Loopup Share Discussion Threads

[basem1] 13/10/2020 09:00

Sellers about exhausted now, it has been relentless from 241.3 downwards Safe to dip a fresh toe into the water ?

[valuehunter1] 13/10/2020 08:45

Clearly extra resources required to meet the incoming demand - looking forward to the next trading update and hope they announce one soon once they have more visibility vs internal forecasts.

Was speaking to a couple of relatively high profile investors on Sat eve and having analysed the financials, they have decided to join on board too.

[bigbigdave] 13/10/2020 05:54

Appointments coming thick and fast, LOOP has a future plan in place

[maddox] 11/10/2020 14:59

Hi Pratt, guys

GAMA looks to be the closest competitor to LOOP and it won't be an accident that they have just acquired a specialist MS O365 Teams Consultancy. However, the Direct Routing opportunity is huge - so plenty of space for different suppliers to compete. I don't think that LOOP need to have a monopoly position in order to be successful. In fact GAMA's move provides validation of the opportunity.

GAMA have been in the Cloud telephony, VOIP, SIP Trunking space for many years so will undoubtedly be a strong competitor. They also have a mobile proposition which may prove an advantage versus LOOP. GAMA have been focusing on the opportunity in Europe that is somewhat behind the UK in this developing market. So it'll be useful to watch GAMA's development over the coming months.

It'll be good good get some of our BB posters that are telecoms specialists views.

Regards Maddox

[thordon] 11/10/2020 11:41

Gamma communications will compare the two

Quick look seems Loopup are undervalued compared to Values

Growth has slowed but still good at 12%

[apad] 11/10/2020 09:24

So, how do you rate Gamma vs LOOP, Pratt2?

A few observations to trigger debate.

GAMA
4x the employees, pays a divi, very acquisitive, rev growth not outstanding, variable mix of customers, director sales this month, 1175 placing in May.

apad

[pratt2] 11/10/2020 08:56

Perspective from Gamma on Direct Routing and the opportunity...https://www.gamma.co.uk/partners/resources/amplify/ms-teams-direct-routing-opportunity-or-threat/

[pratt2] 10/10/2020 22:31

Some good discussions on here! Still undecided if I want to go all in here. What is a no brainer is the change in working patterns post lockdown. My company, as well as several ones I speak to, have all said they will have a significant portion of the workforce work remotely , for 2 or more days per week at least (if physical presence isn't needed ofc). Now what does this mean for LoopUp? How many other direct competitors are out there for LoopUp? For instance Gamma has a teams partnership too for Direct Routing.. what does that mean for LoopUp?

[apad] 10/10/2020 22:27

Law firm contracts in July/Aug/Sept. I have little doubt that it can dominate a niche. I can't put figures on it though.

Keep researching Thordon.

😊

apad

[thordon] 10/10/2020 21:10

Do Agree APAD

That i can not not answer

One thing we can agree is its a niche product and maybe has a limit in few years.

If it is then can see sales between 100 million and 200 million and that takes us to the lower part of 800p per share

Im in difficult place as can not sell , bought at 52 pence but back drop was a old investment that forgot about 20 years ago as lost £20k , was surprised that still had funds in the the account after 20 years.

So used what had left and put on Loopup last year , felt they was hammered by the investors and rightly so as over expanded but that was a blessing in Covid 19.

Anyway if it gets to 600p then have regained my 20 year lose , so 800p is my target . Already up 363%

Always a story to tell , but research the company for months before bought in , since then started to re-invest in the market and except Loopup im 10% up and in this world and covid thats good.

leant my young age that you can not just win all the time , but now research the share to death and stay long term

Works for me now

[apad] 10/10/2020 20:32

Not forgetting it, Thordon.
Accept their technical advantage, and niche customers that need the functionality.
Just don't know whether it will be enough for a more general take-up, or whether the others will be enough for the market.

3/4 years ago a local company threw out LoopUp.
In no time flat, after introduction, the employees were using it for anything and everything - it was costing between £3k & £5k a month in basic service and add on charges. They renegotiated charges, but the employees carried on enthusiastically, so they closed it down.
The world has changed since then and LoopUp has smartened up its charging systems.


If you are cobbling together different systems you need local or bought-in expertise (that often wants you to use their systems 😊) And that's just for your own company. Add complex PBX, foreign telephony, and other company's offices - and you need a turnkey, training-free system/service. I.e. LoopUp.

Just dunno how big that market is and whether LoopUp will crack it.

Fascinating stuff.

apad

[thordon] 10/10/2020 19:50

Your forgetting they also can do what zoom and the others do , they have a platform based solo on internet connection and not phone based.

the point is Zoom and Microsoft , Cisco etc can all easily be copied but Loopup is different as taken over ten years setting up a wide range telephone system with multiple pods in different country's.

Can it be copied yes - is it expensive to set up Very Expensive

Cisco also use Loopup system as well.

Will Loopup be bought out properly not , why not - Linked to Microsoft Teams.

Why would Microsoft Teams not buy Loopup - Dominance of control under the radar at present

[apad] 10/10/2020 19:04

....but can they break into general multi-nationals, as they claim?

I've no idea. Zoom dominates the discourse.

First news of sales outside the specialist customers and I'll increase my holding.

I'm stuck on this issue and can only wait until there is news.

In the meantime it is a good niche business.

apad

[thordon] 10/10/2020 18:41

Hence why Loopup are attracting Law Firms and similar.

[apad] 10/10/2020 18:06

"
Welly_59 - 06 Aug 2020 - 09:14:46 - 824 of 1163 ☎☎ Loopup - Pain-free Teleconferencing ☎☎ - LOOP
APAD. Microsoft's calling plans are pretty expensive at about £12 for local calls and £24 for international calls. And you can't bring your existing number over, you need to use whatever phone number Microsoft assign to you.

