Iomart Share Discussion Threads

[sphere25] 21/3/2020 10:50

There is definitely more doom and gloom to come and the US is trending down looking like it is headed for further lows and the eventual death plunge that causes the capitulation to allow a bottoming process to be formed.The bulk of the gloom and contract cancellations will already be in the price. A lot of companies are now rallying on warnings and even the likes of grossly indebted companies like CINE or others like BOWL have rallied on venue closure news.This virus isn't the end of the world and it is a short term temporary thing imo. However, there is likely further downside as the government could effectively keep the economy in lockdown for many months.So ultimately, the risk still looms large (not in denial here) but the beatdowns here and out there have been absolutely brutal and the bulk ofn the carnage has been done imo.

[onjohn] 20/3/2020 22:46

can see contracts delayed like in the finncial sector they have done twice before and this could halve

[sphere25] 20/3/2020 10:21

Nibbled a few here. The world has gone bonkers, but that means the sales are well and truly on. Average into the good quality companies and those buying on these panic moves down will be the longer term winners with immense returns.All imo DYOR

[2bluelynn] 13/2/2020 18:06

Great to see it break four pound ,let's hope it holds . 52 week high also

[costax1654x] 09/1/2020 11:29

Anyone noticed ORM ?Gold asset in Salamanca and 5 mil £ Cash,no debts, for 3 mil mcap!

[rivaldo] 27/11/2019 08:36

Had a change of heart and sold.

Finncap have reduced their estimates for this and next year to 18p and 19.2p EPS.

It's trading on quite an expensive P/E, and there doesn't appear to be a catalyst for a re-rating for a while yet.

There may be another acquisition, but you can't hold shares on that rather speculative basis.

On the other hand, without a catalyst the share price may drift down to 300p-320p, which would offer better value.

This was only an exploratory holding anyway, so I'll sit on the sidelines and wait for a while.

[rivaldo] 27/11/2019 07:33

A reasonable set of interims today. Revenues are up nicely, contract wins and cloud growth mean H2 looks good, the dividend is up and there's much confidence going forward. Adjusted EPS was down slightly, but this was due to increased investment costs written off which will come to fruition later, and IOM had already flagged an H2 weighting.

The huge recurring income and growth in the cloud mean that this remains a hold for me, but I'll top up if there's an opportunity at the right price.

[rivaldo] 29/10/2019 09:32

Nice mention for IOM here in this review of global ICT investment:



"Global ICT Investment in Government Market: Market Potential

A number of tech firms around the world have already become a key part of e-governance by bagging profitable and long-term contracts with national and regional governments. Recent examples for this are the contracts awarded to Edge Testing Solutions, Iomart, and eCom Scotland, for being a part of the government ICT framework."

[modform] 24/10/2019 22:59

I think they were caused by fat fingers , MM put them through at the wrong price. They will be corrected at some stage , we will see tomorrow

[gargleblaster] 24/10/2019 17:28

Thanks nimbo. Sometimes the share price goes straight back to where it was next day. Would be interesting if it doesn't!

[nimbo1] 24/10/2019 16:16

yes what's that about, take over?

trades that i can see aren't big. U/T 12,727 @ 398 and another at 16.39 of 2085 at 3.98. those are the only ones....

[gargleblaster] 24/10/2019 16:03

After hours surge can anyone check for late trades - I have dumped level 2!

[rivaldo] 07/10/2019 10:39

Octopus Investments have been buying - they've gone above 14% and have 15.28m shares:

[rivaldo] 02/10/2019 10:37

Some press comment - I'd missed this target of doubling revenues in the next 5 years:



"New customer wins in our core cloud services offering are growing, supported by growth from the on-premise business which highlights there is still a long way to go on the cloud journey.

“We are confident we are on track to take advantage of the positive market opportunity and look forward to another successful year of growth.” The firm earlier flagged expectations it could double revenues to £200 million over the next five years.

And good news yesterday - a UK government framework approval:



"iomart and SystemsUp Approved for Digital Outcomes and Specialists 4
01 Oct, 2019, 09:00 BST

Expert Support for UK Public Sector Digital Transformation Projects

GLASGOW, Scotland, Oct. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Managed cloud services provider iomart and its digital transformation consultancy SystemsUp, have been approved as suppliers to Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) 4 - the latest iteration of the UK government's framework for procuring public sector digital transformation services.

Their expertise in the design, delivery and performance of digital services will be available from today when the updated DOS framework goes live via the Digital Marketplace. Public sector organisations will be able to select individual consultants or teams of engineers with specific capabilities to work on all aspects of their transformation projects.

The range of expertise available from iomart and SystemsUp includes: data analysis and visualisation; security threat modelling and vulnerability testing; agile delivery and project management; network support and operations; testing and auditing; user research; and user experience and design.

Declan Sharpe, Director of Sales for iomart, said: "Digital transformation projects in the public sector often present challenges which can't necessarily be addressed by the in-house teams tasked with delivering them. Our presence on this framework gives those teams access to a vast array of highly accredited technical engineers and consultants who are able to provide the additional specialist input needed to ensure that each project has a successful outcome."

