Keywords Studios Share Discussion Threads

[bamboo2] 21/3/2017 09:39

By the time I'd logged in all the cheap shares were gone!
Looks like the seller has a few more to go, so back to watching again.

[bamboo2] 21/3/2017 08:39

Looks possible to me that this could re-test 575 ish, giving an op to get on board for anyone who missed out on the previous retrace.

[bigbigdave] 21/3/2017 08:18

Results 5th April last year so not too long a wait now perhaps.

[bigbigdave] 14/3/2017 15:10

Any investor who’s been around long enough will likely have an AIM horror story or 10 to tell. And although the LSE’s junior bourse certainly has its fair share of companies with a checkered past there are plenty of great companies listed there that are posting stellar results for investors willing to do due diligence.

Rapid yet sustainable growth
One of them is Keyword Studios (LSE: KWS), a global provider of back-office testing, localisation and quality control services to the video game industry. Much as some species of fish live a good life cleaning much larger fish, Keyword is growing rapidly by taking care of smallish but critical issues such as audio recording in foreign languages and bug testing that makers of AAA games find too time consuming or don’t have the skills for.

The value of the company’s services to bigger game makers is clear in the 30% rise in like-for-like sales it posted in the half year to June. And once you include the company’s frequent acquisitions (eight in 2016 alone). total sales jumped an even more impressive 77% year-on-year.

There’s no reason to believe this pace of acquisitions will slow anytime soon either as the industry is highly fragmented. These purchases also help drive organic growth as cross-selling opportunities are legion and game makers increasingly trust Keyword to take care of more and more behind-the-scenes tasks.

Best of all, the company is expanding rapidly but not doing so in willy-nilly. The acquisitions it is making are highly profitable and becoming more so as they’re integrated, which we see in action with the 177% rise in pre-tax profits in H1 2016. And a healthy balance sheet with €8m in net cash provides the firepower for further acquisitions in 2017. The company’s shares are pricey at 34 times forward earnings, but with a proven business model, rising sales and profits and a growing pile of cash, I reckon this is one AIM share with a bright future.

[panic investor] 09/3/2017 16:50

Is that some Eastern London time zone ? Sorry I'll get my coat

[bigbigdave] 09/3/2017 16:12

Also been on filter for some time.....

[cfro] 09/3/2017 13:09

Everyones entitled to their own opinion but that 'opinion' is but that..

[b1ggles] 09/3/2017 12:17

I think he was asking on what you based your opinion that it would go below four pounds. Seems fair.

[opodio] 09/3/2017 11:27

sorry you dont liuke my post bamboo but like i said reckon this is going below £4 IMO, as you say, many taking profits from recent run.....below £4 I'll start adding but not before...

[hedley03] 09/3/2017 11:05

I think he's posting on the wrong board or has the chart upside down ?

[bamboo2] 09/3/2017 10:28

I have opodio on filter but caught the comment on the follow feed.

opodio, If you hope to be taken seriously, you really need to back up your posts with a little substance. imo

[opodio] 09/3/2017 09:58

reckon this is going below £4 IMO, as you say, many taking profits from recent run.....below £4 I'll start adding but not before...

[bigbigdave] 07/3/2017 06:55

Thanks rivaldo, confirms my intention to hold for some time yet.

[cfro] 06/3/2017 15:53

Thanks riv, yes there seems to be a few broker notes about with some excellent analysis.

As an aside VR has been all over the news this weekend. Lots of people very excited by its future potential.

[rivaldo] 06/3/2017 15:10

Only just got round to reading Edison's February note, and was particularly interested to see that as well as the entries into augmented and virtual reality, Edison expect to see KWS:

- initiate entry into engineering/coding this year as a seventh service line
- grow opportunities in the video production industry via streaming services like Netflix and Amazon who have faster production cycles and global distribution akin to the gaming sector
- also grow opportunities in online gambling

Given the sector fragmentation all of this implies lots of activity and excitement still to come.

