Kentz Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 22/11/2013 11:35

The Times' Tempus column today reports on KENZ as follows...."chronically cheap" :o))



"Kentz announced another contract win yesterday, this time in Saudi Arabia, the fifth so far this month. The trading statement on Monday talked of an order backlog of a record $3 billion at the end of October and another $15 billion of potential work. "Chronically cheap," Malcolm Graham-Wood, of VSA Capital, says."

OT : HGR8 are worth a look imho following today's results.

[apad] 22/11/2013 09:14

Dr. S,
Many ways....
My best share is AZN. It pays more every year in dividends than the ICI stake I bought in the first place - and it gave me another company on the way. The IC, at the time, told me to sell Zeneca and keep ICI - I did the opposite.

On KENZ. I still have a concern over the visibility of cash flow change resulting from moving to staged payments. It's cash flow that will generate dividends folks!
In this K fanclub (and it does feel that way sometimes)is anyone hunting for flaws and has concerns?
apad

[dr_smith] 22/11/2013 08:58

Some interesting replies to my 'spread your risk' message.
Roddie - I may not practice your lifestyle, but I do enjoy adventure travel and 'the mind' and its experiences are definitely the best investment - but risk can still be spread.
As a light drinker I only half agreed with George Best 'i spent 90% of my money on drink and women the rest i wasted'

Steeplejack, thank-you for the thoughts and lyrics.

After picking good co's, I believe timing is the next important criteria. The best I can do is courtesy of Johny Cash :

"You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em.
"Know when to walk away; know when to run.

[steeplejack] 22/11/2013 07:54

Dr Smith
So many people have experiences of losing out as apparently indestructible institutions hit the buffers.Equitable Life immediately springs to mind.The effects on prudent folk who had sensibly opted for a low cost pension provider,were catastrophic.I know how you feel about losing money in RBS.I,as a deferred pensioner of the US investment bank,that dare not speak its name,lost the greater part of my pension in 2008 whilst concurrently seeing my share portfolio decimated(like everyone else) as a consequence of the Lehman collapse.Unfortunately,when we have financial collapses,it's the rich who immediately suffer.The poor suffer collateral damage.The rich are still suffering as a consequence of QE and the impact of low interest rates,the corollary being rising high yield equities of course.
As far as a wholesale stockmarket crash is concerned,who knows.Only recently has,the S&P managed to attain the accolade of surpassing the returns on cash in the 21st century,so it's not as if one can accuse investors of irrational exuberance.indisputably though,it's sensible to spread risk across a wide range of assets.Let me leave you with the words of Alan Price from a song performed in the film,"Oh Lucky Man",that I always find strangely comforting.

"when everything in life seems just as it should be
At last success seems just around the door
Don't forget boy,look over your shoulder.
Things don't stay the same for evermore.

Hope springs eternal in a young man's breast,
As he dreams of a better life ahead,
Without that dream,you are nothing,nothing,nothing
You must find out for yourself that dream is dead"

Not that myself and others here,I suspect,are that young anymore!

[apad] 22/11/2013 07:01

Behave, jeff :-)
apad

[jeffian] 21/11/2013 23:20

All together now....

"I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK, I sleep all night and I work all day......."

8-)

[roddiemac2] 21/11/2013 22:28

DR SMITH

I will not bore you with what you call risk options, suffice to say that If I lost all my money , I would laugh and carry on much as I do now. I have no wife , no children , no house , but have spent a considerable portion of my life doing interesting things . My prize possessions are a set of bagpipes, a Spanish guitar , a pair of Norwegian cross country ski boots made in 1945 , a banged out static caravan on a camp site, and a double ended sailing boat made from willow saplings lashed together and covered with canvas and tar.

[roddiemac2] 21/11/2013 18:49

APAD ---Yes I did hold some CML before 2010. I have added a lot since the shares reached their low. They were never really in trouble . I follow the business closely . I live on their doorstep. About the time they talked of contemplating going private I visited them to voice my objection . Although the loss of Hyperstone`s main customer caused consternation among investors, The company was adamant that they bought Hyperstone for its technology, and we are now seeing this bear fruit. For many years information flow was poor. I have been at great pains to explain why information flow is so important, and Chris Gurry has taken care to ensure information is forthcoming, culminating in appointing share price Angel as joint broker.( their research is meticulous )

DR SMITH---Your economist friend ( exponent of the inexact science ) is correct: it is not a matter of "if" but " when " : be vigilant.

[dr_smith] 21/11/2013 16:52

Roddie:
I am ex-Nat West employee, so over the decades saved a disproportionate amount of NatWest (now RBS) shares.
I felt secure as a long term holder and 'knew' the Bank of England monitored/policed banks asset/liability ratios, so any blips would be short term.
The rest as they say is history, it left me depressed for a long time as I lost alot, so please do test yourself by asking 'what if'.
And as for market crashes, an economist friend tells me its not 'if' but 'when', which I believe, so you need a strategy for when sh*t hits fan, so when it happens you can act wisely in premeditated fashion with good decisions, not driven by blind panic.

