Mtl Instruments Share Discussion Threads

[henryatkin] 19/11/2007 17:23

That software sounds pretty usefull.

MTI has been purchsed by Robbie Burns on The Naked Trader website...he shares your sentiments on corporate activity. I took the liberty of posting your Byres Security link on the TNT thread....trust thats OK with you. Can't complain at nine up days and no down days in these markets. Turning into a nice momentum trade...wonder what happens if/when the markets turn up :-)

[rivaldo] 19/11/2007 10:34

Moving up again. Quality will out - following GYG's takeover today I suspect MTI are high on the corporate activity list too.

[rivaldo] 17/11/2007 14:44

MTI performing rather well:



"Technology news: November 2007
Anti-hacker protection for controls passes trials

A technology designed to protect SCADA and other control systems from attacks by hackers and cyber-saboteurs, has successfully completed a programme of beta testing. The Tofino system, developed by US-based Byres Security and being marketed by MTL Instruments, provides layered security for industrial systems by deploying low-cost security "appliances" in front of each control device (or group of devices) that need protection.

Even if a hacker or virus manages to get through a company's corporate firewall, they will still have to overcome an array of SCADA-focused security devices before they can affect the control system itself.

Byres and MTL claim that Tofino is the only product of its type designed by control engineers, for control engineers. They add that it is so simple to use that electricians and instrumentation technicians can install it without specific training.

Tofino is more than a firewall, because it uses dynamically loadable security modules that can also provide encryption, intrusion detection and control protocol-aware security tailored to plant-floor devices. Security specialists can monitor an installation confidentially from anywhere in the world.

"For years the IT world has known that a big corporate firewall on its own is just not enough when it comes to security," says Eric Byres, chief technology officer at Byres Security, who developed the technology. "If it was, we wouldn`t be loading all of this firewall and anti-virus software into our PCs. Tofino brings the strategy of critical-edge protection to control systems, giving the most important devices in our plants - PLCs, DCSs, HMIs and so on - the same in-depth security that the IT department gives to the receptionist`s desktop."

Following extensive internal testing, Tofino was installed at several field sites in the hydrocarbon, food, and other industries. According to MTL, the results confirm that, unlike traditional IT firewall or encryption systems, the Tofino system provides effective security for Industrial Ethernet installations.

The plant systems manager at a major US food company that was involved in the trials, reports that the system "exceeded our expectations during our pilot testing. We threw our best hacking and denial-of-service ammunition at the protected PLC, and Tofino blocked every attempt, while still allowing authorised controls communication to flow unimpeded. Our operators never saw a difference.""

[rivaldo] 16/11/2007 09:34

Crikey, you gave me a shock there henry! That's the first post here by anyone else since June :o))

Agreed, continued and unusually large volumes going through into a rising share price trend.

I tend to think MTI will be acquired at some point. But on what will soon be a current year P/E of 14.9 the company remains pretty decent value on fundamentals imo.

[henryatkin] 16/11/2007 07:53

Rivaldo - have you noticed the high volume & no share price movement over the past three days. Something going on??? The chart looks good and possibly about to look better for the start of an uptrend :-)

[rivaldo] 13/11/2007 14:40

Lovely quiet board this - always a good sign!

Excellent and unusually large volumes today, 680k already. Maybe some institutional cross-trading going through at the mid-price?

[rivaldo] 12/11/2007 11:48

More new products:



"November 8, 2007 - Hampton, NH.. MTL Instruments introduces the MTL 4500 Series of intrinsically safe isolators specifically created for process industries. Building on its extremely popular MTL 4000 Series isolators, the MTL 4500 Series represents the next generation of isolating interface units.

