with gas networks".

[imastu pidgitaswell] 08/10/2020 09:02

Hope that they have a better contract than the Peterborough/Huntingdon one (also with National Grid)....

And this will be unwelcome news to Alex Vaughan, the Costain CEO:

"Costain chief executive officer Andrew Wyllie..."

[knowing] 08/10/2020 08:48

New contract

[imastu pidgitaswell] 07/10/2020 16:29

I think we're going to have patient on this - stalled again, and a while until any news. Sellers must sell, it seems.

[imastu pidgitaswell] 06/10/2020 12:09

Boris's words at the online conference helpful. Build Back Better, and all that goes with it. They do love a three word slogan.

Not news, it never is, but not unhelpful.

[archy147] 05/10/2020 12:06

Morning gents. Nice to see my investment here has turned blue already :)

That said, the market generally is up so don't really think its company specific.

The more i think about it, the more I agree with imatsu's comment below so thinking of adding a few to my ISA as well now..

imastu pidgitaswell3 Oct '20 - 14:58 - 210 of 216
And I think (as per the header) this will be much higher in due course, 150-odd within a couple of years, and with the cash-rich balance sheet and a business that is broadly pandemic-independent, it's (I think) extremely low risk, but pretty high reward.

[cerrito] 05/10/2020 11:06

It must be galling that the news of your departure is greeted with a rise in the share price.
As only one of 2 exec directors on the board his hands have to be somewhat dirty. I assume that the search process is well advanced as he is only around for two months.
I see that the General Counsel is an interim posting so not optimal if at this time they do not have a permanent Chief Finance and Legal people.

[imastu pidgitaswell] 05/10/2020 09:32

Very true, and I think they are doing that - this is part of it. It does take time to turn around a culture though, and he was definitely part of the old culture. As late as 2018 being paid over £1 million while the business stumbled down a hill.

And looking at the wording, looks like he is being turfed out and will get a pay-off.

[owenski] 05/10/2020 09:25

They need people who can actually price contracts and surveyors who know how to do their job. All the others are just suit wearing snouts in the trough that ride on the top of that.

[imastu pidgitaswell] 05/10/2020 09:21

CFO going, to spend more time with his money, I would think, looking at prior years' remuneration reports.

Maybe a bit unfair, as he is not the operations guy, and is leaving them in a robust financial position - although if I had been a shareholder from 2 or 3 years ago I would not be saying that.

Probably best to pass on to someone who might have a bit more commercial acumen and communications skills, for the benefit of the share price...

[imastu pidgitaswell] 03/10/2020 14:58

It's alright really - I bought in to these in early April, just before they went from under 40 to over 100 intraday. Sold plenty (not all) and therefore have a substantial retained profit. All on the old thread.

As it has come down, I did the rights issue, sold them for a gain, and then as it carried on coming down, bought some more - and you can see what has happened since. Bought a lot more after the H1 results.

Overall, a little down, but only a little. And I think (as per the header) this will be much higher in due course, 150-odd within a couple of years, and with the cash-rich balance sheet and a business that is broadly pandemic-independent, it's (I think) extremely low risk, but pretty high reward.

Basically, I like my (and your) odds. So quite happy to wait. Right now, not too much else to do.

[archy147] 02/10/2020 17:48

Thanks for the welcome, and the advice, imastu!

I’ve put my standard stake in here so it has an equal weighting with most shares in my SIPP. I probably would need some more info if I was to invest more!

Sounds like you had some bad luck with the timing. I hate holding shares that are in the red, but patience does usually pay off!

I like the expression “time in the market beats timing the market”. Good luck fella, hopefully it won’t be too much time before we’re both in the blue :)

[imastu pidgitaswell] 01/10/2020 11:09

Welcome Archy - your timing looks a hell of a lot better than mine.

All I can say, in the absence of any more financial information for some time to come, is that you should buy some more...


:-)