Northbridge Industrial S... Share Discussion Threads

[countryman5] 17/11/2021 20:29

Global power cuts are on the way, especially in Europe with Russia turning off the gas. Emergency generators will need to be tested. Crestchic should be very busy.

[jacktrublu] 11/11/2021 02:25

Indeed. There are cannibals everywhere, like vultures they descend upon their prey, in this case when they are still just alive !!!

[smithie6] 10/11/2021 16:51

Gresham House laughing all the way to the bank !!

je je !

[jacktrublu] 01/11/2021 02:26

Yes prices are up, but the company could have been much better off, it is just a shame that shareholders did not know the idiots that ran it, some are still there, get rid of them and then I will see it positively.

[robertspc1] 31/10/2021 20:49

We will see soon enough ...you have been massively negative about NBI for the last year or so and the shares have more than doubled. Look forward not backwards

[jacktrublu] 30/10/2021 00:48

You think it easy to sell Tasman ??? Only a fool will buy at the prices expected.

If you know the business and want in, you don't need to buy that name, best investing in buying the tools and having a crew who know what they are doing and get into profit immediately, rather than paying down a bum investment.

No need for the likes of their MD who is but high maintenance, if Aggreko comes in for sure there will be some spring cleaning !! Should have been done years ago.

[wanttowin] 29/10/2021 15:36

Dipped a tiny toe in here today, going to try and build a decent 2 year position.

[robertspc1] 29/10/2021 15:00

Further upside on Tasman sale for me. Removes a big poison pill and think Aggreko new owners will come calling in 2022

[bookbroker] 29/10/2021 12:57

This looks like it’s gone as far as possible of late!

[robertspc1] 20/10/2021 08:42

Bit of profit taking naturally but I expect another uplift on any Tasman disposal news. Would also expect co will change its name to Cresthic and attract new investors

[bertiebingo] 16/10/2021 19:29

Any thoughts on what a normal capex margin would be for Crestchic (ie NBI once Tasman sold) ?

[gleach23] 08/10/2021 23:04

Cheers petewy...I wondered if there was something behind today's buying

[petewy] 08/10/2021 17:01

More from ST in the IC

[qs99] 04/10/2021 09:32

Interesting ST target is way above the broker target! Decent strength this morning, wonder how far it can push to DYOR

[gleach23] 03/10/2021 21:32

Simon Thompson's IC write up on Friday is in the public domain so copied here for info -


Analysts have pushed through their third earnings upgrade for Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI:171p) after the industrial services and rental group more than quadrupled first-half operating profit to £1.6m on 22 per cent higher revenue of £19.5m.

The key driver has been Burton upon Trent-based Crestchic, a company that manufactures, sells and rents load banks and transformers to domestic and international customers. Products are primarily used for the commissioning, testing and maintenance of independent, off-grid power sources and, increasingly, for grid stabilisation, as ageing national infrastructures face the twin challenges of integrating renewable energy generation and the environmental issues posed by global warming. Specifically, Crestchic’s products assure reliability for generators and distributors of power, for industries critically dependent on back-up power to ensure business continuity in the event of a failure of their primary power supply.

The business is benefiting from growth in two key sectors: renewable energy and data centres. The transition from coal and oil-based energy sources towards cleaner and renewable energy is leading to a proliferation of smaller energy generators whose sites require commissioning and which have unique challenges for connection into established distribution networks. In turn, this is creating a greater need for testing that is driving the demand for Crestchic’s products, both for outright sale and for rental. Its load banks are on par with the most advanced and resilient systems available in the western economies for this purpose.

Moreover, battery storage farms are playing a greater role to ensure the flexible operation of power systems and are becoming increasingly integrated into the UK grid network. Crestchic offers high-voltage load tests at the grid/sub-station connection point to energy storage farms. The ongoing worldwide growth in hyper-scale data centres is also driving significant demand for Crestchic solutions as the digital economy takes an ever-increasing share of global GDP. Global internet traffic doubled between 2016 and 2019, and is on course to double again by 2022, thus driving investment in new data centres and the infrastructure that supports their electricity needs and power reliability.