This new family easily integrates with the I/O equipment of all major instrumentation and DCS suppliers in the same secure manner as its predecessor, the MTL4000 Series. The product line incorporates over 2 dozen intrinsically safe isolators for analog and digital inputs and outputs, enabling it to address virtually any process application. The 4500 Series isolators incorporate the following features:

Rapid install-and-release mechanism

Highest packing density on the market

Single and multi-channel I/O modules

3-port isolation with low power dissipation

Compatible with MTL4000

MTL Incorporated is the leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of electronic devices for the protection of instrumentation located in hazardous areas, as well as rugged measurement and control instrumentation for harsh and hazardous process applications and a complete surge protection offering for all plant systems including instrumentation, AC power and communications networks."

[rivaldo] 04/11/2007 19:02

MTI are co-hosting here next week (see near the bottom):



"October 21, 2007 10:40 PM Eastern Time
Harnessing Wireless Technology to Improve Operational Efficiencies

Frost & Sullivan to host Asia Pacific Industrial Wireless Technologies Executive MindXchange Summit from November 14-15, 2007, at the Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Application of wireless technology is becoming more relevant to the industrial sector. With tighter margins and increased competition across the industrial sector, productivity is crucial. Wireless network implementation in the industrial sector promises efficient use of energy and materials along with lower production cost, system and infrastructure costs and longer equipment uptime. All these factors add to the potential of increased productivity with the use and implementation of industrial wireless technology.

According to Frost & Sullivan research, the global industrial wireless market is pegged close to US $350 million in 2006. Although it constitutes a fraction of the US $100 billion of the automation business, it is estimated to be the fastest growing segment with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% until 2011.

Satish Lele, Director of Industrial Practice at Frost & Sullivan, says, "There are incredible number of possibilities with wireless in the manufacturing and process environment, today. It is clearly seen by the automation companies as the next biggest growth engine. Most of them have already lined up an array of products and packages to ride this growth.

"The benefits include significantly lower installation costs, greater flexibility and improved operational efficiencies. Opportunity areas include asset tracking and real time location systems for personnel to respond to emergency situations. Automation suppliers are enthusiastic about being able to provide improved predictive maintenance capabilities and easier compliance to environmental standards," he added.

Yet the explosive growth in industrial wireless has not happened at the pace it was expected. The benefits in cost, access, mobility and connectivity are seemingly obvious, so there are some key challenges which would need to be addressed by the automation companies moving forward.

To help define the business challenges in the industrial wireless industry and to provide a platform for all industry participants to interact and to help set the direction for the future, Frost & Sullivan is organizing a one and half day summit in wireless technologies space titled Asia Pacific Industrial Wireless Technologies summit.

Frost & Sullivan's exclusive Executive MindXchange Summit will feature keynote insights, best practices, case studies and panel discussions addressing industrial wireless technologies, trends, issues and more. The summit is designed for senior decision-makers involved in driving strategic, tactical and operational initiatives to enhance productivity across sectors like oil & gas, petrochemicals, water and wastewater management, power, chemicals, manufacturing and process-oriented industries. Hear from our line-up of experts as they share their experiences and insights on application and deploying wireless technologies. Speakers include representatives from Apprion, Cisco, Intermec, Invensys, PAC Technologies, MTL Instruments, Petronas Carigali, Sembawang Utilities, Yokogawa and Frost & Sullivan, amongst others.

The summit will be held at the Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from November 14-15, 2007, and is sponsored by Invensys and Yokogawa. Partner for the summit is MTL Instruments and media partners are Business Today, Industrial Automation Annual Directory, Control Engineering Asia, PC dot com and SEARCH Magazine. The summit is endorsed by Singapore Industrial Automation Association (SIAA) and supported by IA-community, Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance (WINA) and ISA, Singapore section."

[rivaldo] 23/10/2007 22:12

The last sentence sounds good sales-wise:



"Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial Team on 19 October 2007

Unique diagnostics module for Foundation fieldbus

MTL have launched the new F809F Diagnostics Module for use on Foundation fieldbus networks that offers a unique overview of the physical layer status, by being installed as a fieldbus device.

This enables the module to communicate directly with the network control system via the existing network wiring and infrastructure and present diagnostics information directly within the Instrument Management Software.