I know its hard to sell 'old faithful' but please do spend some time thinking about your risk and options.
Are there really only 3 co's to your mind worthy of solid investment?
(Answer to self)

[apad] 21/11/2013 15:18

3 very good companies roddie - you have more confidence than I have (probably because you haven't been investing as long).

I hold CML and have known their technology for a long time.
Did you hold CML in the half decade 'till 2010? Could occur again perhaps?

Still there are many ways to both success and failure:-)

apad

[mdara] 21/11/2013 14:43

@Roddie
Certainly qualifies you to know the exceptions. Hope they're all winners for you. Particularly Kentz :) (that's tainted with a little self interest :))

[roddiemac2] 21/11/2013 14:22

APAD,----" The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions."---Yes, ---roughly 60% of my invested worth is in just three companies,--FSJ CML and KENZ. Twenty years ago no company I held represented more than 3% of my invested worth. Investment has been my only source of income for those twenty years.I first dabbled in shares nearly fifty years ago.

[steeplejack] 21/11/2013 14:13

Pushed down below the 557p resistance level .Loads of ATs.Some funny old moves here in the market as a whole. Perhaps a large sell order is being filled.It's disappointing,hope we close around 560p

[11023154] 21/11/2013 11:11

More great news, takeover will be expensive now.

[dr_smith] 21/11/2013 10:54

I find it hard to interpret ostensibly good news - especially when no $$$ figure quoted, which I usually then work out as % of turover p.a. to put in context.
RR. has them all the time, but size of co means most contract wins are the normal bread & butter not requiring a fanfare in the investor community.

With Kenz revenue circa £1,000 m, expectation is for say £83m worth of wins per month on average, so without knowing volume of smaller unreported contracts and whether latest contract puts it above expectations is nigh impossible to determine.
BUT it does act as trigger to review holding, updating own forecast and provikng buy/sell activity.
Fortunately we don't tend to see an RNS for 'co x loses contract to y as outbid'.
Oliver Wendell Holmes coughs exception 'BSkyB' :-)

[rivaldo] 21/11/2013 10:06

KENZ always seems to take a while to get going following a contract win, and then picks up as the day progresses. Perhaps due to American afternoon buying?

Hopefully more to come this afternoon as today's news sinks in.

[apad] 21/11/2013 09:45

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

apad

[dr_smith] 21/11/2013 09:16

Apad - Only at sector level, it's normally in reference to one company as it's more frequent for 1 co to fail than 1 sector.
I started out investing with plan that included max 5% holdings and sector spread, but when you also cherry pick stocks in current market, the choice isn't available to cater to ideal spread of risk, so I am breaking that rule myself on some shareholdings.
Things can go wrong, it's not just theory, so if sh*t does hit fan, do you think the increased risk was worth it?
It's you that has to sleep at night.
I think you know all that, you're just trying to justify it to yourself as you don't want to sell shares in a good prospect. ;-)

[apad] 21/11/2013 08:51

I guess the contracts for running plant are still rolling in whilst the new plant contract future is murkier.
Looks like Kentz has come of age in the main market.
Now 6.5% of my portfolio, which means I should be top slicing...
Perhaps not.
Bought SPX with half my AMEC receipts this morning. GNK in the frame for the rest, so I guess I can say that I have moved away from the oil services sector. That's a top slice isn't it?
apad

[hatter2] 21/11/2013 08:12

Well you can certainly understand a) why AMEC wanted to buy Kentz on the cheap and b) why the board of Kentz were so resistant. In my view Kentz is a high quality business that has the bonus having a better than building society dividend that is increasing each year. A share for the serious investor in my view.

Just wish I had bought more at sub £4.

[rivaldo] 21/11/2013 07:15

Yet another great RNS today - this time a lovely 5 year framework agreement with Saudi Arabia and Exxon Mobil which could presumably lead to jumbo-sized business:



"Kentz awarded 5 year engineering framework agreement for SAMREF in Saudi Arabia

London, 21 November 2013 - Kentz Corporation Limited (LSE: KENZ), the holding company of the Kentz engineering and construction group, is pleased to announce the award of a five year framework contract for general engineering services on the SAMREF refinery in Saudi Arabia.

SAMREF is a complex refinery which was formed for the development, construction, ownership and operation of crude oil refining facilities in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. It is an equally owned joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation).

Kentz, through its local subsidiary, Saudi Arabian Kentz Co. Ltd. will provide experienced and qualified design engineers, technicians, planners and support professions of different specialties and disciplines when required. The contract will be executed through the TSS business unit."

[bones] 20/11/2013 23:37

Pretty chart and uptrend with a tasty uptick today on healthy volume. Would be good to see that followed up tomorrow although it has a weak Wall Street post FOMC minutes to battle. Note the circled bid premium.