Eleco Public Share Discussion Threads

[ansc] 05/7/2014 08:47

This quite muted response from Hardman did not come as a surprise to me. A while ago, I happened to mention to the chairman how there appeared to be little (if any) broker/analyst company coverage bearing in mind the transformation that Eleco has undergone in the past twelve months. He confirmed that he has been very disappointed with Cenkos' (company broker) lack of input in the past and was looking into ways of getting a big improvement; Hardman apparently need a substantive broker note before they can/will do a thorough report.

Decision day next Wednesday regarding the Subsription issue. I hope it goes ahead - I'm greedy! - even though the recent good news on the pension deficit overhang has obviously eased the company's financial pressure appreciably.

[rathkum] 04/7/2014 19:49

This from Hardman & Co.

...............The group is now 100% software related and hence has changed
classification to the Software and computer services actuarial sector.
The business now benefits from 45% (up from 43%) recurring revenue.
It has for some years run a leading project management platform in
the UK, offering combined planning, quantity estimation and 3D
visualisation services. It has over 14,000 business users. ELECO is
launching this as a BIM (Building Information Modelling) system this
summer and fully.

There is a strong opportunity here as a function of the full UK launch
of ELECO BIMCloudTM to achieve two things. It will eventually bring incremental subscription income and will be the vehicle to launch
price estimation as an integral BIM subscription offering. This adds
visibility to growth. This year sees the combination of group re-focus,
UK building sector cycle upturn, HMG 'mandated' requirement for
BIM building to 2016, a US opportunity and a fuller effect of the more
effectively integrated composite 'project management', 'estimation'
3D CAD and 'BIM' product. ELECO is principally based in UK,
Scandinavia, Germany. There is market cyclical recovery, legislative
drivers and customer demand.

[ansc] 03/7/2014 08:52

Another positive/confident step along the software road:

[Eleco PLC ("ELECO" or "the Company ") - 03 July 2014

Appointment of Chief Executive

The Board of ELECO is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Caw as CEO of ELECO plc, effective from 2(nd) July 2014. Nick joins ELECO from Microsoft UK where he has been for the past seven years. During his time at Microsoft he was involved in supporting Microsoft's transformation to a Cloud First, Mobile First business, most recently as a UK Business Development Manager for Microsoft's Office 365 hosting platform.

Nicholas James Baxter Caw (aged 42) has spent most of his career in the IT industry, including ELECO, before joining Microsoft UK in 2007. He therefore brings with him a wealth of commercial experience in the IT industry, covering sales, channel and leadership roles in a diverse range of software businesses engaged variously in software development, hosting and professional services. He joined the Board of ELECO on 2(nd) July 2014.

John Ketteley, Executive Chairman of ELECO, commented: "The Board of ELECO are delighted that Nick Caw has agreed to join ELECO as Chief Executive. I am confident that he will make a significant contribution to our objective of achieving ELECO's full potential as a profitable and expanding international software business."]

[ansc] 01/7/2014 15:08

Hi LGW, thanks for the feed-back/comments re the AGM, the 'hospitality' one receives at ELCO's AGM is by far and away the best I go to; I'm sure some of the congregation hold just one or two shares which is sufficient to let them attend!

A couple of weeks ago you were querying whether or not Mr K was the right man to be leading the company (now that it's software orientated) and did he justify his salary; now that you've met him, what do you think? Did you manage to nail him on his personal intentions for the future?

'A CAUTIOUS BUY'. We'll have to differ on that one!

[lgw500] 30/6/2014 15:37

ANSC,

I have not read the bulletin board for a couple of weeks so did not see your last two posts until just now. Indeed, the AGM was very pleasant with a nice buffet lunch. Hence the good turnout!

Having asked a few questions of the chairman and listened to him, I would agree with your comments. Clearly, Lloyds bank has been very unhelpful.

There were several Eleco employees on hand to discuss their work. This was interesting. I see the business as being a market leader in several European markets but that these markets are mature and unlikely to have a seismic change in the coming years.

