Formjet(See LSE:TQC) Share Discussion Threads

[2phildove] 13/4/2009 17:46

agreed, it was shambolic....we can only hope the new panda is the new nortons/symantec lol.....!!!

[refusenish] 13/4/2009 17:42

freaking warnkers

[2phildove] 12/4/2009 23:06

a nice little article I came across....
potentally looking into a reverse takeover in future!!! possibly... or additional purchases...!!

Fine form: Formjet plc


10 October 2008

Lyndon Chapman has a reason to smile. Despite the economic turmoil that has devastated market confidence in recent weeks, his company is making notable progress. In fact, the chairman of AIM-listed software company Formjet plc says the company's latest figures are astonishing.

Formjet is the company behind the emergence of numerous retail-branded software packages offering consumers cheaper – but not necessarily deficient – alternatives to buying mainstream home computer applications. Anti-virus software from Marks & Spencer and Complete Office from Tesco are just two of its recent retail achievements.

But while white label versions of its two core software brands – Ability and Panda – are finding favour among retailers, the company is also making impressive strides selling to corporates.

Together, Ability and Panda offer alternative versions of most of the well known office and anti-virus programs available in the market, with another product, EdAlive, covering "edutainment". Formjet firms up the offering by also running the all-important ancillary customer support services through internet and telephone help lines.

While Chapman is cool on the idea that Formjet is definitely benefiting from cutbacks being made by cash-strapped shoppers, he is certain that the company is gaining ground. Indeed, he is already in talks with major manufacturers about getting the company's software pre-installed on new computers – a market he says offers "wonderful opportunities".

The company's recently announced interim figures for the six months to June 30 showed sales up 3.8% to £1.7 million, pre-tax losses down by 44% to £84,000 and costs down by 5.8%. It currently has a market cap of around £1.9 million.

"It's solid performance," Chapman says. "My feelings on the figures are that we're building the blocks. There is no one thing that we can put our finger on, it is simply that we are improving the routes to market, the products are becoming better known and the number of people using the products is increasing.

"Significantly for us, brands like Ability represented 21% of our turnover in the first half - compare that with last year when it was only 7%. So the brands that we're focused on are growing for us, and we have some really very attractive pipelines that we can look forward to improving further.

"It astonishes me that I can say that in the first six months of this year our retail sales were up 13.8% - where is the logic in that with all the news of retail doom and gloom about? We're saying to ourselves, in the second half those sales will probably increase further in relation to 2007."

Chapman believes the improvement simply reflects a greater number of resellers and retailers shifting Formjet products, combined with better penetration into the corporate market. This has helped bolster vital brand awareness and recognition of the products among consumers.

"Yes, we reduced costs and increased sales but I think what really impresses me is the additional retailers selling our products and the additional corporate businesses that are using, say, our security software – that's the pleasing part. I think our opportunities lie in the fact that the products are now being viewed by most of the major computer manufacturers as optional products or alternative products to the market leaders for pre-installing.

"If we crack that market, it could be immensely important to us, it would establish high scale recognition. To be pre-installed and have that brand awareness is very important because that would create yet more sales. These deals have still got to be done but they're very much in our pipeline.

"It takes a while to get to this stage because you have to establish the products as good and viable, and certainly the business gained enormous credibility when we started to produce products for people like Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

"What is happening now is that those same companies are showing signs that they would rather sell our branded products – in other words they would rather sell Ability as Ability and Panda as Panda. They are starting to see more traction in that, which is an interesting spin on all of this."

Aborted acquisitions

Formjet's progress in marketing its software to big corporates set the scene for the first of two aborted acquisitions in the period, both of which fell at the due diligence stage. Having raised £0.9 million through a share placing in July this year, the company is still on the lookout for businesses that will help it scale-up operations.

The first near-miss was a move to build on its existing technical support offering by bolting-on a mobile IT support operation. The second was a distribution business that could have brought with it a significant network of resellers.

It's in these areas that Chapman sees the business evolving. "Are we still looking for companies? Yes we are," he says. "We're either looking to acquire them or there may be suitable merger opportunities. I don't think they are necessary to drive us to profitability but what I do believe is that Formjet would be a far better company if it had slightly more scale to it. It's an expensive place being a small PLC in relative terms and we are looking to acquire or increase the size of the operation.

"It's a funny old market out there but we have a good solid balance sheet and we have an excellent pipeline. The one thing I feel very good about is our pipeline of business and of course we're high margin so everything drops to the bottom line fairly quickly if you can get to the right scale."

Indeed, with a business model based on royalties from software sales, Formjet is secure in the knowledge that while it can't always guarantee what the sales will be, it can be certain that margins won't suffer – currently those margins sit somewhere between 55%-70% dependent on the mix of products. It's a position that leaves Chapman all too aware that others in the market are watching closely.

"We often bump in to Microsoft and people like Symantec and Norton," he says. "They are certainly aware of our products and it wouldn't surprise me if they don't keep a very close eye on our performance and they way things are moving.

