Ecsc Share Discussion Threads

[harlowdavood] 05/4/2020 08:28

Great analysis by Cerrito. Interesting that two new directors appointed last month now mean that only a third of directors are 'independent' as the two new ones are internal long standing management of ECSC. This presumably means less independent oversight from the board

[cerrito] 25/3/2020 21:48

Have been through the prelims.
We obviously got the big picture in the January.23rd RNS.
Things that caught my eye were
Deterioration of the current ratio with the build up of current liabilities. This build up was partially caused by the new IFRS 16 accounting policy on leases and the increase in deferred income resulting from the longer contracts-see explanation in the KPI section.
Also in the KPI section, I note that the percentage of revenues spent on R&D increased and as a consequence we have tax recoverable going up form £155k at 12.18 to £265k at 12.19.In 2019 this was received in H2. I bring this up as I have fretted that they do not have the financial resources to keep ahead of the game in the fast moving technology.
Interested in their comments about the Partners programme gave 17pc of new clients-though niot sure over what time frame . One can only assume that in the current scenario this programme will not produce so much new business.
As always the cash position needs close scrutiny. Cash did increase in H2, largely due to the collection of the Tax receivable. I have no comment on their Going Concern statement.They confirm the invoice discounting facility with Barclays of £500k. Note there was no big increase in finance costs between the 2 halves-£19k in H! and £26m in H2, Such high finance expenses relative to the facility would suggest active usage-let’s hope we have a physical AGM to clarify or if we have a virtual AGM one can ask questions. As stated by them, there were no drawdowns at year end.
They referred to the extensive changes last year in the sales and marketing team, which was news to me. I re read last year’s prelims where they were more oblique referring to improvements.
Interesting that despite being the least favoured child, consultancy had a v strong H2 at gross profit level and certainly better than managed services.
Where does this leave us??
The company continues to make progress in a measured way but inevitably will be blown somewhat off course as regards new business by the current situations. I get the sense that for the next 6/9 months the market will want to see more signs of solid progress before the price moves up substantially.
I do not anticipate buying or selling in the foreseeable future.

[harlowdavood] 12/3/2020 20:06

They have a habit of pushing good news to imply things are better than they seem and that although the year end results are poor, since then they have had a good start to the new quarter. No doubt next half year reports will show continued mediocre performance and no one will notice the slight of hand. The management team are not driving any spectacular results here and something needs to change.

[cerrito] 12/3/2020 13:05

Good news of course that they have these contracts but the £200k pa revenue for the next three years has to be put in the context of managed services revenue of £1.2m in H1 19.

[harlowdavood] 28/2/2020 06:40

Results pushed back to end of March.

[tomv33] 25/2/2020 16:30

Coronavirus in Europe

[pjlm] 25/2/2020 15:59

At current price this looks like a bargain for a profitable company in an ever-growing market! Am I missing something?

[nobilis] 21/2/2020 08:19

ECSC Group PLC
Notice of Results

[caterham88] 19/2/2020 14:13

13th March

[tomv33] 18/2/2020 19:54

When are they?

[wton1] 14/2/2020 15:11

results getting closr

[montynj] 12/2/2020 10:23

I sold out of the share last week and switched into swg where I see a potential positive surprise after the result the Year end in March. Met the CEO presenting at the Business Design Centre in Angel yesterday. He was very impressive and gave very strong hints that we could get a positive surprise in a trading update in April particularly with regards to profits at the bottom line. they're profitable at the ebitda level.

[stevevcjp] 07/2/2020 10:18

ECSC really hitting critical mass - finally !

[montynj] 06/2/2020 13:52

Why is it ? Explain !

[onjohn] 06/2/2020 11:45

What day are results

Feb last year

[middlesboroughfc] 06/2/2020 10:58

Will be back through the highs this week

[nobilis] 06/2/2020 09:02

ECSC Group PLC
Notice of Results

[biteherbutt] 05/2/2020 15:49

Looking poised

[biteherbutt] 05/2/2020 15:21

O/T here's a bit on ECSC
CYBER security provider ECSC Group has revealed that it notched up record trading in the second half of the financial year.


ECSC has posted a trading update for the 2019 financial year, in which the company’s results were in line with market expectations.


Over the period it delivered revenue growth of 10 per cent to around £5.9m.

It also recorded managed services recurring revenue growth in excess of 25 per cent.

The company was cash generative in the second half, with an adjusted EBITDA profit in H2 (the second half of the year) of around £0.2m.

Ian Mann, the chief executive officer of ECSC, commented: “We are very pleased that the record trading in H2 resulted in double digit organic annual revenue growth, and a return to adjusted EBITDA profitability.

He added: “Growth in recurring revenue of over 25 per cent shows the effectiveness of our strategy of winning consulting clients and converting them into long-term managed services clients.

He added: “The acceleration of new client acquisitions in 2019 should help to build a solid foundation for future growth.”

[biteherbutt] 05/2/2020 15:09

cheers, won't surprise to see 7p this year given the contract wins

[montynj] 05/2/2020 15:08

The real growth in earnings starts this FY..Allenby were estimating For the year starting on 1 Jan, Allenby forecasts profit of £163k (eps 2p) trebling to £660k (7p) the following year. .they may have adjusted those slightly but still v strong growth

[biteherbutt] 05/2/2020 15:02

I just bought back too

[montynj] 05/2/2020 14:55

Just bought back in...completely oversold