Hydro Intl Share Discussion Threads

[mikehardman] 12/12/2007 16:42

gac100 - OKdokey (can't tempt you in to AFS, then!)

garth - yes - I agree - there are way too many bargains out there, and not enough cash to bag 'em all and come back in a year !
and many thanks for the long term chart on AFS

[gac100] 12/12/2007 15:31

Mike - no plans myself to start a BluewaterBio thread. The co looks very interesting but I'll be watching only, for the time being - probably indefinitely in fact as I have a 10-share portfolio and HYD is the water play. No room for another!

CR - can't see a problem with the HYD forecasts, except that you've got an 07 eps of 11.6p when it should be 11.16p.

The full Peel Hunt figures are:

07 Sales £26m - pbt (pre-goodwill) £2.25m - eps 11.16p - dps 2.5p
08 Sales £29m - pbt (pre-goodwill) £2.60m - eps 12.85p - dps 2.7p

The note's from 31 May, shares in issue have increased marginally since but there's surely scope for an upgrade given the excellent newsflow which Rivaldo has posted in recent months.

The 07 forecasts are for the year ending 31 Dec of course, so the forward-looking 08 numbers are more relevant: a prospective p/e of 14.7 which doesn't take into account what must now be in excess of £3m net cash.

[garth] 12/12/2007 14:27

Mike,

I really like the look of what they are doing - but I'd like to see some figures too. There are so many tempting long term bargains at present IMO.

CR,

I'm not holding HYD at present having sold on the Aim move & then bought and sold earlier in the year. Rivaldo has a much closer eye on these. For my part, I can't quite see the issue with the forecasts.....

My take is that they are currently on about 16X forecast earnings with further growth forecast over the next couple of years - albeit at a slightly slower rate.

Is there anything specific that bothers you?

G.

[mikehardman] 12/12/2007 13:17

garth - Bluewater Bio - fair comment;
at least they are already operating in 22 sites in China and Korea, covering many different types of effluent (Bloomberg CEO interview) - so it is not as if they are coming to market to raise cash to fund pure R&D

gac100 - you gonna start the BluewaterBio thread tomorrow?
if not, let me know and I'd be happy to do it

[garth] 12/12/2007 11:54

"It has applied for patents to protect its technology and claims it has a three-year technical lead over some rivals. It also aims to exploit increasingly stringent legislation for the treatment of industrial
waste, and the trend of development banks and the International Monetary Fund to link aid packages to waste treatment initiatives."

The bacteria is in the soil. What are the barriers to entry?

£25m Mkt Cap at the off vs £26m for HYD.

Interesting reading, wonderful concept, but I won't be investing at that rating. I would have thought that they could well shoot higher though and make some people some money.

All the best with them.

G.

[mikehardman] 12/12/2007 11:27

gac100 - good tip - thnx

v. useful list of pre-admission news stories -

[gac100] 12/12/2007 11:24

Thanks for all the newsflow Riv - good stuff.

Anybody noticed this company:



which is due to begin trading on AIM tomorrow.

[rivaldo] 11/12/2007 15:05

News from the USA - it has to be good news that HYD can bolster its recurring income stream:



"Hydro International Adds Maintenance Services for Stormwater Control Portfolio
10-Dec-2007

Hydro International today announced plans to expand its service portfolio to offer maintenance contracts for its stormwater control implementations.

Hydro has reached a deal to subcontract its maintenance support services to Drainage Protection Systems of Murietta, Calif.

Regular maintenance of stormwater treatment devices is crucial to the continued optimal performance of treatment systems. Without maintenance, a treatment device will fill to capacity with captured pollutants and then be unable to capture any additional pollutants.

"At Hydro International, we are committed to providing products that not only help sustain the environment as a whole but also prove to be long-term sustainable solutions for the customers themselves," said Dave Mongeau, general manager of Hydro's U.S. stormwater operations. "This maintenance contract demonstrates our commitment to the sustainability of our products. If they are going to be sustainable long term solutions, they need maintenance."

Maintenance of stormwater control systems tends to vary from site to site and from region to region. Few regulatory agencies require regular maintenance, and in most locations such services are conducted at the goodwill of the owner.

"We find many private developers, site operators and municipalities don't invest in proper maintenance because they lack the resources to conduct the maintenance themselves," said Gary Jones, vice president of Drainage Protection Systems. "Working with Hydro International, we can provide a cost-effective, strategic set of services that will contribute to the viability of specific projects for years to come.""

[mikehardman] 11/12/2007 00:10

garth - any chance of a long-term chart in the HDD thread header, please ?

