Foresight Share Discussion Threads

[welsheagle] 02/8/2008 14:47

Shares magazine recommended as a 'buy', saying that the sector is in takeover mood, with a few very undervalued stocks such as FSG.

[cockneyrebel] 30/7/2008 21:15

At least it moved up Welsheagle. Decent statement - market wants bells on it at the moment.

CR

[welsheagle] 30/7/2008 07:30

Focus Solutions AGM Statement




RNS Number : 1564A
Focus Solutions Group PLC
30 July 2008


Embargoed until 0700 30 July 2008

Focus Solutions Group plc

('Focus' or 'the Group')

Annual General Meeting - Statement

Focus Solutions Group plc (AIM: FSG), a leading supplier of enterprise solutions to the
financial services industry, is today holding
its Annual General Meeting, at which the Chairman, Alastair Taylor, will make the following
statement:
"Focus has had a very encouraging start to the current financial year with our financial
performance to date significantly ahead of the
same period last year. Despite wider market conditions we have not seen any deterioration in
new business enquiries, and remain confident
that the underlying requirement for our customer base to comply with regulatory requirements
at all times, irrespective of short term market
conditions, will continue to drive the business forward. We expect the business to perform in
line with market expectations for the year as
a whole.
We continue to pursue the appropriate legal framework to ensure that the company is able
to pay a dividend in the future.
The official launch of focus:360° in May was particularly successful and the company now
leads the market with its whole of office and
extranet solutions.
The Group's intention is to be recognised as the leading provider of front office
solutions to the UK financial services market and the
Board has a clear strategy for both organic and non-organic growth to achieve this."

[drw1] 30/7/2008 07:20

Well the AGM statement is pretty clear-FSG has performed well to date and this is expected to continue despite market conditions.
Cheap.IMHO.

[ged5] 06/7/2008 11:34

Just a little snippet of news the other day:-

Focus Solutions, a provider of software to banks, was flat at 25½p despite Daniel Stewart, its house broker, saying that the agreed bid for Financial Objects, an industry rival, by Temenos, a much bigger, Swiss company in the same field, would make the outfit worth 42p at a comparable multiple to its earnings. It has a 57p target price.

[welsheagle] 02/7/2008 20:02

Agree, Kalmar.

[kalmar] 01/7/2008 20:55

thnx Welsh but at present I dont think this is gonna move until the greater market sorts itself...I am trying to be patient...and tell myself I will be greatly rewarded when the market eventually turns.

K

[welsheagle] 01/7/2008 20:49

Tipped in Investors Chronicle last week.
Mentioned the low PE ratio, and the recent contracts.

[ged5] 27/6/2008 12:21

Thanks Dom,

But it's a little concerning that there having to repeat news. See 20th May.

I was hoping for some contract news preferably with a new partner/customer.

From the layout I'm wondering if this is the announcement that should have been put on the website.

[domwilliams] 27/6/2008 11:40

From FSG's website:

27 June 2008

AEGON Scottish Equitable selects Focus to deliver streamlined intermediary extranet solution

Focus Solutions Group plc, leading provider of enterprise solutions to the financial services market, is pleased to announce the launch of an extranet service for AEGON Scottish Equitable that will support the sale of its guaranteed onshore bond - 'Investment Control'.

The extranet service enables advisers to seamlessly transact business electronically from quotation through to completion either directly with AEGON or via their multiple distribution channels with industry portals and leading Network portals. The service also provides facilities to internal & branch users, enabling them to assist the adviser through the process and with features such as special deals and approvals.

Supporting both online and offline business, the extranet has been developed from adviser feedback to meet the demands of today's adviser business models. The new solution will provide an enhanced service to advisers, not only can advisers operate the system at a time to suit them, but through email linking advisers can switch cases, so others can pick up where they left off and it has full save and recall functionality.

This development forms part of a wider project to redevelop AEGON's corporate extranet service in line with new branding requirements and an overall consolidation of existing IT platforms helping to reduce the overall cost of new business whilst enhancing the service to advisers. The platform has the potential to be easily extended into other product areas whilst providing AEGON with the ability to self-maintain the solution to help reduce the overall cost of ownership and increase the speed of change.

