Kentz Share Discussion Threads

[apad] 09/12/2013 11:02

But being accurate makes it worse revo - it just means that the founders sold off the problem bits :-)
Seriously, the original founders were a bunch of petroleum engineers and the current management look recent and not that impressive.
It'll be interesting to see how the news and analysis progresses, particularly in the trade press.
apad

[leeson31] 09/12/2013 10:47

noted Rivaldo :-) makes the deal better value.
cheers

[revoman] 09/12/2013 10:44

Ok, fair enough. But do read RNSs in full before suggesting contradictions between them and other sources of information.

[rivaldo] 09/12/2013 10:43

Leeson31, as regards your post 4579, it's worth noting that the $51.5m core earnings was from 2012 after a temporary hiatus in 2011.

Assuming that EBITDA increased this year to say $55m conservatively, one might expect this coming post-acquisition year to increase to say $60m-$65m with a few savings/synergies.

Pretty good against a $435m purchase price.

[jeffian] 09/12/2013 10:42

Where are you?!

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:36

Not at all bitter revoman. Bought on 9 occasions since 2009 and not sold.
Just watching the basket and sharing observations. Also, fretting about top-slicing as K is now 7.5% of portfolio.
Also fretting about how many companies have misadventures in the US.
I haven't got where I am today without fretting :-)
apad

[revoman] 09/12/2013 10:17

APAD, read the RNS properly. Kentz had bought Valerus FS which is part of the Valerus Group. Valerus Group is retaining any debt so that Valerus FS is debt-free, and Valerus FS has 665 employees whereas Valerus Group obviously has 1300. I take it you're slightly bitter at not a Kentz holder as you're attempting to put doubt in people's minds...

[jacks13] 09/12/2013 10:12

Were you involved in doing the du-diligence APAD?

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:11

Valerus Compression Services Reviews Updated Nov 18, 2013

3.4/5 11 reviews

67% Approve of the CEO
(no image)
Pete Lane
(6 ratings)
80% of employees recommend this company to a friend
11 Employee Reviews
All Locations

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:10

"Educational and exciting"

Process Engineer (Current Employee)
Houston, TX
I have been working at Valerus Compression Services full-time for more than 3 years
Pros – People, professional environment, growth opportunities, open to suggestions
Cons – Aggressive for success, lacks extra amenities which could make coming to work place more enjoyable.
Advice to Senior Management – Up the average pay, provide extra amenities such as gym, resting area, and other.
Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:10

"Educational and exciting"

Process Engineer (Current Employee)
Houston, TX
I have been working at Valerus Compression Services full-time for more than 3 years
Pros – People, professional environment, growth opportunities, open to suggestions
Cons – Aggressive for success, lacks extra amenities which could make coming to work place more enjoyable.
Advice to Senior Management – Up the average pay, provide extra amenities such as gym, resting area, and other.
Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:09

"Completely lost"

Business Intelligence Developer (Former Employee)
Houston, TX
I worked at Valerus Compression Services as a contractor for less than a year
Pros – Descent Location in Downtown Houston with a nice office space. There are some talented individuals there that are loyal to the company.
Cons – Constant re-organization and vision. Dishonest executives and unqualified management. Hired me for a project and then a new CIO came in and cancelled it a month later.
Advice to Senior Management – Set a vision and stick to it.
No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:08

"No coroporate stucture, but you can make money..."

Anonymous Employee (Current Employee)
I have been working at Valerus Compression Services
Pros – High salaries for people with little to no experience in the industry.
Cons – Very little structure, and people get away with a lot without HR getting involved.
Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:05

The RNS says -- 'expanded offering through the addition of 665 employees including 198 personnel with demonstrable experience in gas handling and processing;'
But the VFS website says 1300.
Also some of the jobs on the careers page of the website have old dates associated with them.
apad

[apad] 09/12/2013 10:00

Mmmm.
Glad everyone is enthusiastic. Valerus has a hundred jobs on offer on their website. 1300 total employees, been operating since 2004 so has grown fast.
"Valerus is a privately held company, and we do not publish our financial results. In general, however, we are one of the largest providers of gas processing solutions, with revenue and assets equivalent to those of a mid-cap corporation. For 2012, we project a similar growth trend based on project backlog alone. The five-year compound annual growth in revenue from 2006 to 2011 was 28 percent. As of December 31, 2011, we had nearly $900 million in assets, including almost $600 million in a growing, productive fleet of rental assets totaling more than 750,000 horsepower."
Many of the senior people are recent (e.g. CEO since 2010).
Willing buyer and willing seller. I wonder who's got the best deal.
Interesting financial row (not sure it's over:
"Law360, New York (May 07, 2013, 5:01 PM ET) -- A Texas judge has ruled that Guggenheim Corporate Funding LLC must release 4.8 million Valerus Compression Services LP shares after Valerus mistakenly traded a larger than anticipated equity stake in the oil and gas company for a $165 million credit facility, an attorney familiar with the case said Tuesday."
Also an interesting for with the CFO from 2006.
apad

[leeson31] 09/12/2013 09:50

good value deal:

"Valerus made core earnings (EBITDA) of $51.5 million on revenue of $492.9 million last year, Kentz said in the statement."

purchase price ~$435m, so that's either 88pc of one years revs, or 8.4 x ebitda..

and no debt with Valerus...

[revoman] 09/12/2013 09:11

Liberum note:Kentz – Buy – 650p TP. Kentz has announced the proposed acquisition of the Valerus field solutions business ("Valerus FS") for US$435 million in cash. Valerus FS is a US-based integrated oil and gas surface facility solutions provider which provides a full suite of products and services from the well head to the pipeline as well as an integrated services capability. The Acquisition will help establish Kentz in the process engineering, EPCM and EPC markets for small and medium sized oil and gas processing facilities. It should bring in high margin contracts, add 665 employees and expand Kentz operational footprint into the US onshore oil and gas market and Latin America. We understand there will be no debt in Valerus on completion. So Kentz appears to be paying 8.4x trailing EBITDA - which appears reasonable. Our initial reaction is that the acquisition looks consistent with Kentz strategy (if somewhat larger than expected) and should enhance growth prospects, particularly in the Americas. We expect to retain our positive view on the shares.

[whizzy1] 09/12/2013 09:10

This is my well presented, technical opinion on todays proposed acquisition = I am making sht loads of dosh here!
Message Ends.

[valhamos] 09/12/2013 08:51

An excellent transformational deal - good to see the positive reaction in the market

[a0148009] 09/12/2013 08:34

Just over 250k shares traded buyers finding it hard to find stock.

AO

[cheaky monkey] 09/12/2013 08:22

More great news, well done Kentz management, simply a wonderfully run company. Looks like the cheeky bid earlier in the year for Kentz was simply way undervalued and correctly knocked back by the management.Can see this strong run continuing with possibly more contract wins to come.DYOR though, just my thoughts.GLACM

[mirabeau] 09/12/2013 08:21

Wow, all time high since IPO

[revoman] 09/12/2013 08:17

I'm also hoping for news on another contract win or two for Kentz before the year end, as results are due for more of their contract bids mentioned in their AMEC defence document.

[cumnor] 09/12/2013 07:41

Good news, earnings enhancing, debt rather than dilution (sign of strength) which will be easily manageable given both companies cash flows and inroads into lucrative US shale play which is only beginning to takeoff. AMEC got mgmt wrong-Kenz aiming to be another AMEC and not their plaything.