Cropper (james) Share Discussion Threads

[garth] 19/1/2021 12:51

New Website, TFP Hydrogen

hxxps://www.tfphydrogen.com/

Guess those Hydrogen Economy guys may be here sooner than expected...

PV3's website now redirects to TFP Hydrogen. So if you want to read about PVP, established in 2011 then you need to view via "cached" on a search engine such as Google.

Vanadium Redox Battery Electrolyte
Flow battery developers have operated PV3’s electrolyte for vanadium batteries for many thousands of cycles in cells, stacks and systems. Our high purity electrolyte is now available in commercial quantities.

Electrocatalyst Powders
By developing our own high-performing range of catalyst powders for use in the production of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) and catalyst coated membranes (CCMs), we’ve been able to successfully deliver a product that meets the market’s demand. Our customers use these catalysts in fuel cells, batteries, water treatment technologies, water electrolysers and many more product areas.

Coated Electrodes
Our coated electrodes are industry-leading, cost-effective and facilitate the development of our customers’ technologies. We’re a facilitator to the advancement of electrochemical, low-carbon technologies.
Based on a range of nanostructured multi-layers of precious metals or mixed metal oxides (MMO), PV3 Technologies’ catalytic coatings contain active components comprising of platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir) and ruthenium (Ru).
PV3 Technologies’ nanostructured systems maximise catalytic phases and active surface area, offering significantly increased performance. We can add specific doping agents to our catalysts, which increases their overall performance further. We’re delighted when we work with customers to optimise formulations for their specific application.
The coating technology we use on our nanostructured systems has been specifically engineered to deliver cost-effective, high-performing and reproducible products that can be utilised across a variety of projects and end markets. Keeping our product cost-effective is an element of production that has been key to PV3’s core aims and values since our launch.
Our coated electrode technology is not shape or size limited, and has been applied to titanium, nickel and Magnéli phase titanium oxide substrates in the form of sheets, meshes, foils, powders, foams, sinters and more.

About us – PV3 Technologies
We are electrochemists, developing and manufacturing materials for electrochemical technologists. Our team has many years of experience in electrochemical technology development, so we understand what our customers are trying to achieve. Our goal is to provide products with high performance and high durability, at a sensible price
PV3 Technologies was founded in 2011, to exploit decades of experience in electrochemical and nano-materials. We operate a pragmatic business model, aiming to support and grow with strategic customers. As a result of the first phase of growth, we moved to larger premises in 2015 and have continued to invest since then. More recent investments have been made in:
X-ray analytical equipment
Glove box facilities for air and moisture-sensitive materials
New production equipment for increased throughput, high reproducibility and productivity.
Unique QC equipment developed jointly with customers
A wide range of electrochemical hardware, allowing us to perform cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, linear polarisation and current efficiency measurements.





G.

[garth] 19/1/2021 11:00

And we are away. Did a broker issue a note I wonder?

G.

P.s Some initial housekeeping done on the header.

[garth] 18/1/2021 14:59

Bamboo,

I think it is fair to say that house-keeping task is well overdue.

:0)

I will aim to work towards some updates. Can't quite believe that 15 years on it is still being used!

G.

[bamboo2] 18/1/2021 13:35

garth, any chance of a header refresh?
At least maybe remove some of the really out of date stuff/broken links etc?

[garth] 18/1/2021 13:18

VPRT,

Thank you for the feedback and for your comments.

If one looks at the 5 year chart we are at the top of a descending trend. The gravity of that trend and the likely outcome for the year may well leave me regretting my decision! I do think it entirely possible that we will end up in a bear market and under those circumstances I would not rule out £6 here.

Alternatively, we may continue for some time with a bull run and, with a wider interest mounting in green energy, the valuation here might just get silly to the upside.

Whichever way those two play out I expect these to be higher in five years. If they tank along the way the nursed loss will leave me fed up, but I would expect to use it to accumulate more at lower levels. I have had a good old run this year and had some profits to park somewhere. I had been looking for some time for the catalyst to be back here.

