Financial Objects Share Discussion Threads

[highly geared] 10/3/2008 08:57

On balance , very good results but totally overlooked by the market. Agreed that a more progressive dividend would have brought this wider attention (was hoping for 2p), however, what I see in this is a value stock where, at some point, value will "out". With a market cap of around £20M and a take out price of probably £40M , I see this as a bid candidate .

In a better market this would have been £1+ but we are where we are. What this share needs is better financial PR and a wider audience.

[paulie1] 10/3/2008 08:53

i bought in

[liquid assets] 10/3/2008 08:51

looking for some director deals too - now results out of way

[cocker] 10/3/2008 08:33

I've just managed another 5k top up. But where are all the other buyers?

[tole] 10/3/2008 08:30

Also be nice to add on a nice aquisition or two in the year to boost earnings -

"Following the successful integration of recent acquisitions, we are looking to acquire further complementary businesses that are synergistic and earnings enhancing."

[liquid assets] 10/3/2008 08:29

cash for acquisitions needed - makes me a bit nervous, its financial health is a real asset, would prefer this thing just to get bid for meself. First stop 50p.

[aquilla] 10/3/2008 08:20

Another plus point: "The Group has gross tax losses in excess of £6.0 million available for offset against future profits."

[techmark] 10/3/2008 08:03

Stunning results. Very strong earnings growth, profit margins up, large cash pile and strong cash flow generation.

[skyship] 10/3/2008 08:00

I accept that - however, with earnings of 7.0p/share, why only give 1.5p/share back to the patient owners of the business. We don't need to build up cash resources, we need to build up the share price so that he can consider using equity as part of his acquisition policy. There is no way he can do that with the shares on a 14% earnings yield!

[aquilla] 10/3/2008 07:36

Skyship,I think the dividend is prudent. If things continue to go well they still have room to restore an interim dividend, last applied in 2003 (at that time 1p).

[skyship] 10/3/2008 07:29

Commenting on the results, Paul Fullagar, Chairman said:

'I am pleased to report that 2007 returned a third successive year of growth for your company. Operating margins across the Group have continued to rise and operating cash flow remains strong. We have significantly strengthened our management team during the year, laying the foundation to continue growing both organically and by acquisition.'

Outlook

The result for 2007 was excellent, and the outlook for 2008 is for a further year of progress. While we are mindful of market uncertainties, for the reasons stated above we believe that over the full year we can limit the impact of any slowdown. This confidence in the future and the strength of the balance sheet is reflected in the decision to recommend a significant increase in the dividend.

A number of organisational changes were made in 2007 to strengthen the quality of the management team, and we will continue to invest both in sales resource and in product development. Following the successful integration of recent acquisitions, we are looking to acquire further complementary businesses that are synergistic and earnings enhancing.

===================================

Personally I think they've missed a trick by not being more progressive with that dividend. The figures are very good without being excellent. We'll need the Press to pick up and report positively as the undervaluation will continue without new investors.

[aquilla] 09/3/2008 21:58

Good luck to all holders tomorrow! Latest projections from Digital Look:

YearEnding 31-Dec-07
Revenue(£m) 21.87
Pre-tax(£m) 2.87
EPS 6.4p
P/E 7.1
PEG 0.3
EPS Grth +21%
Div n/a
Yield 0.0%

YearEnding 31-Dec-08
Revenue(£m) 24.02
Pre-tax(£m) 3.47
EPS 7.5p
P/E 6.1
PEG 0.4
EPS Grth +17%
Div n/a
Yield 0.0%

[tole] 09/3/2008 16:41

All recent broker coverage can be downloaded from their website - including the most recent EVOLUTION BUY note from Novemeber last year (Though prior to their latest Ahead Trading Statement on 15th Jan 2008).

Here is the link to view their analyst coverage...



And the direct link to Evolution Securities Broker Note - BUY 90p Target Price.

[skyship] 08/3/2008 10:49

IMO they should be ULTRA generous with the dividend.

There is no more positive signal as to both prospects and shareholder welfare than a commitment to a generous dividend policy. After all, in the case of FIO, it is not that the company needs to preserve cash...

Put us onto a good yield and there will be far more institutional & PI interest.

[tole] 07/3/2008 20:00

Evo reiterating today inline for results Monday - 90p target price.

07-Mar-08 Financial Objects FIO Evolution Securities Buy 45.50p 90.00p - Reiteration

[glasshalfull] 07/3/2008 17:41

Are you still in these Rivaldo?
Be interested on your take.

Regards,
GHF

[glasshalfull] 07/3/2008 17:39

Don't remember the Evolution note Tole.
Would be obliged if you could send it on please.

