Keywords Studios Share Discussion Threads

[ali47fish] 17/12/2020 07:53

aquisition wow

[energeticbacker] 16/12/2020 10:20

Investor's Champion comments: High Voltage is expected to generate EBITDA of c. US$9.0m in 2021, on which basis the c2.6x acquisition multiple looks very modest.

[aimingupward2] 15/12/2020 10:44

Yes, it looks to be a particularly good one. Andrew Day says their ‘multitalented team’ will bring “incredible experience, expertise and additional scale to our fast growing Game Development Service Line”.

EDIT: This acquisition has been bought for approx 6 times EBITDA for next year as opposed to the 10 times
paid for the acquisition of Net Media a few weeks ago, making it all the more attractive.

[ali47fish] 15/12/2020 07:29

important aquisition today

[aimingupward2] 11/12/2020 10:05

Jefferies raise their target price from 2555p to 2733p with a BUY recommendation.

EDIT : Another couple of days like today and we'll be there !

[robow] 02/12/2020 08:17

from Citywire

Peel Hunt upgrades Keywords as risks reduce

Peel Hunt has upgraded Keywords Studios (KWS) as it believes the risks around the outsourced gaming services platform have reduced.

Analyst James Lockyer upgraded his recommendation from ‘sell’ to ‘reduce’ and increased his target price from £15.23 to £20.11 after ‘impressive upgrades last week showcased Keyword Studio’s resilience during such a trying time’.

‘It also announced the acquisition of Net Media, a marketing service provider. As a result of this and the potentially softer comps for next year, we believe Covid-19 and general risks with its roll-up strategy have lessened,’ he said.

[aimingupward2] 27/11/2020 12:33

Yes, that all sounds valid, I agree. Thanks AB4.

[alphabeta4] 26/11/2020 21:41

Aiming, I'm aware they report in Euros it's just to forecast €327m revenue would be the same as last year when KWS are already advising organic growth and acquisitions will be adding to the total. If however you interpret it as pounds and convert to Euros the rest of the figures make sense. Sharecast seem to sometimes transpose the data without checking the currency of the analyst reports properly.

[energeticbacker] 25/11/2020 14:12

Keyword Studios: the adjustment kings.

The adjusting items are a veritable book in themselves and include:
share option expense,
costs of acquisitions and integration,
amortisation of intangible assets,
non-controlling interest,
foreign exchange gains and losses and unwinding of discounted liabilities
The impact of COVID-19 government subsidies claimed is also excluded.

Investor's Champion asks: is there any point of statutory reporting?

[aimingupward2] 25/11/2020 13:22

It has been the intention of KWS over the past 2-3 years to gradually expand beyond the games industry into, e.g., e-learning, film and T.V. The acquisition of g-Net Media is, in part, a move in this direction. It is a highly regarded and growing company which includes amongst it’s clients media and entertainment companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and NBC Universal. It is a growing company from which Keywords should benefit nicely and for which they seem not to have overpaid.

[ali47fish] 25/11/2020 07:24

aquisition

[aimingupward2] 24/11/2020 19:56

Alphabeta4, you say that Sharecast says it’s figures are in euros but that is an error and it should read £s. Are you sure about that? KWS always report in euros..

[ali47fish] 24/11/2020 18:01

Alphabet-many thanks and i really appreciate this- i hopoe you will continue to post-normally sharecast dont offer much analysis but yours is helpful!

[alphabeta4] 24/11/2020 11:35

Hi ali47fish

Some of us are still around, I've worked out some new figures using Sharecast today it's just I don't often post my notes as it all takes time and there's so much going on at the moment.

FWIW I've focused on looking forward as I think that the market will be more interested in what any updates do to 2021 rather than 2020.

Sharecast had £327m revenue, £39.68m ptp this yr and 43.98p eps. Next was £374m revenue, £49.8m ptp for 53.75p. Note Sharecast says these are in € but that's an error, should read £s.



If adj PBT this year is to be €52m at a cautious 1.13 I make that £46m. Next year Sharecast has revenue to rise 14%. This would give me £52.46m ptp on a flat operating margin so a beat of 5%. The 14% revenue would look fairly cautious as I've got this year's acquisitions will do 1.6% of that laving 12.4%. Looking at what the company has done historically that is pretty undemanding and there should be higher organic vs this year from the benefit of certain service lines being able to operate far more effectively than they've done this year having suffered from lockdowns (e.g. voiceovers, testing etc).

So overall this update is worth 5% to me, derisks the need for operating margin expansion (which may prove a nice surprise as I bet not all units have been operating as effectively as pre covid and there should also be some spare capacity laying unused) and then finally my estimates ignore any further benefits from further acquisitions from the decent cash pile in the background. Business looking pretty solid IMHO.

[robow] 24/11/2020 11:26

yes -a good opportunity to add

[ali47fish] 24/11/2020 10:43

i can't believe this board since rivaldo has sold- nobody posts any more- profits significantly above expectations but volatile share price today

[scooper72] 10/11/2020 11:43

Perhaps the CFO gets a healthy share options scheme?

[mathurin1] 10/11/2020 11:17

There is very little serious discussion for Keywords on this forum which is strange.
I am a newboy to this share and have tried to do a minimum of research - one thing has struck me that the CEO
seems excellent but has very little management support i.e. without his leadership the company would seemingly be without a successor . I note the CFO has a very modest salary. Any thoughts ?

[aimingupward2] 09/11/2020 08:21

Heading into new high ground. How far to go do people think?

EDIT : Spoke too soon, it seems !

[energeticbacker] 23/10/2020 11:53

A growing amount of research suggests that the financial benefits of ESG investing are as strong as its societal benefits.

Investor’s Champion considers how well ESG is playing out for smaller companies on AIM. BOO FDEV DATA HGM KWS

[aimingupward2] 12/10/2020 10:44

Well, for a start, Baybrook, there’s no certainty that the target will be reached within a reasonable period of time. The forecast is still only someone’s opinion, even if an ‘educated̵7; one. People who have been holders for a longish while may be satisfied with the profits they’ve got, and see more enduring/exciting opportunities elsewhere. We all have to make our own assessments and judgements. The action, or inaction, that results is bound to be influenced, too, to our particular needs and circumstances.

[aoiaoi] 12/10/2020 10:38

Yes, they will be back though!

[baybrook1] 12/10/2020 09:29

Hi. I am a novice investor. If the forecast is £25+/- why did it drop below £21 last week? Is it shirt term profit takers? Thanks

[aimingupward2] 21/9/2020 13:52

Now Berenberg join in with a tp of 2510p. So a consensus of just over 2500p.

Share price still managed to move up today when the FTSE was down nearly 3.4% ! Not many shares will have done that.

[aimingupward2] 18/9/2020 09:52

Jefferies raises it’s tp to 2555 p, whilst Liberum raise to 2450 p, both with a ‘BUY’ recommendation. So both are expecting the share price to move clearly into new ath territory. With more acquisitions to come, no doubt they’ll raise again in due course.