[panic investor] 03/3/2017 11:25

In my view all funds utilised for purchases will be earnings enhancing from the very start Would like to add further but worried where the general market is headed - seems toppy and have cash on the sidelines just in case

[rivaldo] 02/3/2017 15:16

FYI these are Finncap's conclusions from last month's note issued after the year end trading update:

"Today's year-end update is comfortably ahead of revised guidance and confirms an extremely strong FY16, driven by both organic and acquired growth. Thanks to the company's aggressive consolidation strategy, Keywords is now uniquely positioned to capitalise on key trends, namely industry growth, the push to outsource and consolidation of suppliers. We therefore feel confident that the company's strong track record will continue and we upgrade our forecasts accordingly. We move to an out of consensus FY17E adj. PBT of €20.6m, while our target price moves from 500p to 692p and we retain our Buy recommendation."

"692p target price – based on 23x FY18 P/E (649p) in addition to 43p/share that we attribute to the group's disposable cash resources which are often used to make earnings accretive acquisitions. Out of the c.€14m of disposable funds, we assume €10m is likely to be utilised by FY18 – prudent considering that €21.7m was invested in FY16 and that Keywords may look to extend its current RCF beyond the €15m which it is at present (less than 1x FY16 EBITDA). Our target price is supported by DCF, suggesting a FV of 690p."

[rivaldo] 01/3/2017 11:48

An impressive new hire in the USA:



"Keywords Studios appoints new Audio Manager at LA studio
February 28th, 2017 - 12:40pm

Keywords Studios has appointed game audio industry veteran Ed Lima as its new Audio Manager in its LA office.

Lima will take over all audio operations at Keywords' Binari Sonori office in Burbank. He will be charged with expanding the range of audio services on offer and the voice production already available.

Lima has previously held roles at Gearbox Software, 2K Games and Deep Silver Volition. His credits include console titles such as Doom 3, Titanfall and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway.

A wealth of experience

"I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Ed Lima as Audio Manager in our LA studio. This is an important new hire for us," said Andrea Ballista, Global Audio Service Line Director of Keywords Studios.

"Ed brings a wealth of audio production experience and valuable know-how; he will surely be an asset to our team and will allow us to broaden the range of audio services we can provide to our clients."

Keywords Studios has been aggressively acquiring a number of studios recently to grow its services worldwide. It most recently acquired London-based animation studio Spov for $1.5 million earlier in February 2017."

[rivaldo] 20/2/2017 09:40

New interview with the CEO re the latest acquisition:

Http ://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/stocktube/6931/keywords-studios-spov-acquisition-offers-synergies-to-both-companies-says-day-6931.html?utm_source=Sign-Up.to&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7163-362478-PROACTIVITY+-+Keywords+Studios%2C+Jersey+Oil+%26+Gas+and+HNR+under+Friday%E2%80%99s+spotlight

"Keywords Studios Spov acquisition offers synergies to both companies, says Day
11:11 17 Feb 2017

Andrew Day, chief executive at the video games service provider, talks us through the rationale behind the £1.2mln purchase of Spov, which supplies visual special effects to video games and movies.

"It takes a very high-end, rather small scale business in Spov and allows us to introduce it (Spov) to our client base of hundreds of game developers around the world," he tells Proactive's Andrew Scott."

[cfro] 19/2/2017 17:22

Giles Hargreaves is usually a pretty decent stock-picker imo. Good that he is thinking the same way as us.

[robow] 18/2/2017 17:54

from Citywire

Keywords bull run entices Hargreave
Citywire AA-rated small cap selector Giles Hargreave has upped his stake in computer game translator Keywords Studios (KWS) as its shares dip from year-long bull-run which took it to a record high.


Hargreave increased his holding to just over 5% of the business worth £16.2 million at a share price of 599p, just off an all-time peak of 613p hit last week.

The majority of the shares are held by his private clients, with the remainder owned in funds run by his broker and asset manager Hargreave Hale for Marlborough Fund Managers.

Keywords offers translation, voice-overs and cultural guidance to computer game developers selling their games into overseas markets, providing services to 21 of the top 25 sector businesses.

Keywords is up 159% over the last 12 months. Analyst Berenberg initiated coverage on the company at the start of this money with a ‘buy’ rating and a 760p price target. The shares shed 5.5p on Friday to close the week at 599.5p.

[kryptonsnake] 17/2/2017 18:42

Keywords Studios agrees to buy animator Spov

[panic investor] 17/2/2017 10:25

Looks good to me