Ecsc Share Discussion Threads

[jane deer] 23/3/2022 14:33

ECSC needs to start showing it can generate free cash flow. The current environment (despite the cost pressures) should be pretty conducive for the business. I don't think a significant equity raise is that feasible given the shareholder base.

Around £700k of the negative cash flow in FY2021 is the unwind from the Covid support - so underlying cash outflow is not so bad. But still in FY22 ECSC will need to find another £290k to finance the new loan interest plus repayments.

[2lb] 23/3/2022 09:56

Weak results indicating a likely need for cash over the coming months

[harlowdavood] 23/3/2022 08:55

Expect spin!!!

[cerrito] 23/3/2022 07:27

An uninspiring set of results, for me best seen in fact that Gross Profit stagnant despite an increase in revenue.
Plan to watch the IMC tomorrow.

[cerrito] 26/1/2022 23:29

When the prelims come out we will need to see what happened to cash in H2 as pretty spooky that net of the new loan they only had £170k in cash at year end.
Will be interesting to see in the AR if we are told how many fees BOOST charge in addition the the 9%.
I note no figure given for adjusted ebitda profit..the similar TU this time last year said in excess of £400k.
They should have the management infrastructure to cope with organic growth/
Given their shareholder base and current share price an equity raise not really feasible.
All in all does not inspire me to buy more.

[thirty fifty twenty] 07/11/2021 11:50

thanks Cerrito.

i have still have no responses, despite chasing.

for me, from this i infer that they lack an attention to detail - how can their IR email account not be monitored??

i've watched the presentations and whilst they talk much about the opportunities in cybersecurity, they dont seem keen to answer my specific questions about some of the figures in their accounts and notes.

this share and mgt has too much risk for me despite the attraction of the sector.

all IMHO, DYOR + BoL
I will be selling out next week

[cerrito] 06/11/2021 19:52

I have just seen this.
Pre pandemic they came to many investor presentations and post pandemic they have been pretty good so I have never had to contact them specifically.

[thirty fifty twenty] 20/10/2021 09:48

hi - i hold a small position here but from my screens it was identified as very undervalued. however, i have tried to contact the company and then chased them but no reply to my queries. have others had better dialogue or similar non response?
thanks
tft

[maddox] 12/10/2021 10:23

'GDPR fines reach almost €1 billion in Q3 - Update 4 October 2021

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)'s €984.47 million euro fines in the third quarter of 2021 was almost 20 times higher than the combined total of Q1 and Q2, and triple the total amount of fines in all of 2020, according to a Finbold report.

By country, Luxembourg accounts for the highest cumulative fines at €746.07 million from 11 cases, followed by Ireland at €225 million tally. Italy ranked third, paying €86 million from 92 cases.'

This should be keeping cyber security top of the agenda for Company Execs.

[cerrito] 28/9/2021 22:20

One thing that struck me about the Allenby forecast is that next year they have sales increasing very well to £7.9m but still at break even on an adjusted PBT basis.
Maddox: I appreciate he is a big shareholder and that he is of an age where succession planning is an issue, My life experience has been that organizations with a domineering boss are not long term very successful.
Indeed as a TPG shareholder I have had a very recent experience of this,

[maddox] 24/9/2021 14:47

I take your point, but we also know what happened when he wasn't part of the picture - so a picky point IMHO. He's also massively aligned with a 23% shareholding and won't be looking to retire anytime soon, so I'm fairly relaxed about succession planning at this point.

The strategy being pursued is sound with organic growth of the Managed Detection and Response Division is key to success, margin expansion and profitability. The sales momentum is good, albeit the partnership model is still evolving, and getting this right is critical to accelerating growth.

[jane deer] 23/9/2021 17:18

Cerrito. I agree with you. In the small part that Lucy Sharp presented, I thought she presented well and she said she was focused on the Consultancy business while Ian was more focused on the MDR side. But when it came to questions Ian answered them all, even those referring to consultancy side (or those than you might expect Gemma the CFO to answer).

