Inspired Share Discussion Threads

[1gw] 02/9/2016 09:24

Thanks rivaldo. Good to see the boss talking. She sounds very confident about the future.

[rivaldo] 02/9/2016 08:43

New video interview with the CEO:

http ://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/stocktube/5457/inspired-energy-plc-thriving-on-energy-market-complexity-5457.html?utm_source=Sign-Up.to&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7163-356345-proactivity+-+31%2F08%2F2016

"Inspired Energy plc thriving on energy market complexity
11:59 31 Aug 2016

Energy markets are becoming more complicated and that is good news for Inspired Energy (LON:INSE) according to Janet Thornton, chief executive.

The company specialises in energy procurement and a growing number of UK businesses are turning to it to help navigate the supply maze.

Interim sales surged by 56% driven by a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, but Thornton says there is much more to go for as more and more businesses hand over their energy requirements to an expert."

[rivaldo] 01/9/2016 15:40

Cheers wanttowin, no problem - INSE should be trading at 19p imo. Good to see another tick up just now.

[wanttowin] 01/9/2016 14:39

Great article rivaldo thanks for posting, confirms what i suspected in that management are still looking for further acquisitions.

[1gw] 01/9/2016 11:59

Looks like it was me causing the tick up in the offer price, not for the first time. Amazing how such relatively small volumes seem to move the price.

FWIW I had a limit order in at 13.3p for a while this morning. I got fed up waiting for it to fill and bought slightly higher on quote and deal. Whether it failed to fill because there was no longer a sell order in, or whether it was just the MMs were busy with bigger orders and couldn't be bothered with mine I don't know, but I could read it as encouraging I think.

[1gw] 01/9/2016 11:28

I've picked up some more at 13.4, hoping that these big sells are what's been depressing the share price (relatively) since the results.

[the big fella] 01/9/2016 11:27

Tick up right on cue!

[the big fella] 01/9/2016 11:24

A blue finish would be extremely positive as it could signify the clearance of the overhang. Let's hope so as these really should be trading higher.

[rivaldo] 01/9/2016 11:16

...now up to 4.3m shares traded today, almost all at 13p. Good stuff.

[rivaldo] 01/9/2016 09:51

2.43m shares just traded at 13p - hopefully clearance of an overhang, though could also be a rollover.

[rivaldo] 01/9/2016 07:27

New CEO and analyst comment here:

Http ://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/129875/inspired-energy-posts-stellar-interim-performance-129875.html?utm_source=Sign-Up.to&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7163-356345-proactivity+-+31%2F08%2F2016

"Inspired Energy posts stellar interim performance
13:57 31 Aug 2016

Revenues in the six months to June 30 rose 56% to £10.16mln, adjusted profits advanced 44% to £3.31mln

The latest set of results from Inspired Energy plc (LON:INSE) revealed a company in rude health, both financially and operationally.

The AIM-listed group, which procures gas and electricity for companies, many of them large, blue-chip businesses, made major gains across the piece.

Revenues in the six months to June 30 rose 56% to £10.16mln, adjusted profits advanced 44% to £3.31mln, while the dividend grew by just under third to 0.13p.

A stellar performance

This stellar performance was achieved while integrating two decent sized acquisitions, Wholesale Power UK Ltd and STC Energy and Carbon Holdings. The latter cost an initial £9mln, making it the firm’s biggest transaction to date.

Stripping out the financial impact of the two recent purchases, organic growth was strong.

And it should be noted the home-grown improvement was achieved without expanding the workforce.

Cash generation for the period was £2.55mln, which reflects the increase in weighting of the corporate division, which helps large energy-hungry businesses such as foundries and food manufacturing buy gas and electricity.

Corporate was responsible for 72% of turnover, compared with 68% this time last year, with the percentage contribution from small and medium-sized firms falling to 24%.

Chief executive Janet Thornton is happy with the growth in this base of larger customers - which, it should be pointed out - hasn’t come at the expense of its smaller clients.

Providing consultancy and procurement services for large businesses generates a strong and stable earnings stream, renewal rates are high and there is the opportunity to cross-sell other products and services.

“We will see more of that as the switch continues into corporate,” Thornton told Proactive Investors.

Order pipeline in excess of £25mln

An order pipeline in excess of £25mln would tend to support that comment.

Looking at the balance sheet, the company is carrying around £8mln of debt, which at one-times EBITDA is “manageable221;, said finance director Paul Connor.

In fact, there may even some headroom to make modest further acquisitions, he added.

And there are opportunities out there, according to CEO Thornton with tighter regulation acting as a driver.

“For some smaller businesses of say 10-15 staff, they can’t meet the current requirements.

"So they are prepared to sell; in fact it means there are a lot of businesses for sale,” she said.

“We can move quickly if they are a good strategic fit. We are good at the retention.”

With a supportive blue-chip investor base, there may be scope for larger, more ambitious buys.

But just where might the company look? “Water is de-regulating so that’s exciting,” Thornton said.

“The build-up and preparation for de-regulation means it could be a good earner for us on the corporate side.”

As the current crop of acquisitions beds in, Inspired is showing it can eke out some fairly substantial synergies from these transactions.

In fact the company was able to land a fairly significant new client when it began to cross-sell its services to STC’s client base.

“This is a powerful example of the ability of management to target modestly sized acquisitions that have a material and rapid impact on revenues,” said Michael Donnelly, analyst at Panmure Gordon.

