Intermediate Capital Share Discussion Threads

[weemonkey] 04/12/2006 09:11

got to be £20 on the cards for this - still extremely cheap in their sector

[its the oxman] 30/11/2006 12:00

clear break up now c.1600p

[weemonkey] 28/11/2006 10:07

yep

they look wonderful .

I love how cautious they appear to be as well

[its the oxman] 28/11/2006 09:33

splendid results today - should be able to break clear of 1500p now on next market rally

[its the oxman] 18/10/2006 11:15

yep through 1500p - but reckon it could make 1600p now over xmas if market stays robust.

[weemonkey] 10/10/2006 17:46

broken out today looks very positive

[pvb] 28/9/2006 20:54

And it's arrived!

[its the oxman] 25/9/2006 13:52

getting closer - 1380p now

[its the oxman] 25/9/2006 13:52

getting closer - 1380p now

[its the oxman] 16/8/2006 22:51

ready to retest 1400p if market starts moving up

[its the oxman] 07/6/2006 10:21

excellent results and nice hike in the div - seem well oversold at the moment. would welcome news of any broker upgrades, recommendation changes etc.

[weemonkey] 07/6/2006 10:10

this has gone to a pe of 7 on these results !!! that is just so cheap.

can that be right in fact???!!

I think it is you know

[weemonkey] 07/6/2006 09:58

it is simple

any stock that has outperformed alot over the laast three years is being hit hard regardless of fundementals.

whenever the market declines steeply so are these big winners

as they say "when the tide goes out all the boats go down in the harbour"

[gre] 06/6/2006 14:50

I can't understand the market's reaction to these excellent results.

OK today is a bad day generally but these results were way ahead of expectations, the yield is healthy (as stated by weemonkey) and the outlook is very positive.

So why are some people selling the shares today? Is it just profit taking after the the recent good run I wonder?

[weemonkey] 06/6/2006 09:56

fabulous results on the face of it and after these result paying a 4.5% yield (4.37% to be exact)

can this be right ??

I think it is

seems like a screaming buy.

not without risk though this company

[its the oxman] 16/5/2006 16:01

oops wrong kind of break - now 1280p

[its the oxman] 02/5/2006 13:01

gone sideways for some time now - break upwards overdue i hope.

[judge jury] 31/3/2006 10:37

Intermediate Capital up on positive update; Numis recommends as 'add'
30 March 2006
AFX International Focus

LONDON (AFX) - Shares in Intermediate Capital Group PLC, were higher midmorning after an update suggested that pretax profits for the 14 months to end March will exceed market expectations, dealers said.

The independent provider of mezzanine finance also said it experienced good loan book growth during the period.

The news pushed Numis Securities to up its recommendation to 'add' from 'hold' with an adjusted target price of 1,600 pence from 1,500.

The broker noted that the second element of the group's income, capital gains, have been particularly strong as a result of the strong exit market for buy-outs.

Merrill Lynch was slightly cautious on the positive update believing that there is limited leverage in deals and was concerned that the average mezzanine pricing has eased.

It recommended the stock as 'neutral'.

At 10.34 am, shares in Intermediate Capital were up 67 pence at 1,489.

[e-mail]

[judge jury] 31/3/2006 10:36

Thought this was quite good.

THE SKEPTIC: Private Equity's Looming Headaches
30 March 2006
Dow Jones International News
By Nicole Lee

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Private equity's exuberance doesn't look irrational - yet.

Upbeat trading updates from British-based middle-market private equity house 3i and mezzanine finance provider Intermediate Capital drove their share prices higher, lifting peers such as Electra Private Equity and Candover Investments.

The key to the private equity industry's stellar performance so far - strong returns from assets sold or refinanced - is Europe's robust debt market, which is enabling buyers to borrow cheaply and fueling a buyout boom.

Buoyed by the availability of cheap debt, private equity-backed M&A jumped 28.5% to $230 billion in 2005, up from $179 billion in 2004, according to data from research provider Dealogic.

3i was certainly busy doing deals: the company invested 40.5% more money over the 11-month period to February 28 compared with the same time last year, with investment totaling GBP1.18 billion, up from GBP843 million. Intermediate Capital didn't offer details, but said its loan book growth over the 14 months to March 31 was good.

But private equity investors shouldn't be too impressed by the current strong returns firms are generating: what would be surprising is if buyout houses couldn't make decent profits in a seller's market.

Indeed, 3i and Intermediate Capital both gave market-pleasing earnings updates Thursday, underlining the health of the buyout market.

Intermediate Capital, which is currently leading the ranks of the FTSE-250's risers by value, said pretax profits over the 14-month period would exceed market expectations because of an exceptionally strong buyout market. 3i said gains from asset sales rose 58% to GBP1.82 billion over the 11 months to February, compared with GBP1.14 billion a year earlier.

But the positive newsflow shouldn't distract investors from the risks. After all, the abundance of cheap financing is precisely what may tempt buyers into overloading companies they buy with too much debt, sowing the seeds for eventual failures.

A major worry for investors in private equity should be overleveraged deals. In the first quarter of 2006, total debt-to-EBITDA multiples reached historically high levels of 5.7X, up from 4.9X in the first quarter of 2004, according to Standard & Poor's LCD.

Meanwhile, as private equity firms have been busy recapitalizing the companies they own, the equity contribution in European leveraged buyouts fell in the last quarter of 2005 to 34%, compared with 38% at the same time a year earlier.

There are also risks even for a long-established mezzanine player such as Intermediate Capital, known for its cautious approach to lending. One is the pressure on margins as a result of increasing competition from mezzanine funds.

Brokerage Clear Capital, for instance, says data gathered from corporate financiers shows that over the past two years returns associated with mezzanine deals - including the spread, warrants, and payment-in-kind - have dropped to 11%-13% from 15%-17%, in part because of intensifying competition.

For now, given the current benign market conditions in Europe, exuberance over private equity may not seem out of place, and stocks giving investors exposure to private equity may benefit as a result.

But forward-looking investors would do well to start paying careful attention to the risks as some of these stocks soar into sky-high valuations.

(Nicole Lee reports on European private equity and specialty finance for Dow Jones Newswires. She is based in London and can be reached at [phone] or by e-mail: [e-mail]) [ 30-03-06 1728GMT ]

[its the oxman] 30/3/2006 16:01

very nice trading statement - results to exceed expectations - more to go for.

[molatovkid] 30/3/2006 08:40

just bought a tiny holding myself....looks like a well managed, very profitable company to me.

[gre] 24/3/2006 11:43

A lot of people are jumping on this bandwagon ahead of the trading statement which is due to come out next week. Looks promising!

[its the oxman] 01/3/2006 10:56

banking and financial stocks seem to be performing strongly at present - ok icp not directly comparable but nevertheless still expect another leg up after recent consolidation around 1400p. personally i'm hopeful results should be good as well.

[judge jury] 21/2/2006 14:54

What makes you say that?