Eurovestech Share Discussion Threads

[kenmitch] 06/1/2010 17:20

longshanks.

Agree that you'll probably get your money back (and with luck more than) now.

Why didn't you sell KSS at the time and switch to EVT at 2p? It seemed the obvious thing to do with EVT getting such a fantastic deal and KSS shareholders the opposite!

It seems EVT has been off the radar of most private investors until the recent KSS Retail sale news. There were hardly any posts on ADVFN. Now suddenly the EVT bb has come to life, fortunately so far only with sensible posters. I always get a bit worried once the rampers get posting.

[longshanks] 06/1/2010 14:44

Seems like quality investment management companies with decent tech stakes are now back in favour. Really pleased to see EVT coming good...though I would have preferred to see a higher price or licensing model adopted for KSS Retail (I was originally an investor in the failed KSS - but it looks like I should get my money back now).

[solarno lopez] 06/1/2010 10:18

I will check thro' other scources but i think it is lumped in according to Zest largets holders under Pershing keen but thanks anyway

[jambo172] 06/1/2010 10:11

Solarno - don't think so.
As you say it would not fit into their modus operandi.
Have a look at EVT website for a full list of their holdings.
www.eurovestech.co.uk/index.php?pgid=60
Zest ain't there.

[solarno lopez] 06/1/2010 07:35

Jambo172 i believe its 14%

[kenmitch] 05/1/2010 21:07

And all those are valued at next to nothing Jambo!

Good to see the shares moving at last, and even Toluna having a bit of a run.

Thanks for starting this new thread mangal. We seem to have the same investment tastes. They don't come much better quality than EVT. Quality Management, and that is recognised by their quality big investors - top Fund Managers like Neil Woodford.

Seems the share price move or KSS sale news has attracted some new well informed bb posters too - for ages there were hardly any posts. For any lurkers here, or any wanting to find out info from the last couple of years more quickly, there is plenty of information on the old EVT thread.

Presumably though that old thread will close now and future posts appear here?

If so is it worth a post on that old thread mangal suggesting all posts from now on should be here?

[jambo172] 05/1/2010 16:59

Solarno .
Not sure that they own Zest.
Their other holdings are KSS (£9m), Magenta (£3m), MIST Technologies (£4m), LogNet (£2m), ARKeX (£1m) and D-Pharm (£31k)
Magenta looks exciting with contracts being signed.

[solarno lopez] 05/1/2010 12:10

but what about their holding in ZEST how does this fit with their own business model as it appears not to fit

[mangal] 05/1/2010 10:36

Hi Kenmitch & others who track this; I have created a new thread with charts etc here:

[kenmitch] 05/1/2010 10:33

Exactly Jambo.

Although the EVT share price has risen it is still far too cheap. Also the Toluna share price rise should feed through to the EVT share price. Toluna being tipped as a share of the year in The Sunday Times seems at last to have woken up a few investors. For too long the shares were hardly ever traded. Maybe Toluna should go for a Main Market quote now. Next thing of interest for Toluna will be the trading update - next month? Confirmation that the bargain acquisition was indeed a bargain could give the shares a real lift. Toluna used to trade on a high forward PE - but now the prospective PE ratio is very modest.

After months of frustrating disappointment share price wise things are at last looking up.

I hope they go for a special dividend and not a share buyback, so that ordinary investors see the money.

Good point too about the other KSS. To think EVT bought the lot for just £1 million! Another stunning buy/multi bagger, and they've still got half of it. Also the fact that the purchaser of KSS Retail is owned by Tesco says something.

[mangal] 05/1/2010 10:33

The spread has narrowed a bit now but still high. I guess it could narrow further as this gets more noticed because of recent activity & more buyers come in.

[jambo172] 05/1/2010 10:17

Not sure why this trades on such a wide discount to asset value.
Effectively you get the rest of the portfolio (ex cash and Toluna) for virtually nothing.
Very strange especially as Toluna's price is rising.
The other KSS is mature as well and may be cashed in.