The F809F is the first diagnostic module to be registered by the Fieldbus Foundation and represents a significant advance in the way diagnostic information is processed and presented to end users. The physical layer is critical to the performance of the fieldbus system.

During commissioning the F809F collects data on the performance of the physical layer, provides alarms if any parameter is outside preset limits and is used to store a baseline of segment performance in the system's instrument management software.

Providing the data in the control system instrument management software is a key requirement identified by both end users and systems companies who were consulted during the development of the F809F.

Typically, the investment in fieldbus diagnostics is recovered during commissioning. The F809F module is designed for use with the MTL F800 series of fieldbus power supplies. It plugs directly onto the F800 series carriers and continuously monitors the performance of each of the eight fieldbus segments providing continuous information on network health.

The F800 series is approved for use by the leading DCS suppliers and the F809F module integrates directly with the associated Instrument Management Software thus requiring minimal operator training.

In operation, the on-line monitoring method identifies physical layer problems before they affect the process, thus enabling predictive maintenance to be implemented.

If parameters are outside their normal values, then recommended actions are provided in Help screens contained in the fieldbus device description to reduce the time required in troubleshooting, hence maximising the availability of the fieldbus system.

Device registration to the latest ITK 5.0 specification assures the user that the F809F module is easy to fully integrate with their choice of fieldbus control system.

'Fieldbus end users, engineering contractors and automation suppliers recognise the value of a fully integrated fieldbus diagnostic solution.

This is demonstrated by MTL having shipped F809F modules to monitor over 6000 fieldbus segments during the past three months', commented Roger Highton, MTL Fieldbus Product Manager."

[rivaldo] 22/10/2007 22:15

MTI speaking in impressive company here in November:



"Harnessing Wireless Technology to Improve Operational Efficiencies
(Business News & Technology News, 22 Oct 2007)

Application of wireless technology is becoming more relevant to the industrial sector. With tighter margins and increased competition across the industrial sector, productivity is crucial. Wireless network implementation in the industrial sector promises efficient use of energy and materials along with lower production cost, system and infrastructure costs and longer equipment uptime. All these factors add to the potential of increased productivity with the use and implementation of industrial wireless technology.

According to Frost & Sullivan research, the global industrial wireless market is pegged close to $350 million in 2006. Although it constitutes a fraction of the $100 billion of the automation business, it is estimated to be the fastest growing segment with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% until 2011.

Satish Lele, Director of Industrial Practice at Frost & Sullivan, said: "There are incredible number of possibilities with wireless in the manufacturing and process environment, today. It is clearly seen by the automation companies as the next biggest growth engine. Most of them have already lined up an array of products and packages to ride this growth.

"The benefits include significantly lower installation costs, greater flexibility and improved operational efficiencies. Opportunity areas include asset tracking and real time location systems for personnel to respond to emergency situations. Automation suppliers are enthusiastic about being able to provide improved predictive maintenance capabilities and easier compliance to environmental standards," he added.

Yet the explosive growth in industrial wireless has not happened at the pace it was expected. The benefits in cost, access, mobility and connectivity are seemingly obvious, so there are some key challenges which would need to be addressed by the automation companies moving forward.

To help define the business challenges in the industrial wireless industry and to provide a platform for all industry participants to interact and to help set the direction for the future, Frost & Sullivan is organizing a one and half day summit in wireless technologies space titled Asia Pacific Industrial Wireless Technologies summit.

Frost & Sullivan's exclusive Executive MindXchange Summit, to be held at the Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, from November 14-15, 2007, will feature keynote insights, best practices, case studies and panel discussions addressing industrial wireless technologies, trends, issues and more. The summit is designed for senior decision-makers involved in driving strategic, tactical and operational initiatives to enhance productivity across sectors like oil & gas, petrochemicals, water and wastewater management, power, chemicals, manufacturing and process-oriented industries. Hear from our line-up of experts as they share their experiences and insights on application and deploying wireless technologies. Speakers include representatives from Apprion, Cisco, Intermec, Invensys, PAC Technologies, MTL Instruments, Petronas Carigali, Sembawang Utilities, Yokogawa and Frost & Sullivan, amongst others."

