Gulf Marine Services Share Discussion Threads

[loudenr] 25/8/2015 10:11

imranawan I completely agree with you that debt should be reduced before dividends increased as that would be a big catalyst for the share price in my opinion. I note that there is the mention of banking covenants in the report this time around which can only mean that they are aware of the high levels of debt.

I just wonder whether there may be another placing at some point to reduce the level of debt.

[imranawan] 25/8/2015 09:57

I bought in after the IPO, and added at the beginning of the year at sub 100. I agree with your comments loudenr that the debt is an issue, but the overall results are solid. They also reiterated that several times in the results that as capex is reduced they should be able to increase the dividends. My own preference would be for them to start to pay down some of the debt, rather than increase the divi. The overall debt to EBITDA position is 2.6 which is manageable.

[loudenr] 25/8/2015 09:39

As a holder I am a little disappointed with these results and they were not what I expected. The increase in the level of debt is worrying and the business has gone cash flow negative even after borrowing and additional $85m. Eventually the debt has to be repaid and is a massive weight on the profits for the foreseeable.

I still hold but have trimmed back this morning. Reducing the level of debt is key for me. I also note the chairman's comments that performance is broadly in line with expectations which to me means they are going to miss by a little bit.

Just my thoughts - happy to be challenged

[macarre] 25/8/2015 08:15

LONDON (Alliance News) - Gulf Marine Services PLC on Tuesday posted a solid set of results for the first half, with profit and revenue both higher and the group's fleet utilisation remaining strong, along with confidence that earnings will improve in the second half.

The company, which provides self-propelled self-elevating support vessels to the offshore energy sector, said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was USD36.1 million, up from USD34.3 million a year earlier, as revenue for the group increased to USD98.2 million from USD90.7 million.

Gulf Marine said its fleet utilisation in the half was 98%, with charter day rates in line with its guidance. The group said its fleet expansion programme is now more than half complete and is on time and on budget. The three new vessels it has commissioned most recently have been immediately deployed to new contracts.

The company added it would pay a flat interim dividend of 0.41 pence per share.

The group is anticipating a reduction in planned special projects in the second half of the year and, in addition to the new vessels which will be added to its fleet in the third quarter, expects an increase in total available days of more than 25% in the second half. More than 95% of its total available days for the second half have already been contracted, it said, and this should lead to a substantial rise in second half earnings.

"Given the group's continued success in winning contracts for the new vessels, we expect to see growth in our revenue earning capacity feeding through to the bottom line and dividend prospects in 2016 and thereafter," said Chief Executive Duncan Anderson.

"As the period of capital investment associated with the current new build programme concludes in 2016 and the group captures the earnings benefit from the enlarged fleet, the board will consider the appropriate dividend policy that balances the opportunities to invest to continue to grow the business with the potential for increased shareholder returns," Anderson added.

Gulf Marine shares were up 5.2% to 107.00 pence in early trade, one of the best performers in the FTSE All-Share.

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved., source Alliance News

[trident5] 25/8/2015 08:05

Yes but I expect businesses to charge more at higher margins for special one off projects

[macarre] 25/8/2015 08:04

Agree. Not mind-blowing, but very solid results (as usual). Hugely under-valued as sector is out of favour with investors, despite GMS being well positioned to perform strongly even in an economic downturn.

[woodcutter] 25/8/2015 07:58

Mac i've been around 40% cash since spring last year so i can afford to be a little bold. the results are very good and i wished i'd bought more yesterday. btw it's a ftse small cap company.

what you have to take account of with GMS is the level of debt, the forward order book and the cash flow. assuming the order book remains strong then when the capex starts to diminish the cashflow will drive down the debt and we'll see the eps grow significantly. if you can build and be patient this will be a very rewarding share, and it's valuation is well below what it should be imv. they're basically telling you exactly that in these H1 results

the gross margin is reduced due to the number of special one off type projects that were undertaken in H1, that's clear in the report. the admin costs also came down, a further good sign costs are under control. the backlog should improve now the specials are gone too.

aimho

woody

[trident5] 25/8/2015 07:47

Curate's egg - what happened to gross profit margin? Backlog has fallen.

[tintin82] 25/8/2015 07:27

Agreed, really strong results. Yesterday's sell of certainly had me worried, but for no reason. Well done whoever snapped up more on the big drop.

[tudes100] 25/8/2015 07:22

Solid results imo, nothing to warrant the drop off we have seen in share price Remains significantly undervalued, strong hold for me.

[kissxx] 24/8/2015 22:08

This isn't an AIM share. It's main market. Still think he's brave though with results out tomorrow.

[macarre] 24/8/2015 21:03

You're brave woody. Not because of the quality of the company but more so due to buying an AIM share in this market. Hopefully a great trading statement tomorrow

[loudenr] 24/8/2015 17:09

Dont get the sudden drop after the large trade went through at 110.75. I hope there has been no leak of interims to insiders. Good luck all for tomorrow

[woodcutter] 24/8/2015 16:29

added on the drop

woody

[macarre] 01/8/2015 09:15

Earnings release out in just 3 weeks time. Performance of the share has been disappointing, but the company itself is doing nothing short of great. Back in March share price had a good run ahead of results day.

[tintin82] 31/7/2015 10:37

Im in, tried to buy in earlier this week but funds elsewhere. Looks good long term woth little exposure to capex. Fleet utilisation rates are impressive, and the foray into decommissioning could be lucrative, especially in the North Sea with ageing assets and disposal now a major area of focus.

[mg1982] 25/7/2015 20:17

The drop is probably related to sector news. AGK reported a poor trading update. The sector is not going to improve any time soon

[alanjames999] 25/7/2015 11:59

Very few trades, and no news. Maybe following the drop in oil?

[etavener] 24/7/2015 22:33

What happened today? Nearly 6% drop! Is this just a buying opportunity or has something happened that I'm not aware of?

[macarre] 17/7/2015 20:53

Unfortunately I'd have to agree. 120p soon.

[tadhgleonard] 17/7/2015 16:44

If I only Id constantly traded this for last few months. would have made a fortune. I think it will go down to 120 at least once more before breakout imo.

[fruitninja84] 17/7/2015 14:56

Tipped, will likely head back to 120p imo. I took this wonderful opp to sell today some of my holding and bank some profits.

[etavener] 17/7/2015 14:23

What about now? This has got to be a breakout.

[wad collector] 09/7/2015 10:24

I think you would have to be an optimist to see the share price as breaking out ; I see a share price that is in the middle of the 120- 130p trading range that it has been in for the last 3 months.
Better than my other oil shares though!