We'll see. We have had a year now of historic low pulp prices and energy costs have been lower too. It will be interesting to see how that reflects in overall costs.

G.

[vprt] 18/1/2021 12:16

Garth: Many thanks for your comments. Good to see that you are back in and that you have followed the company for a long time.

After some quick research this morning (including re-reading Beddard's ii-review) I have taken a tiny toehold stake today to ensure that I follow it properly.

Despite a large pension deficit, paper troubles and a hard covid-hit, there seems to be very significant upside in two divisions. This is very difficult to value on current numbers, but longer term seems to be a promising bet. I like the family ownership and the heavy spending on R&D and capacity expansion in TFP, and that the problematic business is being restructured (a little, at least) with all employees involved in consultations.

But as a newbie I have a lot to learn here, and I might bail within months if I lose faith. Obviously, the valuation multiples are quite high whilst short term results are tanking. So I find it impossible to predict share price in the short term, and suspect a rollercoaster is ahead. (Also some risk of a fundraise, perhaps?)

I see the acquisition as probably very small (book value £0.7m according to CH) but an interesting statement of intent to grow in what is unquestionably a rapidly expanding market with growth for a decade or more, and like the complementarity.

I was delighted to see a very quiet board here! Prefer to avoid the H-hype for now.

[garth] 18/1/2021 08:44

Interesting Hydrogen economy move this morning for CRPR.

I have been out for a while and moved some funds back in for the long term. Management spent two decades demonstrating that they could build a cutting edge business out of TFP via Fuel Cells and then aviation - that gives confidence re this new bolt on. And I prefer bread and butter plus jam to jam on its own.

I am concerned short term though about aviation impact on TFP and on papers with further lockdown. So there is some powder left to follow a possible poor trading statement or it all going wrong this week in the US.

It was a little too easy to pick some up first thing so I suspect we may have a seller.

Might get interesting if the Green Energy/Hydrogen Economy crowd ever catch on.

Any other views?

G.

[energeticbacker] 10/11/2020 15:40

Investor's Champion comments in today's update :"TFP holds considerable potential and has, for several years, delivered the majority of operating profit and the highest return on capital. We remain of the view that it would be better to hive this off as a separate entity."

[bamboo2] 29/7/2020 18:27

p1nk, I have strong historical support at 710 560 360
Potential turn shows for 28/8/2020

[p1nkfish] 29/7/2020 11:33

Well COO jump was for a reason. Wonder where this will bottom?

[p1nkfish] 27/7/2020 08:54

COO jumped or pushed.
Terse RNS.
COO is critical.

[garth] 23/6/2020 07:16

Good set of results.

G.

[pireric] 01/5/2020 06:34

Trading update out.

On the positive side, the underlying business performance before COVID seems good. Pre tax profit above £6m and "well ahead" of market expectations.

On the negative side, they assume the next 9 months to be heavily impacted by COVID and somewhat loss making before recovering. TFP some impact from aero but fuel cells and wind energy resilient. Paper most impacted. Colourform impacted but to still continue growing.

Question for the markets and reaction today is whether to look through this. It is on most other stocks (many of which will be similarly impacted over reasonable timescales) and the market has always been fond of Cropper, so not sure that necessarily changes. If we assume normalised earnings here are 50p and put on 15-20x earnings (has traded well over this range on average over the last few years), gives fair value range of 750 - 1000p. Suspect we stay in that today but maybe ease back 5%.

[garth] 25/4/2020 18:47

TUNG citing increased business as companies move away from paper invoicing. Shouldn't impact CRPR though. Watching to add some more for ltbh. Don't think it's that time yet though.Might well be wrong. It's a great little company. Think we still have a some reckoning to do on global debt. Maybe the Fed will hold it off this time. But a reckoning is coming. Aka Minsky.G.

