Cvs Share Discussion Threads

[kemorkid] 04/12/2018 10:05

Looking good entry point

[lomax99] 04/12/2018 09:53

Now Goldman Sachs in for 6%....

[lomax99] 03/12/2018 10:10

Good to see Echo Street Capital Management take a decent stake.

[p winky] 30/11/2018 05:56

I'm working in the pet industry as such, when older vets retire, they generally sell out to cooperates, CVS being very popular, the fact they bought the neighboring large animal practise near me a few years ago and continued to stay open surprised me from the rural farm vet staffing shortage, they have a model that works. It's harder for individual to take over practises due to financial and staffing issues, we as a nation of pet lovers, cannot get away from the emotional substitutes that our pets become when we have less family and other human companionship. If the finances stay true then this seems a long term safe investment

[the dogsbody] 29/11/2018 13:43

The effects of both the new Lucy's Law and the Animal Welfare regulations kicking in is going to mean a massive decline of the amount of puppies allowed to be bred.

Consequently Clients of CVSG Vet Practices are going to have a lot of Clients who can no longer afford to buy or even find a puppy to purchase. Over time this must mean a lot less dogs to be treated by Vets.

[lomax99] 29/11/2018 13:21

Shares magazine today:

CVS warns on margins as staffing costs soar

Shares in veterinary services group CVS (CVSG:AIM) slump 13.2% to 630.5p on the disappointing news soaring rates for temporary veterinary staff and other rising costs are hurting its margins.

CVS says earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins will be lower than last year as it is relying more on temporary staff despite lower vacancy rates.

Unfortunately for CVS, skilled and temporary veterinary surgeons come at a high price. Day veterinary locum rates are currently 14% above the same period last year.

STRONG GROWTH IN VETERINARY PRACTICES

The good news is all divisions are delivering growth in revenues with overall like-for-like sales climbing 4.7% in the four months to 31 October compared to the same period of 2017.

In the company’s biggest division representing nearly 90% of sales, Veterinary Practices, like-for-sales grew 3.8%.

The Healthy Pet Club continues to attract new members keen to take advantage of loyalty benefits, regular health checks and discounts on pharmaceutical products.

IS CVS A POTENTIAL TAKEOVER TARGET?

Acquisitions are a key part of CVS' growth strategy and several more are expected to complete over the next couple of months as the company consolidates a fragmented industry, although persisting share price weakness could stoke speculation that CVS itself may become a takeover target.

Here in August, we considered whether the long-term predator could become prey, noting that Whiskas pet food owner Mars Petcare had acquired UK services group Linnaeus and BC Partners had bought VetPartners.

[wilsonst1] 29/11/2018 11:09

So happy directors managed to sell at 910 only a few weeks ago.

[tsmith2] 29/11/2018 08:41

That's a profits warning

[rafieh] 29/11/2018 08:17

It does appear that the market reads it as a profit warning.

[lomax99] 29/11/2018 07:55

Priced in? - who knows, would have thought so. A bite sized chunk for someone?

[lomax99] 29/11/2018 07:53

Undoubtedly, as they only ever tend to focus on any negatives. No need to focus on any positives - lfl sales growth, improving performance of recent acquisitions, strong pace of acquisition, healthy pipeline, ongoing/recent initiatives to improve retention and recruitment, etc.

[p winky] 29/11/2018 07:52

Recent dropped priced in?

[smokybenchod] 29/11/2018 07:50

Can’t figure out if this is a profit warning or not

[rafieh] 29/11/2018 07:15

The market is likely to focus on this part of the statement:' These factors have resulted in increased employment costs which, together with certain other costs, are resulting in lower EBITDA(2) margins for the Group in the current financial year compared to the prior year.'

[lomax99] 28/11/2018 20:08

AGM statement in the morning, hoping it will be well received.

[rob762243] 20/11/2018 16:23

Most likely due to uncertainty around brexit is my best guess

[p winky] 20/11/2018 15:50

No news, why is this getting a beating?

[rob762243] 25/10/2018 14:14

Not looking good don't understand why this is underperforming

[lomax99] 24/10/2018 14:37

Adding a few here.

[lomax99] 24/10/2018 14:16

Not a surprise in any way, shape or form - this has been on the cards for quite some time. Come on, they should not be shy, give us some profit numbers, and sell us the growth opportunity to justify whatever eye watering PE you are hoping to offload this for......

[runthejoules] 24/10/2018 13:39

With it down this low, surely someone's got to stick a bid in for it. Holding.

[speedsgh] 24/10/2018 13:14

Peer news...

Owners groom European vets giant IVC‎ for £1.5bn sale -

EQT Partners has asked bankers at Jefferies to find a buyer for Independent Vetcare and its 300 UK practices, Sky News learns.

The owner of Britain's biggest chain of veterinary surgeons is preparing to ‎sell it for well over £1bn in a deal that would eclipse the biggest takeover to date in the sector.

Sky News has learnt that Bath-headquartered Independent Vetcare Group (IVC) is seeking offers in the coming weeks that would herald a change of ownership for more than 300 practices across the UK.

Jefferies, the investment bank, has been hired by EQT Partners, IVC's controlling shareholder, to run an auction of the business.

Insiders said that offers, which are being sought in the first week of November, could value the company at up to £1.5bn.

If successfully completed, a sale would come with a richer price tag than the roughly £700m paid by buyout firm BC Partners in August for VetPartners, another big operator.

IVC operates in a number of other countries including Sweden, where it merged last year with Evidensia Group, another significant player in the market.

The fragmented nature of the UK industry has created scope for private equity groups to develop 'buy-and-build' tactics aimed at achieving scale for companies which benefit from synergies in areas such as marketing and equipment procurement.

One of takeovers in the industry in recent months saw Mars, the confectionery-to-petfood conglomerate, acquiring control of Linnaeus.

[lomax99] 15/10/2018 08:22

Interesting to see a hedge fund stick their head above the parapet as a holder - Half Sky Master Fund have just confirmed a notifiable holding.