Post fund raising and with the cleaning up of the group's balance sheet, I see the opportunity for a good, small software company to expand at a fair rate in Europe with opportunties in the same sector in the US and possibly in other sectors. The subscription at 20.75p is worth a look. A CAUTIOUS BUY!

[ansc] 24/6/2014 12:29

This must surely be beneficial for the share price:

Eleco PLC ("ELECO" or the "Company") - 24 June 2014
[Specialist Software Applications for the Construction Industry.]

Reclassification to 'Software' (sub-sector of 'Software & Computer Services') from the 'Construction and Materials' classification of FTSE Industry Classification Benchmark

ELECO plc (AIM: ELCO), the wholly focused international specialist software group serving the construction industry, is pleased to announce that following the divestment of its precast and building systems interests in 2013, the FTSE industry classification of the Company has changed today and has been reclassified to 'Software & Computer Services'; sub-sector 'Software'. The Company was formerly classified under the 'Construction and Materials' sector.

[ansc] 23/6/2014 21:25

The new shares being issued can be subscribed for at 20.75p:

[ansc] 12/6/2014 09:35

I had every intention of going to the AGM this year but unfortunately the 30th clashes with my youngest sister's birthday and, when you get to our ages, family celebrations are not to be missed!

It doesn't appear as though you've bothered to contact the chairman, LGW500, which is a pity as he would have been able to answer most of the questions you pose. I have spoken with him and know that he has been bitterly disappointed for some time with Lloyds Bank's attitude to the company's parlous situation hence the transfer across to Barclays. The first part of the fund raising is necessary to satisfy conditions requested by them and the additional £1.7m to be raised is to pay down debt.

As regards the chairman, Mr K is well aware of the frustrations of shareholders as, being a holder of 8.4m shares, he's taken a tad of a knock financially himself! He's now 74 years of age but been determined all along to see Eleco through this massive crisis before hanging up his boots; he's admitted to working harder over the last few years than ever before. Now that it appears as though the company has at long last emerged (hopefully) from this long, dark tunnel, he may be feeling that it's time to take his well earned retirement. You could ask him at the AGM!

Btw, unless these frugal times have forced the company to change its approach, you'll find that the AGM is a pleasing experience and is consequently unusually well attended. Cheers, need I say more?

[ansc] 11/6/2014 14:51

I particularly liked this snippet in rathkum's link:

['Curt Corrigan, owner of Project Integration, predicts a strong market for Asta in North America with likely more than a thousand firms adopting Asta Powerproject enterprise-wide by 2020. Already, hundreds of firms have made the switch.

"Many of our customers have become advocates that Asta is easier to use, learn and adopt company wide," said Corrigan. "We're also seeing more field personnel using Asta for scheduling than ever before."

Asta is next looking to continue its growth with the addition of several resellers in Canada.]

[ansc] 11/6/2014 09:22

Thanks, rathkum, a great find, where do you get these gems from?

Doubts about going forward? As you well know, I've never held any hence my decision to top-up on Monday. There's every possibility that, if the price looks attractive, I'll be adding even more when details of the forthcoming placing are announced.

[stevemarkus] 11/6/2014 09:21

I actually think that things are looking quite positive- I bought back a few of the ones I had sold at 24p so showing a small loss at the moment, but over the next year or two I think prospects for the software company that Eleco now is look pretty good.

Raising a bit of cash to lower debt seems like a wise move to me, and frankly being able to do that at 24p is quite a feat for the chairman to have pulled off. The company has been through an extremely difficult time, that is clear, but John Ketteley has steered it through rather well, I think. I like his manner and the results are very clear about the motivation for having done what was necessary.

May even buy a few more now!

Cheers,
Steve.

[rathkum] 11/6/2014 08:05

Erase any doubts about their prospects going forward.

[ansc] 10/6/2014 12:19

LGW500. Feeling as you do, may I respectfully suggest that you voice your angst to the chairman via a phone call - if he's not at HQ today [020 7422 0044], I'm sure they will give you a contact number. I've telephoned him on numerous occasions in the past and can assure you that he is a rarity amongst chairman in that he is very approachable and appreciates feedback from shareholders, complimentary or otherwise.