[bozzy_s] 10/4/2009 00:51

Well, best of luck to you, and I mean that. Now the pump and dump conster has gone, your odds are a lot better.

[2phildove] 09/4/2009 23:08

not on anyones side, only hold 1m and looking for better than i paid... end of!!!

[2phildove] 09/4/2009 16:11

a few small buys going through!!!

[2phildove] 09/4/2009 15:16

resusenish.... i was referring to the increase of 0.0025p a shares yesterday and today and if that continues... it will be 1p!!
but it ain't going further than that unless good news/contract wins etc around the corner... mind you they were well cashed at £1.7 million at last results - don't know what the burn rate is/was!!

[refusenish] 09/4/2009 13:04

Yes and 10p by April 2010 and 20p by 2011. Is that how it works?

[2phildove] 09/4/2009 12:53

looks like we are set for 0.025p a day at this rate we will be 1p....by end of april 2009....seems to be enough buying today!!!

[2phildove] 09/4/2009 10:02

dont care whether he does or doesn't!

[8trader] 09/4/2009 09:52

So what's on the pump and dump menu today then !

You are all crazy if you think william still holds this stock !

[2phildove] 09/4/2009 08:30

yes i agree and whilst forecasting a loss which i believe isfully factored in the price there could be an element of suprise.... they also some US deal with guranteed income for three years of 1.0m$ - not alot but better than nothing!!!

we are up with lots of buys for this little company and it is not even 8.30

[barryisland] 09/4/2009 08:27

oh and phil, I don't have any info on results due date, sorry.

[barryisland] 09/4/2009 08:26

phil it might be old news but these are the 1st results coming up with this deal factored in.

[pelleeds1980] 09/4/2009 08:26

Oops is that blue I see?

[barryisland] 09/4/2009 08:25

Read and make up your own minds, no need to listen to so called 'pump and dumpers' or 'con-busters' If the figures are good in regard to this Carphone warehouse deal and customers re-subscribing to FMJ'S software, which has been running since Dec08 then the share price will climb, its not rocket science. all imo.

'conbusters' - it'd be good to see any info you have to refute this.

[barryisland] 09/4/2009 08:18

more again:
This is part of an announcement made by FMJ on 25th Nov 08, you can find it on their website.

HIGHLIGHTS

Formjet's Ability Office and Panda Internet Security software to be pre installed on up to 100,000 computers per month; and

Once the 30 day period has expired there will be opportunities for Formjet to benefit from upgrades and renewal contracts.

Versions of Formjet's Ability Office and Panda Internet Security will be preinstalled on computers provided by The Carphone Warehouse as part of its broadband offering. Initially the software will be installed in up to 100,000 computers a month, with the potential to reach 1.2 million customers a year.

Once the 30 day period expires, customers have the option to purchase the full product. There is potential for Formjet to boost its recurring revenues while margins will be protected thanks to its royalty based model. There will also be scope for Formjet to sell its other software titles to the enlarged customer base.

Lyndon Chapman, Executive Chairman of Formjet commented: "We are delighted to have secured such a high profile deal. The fact that The Carphone Warehouse awarded Formjet this contract in the face of stiff competition highlights the strength of our product offering."

[pelleeds1980] 09/4/2009 08:18

Good digging barry.

[barryisland] 09/4/2009 08:17

more:
It is my opinion that the latest versions of ASI Ability Office provide a credible value alternative to Microsoft Office at a fraction of the cost and this is being recognised by manufacturers, resellers and end-users alike."



Chapman continued: "We are actively expanding the range of B2B solutions sold under the ASI Brand, with our latest product ASI BeAnywhere, a simple but secure remote access product, generating good reviews and sales interest. The industry is generally telling me that Formjet's current product ranges are usefully positioned to do well in recessionary times due to their fully featured value proposition and ease of use.

[barryisland] 09/4/2009 08:17

more
October 2008 saw the launch of Ability Office "on a stick" with the software shipping on a USB deliverable. ASI has appointed Micro Peripherals as exclusive distributors of this new innovation, which has already seen just under 30,000 units shipped in only two months.

In November 2008, Formjet announced a deal with The Carphone Warehouse that will see Ability Office pre-installed on up to 100,000 PCs a month for shipment via the retailer into the UK market.

This new visibility has also driven an increase in resellers wanting to stock the Ability product range with over a hundred new resellers signing up and actively trading in Q3 and Q4 2008.



Mark Kahr, Director at Micro Peripherals, commented that the distributor had already experienced considerable success in both stand-alone boxed sales and bundled sales of Ability. He further remarked: "With the USB version of ASI Ability Office, our resellers can now fulfil their customers' core software needs without in any way negating the crucial lower-priced value proposition inherent in Netbooks."



Formjet plc Chairman, Lyndon Chapman added: "The success of ASI Ability this year has resulted in a significant increase in sales of the brand. This ramp in demand is expected to continue into 2009 as Netbook products accelerate their share of the portable computing sector, further aided by a growing demand for Intel's Classmate products within educational establishments. It is my opinion that the