With direct routing you can port your existing numbers over to your chosen service provider while at the same time saving significantly on Microsoft's calling costs.

Also with Microsoft calling plan there is no support. With direct routing partner you are able to have the transition project managed for you"

[apad] 10/10/2020 18:04

Cool tools

"Teams has a telephony add-on.
"Phone System, Calling Plans, Direct Routing | Microsoft Teamswww.microsoft.com › microsoft-teams › voice-calling
Microsoft Teams allows you to transition your voice calling capabilities to the cloud with integrated calling to landlines and mobile phones.""

August.

apad

[cooltools] 10/10/2020 17:39

Found the precise answer for myself ;-)

Companies have to purchase a calling plan, unless they are at Enterprise E5 level and have a PSTN - so that's where LOOP fits in.



(link starts off talking about Skype, but is referenced from a Teams document)

Different users can have different plans - i.e. domestic, international etc.

So, out of the box, MS Teams can't make phone calls to non Teams users, but it is a chargeable extra. Enterprise customers can bypass that extra and use their own PSTN connectivity if they have it. According to Maddox26 (in posts above) quality will be better. I don't see MS muscling in on this, probably small fry for them.

[apad] 10/10/2020 14:47

Cooltools, You have been asking this for a while now 😊

The comment above is pitch perfect.

What is at issue is whether the dominance of ZOOM will sidetrack LOOP for use by boring old general purpose multinationals.

Leaving LOOP in the specialist space.

Jury's out!

apad

[thordon] 10/10/2020 13:58

Maddox26 has one of the best short ways of answering your question

[thordon] 10/10/2020 13:57

Maddox26 Sep '20 - 17:56 - 1070 of 1157
0 6 0
Hi Pratt,

I'll certainly have a go....

On the face of it web conferencing solutions all look pretty similar. However the other providers' IP communication is delivered over the top (OTT) of third party broadband where service quality cannot be managed. LOOP carries its audio channel over higher quality assured PTSN or its own quality managed virtual private network. So LOOP has a very different underlying architecture in order to deliver the higher quality experience.

ZOOM, Webex, GotoMeeting, etc are all software products whereas LOOP is more service-oriented. Also, their products are all feature-rich whereas LOOP is deliberately simple and easy to use.

Theoretically it's possible that any business could look to replicate LOOP's business model. However, it would require investment to build a World-wide Virtual Private Network and the functionality to compete in this niche.

Microsoft's strategy appears to be the Unified Communications Platform provider of choice - rather than a provider of telecoms services. By opening up their Teams User Base to allow other providers to offer telecom services they are thus clearly indicating no intention to compete aggressively in this space.

ZOOM is experiencing explosive growth so I would doubt would see a benefit in reorienting it's whole business model to compete in a smaller niche. It would also be to acknowledge that their current service doesn't assure a quality experience. They are probably focusing on resolving their software security issues.

None of the web conferencing providers, I am aware of, have the infrastructure to compete in the Direct Routing market - and I doubt Microsoft would allow them to integrate with Teams.

Anyone else have other thoughts on this?

[thordon] 10/10/2020 10:43

If you look at the jobs advertised , theirs a massive swing for Microsoft Teams based.
In fact hiring a lot of Microsoft engineers and managers ( not advertised ) which would indicate Microsoft are helping out Loopup to integrate.
it would be the best interest of both Loopup and Microsoft to attract existing user or poach contracts from likes of Zoom with a better package.
Loopup earns from the world wide Voice network to the cloud where as Microsoft earns the repeat Monthly standard charge.
Very much doubt that Microsoft or others will make a play for Loopup as the competition authorities are looking at dominance of players like Microsoft ; Google ; Apple etc.

[lyndon b] 10/10/2020 10:04

Nicely stated Pratt2.

Just had a look through the company again - undeniably, there is a lot to like.

£8m op income in H1 when their previous annual high was £2m in 2017 and not long after the share price reached 500p, says it all.

They also have secured new contracts in July/Aug which are not yet in the numbers and they reckon one of those new customers could/should become their biggest.

I notice that they have not given a trading update during Q4 in each of the past 2 years. Hopefully, with continued success, this year will be different.

[pratt2] 09/10/2020 16:47

I think the boost will be due in the next 12 months once we start to see the contracts materialise from the Microsoft tie up. Remember, the 200+ opportunities in the pipeline were post period when they were reported recently, so whatever gets converted from that pipe will be included in the next trading statement. Depending on how successful the management is in execution, the analysts will have to upgrade this. And that is the catalyst this will need to go behind 248p and flower to 300p.Few reasons I can think of why this isn't moving as much:1) Execution proof by the company and mgt with regards to conversion. They ve done well so far this year but the market will want to know how well they do against the backdrop of a big opportunity.2) There are a lot of opportunities in the market today, and a lot of people/retail investors may be dipping in and out of the different opportunities our there.3) Recency bias: this has bagged this year already, so it may not seem good 'value' to retailers, who may think the ship has sailed already here... If we break the 248p properly, then this leads to a very bullish uptrend which may attract more buyers.I, for one, am awaiting the next set of results and hoping it gives this the catalyst to surge ahead!Either way, all the best to all holders!!

[lyndon b] 09/10/2020 16:08

It seems to be developing into a stage 3 stock (since mid Aug) rather than a stage 2 ascent (mid June-mid Aug). That prognosis can be blown out the water quickly if it gets a major boost. I was just concerned with the dip since the beginning of Sept...it seemed overblown versus the quality of the financial's/companies position. Maybe it was that big investor leaving the scene, but would have expected the cavalry to arrive.