[garth] 25/4/2020 18:45

TUNG citing increased business as companies move away from paper invoicing. Shouldn't impact CRPR though. Watching to add some more for ltbh. Don't think it's that time yet though.Might well be wrong. It's a great little company. Think we still have a some reckoning to do on global debt. Maybe the Fed will hold it off this time. But a reckoning is coming. Aka Minsky.G.

[pireric] 25/4/2020 14:46

And an update on operations at Cropper from 17th April

We are still operating and distributing products, although we will be changing production capacity in certain areas for a period to balance supply and demand.

Orders remain strong for our Technical Fibre Products, particularly from the green energy sector for materials used in fuel cells and wind turbines. New enquiries are still coming in across the business, including new packaging orders for our Colourform moulded fibre packaging division.

There is lower than normal demand for paper, and from Monday 20 April paper production is being scaled back for four weeks. Sales and Customer Service are operating as normal and we will continue to finish and despatch from stock. During this period, more than 200 employees in the paper division will temporarily move onto the Government’s Job Retention Scheme. Other operations including Technical Fibre Products will continue normal production.

Meanwhile we continue to adhere to Government guidelines during the pandemic, with anyone who can work from home doing so and a number of new measures in place at the mill to protect the safety of staff and the local community. These include PPE masks being available for all employees.

We are actively supporting all staff including providing regular news and updates on our employee social media network, Workplace. Advice and information is available on a number of topics, including health & safety on the coronavirus, help and support networks and tips on working from home or being at home during the lockdown. This employee portal is designed to keep everyone connected in these unprecedented times.

In addition, a dedicated helpline is available through our private health scheme for any members of staff who want to discuss issues such as their mental health.

We send our very best wishes to all of our customers and suppliers and thank you for your continued support.

Think that's all pretty positive really. Especially as we know TFP is the real profit maker in the business. Thanks for the raw material price link, bamboo.

[pireric] 25/4/2020 14:44

Liontrust from January

Hold: James Cropper (CRPR)
Stevens classes herself as a “buy and hold” investor, who doesn't like to trade in and out of stocks, even though the micro-cap space can be volatile, which can create trading opportunities. “We like to hold companies for the long term and let the businesses do the work for us by growing,” she says. “ It allows us to be more relaxed about timing, not to worry about when to enter or exit from a position.”
James Cropper has been in the fund since March 2017, and she has topped up the holding along the way. She says: “It’s an interesting business located in the Lake District. They have been producing paper for over 200 years.”
The company has three divisions; the main one makes the low-volume high-quality coloured paper that it’s used in Burberry carrier bags, while the most profitable one is Technical Fiber Products, which provides the aerospace industry with a material made up of carbon fibres called non-woven. “You can find it on the outside of aircrafts made by Boeing and Airbus, and Ferrari and Lamborghini use it in their cars," says Stevens.
The third division is 3D Print, which produces environmentally-friendly paper packaging that substitutes more polluting plastic packaging. Stevens, however, points out that it’s very difficult to make it and keep the colour: “You have some pulp and you crush it under high pressure into shape. But when you crush it, the colour gets lost.” It is the growth of this final division over the next decade that Stevens is particularly excited about and which will ensure she stays invested for the long-term.

[bamboo2] 08/4/2020 14:05

One of the biggest problems facing the co, a year or so before CV, was high input costs as the price of paper pulp soared. Prices of CRPR's main raw materials have dropped significantly over recent months, and this could help towards early reinstatement of the divi, once CV lockdown is over.

Input prices down nearly 40% since the peak.

[pireric] 08/4/2020 07:31

I'm in over the last few days. Struggle to get a SOTP implying a market cap of less than around £90m.

[hybrasil] 09/12/2019 12:07

Why is this falling?

[jonwig] 26/7/2019 17:47

BBC Fake or Fortune featured a painting owned by the Cropper family. On iplayer.

[mw8156] 26/6/2019 16:16

perverse that they come out with quite poor results and then jump the next day