Hunting Share Discussion Threads

[40kj] 24/8/2023 12:41

Previous prolonged falls were characterised by low volumes. This is a different drop and is a shaking out of weaker holders, so should recover nicely.

[hunter154] 24/8/2023 12:01

Very good way to look at it Salpara.

[salpara111] 24/8/2023 11:51

Well, on reflection I am back in at 232.
Sometimes when I get tied up in knots trying to analyse a situation I just ask myself a simple question.
"Is the business doing better than it was at this time last year" for me the answer is yes.
They released a trading update on the 25th August last year which saw the share price rise from 227 to 272.
They are more profitable than they were at this time last year and the forward divi is now close to 5% so all in all not expensive.
We never time our entry and exit perfectly but I would be surprised if we fall much further from here.

[40kj] 24/8/2023 11:51

I listened to the presentation and thought I heard insignificant write downs, listen yourself though, it should be online soon.

Seems simple to me. Wood Group results 2 days ago resulted in a jump in share price and short term investors read this across to HTG. Initial market opening there was no drop, but small later drop breeds bigger drop and exiting of positions now leads to the fall.

In summary this is a short term fall.

Analyst now have figures with which to work and so would expect some analyst pricings in next few days. Without checking I think the last pricings were £3.25-£3.5.

[hunter154] 24/8/2023 11:32

Elsa, if it is written down to nil already then the disposal will not have any further P&L impact……even though a fellow poster, who thinks they are a business expert seemed to suggest big writedowns.

[hunter154] 24/8/2023 11:30

Redwing, you seem “incapableR21;of understanding simple business principles.
Did you really think that turnover can go up 30% and it have zero short term working capital impact?

[elsa7878] 24/8/2023 11:10

18. Events After the Balance Sheet Date
In July 2023, the Group disposed of certain oil and gas exploration and development assets that had a net book amount of $nil (cost of $72.8m and accumulated depreciation and impairment of $72.8m) at 30 June 2023.

Definitely not getting $72.8 million.

Management sounded very confident going forward.

[stupmy] 24/8/2023 10:59

Thanks both, appreciated. I have a kind of helicopter understanding of these things and it helps me sometimes to pin it down a little more precisely. Relying or forward contracts is always a risk in my view, so having reduced wiggle room due to a low cash position is not ideal. Fingers crossed it will work for HTG I will only re-enter if the price drops to the 201 area and I think it will do that now.

[redwing1] 24/8/2023 10:54

Hi Stupmy. Yes, Dope007 is right. The negative cashflow is likely to be investment into contracts that get paid for later. Not a huge issue for Hunting as they are dealing with large multinational operators who are a good credit risk.

It is more than likely that the company's cash position will revert back to net cash by year end just as the company says it will. However, there is always some risk of contract disputes etc. Also, negative working capital (as this is) can be a restraint on growth if banks are not prepared to lend more to fund the company's expansion (but no suggestion of that here, I hasten to add).

[dope007] 24/8/2023 10:25

It is what they said. Cash upfront investment into contracts that get paid for later. also they have the sold assets not counted in the 6 month cash.

the trading statement flagged it up if you read back giving a FY cash position

[stupmy] 24/8/2023 10:21

So what does the cash position turning negative imply? That HTG have gone all in and now have significantly less room to manouvre should anything change with respect to their financial planning? Genuine question.

[dope007] 24/8/2023 09:59

From the trading update

"Management anticipates total cash and bank at 31 December 2023 to be between $nil and $25m as larger projects are completed in H2 2023"

[stupmy] 24/8/2023 09:41

Redwing, thanks. Helps me at least. I'm not expert on reading accounts.

[dope007] 24/8/2023 09:31

Net cash is already positive though with the available for sale assets now crystallised?

[se81] 24/8/2023 09:30

“the Board believes Hunting has good momentum going into the second half of the year, with an EBITDA performance similar to what has been delivered in H1 2023”

Lays the foundations for a beat FY?

Market strikes me as pretty irrational at the moment- interested to see where this finishes the day (analyst call was at 09:30)

[redwing1] 24/8/2023 09:20

So for those of you who appear incapable of seeing both sides of a story, let's just examine why the share price has fallen today:
1. Earnings were upgraded in early July leading to a 20%+ bounce in the share price in a falling market. Expectations for today were HIGH.
2. Net cash has gone from +$85m to debt of $51m in a year. Yes, the company expects that to reverse to net cash by year end but that is still on trust.
3. Today's other announcement was a closure of facilities and sale of E&P assets. No figures given, but we all know that this means write-downs (again!).

I hold Hunting and still believe that the medium term prospects are encouraging. However, you can see from above that markets are not quite as 'idiotic' as some suggest. Today's share price move simply reflects a small tempering of expectations from a company that has produced very erratic numbers in the past.

[charlotte2020] 24/8/2023 09:14

I would hope that Hunting 2030 includes a US listing.

[dope007] 24/8/2023 09:00

From the results the sale of assets are currently held as available for sale. However the cash is now in so there is a known positive effect on the negative cash balance already

"The transfer of these non-producing assets was completed in July 2023 and, therefore, the assets were shown as held for sale at 30 June 2023"

Transfer to held for sale 72.8 million

[dope007] 24/8/2023 08:58

In other news Nvidia valued at $1.2 trillion or $500 per shares with with earnings less than $10 per share...

[stupmy] 24/8/2023 08:51

I dropped out like Salpara and have been waiting to get back in around 200 (from a TA point of view it looks possible). This mornings RNS looked like getting in lower was hopium or living in dream world. But, here we are being sold off. I might yet get my 200/201 again. As others have said, it seems strange and even mad, but should I see that price, I'll be buying back as much of my previous position as possible.

[dope007] 24/8/2023 08:48

Agreed hence I added a few on this ridiculous drop. It may drop further in the coming days. If so I still have cash to invest for the long term

[hunter154] 24/8/2023 08:46

No real volume, so agree that the summer doldrums to blame.
The only negative was that the net cash became net debt debt, but it was explained in the release. WC increased to fund current, higher activity which will reverse out by EOY.
THE Share Price jumped when they had an update after the closed and now on the filing of the interim, with the same numbers it drops.
It seems that good news is bad news in the current market.
Anyway, today’s analyst presentation might help.

The big Hunting 2030 presentation in September should be good.

This is a business that is growing, streamlining and finding new markets and uses for its technology. Longer term, the Share Price will reflect it. A growth company with sub 10 PE re FY24. Ridiculous.

[stevieweebie2] 24/8/2023 08:23

big boys on hols so the muppets run free....

[dope007] 24/8/2023 08:19

Wow!! added a few in the ISA. 233.46p.

Absolutely nuts