In your post, you mention a price of 24p for any new shares going to be offered. I think you'll find that the 24p/share refers to only the £2.3m which has been indicated by various shareholders (some of the signicant holders?) that they are willing to take-up and does not refer to the price at which the company hope to raise an additional £1.7m after that.

Having read through the Annual Report (which has now arrived) and knowing that various bodies were prepared to pay above the odds (i.e. 24p) given the undoubtably mouth-watering prospects going forward, I decided to take a chance and bought a further 30k yesterday @ 21.15p. What's that saying about a fool and their money?

[lgw500] 09/6/2014 18:22

This was a very poorly set out announcement which the market has clearly disliked. If the story is so good, why does the chairman not provide a short term loan whilst the poor shareholders regain some confidence in this whole pickle. I am frankly very annoyed and doubt anyone will be taking new shares at 24p. At best, it is a 15p rights issue.

[ansc] 05/6/2014 14:28

[copied from another bb]
Well, well. Written off by some a couple of years ago as being destined to be dead as the proverbial Dodo, instead it looks now as though the company has turned out to be more like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Having divested itself (at significant cost unfortunately) of all their precast building components, ELECO has now emerged as a leading international supplier of innovative technology led software applications with well established bases in the UK, Sweden, Germany and the Benelux countries; toe-holds have also recently been made in the potentially huge USA and India markets.

A complex preliminary results announcement yesterday cleared the cupboard of all skeletons and, once the financial position has been finally sorted, it should be all systems go for what the chairman stated as 'a bright future'. "The board remains optimistic about the prospects for 2014 with a positive start to the first half in most of the core markets in which the Group operate" he added as regards the outlook.(end)

I'll go along with most of that. One thing I didn't understand though from yesterday's announcement concerned the treatment of the pension arrears for the disposed of building subsidiaries. I thought this had/would disappear with the disposal of Bell & Webster et al but it is still shown in these accounts. Can any (accountant-type) shareholder enlighten me please?

[mach100] 04/6/2014 17:13

Any views on the results? Market unmoved. Debt coming down but still high. No divis until a restructure of the profit and loss. Probably heading in the right direction but a few headwinds to overcome.

[sammy_smith] 04/6/2014 15:16

LISTEN:
John Ketteley Executive Chairman
Eleco plc (ELCO) - Preliminary results

Click the link below to listen

[ansc] 21/5/2014 14:14

Asta developing in India:

hxxp://www.astadev.com/news/furnace-fabrica-switches-asta-powerproject-ease-use-better-cash-flow-management/

[rathkum] 08/5/2014 11:16

Asta Showcases Future of Construction Scheduling at ENR's Global Construction Summit
>PRWEB.COM Newswire

New York (PRWEB) May 07, 2014

Asta Development will unveil two major product enhancements to its construction scheduling software, Asta Powerproject, at the ENR+Dodge Global Construction Summit in New York City on May 13 and 14.

The Summit provides an opportunity for executives from around the world to share best practices and explore opportunities in construction. A key theme of the conference will be how firms can remain competitive in an increasingly international business.

Building Information Modeling (BIM), which uses interactive 3D models to inform project decisions and their impacts, is expected to be a large part of that conversation.

Conference-goers will be able to experience Asta Powerproject's new BIM features that drive greater collaboration and enable true 4D planning by linking project schedules and 3D models in a single, cloud-connected application that can be shared between users and other applications using the IFC4 data format.

Visitors to the Asta booth can also try Site Progress Mobile for Asta Powerproject, the new mobile app and cloud storage solution for easy progress reporting while on the job site. The Site Progress Mobile app will be available in Android and iOS versions initially with a Windows version to follow.

"We're looking forward to showcasing these new Asta Powerproject features to construction business owners and executives at the Summit," said Michael Romero, Asta's North American Country Manager. "They are the people building America day after day and the ones we built Asta Powerproject to serve."

