Hydro Intl Share Discussion Threads

[whonosewhy] 17/4/2009 18:00

More excellent research rivaldo - thanks.

I genuinely can't believe this company is being roundly ignored by people. You are right if they get good ongoing servicing contracts as long as they are costed correctly they will make more money for the company.

Not only that but it builds an ongoing relationship with the likes of Southern Water - if you build the relationship then you hope when it comes time for SouthernWater to spend soem more money upgrading Hydro get the contract as well as the new ongoing maintenance contract for the new work too.

I work at an IFA and the customers we see regularly are the one's that trust us and come back again and again for advice. They also recommend us to others.

[rivaldo] 13/4/2009 10:13

It's interesting to equate the above wastewater contract win in the USA with the $19.8 billion to be spent on wastewater infrastructure as announced by Congress per my post 2936 above.

HYD is now one of the market leaders in the USA following Eutek's acquisition.

It's also worth noting that in 2008 overseas sales increased to 57% in H2 from just 29% in H1 following the Eutek acquisition in May.

So 2009 income should benefit substantially from the pound's fall against the dollar and the Euro with all those extra overseas sales.

Latest forecasts:

Year Ending Revenue (£m) Pre-tax (£m) EPS P/E
31-Dec-09 n/a 2.90 13.97p 7.9
31-Dec-10 n/a 3.13 15.05p 7.3

[rivaldo] 11/4/2009 12:20

Another good find here :o))

A new $652,000 contract win in the USA for Eutek/HYD:



"In further action, council:

- Awarded the bid on the Engineered Grit Removal System for the Regional Wastewater Treatment Plan expansion to Eutek Systems, doing business as Hydro International Wastewater, at $652,000. The bid was $12,200 lower than the engineer's estimated cost."

[masurenguy] 08/4/2009 15:32

Good find riv - you've got mail.

[rivaldo] 08/4/2009 14:56

News of the water companies 2010-2015 spending plans. Nice to see the concentration on anti-flooding measures and improved waste treatment:



"Water companies ask for more cash

Water supplies are under pressure in many parts of the country
Water and sewerage bills in England and Wales are likely to rise above inflation from 2010 to 2015....

...The 21 water companies, including the smaller water-only suppliers, plan to spend a further £24bn on improving their services and infrastructure.

Projects include new pipes, better reservoirs, improved water testing to meet higher standards, improved waste treatment and the need to protect sewers from the effects of flooding.

Ofwat will now scrutinise the plans and make its decision in November 2009.

A water consumer watchdog was critical of some companies' plans, especially those of some smaller water suppliers.

"We recognise that some price increases may be necessary to enable companies to meet the pressures being put on water companies from growing populations, climate change, and tighter EU and UK standards," said Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Consumer Council for Water."

[rivaldo] 31/3/2009 19:00

As well as the above, more good stuff from the USA:



"PORTLAND, Maine - (Business Wire) "The Changing Face of the Stormwater Industry," a seminar series that has sparked lively dialogues about pressing stormwater concerns throughout the country over the past year, will hold its next session in Charlottesville, Va., on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

The seminar is designed to bring regulators, developers and solution providers together to discuss best practices that will address stormwater management issues important to Virginia. It will be held between 8:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the Hilton Garden Inn.

The presentation will feature three sessions addressing pressing stormwater challenges. The 9:00 a.m. presentation, conducted by Dave Hirschman from the Center for Watershed Protection, will examine the technical background for the new runoff reduction methodology for managing stormwater.

In the 9:45 a.m. presentation, Dave Scott of Hydro International will discuss the challenges and approaches for measuring total phosphorus in stormwater flows. At 10:45, Scott Crafton from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation will present a review and progress report surrounding new Virginia stormwater regulations.

The seminar also includes breakfast, lunch and a question-and-answer period following the last presentation. Participants can earn a certificate documenting attendance for continuing education. The conference is sponsored by Hydro International."