These factors, and a greater proportion of higher-margin rental revenue in the mix, explains why Crestchic’s operating profit almost trebled to £1.9m on 43 per cent higher sales of £15.8m in the first half. Buoyed by a robust order book, analysts at Equity Development expect the division to post full-year operating profit of £5.5m (10 per cent upgrade) on revenue of £29.6m which feeds through to a 24 per cent upgrade in group earnings per share (EPS) to 8.7p.

Furthermore, Northbridge's Tasman drilling tool rental business is in the process of being divested, which should wipe out net debt of £4.5m and leave the group as a pure play on a high-growth business that analysts at Panmure Gordon expect to produce free cash flow of £6.2m in 2022. This is based on full-year pre-tax profit rising by a third to £4m to deliver EPS of 10.4p (15 per cent upgrade) in 2022. Equity Development has almost identical forecasts and expects the board to reinstate the dividend by declaring a 2022 payout of 1.5p a share. On this basis, the shares are rated on a forward price/earnings (PE) ratio of 16.5.

Northbridge’s progress has not been lost on investors as the share price has rallied 37 per cent since I highlighted the opportunity only three weeks ago ('Alpha Report: A high-growth play on the battery storage boom’, 7 September 2021). Given the scale of the upgrades, I am raising my target from 180p to 200p. Buy.

[jacktrublu] 01/10/2021 08:51

Indeed Robert.

[robertspc1] 30/9/2021 15:32

Look forward 6 months, Tasman hopefully gone, new factory, full order books, debt free, massive market opportunity in data centres and renewables, new US site (Texas), dividends. Lots to go for

[qs99] 30/9/2021 07:51

Pretty well debt free, upgraded outlook again today, DYOR, should be through £2 not £1.89 IMO....DYOR

[edmonda] 30/9/2021 07:45

Yes , good to see srong interim results + ‘momentum expected to continue into 2022’ - that means Equity Development's estimates rise sharply - again

Plus the Board plans to return to dividend list.

ED's fair value/share rises to 189p after EPS upgrades - see full new note here:

[brummy_git] 30/9/2021 07:14

Fabulous interims today from specialist equipment rental/sales group Northbridge.

All the commentary here, alongside sector peer group valuation multiples & KPIs (re downloadable pdf).

www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-hill-a5994116_nbi-forecasts-sector-valuation-multiples-activity-6849224263992438784-T0Se

[jacktrublu] 30/9/2021 02:14

Smithie's is echoing what I have been saying all along "... the dirs. have lost 10 million of it !!' ...

I have very good internal sources and therefore know in detail how certain Directors squandered cash with no regard to shareholders !!! They were building their own little empires to ensure their survival, and the best part is they did not know the businesses they bought !! I am pretty sure that some were beholden to others as well.

The whole Board needs a shakedown and quite a few need be fired before same happens again. Shareholders need to cut the rot now, especially if Peter is doing a good job. Hook's departure is a poor start, they should have been lined up thereafter.

If Tasman is really sold it will not be for a profit, so if they intend to keep and run it, now is the time to get rid of incumbent Directors who know nuts about the oil patch and hire the right guy.

If NB had been an honest and reasonable entity I could personally have introduced them to revolutionary businesses that would have sent Tasman soaring, for a US$ 3 million investment, but not under this lot. Will probably make the investment myself and expand worldwide from Midland as Covid calms.


If commenters know the oil patch, Tasman is ONLY a pipe rental company, albeit they sell a nice story, and they are available at a dime a dozen worldwide. To be fair I believe they have good machining and hard banding crews.

Tasman only makes real money today if they get an LIH incident whereby the oil company or drilling contractor has to replace the lost pipe !!! Good Luck all.

[robertspc1] 29/9/2021 21:38

So results tomorrow. I'm not expecting Tasman sale as think too soon to get deal over the line in COVID times. But it could happen which would be a massive plus and great credit to Peter Harris. In any event clearly Tasman value rising so happy holder

[deanowls] 29/9/2021 12:15

Yes I expect to see a token divi and then the drop of directors options.