Hopefully Allenby's estimate for the business to generate meaningful free cash in FY22 are proved accurate.

[cerrito] 23/9/2021 10:26

I listened to the IMC session this morning and it will be interesting to compare and contrast to the noon CCS session.
The way that Ian answered all the questions without giving space to his colleagues is a reminder of the vulnerability here that it is a one manband.
I do not see myself as buying or selling in the foreseeable future and am reconciled to the patience needed.

[ali47fish] 22/9/2021 08:26

I thought the rns read well- share price reaction overdone

[daz] 22/9/2021 07:29

Interims in line, with revenue growth of 15%. If that continues, they should turn profitable next year.
A question mark about the increase in sales and marketing costs though

[maddox] 14/7/2021 09:44

Interesting and scary:



The extraordinary story of a UK schools group which took on a cyber ransomware gang.

The Harris Federation seems an unlikely target for ransomware criminals but it found itself at the centre of a cyber attack by anonymous hackers. With its servers down and a ransom demand of nearly £3 million, school leaders had to decide quickly whether to pay or suffer the consequences. File on 4 has unique access to the extraordinary negotiations that took place behind the scenes, involving an Israeli security company and Russian hackers.

More British institutions are being hit by ransomware gangs than ever before, from multi-national corporations to health care trusts and even schools.

The attackers hack into an organisation's computer system, encrypt the data and demand a ransom to get it back. Increasingly, they also threaten to publish sensitive information if no payment is made. It's known as double extortion.

The former head of the National Cyber Security Centre tells File on 4 that the government needs to intervene as a matter of urgency, and make it illegal to pay ransomware gangs.



Presenter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Paul Grant
Editor: Nicola Addyman

[harlowdavood] 14/7/2021 06:04

This company has not made a profit period. Last year the profit that was reported was just the net from selling additional shares. There is nothing here that shows any radical change in direction. This company is an also ran amongst many security companies unable to break through, not creating any game changing products, essentially treading water. This stock will burble along.

[cerrito] 13/7/2021 18:43

Not impressive.
Cash figure is not encouraging although we will have to wait until September 22 to see all the moving parts.
Assurance revenue seems to have fallen from £1.7m in H220 to £1.5m in H121.
They will have to put the foot on the gas to meet Allenby's 2021 revenue estimate of £6.6m made in March 2021.
Given all the security/hacking concerns they are in a sweet spot.
Fingers crossed that no big shareholder-especially Unicorn AIM with their 14.48%-lose patience

[maddox] 13/7/2021 14:59

That Stockopedia published forecast required 38% revenue growth - highly optimistic and counter-productive setting the business up for failure.

[daz] 13/7/2021 09:02

I agree with Jane that the trading statement is slightly disappointing. Stockopedia has forecast revenue for 2021 of £7.84m, which now looks unattainable after today's trading statement, as it would imply revenues in H2 over 50% higher.

If revenue growth grows at the same rate in H2, I see a small loss for 2021 but finally turning a profit next year with revenue growth conservatively continuing at the same pace(I think it should be higher), at which point operational gearing kicks in and profits grow quickly thereafter.

It remains a strong hold for me despite the statement today

[jane deer] 13/7/2021 07:48

Steady results. H1 revenues show reasonable growth over H1 FY20 but largely flat versus H2 FY20. I might have been hoping for a higher than £1.45m from the MDR side - we will see on 22 Sep what the breakdown on this is between recurring revenue and the incident response revenues. Cash position still looks OK and hopefully the company is now in a position where it can fund growth from internal cash generation.

[ali47fish] 13/7/2021 06:32

good results

[harlowdavood] 24/6/2021 11:56

Will be interesting to see what next months trading statement will say. lets see whether they still are able to show profit without the share sale injection from last year.

[cerrito] 09/5/2021 21:36

This increase on no news does not surprise me after for example we have seen last week on CCS.

[matt123d] 08/5/2021 20:56

Above 98p target is 130p