[rivaldo] 31/3/2009 11:00

Where are HYD expanding like billy-o? The USA.

Who have just authorised the spending of $20 BILLION on wastewater infrastructure over the next five years? the USA.

What is HYD's core speciality along with stormwater? Wastewater.

QED.



Extracts:

"House Approves Funding for Clean Water Infrastructure Upgrades

WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2009) – A bill that will help bridge the multi-billion dollar annual gap between wastewater infrastructure needs and available funding is working its way through Congress.

The Water Quality Investment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1262), approved Friday by the House, renews the federal government's commitment to clean water by authorizing $19.8 billion over the next five years for wastewater infrastructure and other efforts to improve water quality.

The centerpiece of this legislation is the authorization of $13.8 billion over five years for the Clean Water State Revolving Funds, the principal source of federal funding for meeting the nation's wastewater infrastructure needs."

"The legislation provides $2.5 billion over five years for grants to address combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows; provides $250 million for alternative water source projects; and provides $750 million over five years for remediation of contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes areas of concern."

[rivaldo] 27/3/2009 14:38

Interesting comments from Impax's final results last week - IEM are a large shareholder in HYD.

Note that "we are confident that several portfolio companies will benefit."

That would be HYD then :o))



"Water Treatment and Pollution Control

Water scarcity issues continued to preoccupy governments over the
year. In the UK, the government announced plans for a review of water
charging that could lead to compulsory meters in areas of water
stress by 2030. In Australia the government's plans for recovering
from the worst drought on record included investing AU$ 12bn over ten
years on improving water productivity and efficiency of use.

The familiar theme of investment requirements in water infrastructure
continued to gain global attention. In China, 9 per cent of a fiscal
stimulus package totalling RMB 4trn will focus on the environmental
sector including urban sewage and water treatment projects. The US
stimulus package includes ca. US$ 18bn spend on water infrastructure,
a sector that has been consistently under-funded in past years.
Although this commitment will take some time to translate into actual
projects, we are confident that several portfolio companies will
benefit."

[stegrego] 24/3/2009 14:01

Hmm

£1500 worth of sells = 5% drop???

[masurenguy] 19/3/2009 13:23

Innovation, to meet the future demand for recycled water, knows no boundaries !
............................................

Recycled sewage struggles with yuk factor
AFP: Jerome Cartillier

One day, when you read on a drink bottle "this water has been passed by the minister of health," the message may be open to interpretation in more ways than one. To a corps of hydrologists, the only way that parched regions of the world can meet the surging demand for water is to recycle -- and use -- the stuff that has already been through the human body.

Rather than throwing away water that results from treating urine, faeces and bathwater, the valuable liquid can be harnessed once more, they say. It could go not just for farm irrigation or industry -- as is already widely the case in many countries -- but also for drinking water.

Presentations at the World Water Forum, running in Istanbul until Sunday, have been pressing the argument that "used" water, also called rather more gracefully "grey" water, should comprise a percentage of what comes out of our taps. But specialists also caution that overcoming human repugnance -- could it be called a gut response? -- is a far greater challenge than the engineering. "People hate the idea of drinking something that could have been sewage," said Gerard Payen, a member of the UN's consultative committee on water and sanitation, which reports to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. "There's a major psychological block. But it will go away bit by bit."

Windhoek, the capital of the arid southern African country of Namibia, has been using a "toilets-to-taps" system with success for many years. But it's a rare example of public acceptance to date. In Australia, inhabitants of the Queensland town of Toowoomba voted out of introducing such a scheme in a referendum three years ago. In other parts of the drought-wracked country, the idea encounters a shake of the head, but is at least being taken seriously as an option. "Technically, using modern recycling methods, we are able to turn out water that is perfectly drinkable," explained Antoine Frerot, managing director of Veolia Eau, a French water company that has high stakes in this sector. "Used water is a resource that is close to cities and its availability rises at the same rate of consumption," he said. "Recycling it uses less energy than desalination and avoids pollution."