The benefits of the new solution are numerous:-

· a faster, more efficient service by which advisers can conduct business

· straight through processing model ensures all data is transferred to their back office systems without any manual intervention

· decreased costs associated with customer acquisition

· better relations with AEGON's advisers, whilst improving the customer experience

The Investment Control Bond is particularly attractive to investors in the current economic climate, as not only does the investor receive at least their minimum investment back even if the bond's value has fallen; they can cash in the policy after 5 years and the protection still applies; and an annual bonus is paid for investments of £25,000 or more.

Richard Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer, Focus Solutions, commented:

"Focus continues to provide market leading solutions to leading financial services companies and we are delighted to be extending our relationship with AEGON, one of the largest players in this industry. Focus remains at the forefront of eCommerce, developing innovative front-end solutions for our customers and this partnership further strengthens our presence in this space."

Derek Hendry, Head of eCommerce at AEGON Scottish Equitable added:

"Providing advisers with the capability for electronic transactions is increasingly important, and can really make life easier for advisers. This is the first phase of a wider project to develop the service to advisers and roll out the system within other areas of AEGON. Focus' reputation for delivering flexible, efficient and effective ecommerce solutions combined with their industry knowledge made them our preferred technology partner. The new proposition will enable us to develop our brand and distribution strategy whilst supporting our vision for growth."

[littleweed] 17/6/2008 21:23

Thought we might get some positive contract news. Usual comments about good start to the year but this is par for the course with FSG. Also concerning is they seem to have got through £2M of cash this year and am not too convinced by the reasons, eg aborted aquisitions. Well how much will it cost if they finally find a target and where will the cash come from?. Stevenson claims its a cash generative business but they sure seem to have had a good year spending it.

[boadicea] 17/6/2008 21:00

A bit of exposure here in UK-Analyst this evening - and a divergence of target values by a factor of more than 2:1.

"Online mortgage software specialist Focus Solutions (FSG) saw pre-tax profits for the year to 31 March 2008 increase by 35% to 1.4 million pounds on sales up by 9% to 8.6 million pounds and said the new financial year has got off to a good start, in line with expectations. "As has been previously outlined, the group has a clear strategy for both organic and non-organic growth and the board is looking to accelerate the development of its business by a combination of partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions," said the group. The shares rallied 3.5p to 30p on the results, but broker Seymour Pierce was not convinced, commenting: "These results show that the company is making progress, but at a more moderate pace than we had hoped." The broker maintained its 'hold' stance and dropped its price target to 28p from 30 p. However, Daniel Stewart begged to differ, arguing that financial instability has not destabilised Focus' business model. It has a 'buy' rating and a target price of 57p for the shares."
[end quote]

I'm afraid I'm tending slightly closer to the S-P view but would think 35-40p is perhaps a more reasonable target, representing a notionally fully taxed historic adjusted p/e of around 12.

[cockneyrebel] 17/6/2008 10:19

Well a muted reaction - guess that's the way of the market - TCN posted results that look like they'll do 5p adjusted eps this year, PE of around 6 yet still punters sold. Seems punters are selling anything on results just to get the cash out on a spike. Fear in the market I guess with inflation hitting 3.3% today (on the dodgy figures the gov uses too).

CR

[boadicea] 17/6/2008 08:16

Without wanting to put too much of a dampener on good results, it may be worth noting (as the market will in its evaluation of the share) that on a normal tax charge in the region of 28%, the eps figure would come out around 3p.
The actual tax charge accounted for this year (but not the cash-flow figure) is -41%, i.e. a value recognition of £576k to add to the pre-tax profit of £1400k.

[welsheagle] 17/6/2008 07:43

So we are a growing company with a PE of 4-5, with cash in the bank.

[welsheagle] 17/6/2008 07:42

RNS Number : 8465W
Focus Solutions Group PLC
17 June 2008


Embargoed until 07.00 17th June 2008

Focus Solutions Group plc
("Focus" or "the Group")

Results for the year ended 31 March 2008

Focus Solutions Group plc (AIM: FSG), a leading provider of enterprise solutions to the
financial services industry, is pleased to
announce its Results for the year ended 31 March 2008.