The shares, which have drifted around 4% in the last three months and are now changing hands for around 14p, are worth 19p each, according to Donnelly.

He points out the stock trades on a comparatively modest 10-times 2017 earnings “having failed to participate in the post-Brexit AIM bounce for no clear reason”.

Shore Capital is upbeat

Looking at how the City expects Inspired to perform for the remainder of the year and into 2017, Shore Capital, the company’s broker, is upbeat.

It reckons the company will post revenues of £22.7mln this year, up almost 50% from 2015. EBITDA looks set to be in the order of £8.3mln, up 60%.

Analyst Robin Speakman is forecasting Inspired will pay out around 0.45p a share in 2016, representing a yield of 3.2% - which is much better than the best savings rate in the market.

He added: “We retain our view of a fragmented market in energy services that provides a sustained opportunity to drive growth.”"

[johnv] 30/8/2016 21:44

Topped up this pm.

[diesel] 30/8/2016 21:36

I too am particularly impressed and have made further purchases today, this will reach new highs in the next few days but this looks a good long term hold, one to tuck away!

[wanttowin] 30/8/2016 21:13

Disappointing day for the share price but comfort taken in how well the company is doing.
Happy to hold these, receiving a fair dividend, and patience needed for the market to recognise the impressive growth here. I wouldn't be surprised to see further acquisitions happening, management are really on the ball imo.

[rivaldo] 30/8/2016 14:41

Nice tip for INSE just out:



"Growth prospect

Inspired Energy today reported a "strong performance" for the first half of the year, "delivering record growth on all fronts."

Revenue was 56% higher than in the first half last year at £10.2m from £6.5m. Cash generated from operations was up 34% to £2.55m from £1.91m. Meanwhile, the procurement corporate order book -- "which provides strong visibility of revenues and is a consistent guide to the future performance of the [core] Corporate Division" -- increased by 69% to £25.7m from £15.2m.

The growth was boosted by two acquisitions in the second half of last year, but the performance is pretty impressive all the same. The acquisitions have been integrated on target and within budget and management is investigating further opportunities to "participate in industry consolidation."

The criteria management has set for acquisitions look eminently sensible to me and combined with organic growth momentum suggest this business could have a bright future. Major shareholders -- who include key directors and notable small-cap institutional investors Miton Asset Management, Hargreave Hale and Slater Investments -- would appear to agree.

The shares are trading at 13.75p, and with 480,215,860 shares in issue, the market capitalisation is £66m. I can see little in the way of coverage by City analysts, but annualising the first-half earnings per share of 0.62p gives an attractive full-year P/E of 11.1, and -- with year-on-year earnings growth of 24% -- an equally attractive price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 0.46. With a dividend yield in excess of 3% to boot, I rate the stock a buy."

[yump] 30/8/2016 11:47

Slightly o/t but blockchain energy marketplaces are going to spring up sooner than everyone thinks - so there should be some floats at some point - next 5 years...

Just been reading about some in the US where people can buy and sell their excess solar panel energy, between themselves, rather than selling back to the energy company. All sorted by automatic ledger.

Anyone researched at all ?

I suspect there are other areas fast approaching.

[penpont] 30/8/2016 10:41

Thanks for that rivaldo. Just added some, rude not to at sub 14p

[funkmasterp12] 30/8/2016 10:38

Amazing results as ever. But I think a steward's inquiry may be needed into Friday's rise as that now looks to be a tad suspicious. If something surreptitious indeed happened then PI's would appear to have been shafted this morning (but it's AIM, so what's new).

Will this company ever re-rate? Who knows!

[rivaldo] 30/8/2016 10:24

Time to load up imo, to take advantage of the fact that there's presumably a seller out there who will run out of stock at some point.

Good coverage here, including this from Panmure, who have a 19p target - 40% upside. They've increased sales forecasts for next year by 15% - which presumably also increases EPS from their forecast 1.35p EPS:

http ://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/129813/inspired-energy-reports-record-half-year-results

"Inspired Energy plc (LON:INSE) reported “record results” for the half year ended June, with revenues up 56% and gross profit up 62% on last year.

Revenues stood at £10.1mln for the period, compared to £6.52mln last year. Gross profit stood at £7.95mln, from £4.9mln last year. Adjusted earnings (EBITDA) stood at £3.75mln, a 52% increase from £2.46mln the same period last year....

.....Analysts at Panmure Gordon issued a target price of 19p, a 40% upside to its current share price, citing “strong cash conversion and exceptional revenue visibility”.

The broker upgraded its sales forecast for the next year by 15% to “reflect the on-going strength in the corporate order book”."

[luffness] 30/8/2016 09:23

the muted response to the results is somewhat disappointing - still no rush I suppose as can only go one way (eventually)..

[diesel] 30/8/2016 09:21

Added more, just on a divvi basis this is a good investment, but with this sort of revenue growth well......

[the big fella] 30/8/2016 09:17

Frustrating we cannot seem to break the trading range. Todays the day hopefully.

[duxy786] 30/8/2016 08:32

Order placed.

[melody9999] 30/8/2016 08:23

put in what I thought was a cheeky bid at 14p and just got filled.

[melody9999] 30/8/2016 08:13

at some point the market has to re-rate this company based on its record of consistently increasing revenue and profitability