Asta Powerproject, which now has more than 80,000 users worldwide, is a relative newcomer to the United States market. It launched in North America in late 2012 and has experienced rapid adoption by construction firms. More than 100 U.S. firms have already made the switch to Asta Powerproject.

Those firms have found Asta Powerproject to be an easier, more user-friendly way to schedule all their construction jobs. Drag-and-drop schedule building, easy importing of other file types, quick progress report building, and customizable job templates make scheduling significantly faster and more accessible for all schedulers of all sophistication levels. Flexible licensing options, including shared licenses for part-time and occasional schedulers, also save firms more than 40% over the cost of Primavera P6.

Catalyst, one of Asta's U.S. resellers and a long-time provider of construction scheduling training and support services, will join Asta at the show.

"There's been a real interest from project managers and schedulers who have told us they're frustrated with the increasingly complex Oracle Primavera," said Catalyst president Steve Sudler. "In the 18 months that we've represented Asta here in the United States, we've shown the software off hundreds of times and people are always impressed by how easy it is to use and how quickly they can be building schedules. Just wait until they see what's next."

For more information on Asta Powerproject, visit

###

About Asta Powerproject
Asta Powerproject has become the construction industry standard throughout Europe and the rest of the world outside the United States since its initial development in 1988. It was introduced to the U.S. market in 2013. Both small and large companies including general contractors, subcontractors, civil engineering firms, clients and professional advisors prefer Asta Powerproject. More than 80,000 schedulers worldwide rely on the software every day to create and update precise project schedules, collaborate across the enterprise, manage resources and costs, and report progress to owners and clients. For more information, visit

Asta Powerproject is a product of Asta Development plc which creates project, portfolio and resource management software. Asta Development supports customers directly from its U.K. offices in Oxfordshire and Shropshire. In the U.S., Asta Development's network of distributors supply, train and support customers. Asta Development is a part of Eleco plc, a holding company focused on software development and services for architectural, engineering and construction industries. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). More information about Eleco plc can be found at

Read the full story at

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[ansc] 07/5/2014 13:53

He who dares wins! A reasonable summing up, LGW, other than the mention of a possibility of being taken out at 30p; with Mr K having been buying all the way up (and even above!) the 90p level six years ago, I doubt whether he would willingly accept such a meagre price with the enormous potential that could be just over the horizon. 30p wouldn't get my vote either, 50p ... now that would be worth cogitating about.

In the meantime, 'small' selling continues unabated.

[lgw500] 06/5/2014 19:11

Clearly, Mr. K and the management have absolutely no interest in communicating and enthusing investors. Like many investors, I averaged all the way down to the bleak days of 6p when the banks were looking hungry. It would be good to think that the long term investors could be rewarded with a steady stream of useful newsflow. Our collective assumptions must be that the group has not been cast off with concrete boots into an ocean, that the banks will have milked every pound of fees to prevent this and that there will be a battery of one-off costs! What we want to hear is a positive strategy on the core business with positive operating cashflow and organic growth potential. In the meantime, with no FD, I still wonder whether this will be taken out at 30p by some opportunist. Either way, it should be a screaming buy ahead of the results but who dares do that these days...

[mach100] 02/5/2014 18:34

I am still hovering here. Looks a good recovery play but the accounts seem overdue. I am interested to see how they performed without the precast concrete businesses which seemed to be weighing on them. Interesting company but difficult to weigh up.

[ansc] 02/5/2014 14:05

Yes, I always get a tad anxious when announcements appear to be unduly delayed. Mind you, there has been a lot of disposals during the last financial year so perhaps the 'tidying up' of their accounts has been the reason.

Not expecting fireworks after the announcement (when it comes!) therefore but remain a believer that good times are again looming on ELCO's horizon. Hopefully, those who wrote the company off a couple of years ago will be forced to eat a plate of 'humble pie'.

[rathkum] 02/5/2014 13:42

Does it take four months to release year end accounts for a company the size of Eleco. Perhaps we need a full time accountant after all.