Iomart Share Discussion Threads

[stegrego] 04/6/2009 12:47

From below:

Despite making a loss on continuing operations last year, MacSween said that Iomart had now hit monthly profitability.

"The business is now profitable on a month-to-month basis and generating cash, and we don't see that going backwards."

[langland] 03/6/2009 19:59

GHF,

Well written. Have held these for awhile for the potential so was a bit premature but on a 12-18 month view these should be OK now. I thought today's results were pretty re-assuring and with the forecast of 19-20mn T/o this year, things are looking up at last.

[stegrego] 03/6/2009 18:49

If the t'internet continues apace (and i cant see why not) then storage space will be at a premium. Having a foot in the door means they are more likely to attract business than a start up.

'Build it and they will come, oh yes they will come'


Well, theyve built it... and i reckon they will come!

[knockers2] 03/6/2009 13:19

a reccomdendation

[paddyfool] 03/6/2009 09:29

outrageous valuation for a business whose only worthwhile asset is cash. And which makes no money! Its all potential here and it will not withstand any hint of bad news. One for the brave.

[schober] 03/6/2009 08:38

i dont get it!
a back of envelope calculation suggest they need to double t/o to reach break even - a tall order
i can find no mention of the %age of hardware being used....i would have thought this was a key metric
am i missing something, and no i hvent read DS's reports

[stegrego] 03/6/2009 08:04

Yup, ive bought a few - see how it goes

[glasshalfull] 03/6/2009 08:02

Just completed a quick glance through what has to be an excellent set of results.

*Revenues higher than expectations
*EBITDA loss £0.3m - lower than expectations
*Post tax Profit is £11.2m (from Ufindus disposal)
*Net cash period end £13.7m (prior to Rapid Switch acqusition of £5m)

Growth in Easyspace 14% - 235,000 customers
Growth in hosting 155% - £4.6m (£1.8m turnover 2008)

Gross margin 52% of revenue and tellingly....hosting showing improved gross margin % due to fixed cost element of operating datacentres.
Just think of the profits that will fall to the bottom line if growth in datacentres continues on the same path :-)

Most importantly the outlook statement is extremely bullish;

"We have enjoyed strong organic growth during the year and we continue to establish ourselves as a first class provider of managed hosting services to the SME and corporate markets from our own fully networked UK datacentres The acquisition of RapidSwitch post year end will further accelerate this process, and we look forward to the coming year with increased confidence."

The Chairman is even more bullish IMO;

"Last year I concluded my inaugural Chairman's statement by saying that I believed we could look to the future with confidence. Based on our future prospects and what we have achieved over the year despite challenging economic times, I see no reason other than to reach the same conclusion this year.

In fact, I believe I can say that we now look to the future with increased confidence."

Regards,
GHF

[stegrego] 02/6/2009 19:31

Hi GHF - havent bought any, but will keenly read the results tomorrow and may follow you in.

[glasshalfull] 02/6/2009 15:14

Ha ha....i always seem to bump into you on the same threads Steg :-)
Small cap undervalued.

Well, following research I've taken a small position and looking for results tomorrow to give a better idea as to the datacentre growth Iomart are experiencing.
The fact that the company is cash rich and appears to have pulled off an excellent deal with the acquisition of Rapid Switch last month "immediately earnings enhancing" suggests that they should be profitable this year. Rapid Switch has exhibited fantastic growth over the last few years;

Rapid Switch Turnover

2007 - £1.48m
2008 - £2.6m
2009 - £4m (est)

Revenue base is suggested at £4.5m currently per KBC.

Indeed, Daniel Stewart has them as a buy with 59p target and forecasts that the company will have achieved scale to reach positive EBITDA for the current year and suggests that they have £8m net cash after the acquisition.

EBITDA is forecast at £2.9m for the current year and positive EPS of 0.3p (KBC) and 0.9p (DS). But the real kicker will come in future years as the benefits of a fixed cost base and recurring & additional capacity is utilised - currently only 20% data centre capacity utilised - as the company (potentially) becomes a cash cow.

We will see!

Regards,
GHF

EDIT - Forgot to mention forecasts for year to 31/03/09....both forecast a small loss.

[stegrego] 30/5/2009 16:09

I held xploite - but they just sold all their data centres!

Am now prowling here...

[glasshalfull] 29/5/2009 09:47

Building up a picture of the company. Prior to rapidswitch acquisition;

Iomart provides hosted data centre services at four UK locations; London, Glasgow, Nottingham and Leicester. It reports that these units currently operate at approximately 20% (370 racks) of the potential capacity of some 1,675 racks (35,000 sq.ft.) at a current annual average per rack revenue rate of £11,500 (e)

Source Daniel Stewart March 09.

Rapidswitch will add an estimated 600 racks.

If (big IF) the data centre market growth continues as forecast...growth in web content, SaaS models and lack of investment in capacity due in part to credit crunch.....then the addition to the bottom line over the next few years could be fantastic given the fixed cost base.

This is looking better and better.

Regards,
GHF

[glasshalfull] 29/5/2009 09:29

Copy of post on TCY thread......IOM appears a good long term investment and I've just started casting my eye.

---------------------------------------


Funnily enough I've also been looking at the datacentre market.
TCY have certainly caught my eye and pre-eminent operator in the sector with UK listing. Excellent long term play.

O/T
By looking over TCY I've noticed IOM - Iomart - far smaller competitor.
(Rivaldo -This was flagged by Tole to me a couple of years back)
Quick synopsis is that they sold their Ufindus business to BT Group for £20m last year and as they are now cash rich are building a presence in the datacentre market....5 centres following a further acquisition a couple of weeks ago.
Look a decent investment, also on a long term basis with their Annual Results due to be released on Wednesday 3rd June.
The rub here is that they are also have the 3rd largest hosting business in the UK - Easyspace - which is growing and profitable; only approx 20% utilisation of their data centres which are in the main fitted out; Netintelligence business which is profitable (security/web content)); net cash was around £13m but following may acquisition of Rapidswitch this will have reduced to c. £8m cash now.

"The underlying demand driver for Iomart's services is "cloud computing", on-demand access via the internet to powerful software platforms, functionality and systems, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) business models."

They should show a small loss on release of results next week but following may acquisition will post a profit this year.

Share price up from January low but they didn't participate in the recent small cap rally or mirror TCY's recent rise.....35p vs 37p....market cap £34m.

Brokers positive and provide Target prices in the mid 50's in the main....50%+ upside.
Daniel Stewart have just initiated coverage with Buy rec and DCF valution of 58p.

Interested in views on the company as I've only just started poking around.
Management have previously built up datacantre business and sold it....still to find details.

Hopefully not too O/T as essentially same attributes as TCY.

Kind regards,
GHF

[knockers2] 28/5/2009 13:28

there's an evo recc out there

[lascala] 22/5/2009 10:28

Yesterday's Edition of Shares Magazine (21st May) had a very positive take on the Rapid Switch deal. They recommend a 'buy' with the statement: Good Long Term Growth Potential.

[wh1spa] 17/5/2009 16:54

Because its a likely take over target and as such very undervalued.

[bluebelle] 16/5/2009 08:42

I hold TCY. Why do you prefer IOM ?

[wh1spa] 15/5/2009 22:03

Having a thread off .... anyone there?

[marshalltronics] 15/5/2009 19:20

I am afraid this company is seriously worrying me.

Chart often tells the story.

Is the market wrong? We shall see.

At least Goldman Sachs have an interest.

The question is. "How good are Goldman Sachs at the moment?".

Good luck.

M.