[rivaldo] 18/10/2007 11:34

Up 5p on a single 600 share buy! Interesting to see what happens with any real demand.

Two new major products have been introduced this month:



I like the sound of the Tofino:
"MTL and Byres Security Inc. are pleased to announce the Tofino™ Industrial Security Solution has successfully completed Beta testing and is available for purchase. The Tofino™ Industrial Security Solution offers SCADA and process control companies a layered security solution for their industrial systems by deploying low-cost security appliances directly in front of each control device (or group devices) that needs protection. These appliances provide protection directly in front of the critical edge device. This allows a "defence-in-depth" strategy to be used, so even if a hacker or virus manages to get through the main corporate firewall, they will still be faced with an array of SCADA-focused security devices that need to be breached before any damage can be done to the control system itself."

[rivaldo] 05/10/2007 12:17

A nice review out today on GCI - remember this is an ISAble stock:



"MTL Instruments – a safe bet - BUY
Companies: MTI
05/10/2007

In times of uncertainty it is worth considering companies that offer exposure to 'safe' sectors. MTL Instruments, a developer of safety devices that delivered robust numbers for the half to June despite US dollar headwinds, is one such business.

A sector that appears pretty safe at the moment is oil and gas exploration and production. The oil price recently nudged $80 (£39.50) per barrel and the fact that economies like China and India are demanding more as they develop means even higher prices cannot be ruled out in the future. Energy prices look set to remain high for quite some time and MTL Instruments should benefit.

MTL's appeal is that it designs and manufactures intrinsic safety systems used to prevent electrical surges and sparks in hazardous environments including chemical plants and oil and gas facilities. 'We estimate that more than 50 per cent of our total revenue is associated with the oil and gas industry,' says Bill Greenhalgh, MTL's finance director.

The company's recent interim results showed that during the half to June, MTL generated £24.7 million of revenues from 'hazardous area' applications – a 17.8 per cent increase on the first half of 2006. Meanwhile, the company reported a record order book for its hazardous area products and services, and has made acquisitions that are aimed at expanding its capabilities in the sector.

The MTL Open System Technologies (MOST) division, which manufactures and sells control platforms and devices (as well as reselling plant visualisation software) fared less well. Its first-half revenues declined 8.6 per cent to £9.6 million due to currency differences, affecting MTL's surge protection business (which supplies devices to protect equipment like mobile phone base stations from voltage surges).

Currency fluctuation has been an issue for MTL because more than 40 per cent of its sales are into the US, where the dollar has been weak over the past year. It is likely to continue to be an issue in the short to medium term.

MTL still managed to improve its total interim revenues six per cent to £43.9 million and at the end of June its order book stood at more than £45 million. Pre-tax profits sparked up from £3.6 million to £4.1 million, which translated into earnings per share of 14p (H1 2006: 12.6p) and allowed a ten per cent increase in the interim dividend to 3.2p.

Management expects the growth to continue in the second half, which means that the company should achieve the 31.8p of earnings that analysts are forecasting for the full 12 months. Arden Partners expects earnings to increase 17 per cent to 37.2p per share next year, leaving the stock trading at just below fair value in the short to medium term. Its exposure to the oil and gas sector, as demonstrated by the strong recent growth of its intrinsic safety for hazardous area business, should continue to benefit the company in the longer term. Buy."

[rivaldo] 03/10/2007 07:39

News:



"The Tofino Solution Protects the Network
ControlGlobal.com

MTL Instruments and Byres Security have finally released the first integrated hardware/software suite of cyber security applications designed specifically for use on the plant floor.

Surf's up! Named for the famous British Columbia surfing beach Tofino, MTL Instruments and Byres Security have finally released the first integrated hardware/software suite of cyber security applications designed specifically for use on the plant floor.