According to Frerot's figures, drinking water extracted from an aquifer costs around 10 euro cents (eight US cents) per cubic metre and 70 euro cents (56 US cents) when taken from sea water. Somewhere in between is recycled used water, at 45 euro cents (36 US cents) a cubic metre.

Faced with public suspicions, water companies are looking at indirect ways of water conservation. They include separation of drinking water and toilet systems, so that sea water can be used to flush toilets. Another widespread practice is "indirect" sewage recycling. In other words, the sewage, once cleaned by treatment, is poured out into the local river or reservoir, which is drawn up by a different intake pipe as the source for drinking water. This has been the practice for many years on the River Thames, for instance, where local utilities upstream extract and return the water several times before it reaches London.

Singapore, a groundbreaker in reuse, has a programme called NEWater, in which one percent of drinking water comes from recycled sewage effluent, which is added to the city-state's main reservoir. "Passing the water through a 'natural environment' is a way of partially overcoming the psychological barrier and also brings in the ecosystem as an additional filter," said Jacques Labre, a specialist with Suez Environnement, a French water services company. "The psychological barrier is still quite strong, but I think it will change in the future. It's a lot about trust in the technology," said Louise Korsgaard, an expert with Danish consultancy DHI and a researcher at Singapore's Nanyang Technical University.

[masurenguy] 13/3/2009 07:25

"IBM says the overall water-management services market could be worth $20bn in 5 years"
.......................................................................................

IBM launches water-management services operation in expansion bid Friday March 13th.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) IBM Corp. wants to get really deep into water. The technology company is launching a new line of water services Friday, hoping to tap a new sales vein by taking the manual labor out of fighting pollution and managing water supplies. IBM says the overall water-management services market could be worth $20bn in 5 years.

The effort is part of a wider role IBM wants to play in infrastructure services, including automobile traffic and power grids. IBM is trying to persuade utilities and government agencies to overhaul their computer networks and link digital sensors together for better insights. For example, instead of a meter-reader from the power company traipsing through your backyard, IBM is banking that one day your meter and your neighbors' will feed data directly into the utility's computer network.

Same for water. IBM says its new services will help water providers become more efficient in overseeing ever-more-precious supplies and responding faster to contamination and other emergencies. The company has been working on a project called SmartBay with an Irish marine institute to develop sensors that are monitoring pollution, marine life and wave conditions around Galway Bay and transmitting data to researchers. Among the benefits is that computers can track floating debris that pose a hazard to commercial fishermen.

This "smarter planet" theme is part of IBM's strategy to keep making money in the recession. The company's chairman and CEO, Sam Palmisano, said in a letter to shareholders this week that IBM will be aggressive in drumming up business in areas like managing traffic, power grids, water, food, health care and finance. He vowed the efforts will help Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM grow by getting early starts in areas that will need help for years to come. "We will not simply ride out the storm," Palmisano wrote. "Rather, we will take a long-term view, and go on offense."

[rivaldo] 08/3/2009 10:01

Peel Hunt have issued a brief post-results update. They've upgraded their recommendation from Corporate to BUY! It concludes as follows:

"Global legislation for improved water quality provides a strong framework but slower construction orders and lower order flow under AMP4 offset good growth in the US wastewater market. Progress slows in 2009-10 but these are well regulated earnings, undervalued on a PE of under 8x."

Given the current climate they've reduced the 2009 forecast to 14.03p EPS, with 15.36p EPS for 2010, and with a 3.4p divi for both years.

I've confirmed that the £2.7m January contract is in addition to the £8.8m order book per the results.

So given a record £11.5m order book, the large beneficial currency effect which will kick in in full this year, a full year's contribution from Eutek in the USA and the likelihood of renewed AMP4 capital spending (as evidenced by the recent £2.7m contract) I think Peel Hunt are being over-prudent. Perhaps this will result in a better long-term result in HYD being able to say they're trading at better than expectations.