(not sure if you have alerts on it)

[garth] 10/12/2007 21:57

CR,

You are looking at the figures for % growth (ie, 8.7%, 8%). The eps and dps figures are in the section above.

G.

[mikehardman] 10/12/2007 17:12

rivaldo - thanks for your posts; I have copied a couple of them to the AFS thread, as of general relevance there, too

[rivaldo] 10/12/2007 15:12

From Friday's Times:


"December 7, 2007

Deluge could threaten emergency servicesValerie Elliott, Consumer Editor
Public services in England and Wales may be under threat because hundreds of hospitals, schools, care homes, police, fire and ambulance stations need urgent flood protection.

The vulnerable state of infrastructure, which includes telephone exchanges, electricity and gas sub-stations and sewerage and water centres, was highlighted yesterday by the Environment Agency.

After the summer's severe flooding, which affected more than 55,000 homes and businesses and brought devastation to parts of the Cotswolds, the Thames Valley, Yorkshire and the Midlands, ministers and the agency are now anxious to spare future flood victims the same level of misery.

Sanctions are to be imposed on utility companies and other public institutions if they fail to invest in flood defences to safeguard critical services and supplies. They will also be required by law to flood-proof crucial buildings and installations. The new provisions are to be tabled soon as an amendment to the Climate Change Bill currently before Parliament...."

".....The agency's flood alerts are based on high water levels but there is no early warning system for surface-water flooding.

More than 35,000 homes and businesses were flooded by surface water this summer, which caused two thirds of the damage. The agency wants more to be spent improving urban drainage and sewerage systems. It also wants to be given the overview role to manage the risk of this flooding, though solutions would rest with local authorities, developers and industries.

The agency is keen to widen its free flood-warning service where people at risk receive texts or phone calls. Only 41 per cent of householders in flood risk areas are signed up to them.

The agency has estimated that it will need £1 billion a year to protect people from floods but is satisfied with pledges of £800 million by 2010."

[rivaldo] 09/12/2007 23:15

From today's Observer FYI, another article about water being the new oil:



"In the City of London, there is a growing realisation that investing in water technology companies offers opportunities for savvy shareholders, and possibly for ethical investors. 'There is also an appetite from institutions for water-related investments - they know it's going to be big,' says Julian Sevaux, managing partner at Stanhope Capital.

Olivia Bowen, an independent financial adviser at the Gaeia Partnership, says: 'New climate change funds have recently come to market; some are well established, such as Impax's Environmental Markets Fund.'

GE and Dow Chemical are among big US companies diversifying into water services, while the UK-based Thames Water is expanding overseas.

But the crux of the problem remains: according to a report from Credit Suisse, annual world water use has risen sixfold during the past century, more than double the rate of population growth. By 2025, almost two-thirds of the global population will live in countries where water will be a scarce commodity. And that could lead to conflict, as United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon warned last week.

Asia looks vulnerable, with China planning to syphon off Tibet's water supply to make up for shortages in the parched north. Elsewhere, the Israel-Palestine conflict is at least partly about securing supplies from the River Jordan; similarly, water is a major feature of the strife in Sudan that has left Darfur devastated. When it comes to this most basic of commodities, the stakes could hardly be higher."

[rivaldo] 06/12/2007 08:29

Impax (major HYD shareholder) were apparently presenting the other day, hopefully pointing out HYD in the water sector:



"Yesterday Impax Group reported at a presentation that estimated revenues in alternative energies are currently US$65bn a year, and are growing at around 20% to 30% a year. Ian Simm, chief executive officer of Impax Group, said drivers include: legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; rising energy prices; energy security; improving and lower cost technology; and government liberalisation of power markets.

Simm says there is a wide range of compelling secular growth drivers in the environmental sector, with a large number of under researched listed and private companies to invest in. These fall into three sub sectors: alternative energy and energy efficiency; water treatment and pollution control; and waste technology and resource management."

[rivaldo] 05/12/2007 10:40

Meanwhile, in yesterday's Times an interesting article about the battle for water as a scarce resource. The ADB's investment in water projects in Asia is to double to $2 billion - HYD already have licencees in Japan and Korea:



"Mr Ban's comments were echoed by many of the other speakers at the water summit, who gathered in southwestern Japan to discuss a range of issues, including policies that might prevent the various aspects of an Asian water crisis deepening into armed conflict.

Yasuo Fukuda, the Japanese Prime Minister, vowed yesterday that water and climate change would be at the top of the agenda for the Group of Eight summit in Japan next summer."