Very bullish summary.
Let's hope that this is evidenced in the results on Monday :-)


Kind regards,
GHF

[highly geared] 07/3/2008 12:16

Good post Tole.Will be interesting to note what % the energy credit risk software accounts for as this could be seen to be a "recession proof/credit crunch immune" part of the business?

[tole] 07/3/2008 12:09

Yep no tax to pay for a while yet :)

Reference to HG's post - here is a few summary points as to what was mentioned by Evolution from their update in November.

"Overhauling a bank's IT system is a complex, expensive and risky process, so once a bank has adopted either Activebank, ibis or a competing product, they tend to stick with it. This barrier-to-switching generates a lot of repeat business for banking software vendors."

"Much of Financial Objects' license sales pipeline comes from markets outside the UK (e.g. South Africa, Oslo and Croatia) where the impact of the credit crunch has been less severe."

"the credit crunch could actually end up generating increased demand for software from Financial Objects' UK client base."

"One side-effect of the Northern Rock crisis is that there will almost certainly be changes to the regulatory environment for retail banks. Changes in legislation demands changes to banks' IT systems."

"new rules for the credit markets could eventually lead to the creation of new Activebank and ibis modules and prompt customers to upgrade existing ones."

"Improvements to Financial Objects' sales process next year could help offset any general market weakness"

[glasshalfull] 07/3/2008 10:50

Thanks for the updates Tole.
I had forgotten that they have £11m in to utilise in previous tax losses (from the acquisitions they've made from memory). Little tax to pay for the forseeable....yet another plus :-)


Regards,
GHF

[highly geared] 07/3/2008 09:43

A normal market should see these back above 60p with the results and a decent outlook statement. It will help the company and the share price if they can articulate how their market/prospects aren`t inextricably linked to the credit crunch (which appears to be the perception) in terms of the share price drop since July.

[tole] 07/3/2008 08:25

Last chance to be in for figures out on Monday -

Snippets below from the last update from Smallcapshares focusing on the Trading Update. Currently rating the stock a BUY at 46p

The software company Financial Objects has posted a brief statement to the market saying that it expects operating profits for year to 31st December 2007 to be ahead of market expectations.

On a zero tax charge, due to historic accumulated losses of £11 million, the company is expected to post earnings of 6.2p in calendar 2007 rising to 7.4p in 2008. That puts the shares on a historic multiple of 7.4, falling to just 6.2 in the current year. We should now assume that those forecasts will be beaten and thus the current year rating is - we suspect - closer to 6 than 7.


Though as noted in earlier posts Evolution had upped 2008e slightly to 7.5p and reminded that FIO has circa £4.4m in cash roughly 9p a share.

[tole] 06/3/2008 13:22

Looks a decent new appointment -

Source: Financial Objects, 06 March 2008

Financial Objects appoints Ian Sloggett Emea sales director, energy division


Financial Objects plc, an international supplier of software solutions for the banking, wealth management and energy sectors, has today announced its appointment of Ian Sloggett as EMEA sales director for its Energy division.

Sloggett, whose career spans fifteen years in the financial services and energy markets, brings experience from SunGard Energy and Thomson Financial Services to Financial Objects.

Sloggett will be responsible for defining and executing the sales strategy for Financial Objects' Energy division. His experience in managing direct sales teams and partner programs in Europe and Asia will also be particularly beneficial to Financial Objects, which is growing in both of these regions.

"It is a very exciting time to be joining Financial Objects, which has established itself as a leader in energy credit risk," said Ian Sloggett, sales director - EMEA of the Energy division at Financial Objects. "Not only does Financial Objects count the leading energy trading firms among its client base, but the energycredit offering provides a strong solution to a clear market need."

Prior to joining Financial Objects, Sloggett was vice president of sales EMEA at SunGard Energy for four years. He was responsible for managing the partner and distribution program, as well as providing market intelligence into product strategy. Additionally, Sloggett defined and executed the direct sales strategy and joint initiatives with partners.

Previously Sloggett worked at SunGard STEP as director of strategic sales. He originally joined SunGard in 1998 as regional sales manager for SunGard ePI. This role was based in Singapore and covered all of Asia Pacific.

Before joining SunGard, Sloggett worked as a business manager for Thomson Financial Services in Asia. While in this role he formulated and implemented the company's Asian marketing plan. He was also responsible for operational procedures as well as staff recruitment and training. Sloggett also worked at Thomson Financial Services in London in a senior sales role. Further responsibilities included sales generation and account management.

Roland Jones, managing director of the Energy division at Financial Objects, commented: "Ian's experience in the energy markets will be particularly valuable for us, as will his abilities to successfully lead and develop a sales team. We look forward to the contribution he will make to Financial Objects and welcome him aboard."

[tole] 06/3/2008 11:59

Looks like they've got a bit more to clear at 45p - Though moving up in the background - now last one on 46 - l2 3v1 43-46