Nick Martin, Managing Director of SystemsUp, added: "Effective digital transformation is about empowering the people in the organisation and ensuring a positive end user experience. We can help public sector organisations navigate that journey successfully by offering expert support at all stages of a project in the short, medium and the long term."

Both iomart and SystemsUp already provide their services to a number of government organisations and local authorities and are approved suppliers via G-Cloud 11. iomart is also an approved supplier to the Scottish Government's Cloud Services framework."

[cfro] 01/10/2019 12:42

On the contrary sphere25, you could easily argue that revenues are 90% recurring combined with new customer contract wins plus stronger pipeline of opportunities might suggest that come the year end they may, just may, beat estimates..

On the "bid activity" front - well, with a company that is "at the beginning of the cloud journey" then who knows...

[farhorizons] 01/10/2019 10:08

Sphere is a real glass half-full merchant

[sphere25] 01/10/2019 09:30

I was looking at taking a position here, but not on that update. Trading appears to be in line but:

"...margin performance will be skewed towards the second half of the year"

I'd say they aren't in line at this stage, but because of the visibility they plan to be. With this comment on short term delays to decisions too, it's too risky for me personally at the current valuation.

FinnCap, who are very good at ramping and then taking the other side of the trade in helping large sellers out, also (reading between the lines) aren't sure and are looking for further detail in early Dec.

Difficult one on the long side then.

Furthermore, Merian have disclosed a short position of 0.5% on the 26th September. They will likely increase their short to try and keep a lid on the stock.

In light of the above, is it a short then?

There is uncertainty in the guidance being met, but the market is viewing this as guidance being met. It is more "as you were" with the stock continuing to trade in a range.

The short side might carry a tad more weight on that update with the uncertainty, but with the takeover frenzy in UK plc, murmurings of bid activity around IOM post the TCY takeover, I'd say the short side is fraught with risk too.

[rivaldo] 01/10/2019 07:39

Agreed. Looking promising overall, especially the visibility going forward and the confidence "for the full year and beyond" given the global transition to cloud.

There will be an H2 weighting in respect of margins. H1 revenues will be good though net numbers may not be so impressive, but these are expected to catch up in H2.

Peel Hunt retain their Buy and 520p target:

[cfro] 01/10/2019 07:20

Thats a nice bullish update. "New customer wins and stronger pipeline of opportunities". "Many industries and sectors are only now at the start of the journey to the cloud.." ..are just some of the comments made.

[rivaldo] 13/9/2019 11:15

Nice plug on Wednesday:



"Shares on a tear

Cloud computing provider Iomart (LSE:IOM) owns and operates 12 UK datacentres connected by its own dark fibre network, as well as operating a growing number of server farms in Europe, the US, Japan and Australia. I used to work in telecoms so I know a bit about this sector: if you switched off when the words ‘cloud computing’ appeared, then perhaps this stock isn’t for you. But I think Iomart has plenty of space to grow.

Pre-tax profits and earnings per share are rising and 10 years of consecutive dividend growth has always had more than 2.5 times earnings cover.

Management has refreshed the board recently and has invested in buying out the competition, including datacentre providers Bytemark and LDeX. This strategy, says Chairman Ian Steele, proves Iomart’s “ambition to deliver the same long-term pace of growth achieved over the last five years which saw the business double in size.”

[rivaldo] 23/8/2019 09:04

Continuing to move up - new recent highs now.

I agree - with such huge recurring income IOM may well be a tempting takeover target for US and other potential buyers.

[sphere25] 22/8/2019 09:19

This stock is moving peculiarly. Stock has flown up 13% in no time to test significant resistance at 360.

Despite this being on the watchlist, missed the move here. The tip hasn't been the reason for the rise. The stock has ghosted its way from 320 through key levels at 330-350 on minimal volumes (making it very hard to trade, because in the past it has been knocked back down quite quickly when rising on light volume) with large buyers showing their hand in picking up size at that 352 level yesterday.

Clearly the well publicised UK Plc sale is on with an absolute barrage of takeovers recently (more than I can ever remember in a such a short period of time). I think this has got to be up there as a takeover candidate with rumours mentioned in the past when TCY was acquired.

But hopefully not just yet! Hopefully when I buy some ;-)

Possibly something going on behind the scenes or just a run up into the AGM next week on the 27th.

[rivaldo] 21/8/2019 06:49

Tipped here by Andrew Hore:



"Iomart (IOM)
331.5p

Cloud computing and hosting services provider Iomart (LSE:IOM) has a strong track record in a growing sector. The group has shown it can grow organically and via acquisitions.

Iomart offers managed hosting, consultancy, business continuity, colocation, security and cloud computing services. It owns its own network infrastructure, including data centres. Recurring revenues are more than 90% of turnover and there is only a small exposure to the public sector. Revenues have doubled to more than £100 million in the past five years and the aim is to head towards £200 million revenues.

Iomart generated more than £30 million of cash from operations, but spent more than that on capex and acquisitions, plus dividends. Net debt was £39.2 million at the end of March 2019 and that could fall to nearer £30 million by next March.

The share price is barely changed from the start of the year. Pre-tax profit is forecast to improve to £27 million this year, putting the shares on 17 times prospective 2019-20 earnings with a forecast yield of 2.4%."

[gargoyle2] 08/8/2019 21:41

Good find, riv. Thanks.