[jambo172] 05/1/2010 10:15

A bit more interest now.
Not sure why this trades on such a wide discount to asset value.
Effectively you get the rest of the portfolio (ex cash and Toluna) for virtually nothing.
Very strange especially as Toluna's price is rising.
The other KSS is mature as well and may be cashed in.

[mangal] 04/1/2010 20:19

Started this thread as others don't have charts in the header.

Good news today; other realisations to come; bodes well for the future.

[longshanks] 04/1/2010 16:34

I am really surprised at how little interest this has generated!!

[kooba] 04/1/2010 07:13

think the buyer is good for the money!
"Tesco Clubcard is the loyalty card of Tesco, the UK's largest retailer. Clubcard is operated by dunnhumby Limited, a private company now majority owned by Tesco"

[kooba] 04/1/2010 07:02

Eurovestech plc

("Eurovestech" or the "Company")

Sale of Portfolio Company - Eurovestech to receive GBP11 million in cash

Eurovestech is pleased to announce that on 31 December 2009 it sold its
portfolio company, KSS Retail Ltd ("KSS Retail") to dunnhumby Limited
("dunnhumby") for a cash consideration of GBP12.9 million.

Knowledge Support Systems Limited, the provider of price optimisation solutions
for the retail and petroleum fuel industries, was acquired by the Company in
June 2003 for a total consideration of GBP1 million. At that time, Knowledge
Support Systems was loss making with revenues of around GBP1 million per annum
and an annual cost base of approximately GBP7 million. Knowledge Support Systems'
strategy was refined, operations were quickly restructured into two divisions,
KSS Fuels and KSS Retail, and operating expenses were significantly reduced. In
September 2007, the Retail division was demerged, leaving the two companies to
pursue independent strategies that were more highly tailored to the needs of
their respective market sectors, customers and potential channel partners.

In the financial results of the Company for the 15 months to 30 June 2009, as
announced on 29 September 2009, KSS Retail reported a profit after tax of GBP1.6
million for the 15 months to 30 June 2009 and as at that date had a carrying
value in Eurovestech's balance sheet of GBP10 million.

Eurovestech will receive GBP11.0 million of the consideration after taking
account of management and employee option entitlements. The contract for the
sale of KSS Retail includes a requirement that there will be a given level of
adjusted cash reserves at completion and Eurovestech will be liable to
reimburse the consideration received to the extent of any shortfall. In
addition, KSS Retail has repaid its intercompany indebtedness due to the
Company, amounting to approximately GBP1.8 million at completion. The contract
includes the normal warranties and indemnities.

In addition, KSS Fuels and KSS Retail and their US subsidiaries have entered
into a co-existence agreement aimed at protecting their respective interests in
the fuels and consumer retail sectors. Eurovestech owns 100 per cent. of the
issued share capital of KSS Fuels, which had a carrying value of GBP9.5 million
in Eurovestech's balance sheet as at 30 June 2009.

Following the completion of the sale of KSS Retail, the Company will hold cash
and liquid assets of approximately GBP17 million. Eurovestech also holds 29.8 per
cent of the issued share capital of ToLuna plc, which values Eurovestech's
holding currently at approximately GBP34 million. As announced at the time of the
final results for the period ended 30 June 2009, published on 29 September
2009, the directors stated that following the sale of part of the ToLuna
shareholding, the Company had sufficient distributable reserves to allow it to
make shareholder distributions and that it was evaluating a number of options
with its advisers. Following the sale of KSS Retail, the Directors intend to
return a significant proportion of the Company's cash reserves to shareholders.
The Directors will be consulting with the Company's major shareholders
regarding the most efficient means of returning capital to shareholders and
expect that a further announcement will be made on or before mid-February 2010.