Financial highlights

· Sales revenue up 9% to £8.60 million (FY2007: £7.91 million)
· Profit before tax up 35% to £1.40 million (FY2007: £1.04 million)
· Operating profit before exceptional costs up 22% to £1.46 million
(FY2007: £1.20 million)
· Operating profit up 20% to £1.19 million (FY2007: £0.99 million)
· Net operating margins 13.8% (FY2007: 12.5%)
· Cash of £1.03 million (FY2007: £3.01 million); debt free
· Earnings per share:
· Fully diluted earnings per share up 15% to 5.99 pence (FY2007: 5.22 pence)
· Adjusted fully diluted earnings per share up 14% to 4.24 pence (FY2007: 3.72
pence)*


Operating highlights

· Significant new contract wins during the year included:
· AEGON Scottish Equitable Extranet
· Openwork Licence extension
· HSBC Bank plc Point of Sale Phase Two
· Intermediary Consumer Portal for TietoEnator

· Strengthened relationships with existing clients, including HSBC Bank plc and
Lincoln Financial Group
· Investment in development of focus:360°
· First customers secured following the launch of focus:360° *whole of office*
solution
· Significant progress via partnerships with Unisys and TietoEnator.



* As a result of the deferred tax credit being recognised this year, the Directors
consider that it is appropriate to provide
information on a pre-deferred tax fully diluted Earnings per Share basis

Commenting on the results and prospects, Richard Stevenson, Chief Executive, said:

"We have taken a further step forward over the past year. These results are testament to
the improvements made by the business and to
the efforts of all our employees. The new financial year has started well and in line with
management expectations. We look forward to
continuing to execute the established strategy and to continue to develop a successful,
consistently growing, profitable and cash generative
business."

[boadicea] 17/6/2008 07:29

Well, here we have it.


" Adjusted fully diluted earnings per share up 14% to 4.24 pence (FY2007: 3.72
pence)*"

The adjustment removes the effect of new tax credit recognition which, while real enough, is not anchored to one year's trading performance.

[littleweed] 16/6/2008 22:06

Ah yes 'broadly in line'. No doubt the the pipeline will be at record levels and the outlook rosy, it generally is with FSG

[cockneyrebel] 16/6/2008 17:18

the whole market's dead it seems.

We'll see tomorrow won't we. They've said they will 'broadly in line' - usually code for almost meeting forecasts, so I'm not expecting any nasty surprises.

CR

[littleweed] 16/6/2008 17:00

Well I wonder if it was more active in Berlin. Not exactly a rush to pick these up before results. Lets hope we have some good news or these could resume their drift downwards.

[ged5] 16/6/2008 12:08

"Focus Solutions will announce its full-year figures, although the main interest is likely to be on investment firm Azini Capital Partners which recently snapped up a 26.9pc stake in the technology company. Analysts expect the company to post pre-tax profits of about £1.5m for 2007-08, against £1.2m last time."



Seems a fair summary. Better than Seymour Pierce lowering their target price last week based on (EDIT) their interpretation of a few comments from Intelligent Environments.

I hadn't realised this was traded on the Berlin Exchange.

[cockneyrebel] 13/6/2008 17:07

ta drw1 - I'll read the whole thing on their site.

CR

[kruger2004] 13/6/2008 16:10

yes it is paid for

[littleweed] 13/6/2008 15:39

Edison.. ?. Is this 'paid for' research anybody know.

[drw1] 13/6/2008 14:25

Focus Solutions Group Plc., a provider of proven enterprise
solutions to the financial services market, is broadly in line with
expectations. It has a strong pipeline of new business and remains confident
about the prospects for the group and further sales of the focus: 360degrees
product suite.
More importantly, both the HSBC programme and April announced contract with
a major European IT company add further support to FY09 forecasts, according to
Andrew Bryant of Edison Investment Research.
The contract with a leading European IT company is worth 710,000 pounds
initially. It highlights, says Bryant, the group's strong technical offering in
the B2B mortgage market and crucially provides an opportunity for Focus to
market its 360degrees product multi-channel solution to a further 36 of the IT
company's clients.
Meanwhile, the analyst expects Focus to turn in year to March 2008 group
pretax profits of 1.5 million pounds, compared with 1.2 million in the previous
12 months. This implies EPS of 4.8 pence against 4.1, from which a dividend of
0.5 of a penny (nil) is anticipated. For the ensuing year, Bryant looks for
pretax profits of 1.8 million pounds, EPS of 5.9 pence and a dividend of 0.7 of
a penny.