This suite, called the Tofino Security Solution, is based on Eric Byres' significant observation about the biggest problem in industrial security. Byres, CEO of Byres Security Inc., has said many times, "The purpose of IT security is to protect the data on the server. All of the edge devices (PCs, network appliances, etc.) and even logged on users are expendable. The purpose of plant floor cyber security is to protect the local control devices and the process. In an emergency, the entire control network is expendable, as long as local loop control can be maintained."

The Tofino Security Solution is designed to protect the local control devices and maintain them free from attack.

This is a necessary solution because industrial control networks were never designed for security in the way that enterprise IT networks have been. They have always, in fact, been designed to be open networks, as open as possible.

"It is easy to see how open networks benefit end users, EPCs and system vendors alike," says Graeme Philp, CEO of MTL Instruments, "being based on international standards. Openness brings with it public familiarity and that can open the way to security issues such as hacking or viruses. Open systems need multilayer protection that can be installed and commissioned without needing a PhD in IT. And the protection needs to be idiotproof, bombproof and basically install and configure itself."

With that, MTL introduces the Tofino Security Solution, developed by Byres Security.

"For years," says Byres, "the IT world has known that a big corporate firewall is just not enough when it comes to security. The Tofino Security Solution brings the strategy of critical edge protection to the control system, giving the most important devices in our plants (the PLC, DCS, HMI) the same defense in depth security that the IT department gives the receptionist's desktop computer. In other words, Tofino is the personal firewall, IDS and VPN for the plant floor controller."

The complete Tofino Industrial Security Solution consists of four basic components.

The first is the Tofino Security Appliance, which is an industrially hardened field device intended to be installed in front of individual and/or clusters of digital communications devices in the field that use Ethernet or serial communications.

Next are Tofino Loadable Security Modules (LSMs) that are a variety of software plugins providing security services such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems and VPN encryption. Easch LSM is downloaded into the Security Appliances.

The management of the solution is provided by the Tofino Central Management Platform (CMP) – a Windows-based central management and database control system for monitoring and configuration of each security device. The CMP sits anywhere on the plant control system network. Finally, there is the Tofino CMP Graphics Station, a Java-based GUI station for remote access to the CMP by security and controls specialists.

All of the Tofino Security Suite will be available immediately except this last product, which will be available in early 2008.

According to Byres, "Tofino is designed to make security work for the control technician, not the other way around."

The Tofino products are unique," says Ian Verhappen, Director of Networking for MTL, the marketers of Byres Security's Security Solution, "in that they are designed by control engineers for control engineers. The product is based on many of the same principles as Foundation Fieldbus, the reliability of the system is inherent to the design, and many operators will be easily familiarized with its operation. Not only are the Tofino modules suitable for the plant environment but in addition to being secure they are also simple to install, maintain and still "just keep ticking.""

[rivaldo] 03/9/2007 09:19

Excellent results masked somewhat by currency effects:



15.5p EPS for H1 as adjusted for goodwill amortisation and share-based payments, and it would have been a lot more on a constant currency basis.

There are also 3 earnings-enhancing acquisitions to come into play for H2.

We could see broker upgrades.

Happy to continue holding in ISAs for more on a very bullish outlook for a world leader in a must-have sector.

[rivaldo] 07/8/2007 15:40

Latest forecasts - from memory I do believe they've been increased:

2007 2008
Broker Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)
Arden Partners 06-08-07 BUY 9.40 31.80 8.00 11.10 37.20 8.60

[rivaldo] 25/7/2007 22:46

"MTL Instruments buys SCADA specialist OTS

Colin Holland
EE Times Europe
07/23/2007 9:56 AM
LONDON - The MTL Instruments Group plc (Luton, England) has acquired Ocean Technical Systems Ltd. (Sutton, England), a specialist in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) solutions for the oil and gas industries, for £3million (about $6million) in cash.

OTS is an established international provider of SCADA solutions for the automation of the berthing, loading and unloading of oil tankers and oil production vessels floating production units (FPSOs), unmanned wellhead production platforms and the monitoring of oil and gas pipelines.