HYD remain very cheap imo and will eventually be taken over. It's just a matter of time.

[whonosewhy] 06/3/2009 11:04

Thanks sg31 - I am too small fry for most people on here but hopefully in 20 years time I'll be laughing !

I am a patient man.

[sg31] 06/3/2009 09:32

whonosewhy,Good luck with your investing.You are putting money into the market at a good time.If you have plenty of patience you should do well.

[whonosewhy] 06/3/2009 09:01

It's a monthly investment deal low dealing costs £1.50 a time !

[rivaldo] 06/3/2009 08:58

Crikey, I hope you're only paying minumum commission whonosewhy!

Thx for the compliments, and hope you can get a decent stake. I post more often when a thread is quiet and less so if others take up the baton. Especially when I'm keen on a company - and especially on its management as with HYD.

I'd hope HYD's results will get some positive tipsheet coverage in the next week or three.

[whonosewhy] 05/3/2009 18:13

rivaldo your dedication to HYD and the board is excellent. I have been watching for over 12 months and was hoping I could finally get some shares before the results which I felt sure would be positive.

I keep typing on the boards that I am a very small investor and I am using monthly salary to gradually buy small numbers of shares each month in a few (I hope) carefully selected companies with a view to gradually building holdings over the next 5 years or so.

So that massive purchase of 39 shares today was the start of my stake building. Here's to more positive news going forward - keep up the good work.

[rivaldo] 05/3/2009 10:18

Another stormwater sale on the cards in the USA (Connecticut):



"He proposed to formalize the drainage with a draining structure for all storm events up to 100-year storms and a wier structure.

A wier is a controlled outlet that allows water to flow in regulated amounts in controlled intervals. Installing a wier would help the outlet by releasing water into the system slowly.

Commissioner Ms. Burbank read Mr. Calabrese's recommendations, dated January 26, into the record.

Mr. Smith submitted details of a proposed Enhanced Vortex Separator from Hydro International that would replace one of the catch basins adjacent to the stream.

A vortex separator protects the stream by separating sand and oils so they do not run into the stream.

"We feel the plan as a whole is an enhancement of what's there with gravel and dirt parking," Mr. Smith said."

[rivaldo] 05/3/2009 08:30

From today's Shares Magazine - Steve Waddington, multi-asset fund manager at Insight Investments is looking to water-related investments:



"Insight's Waddington thinks there are long-term strategic areas for growth in a few up-and-coming areas of investing.

One of the themes for his fund-of-fund portfolios is water. Global use of water has tripled since 1950 and two-thirds of the population will inhabit areas of scarce supply over the next decade. These facts, says Waddington, are part of the argument for the long-term success of companies working in the area. He invests in a global water ETF."

[rivaldo] 04/3/2009 15:03

Looks good chart-wise now (not that I know much about them - or care much except when it looks good!).

[tara7] 04/3/2009 09:57

Well done here. If you are looking for the next HYD, [ISPT], might be it. Market cap £700,000 cash pile £500,000, and growing fast. PE 3.5, $ earner, [reports in pounds] Director buying, and new products, Good luck.

[jebenn1] 04/3/2009 09:48

Thanks to Rivaldo and the regulars for your comments, very useful.

A couple of things. I actually like the way in which they have gone with 3p instead of 3.1p as forecast, I think it fits with the management being very down to earth and it says "We will pay what we think we should pay and not what some irrelevant scribbler predicts".

I think the management have always been fairly conservative in their expectations and I think given the enormous uncertainty in anything regarding spending plans and orders it's sensible.

Previous to this I was getting a little concerned that they were appointing sales forces and executives in America a little too eagerly (I guess I was comparing with numerous supermarkets and stores who have tried to expand overseas and been badly burnt). But with nice growth in US sales, obviously helped by the acquisition of Eutek and the cross selling of their products to Hydro's existing customers and visa versa, I am happy to be proved wrong on that concern.

Good luck to all!
J