"The Asia Development Bank, which was also represented at the Beppu summit, informed delegates that without rational water development and better management, the future social development of Asian developing countries would be seriously jeopardised. The president of the ADB, Haruhiko Kuroda, said that his bank now plans to double investment in Asian water projects to $2 billion per year, given the potential for conflict if water governance remains weak."

[sg31] 04/12/2007 22:54

I agree the RNS is positive but you are wrong about the government putting money into flood defences,they will announce some spurious initiative or extra investment which will never arrive and then blame those dastardly insurance companies (who everyone loves to hate)when they refuse to provide cover.
I am long of these so i would love to see more money thrown at the problem,it won't happen but they will still do well.

[rivaldo] 04/12/2007 22:47

Maybe, maybe not. My feeling is that last summer's floods brought things to a head. For a start per the news reports many people are finding they're now unable to get insurance. If the government finds itself under pressure from this as a vote-loser I think there'll be very speedy action indeed.

The various flood-related quangos will probably be brought in one body, and once that body has prioritised properly then we might see more focused (and increased) spending.

Excellent RNS from HYD tonight:



The COO is of course already a Board member and is superbly qualified:

"Chris has more than 20 years experience in the civil engineering and water
sector and is a member of the government's Water Sector Advisory Group which is
made up of key industry professionals to advise government on an international
strategy for the water sector. He is a board member of British Water, the trade
association representing the water industry supply chain and also established
the Sustainable Drainage (SUDS) Group within British Water to act as a voice for the industry within SUDS development."

More intriguing are these comments:

"This appointment will enable Steve Hides, Chief Executive Officer, to focus on the strategic growth of the business and in particular on Hydro's plans for export expansion and business acquisitions."

"CEO Steve Hides said: 'Creating the new position of COO is in response to the
Group's expansion in recent years and the need to maintain the continuous
improvement of our core operating units whilst we identify and develop other
opportunities to accelerate our overall rate of growth'."

Pretty bullish stuff. It seems that further acquisitions and corporate action are on the way - I like the sound of accelerated growth - to support the export expansion we already know about.

[sg31] 04/12/2007 22:15

The ABI always want more money for flood defences,the government will give lip service to it,promise some more money(which they will have promised before)then sweep it under the carpet.

[rivaldo] 04/12/2007 09:18

Lots of publicity today for the ABI's call for a national strategy re flooding - the most urgent measure is for decent drainage systems. HYD's SUDS solutions would come in rather handy:



"The ABI is calling for an investment programme "that reflects climate change and the real flood risks from rivers, coasts and drainage". It is also demanding "improved national leadership" and "co-ordination with national targets for reducing flood risk" and says a single national body should be made responsible for flood management strategy, replacing the current "piecemeal" approach."

"They also thought that an overhaul of drainage systems was "the most urgent measure" needed to reduce the risk of future flooding."

[rivaldo] 30/11/2007 10:22

Impax (large shareholders in HYD already) are to launch a new fund - more investment headed HYD's way?



"Environmental specialist finance house Impax is to launch a new fund targeting the retail sector.

The Environmental Leaders fund, set to launch next year, will invest in mid-sized and large companies involved in the environmental sector, together with some of the smaller companies in which Impax has traditionally invested."

"The fund will invest in alternative energy and energy efficiency, water treatment and pollution control, and waste technology and resource management."

[rivaldo] 28/11/2007 19:42

Rocla are HYD's partner in Australia - from their October'07 newsletter talking about sales of HYD's First Defense product...I like the last sentence:



"New Product
First Defense™ vortex separator

Rocla Water Quality has introduced a simple, robust device for treating stormwater at source.

The Rocla First Defense™ vortex separator removes sediment, fl oatables and
other pollutants from stormwater. The efficient unit combines an inlet and
separator in one, and can treat surface run-off as well as pipe flows.

A major advantage is that pollutants are retained in the device. The advanced
design prevents wash-out during high flows. Economical, compact and
easy to install, the First Defense™ vortex separator is the ideal solution for
smaller sites such as carparks, vehicle depots, factories and small shopping
centres.

The first installation of the new device was for Lismore City Council in northern NSW, where it was installed in the carpark area of a new medical centre. Installation was by Laser Plumbing for project managers Hutchinson Builders.

Since then, the device has also been enthusiastically embraced by designers and
installers in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia."

[cheap] 21/11/2007 15:42

Interesting post yesterday riv - first time I've seen Hydro's connection with Rotork reflected in any project.