This equipment operates in hazardous and potentially flammable environments and is, therefore, a natural fit for MTL, which has a major position in the provision of hazardous area control and instrumentation equipment.

OTS should be able to extend its international customer base by leveraging MTL's sales channels and OEM relationships. It will also have an opportunity to improve its competitiveness by using MTL's purchasing power and electronic circuit board manufacturing capability.

This is MTL's third acquisition since May when it bought Elpro International Pty Ltd (Queensland, Australia), a developer and supplier of wireless solutions for the industrial sector from the Queensland Development Fund and directors of Elpro for £12million (about $24million).

Earlier in July it acquired a 90 percent stake in RTK (Knaresborough, England), a specialist in the design and manufacture of process alarm equipment, displays and interface products for £3.7million (about $7million). Immediately prior to the acquisition, the RTK Group was restructured with a new company being set up which acquired the business and assets of the U.K. RTK company, as well as a 51 percent stake in RTK's U.S. distribution company."

[rivaldo] 23/7/2007 22:58

From the Frequenttrader web site today - I agree that it shouldn't take much buying to get new highs here:

"MTL Instruments has made another acquisition showing it is very keen to grow. The share price hasn't budged but I carry on holding with my view that the company is overlooked. But once it gets on the radar of buyers, it will fly and repay my long-term view."

[rivaldo] 23/7/2007 07:27

Another great acquisition in a booming sector, and earnings-enhancing again...



"The MTL Instruments Group plc
acquires Ocean Technical Systems Limited for £3.0m

The MTL Instruments Group plc ('MTL') announces that it has acquired Ocean
Technical Systems Ltd, ('OTS'), the UK-based specialist in SCADA (Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition) solutions for the oil and gas industries, for
£3.0m in cash.

OTS has established a strong position as an international provider of SCADA
solutions for the automation of the berthing, loading and unloading of oil
tankers and oil production vessels floating production units (FPSOs), unmanned
wellhead production platforms and the monitoring of oil and gas pipelines. This
equipment operates in hazardous and potentially flammable environments and is,
therefore, a natural fit for MTL, who have a world-leading position in the
provision of hazardous area control and instrumentation equipment.

Following the transaction, it is expected that the OTS business will be able to
extend its international customer base by leveraging MTL's sales channels and
OEM relationships. It will also have an opportunity to improve its
competitiveness by utilising MTL's purchasing power and electronic circuit board manufacturing capability.

The directors believe that the acquisition will be earnings enhancing in the
first full year of ownership. (Note 1)

Graeme Philp, MTL's Chief Executive, commented; 'Ocean Technical Systems is
another excellent acquisition for MTL. Over the last few years it has developed
an innovative and highly competitive range of SCADA and navigation products for
the automation of the berthing and loading of oil tankers and oil production
vessels and the monitoring of oil and gas pipelines. By giving OTS access to its international sales team, MTL will help to accelerate the expansion of its
international reach.'"

[rivaldo] 05/7/2007 10:53

From Robbie Frequenttrader Burns' update yesterday..



"I added some MTL Instruments (MTI) to my SIPP the other day at a bit of a lower price and yesterday I bought some more for my ISA - 750 shares at 570p to add to the ones already bought at 520p.

There's been continued buying in this one and there was a good write-up on it in the Financial Times over the weekend as a share that could do well if the market tumbled given its specialist market. It seems intent on growing now and bought most of RTK for £3.7m yesterday which should be earnings enhancing this year."

[rivaldo] 04/7/2007 09:47

Quiet here....

[rivaldo] 02/7/2007 19:11

I hadn't realised, but Robbie Frequenttrader Burns is a holder here too, which is a good sign - here's today's comment:



"MTL Instruments has continued its recent steady rise and again more buying is being seen than usual."

[rivaldo] 02/7/2007 11:33

A new high I believe.

[rivaldo] 01/7/2007 09:14

Greetings again Simon, hope you're thriving. Yep, I'm a holder in ISAs, not in such a major way as other stocks though.

Hopefully the FT article will push MTI up to further new highs this week.