Commenting, Richard Bernstein, Eurovestech's Chief Executive, said:

"I believe this is an excellent outcome and return on investment for
Eurovestech. Over the last six years, KSS Retail has been transformed to become
a leading provider of price optimisation solutions. The calibre of the
purchaser speaks volumes as to the quality of the business."

Further information:

Eurovestechplc

Richard Bernstein - Chief Executive Tel: [phone]

[dire cons] 03/1/2010 12:20

Ben Marlow TOLUNA Take a look at Toluna's share price performance over the past year and you will see little to get excited about. The company, which runs online surveys for market-research firms, has seen its share price rise a meagre 3% during that time, valuing it at £115m.

However, Toluna has recently completed a transformational deal with the purchase of Microsoft's online survey business for $40m (£25m) - a bargain price - and if the deal proves a success then the shares could take off.

Toluna says the European online survey market is growing at 26% a year because it is a much cheaper alternative to telephone and face-to-face interviews.

Revenues for 2009 are tipped to jump 123% to £49m and a further 53% to £75m in 2010. Profits should nearly double from £6m in 2009 to more than £12m in 2010.

The share price stands at 231p and Liberum Capital, the broker, has a target of 312p. It is one of this year's riskier bets but if well-regarded founder and chief executive Frederic-Charles Petit can integrate the recent acquisition then growth prospects are strong and earnings upgrades possible.

[dire cons] 29/10/2009 17:31

Thanks Ken, I agree on quality, but I like to see my money working for me rather than stagnant.

Short term, there could be the special dividend, though I would prefer them to use the surplus cash on another TOL if they could find one.

I guarantee if I sold tomorrow it would sky-rocket! So I'm prepared to wait a while.

[kenmitch] 29/10/2009 10:01

It is frustrating - but as you said on the 7th patience is required.

I don't think the shares will do anything until there is news - like significant contracts for KSS, and then other investee Companies. I'm hoping there will be contract news soon but if there isn't then the shares probably aren't going anywhere.

The other key share price mover is TOL. Will a bidder pounce - after all TOL is bigger and better than RNOW? Without a bid then confirmation of the success of their bargain priced acquisition (along with further progress/increased profits from the existing business) will be needed to lift the TOL share price. That could be several months away.

When so many shares, Investment Trusts and warrants were rising fast while the EVT share price did little, there was a strong case for selling EVT and using those funds for more exciting investments shorter term. That possibly still applies - except that it is now much harder to find big short term winners. The easy money has been made. If markets tumble again I would rather be holding quality. EVT only fell to around 11p at the depth of the bear market so barring surprise bad news EVT shouldn't fall much either.

But I agree. It needs news soon - otherwise impatient investors will move on.

[dire cons] 28/10/2009 17:16

Yawn...... God, watching paint dry is slightly more exciting than this stock. I don't remember ever selling because of boredom, but I think I may be tempted.

[dire cons] 07/10/2009 15:53

egoi - 7 Oct'09 - 07:42 - 377 of 378

Fair enough, my mistake.

Cheers Ken, keep them coming. MM's don't agree with brokers though, bid dropped to 13.5p

Patience required I think.

[kenmitch] 07/10/2009 13:04

Thanks Dire Cons and egoi - and for posting the link to my post. I posted there partly to create a bit more interest in a too under recognised share, but also because if there were any obvious negatives I had missed for either TOL or EVT there was a high chance of someone quickly saying so. The currency point made by DukeofYork is one I tend not to consider carefully enough - not just with EVT/TOL.

The shares still seem resolutely stuck under 15p, but surely in time investors will realise the potential upside and some then buy the shares?

If others reading this are also holding EVT then I hope it isn't too much longer before the shares have a bit of a run and trade nearer to a fair price. Two brokers also think they are much too cheap.

[egoi] 07/10/2009 06:42

No sarcasm whatever - I've always had the highest respect for Kenmitch's research and analysis, without which EVT would not be near the top of my wishlist.