Pilat Media Global Share Discussion Threads

[obiterdicta] 05/4/2013 08:51

Possibly could multi bag from here as the statement with the year end results said OTT would provide "a step change" in growth propspects.

[yump] 05/4/2013 08:44

I think if they start posting decent revenue growth they will get re-rated. That's what I bought in for originally on the basis that recurring revenues seemed likely + add new contracts on top year on year.

At last that looks like its going to happen, so hoping for a multiple of this share price in a year or so.

[techno20] 05/4/2013 08:33

Thanks WC - just need LRM to come good now.

No announcement on this I believe means the performance is broadly in-line with expectations, so given the drop over the last few days, toying with adding yet more this morning!

It's either LRM or the school fees!

Techno

[woodcutter] 05/4/2013 08:27

well done techno for keeping faith, looks like i've missed this one. Some good news for you today. I won't be buying in though i'm prety stringent on shareholder/ownership after a bad past experience. Good luck and good timing by the look of it too.

Woody

[spooky] 05/4/2013 08:06

These shares really are very cheap, if this was an American business listed on the Nasdaq i suspect it would be trading at a multiple of the current price. For anyone that doesn't know the company it is worth taking time to look at it in a little more detail.

[techno20] 05/4/2013 07:40

Decent size contract this morning.

Add $5m to the fact that, as stated in the finals, over 80% of this years revenues were already in the bag from existing clients and its already looking like another record year of t/o.

With the best part of £11m in cash, even after the slight re-rating since the results, PGB looks woefully undervalued.

IC buy recommendation should be in the printed mag today, so hopefully onwards and upwards towards 40p!

Techno

[techno20] 31/3/2013 21:48

Still find it strange that in the final results announcement for the year (ie. the most detailed), there isn't a single mention of what PGB plan to do with the cash mountain they have / are building.

Yet in the 3rd qtr results, there are two mentions if it, including;

"As the cash balance continues to increase the Company will intensify its search for ways to utilise cash to build value for the shareholders"

Perhaps I'm reading too much between the lines, but if you were about to return some cash to shareholders or reviewing an acquisition I think you'd make some comment about it. If you were in discussions about being taken over yourself, you wouldn't be able to say anything.

Here's hoping!

Techno.

[techno20] 29/3/2013 11:25

IC BUY recommendation on website.....

Pilat Media, which supplies broadcasters with software for controlling broadcasting schedules, advertising and content planning, delivered a solid full-year performance. That was driven by a strong final quarter - allowing the group to beat analysts' expectations and helping the shares rise 10 per cent on the day these figures appeared.

The group boasts 60 heavyweight clients and most of its new business and contract renewals - such as from Sky Italia - came in the closing months of 2012. But such work is never easy to anticipate, leaving brokers surprised by the outcome - 2012's sales, for example, beat broker Shore Capital's expectations by £1.5m. Moreover, chairman Michael Rosenberg reckons the "pipeline of new contract opportunities remains strong". Another reason to be positive about Pilat is its OTTilus online video platform software, which is now 100 per cent owned by the group. When that is launched later this year, it will enable users to access live, catch-up and video-on-demand services for a range of mobile devices. Analysts at Shore think that could lead to a "step change in prospects next year".

The broker expects adjusted EPS for 2013 of 2.5p (from 2.2p in 2012).

[techno20] 29/3/2013 11:23

Hi Woodcutter,

I've shared your concerns for several years driven by two factors, firstly the fact that PGB is non UK domiciled and as a PI you simply don't feel close to what's going on. Second was the fact that the Board accepted what was a low-ball bid from Sintec - but thankfully the offer failed to reach the 75% needed to go through.

HOWEVER, I am pretty heavily into these, having been in and out several times over the last decade and made decent profits. The results last week beat expectations and the fwd looking statements were really positive. With rising profits, a strong position in its markets and a pile of cash, IMHO the upside out-weighs the shareholder risks above.

I'm a bit disappointed that the shares didn't rise more last week, but hopefully this is the beginning of the re-rating.

Some positive comments in the IC yesterday - will post in separate mail.

Good luck all

Techno.

[woodcutter] 28/3/2013 18:13

Scopione

Thx i wasn't aware, i hadn't researched back that far. I'll still pass though, shareholder infighting is not something i'm inclined to see as helping the business despite the possibiliy of an share price uplift if a takeover is mooted.

Woody

[scorpione] 28/3/2013 18:04

Woodcutter, I take your point however I don't know whether you are aware that one of the major shareholders (Sintec) made a failed attempt to takeover PGB back in 2009. They (and Eurocom) have been beefing up their stakes ever since close to the 30% mark which would trigger a mandatory offer. As the company is making good progress with new contracts etc. I think that at some point either an open or mandatory offer could still be on the cards. Personal opinion of course judging by current circumstances past history etc. nothing more than that, but they may want own it lock stock and barrell rather than be subjected to the normal onerous scrutiny associated with a listed company.

[woodcutter] 28/3/2013 15:54

Well i've read and researched quite a bit on PGB and was very interested particularly with the recent results but i'm put off by the share ownership structure. It's in the hands of too few players in particular the few major shareholders through either their own shares or Eurocom.

I've been burned before thro investing in companies were control is in the hands of a few effective insiders (they run the business in their own interests in my experience) so i'm going to pass. Shame really as it looks a reasonable business, revenue growing, albeit eps a bit lumpy year on year.

Woody

[yump] 27/3/2013 13:46

Seems to be a ready supply of shares at the moment.

[spooky] 27/3/2013 12:27

Dash Apex still selling ?

[yump] 27/3/2013 09:32

Getting a bit of momentum now. 35p ish looks like a historic resistance, but depends how many shares are around - wouldn't be surprised to see it jump straight to 40p - its in 'recovery' mode and they always seem to move faster than I expect.

[yump] 27/3/2013 09:10

In the current economic climate, knowing that 80% of this year's revenue is secure is a heck of a bonus. Plus the cashpile.

50p doesn't seem unlikely and it fits with the chart fwiw.

(Say 3p eps this year X p/e of 15 + something for the cash pile - its not difficult to get there, one way or another).

[techno20] 27/3/2013 08:27

Up a very justified 12.6% so far.

Should get some positive comments from the likes of Simon Thompson at the IC to drive this further up.

Techno

[techno20] 27/3/2013 07:32

Initial look at the results suggests a tremendous last qtr. Record turnover (£7.7m) and at long last some material profits (£1.95m).

Stunning cash generation, leaving them with net cash of £10.7m!

So, with cash rising rapidly and PBT of almost £2m, this looks woefully undervalued at £18.5m. Must be at least 50% upside from here.

Also interested in the lack of comment on the cash. Last announcement talked of the board reviewing options for what to do with the cash pile - return to investors, active review of acquisitions. This time nothing! Not sure what to read into this.

Outlook below is very positive....hopefully we might see a move back above 30p today.

Techno

Pilat Media is in a very healthy position. It has a strong balance sheet with significant cash resources which it expects to grow as operating profits are expected to improve. The Group's pipeline of revenues from existing clients already enables revenues in 2013 to reach over 80% of the 2012 level. The Group is involved with several additional opportunities already in advanced procurement phases where Pilat Media is well placed to win, although timing can not be reliably predicted. These can potentially make a significant contribution to the 2013 revenues. OTTilus also provides the Group with an opportunity to expand into new markets as well as enhancing its offering to existing clients. The Board therefore looks to 2013 as another year of significant improvement in both market position and financial results.

[techno20] 24/3/2013 21:39

May well see results announced this week.

Expecting positive numbers, with hopefully a decent level of profit as income comes through from the big deal announced in October, TV4 and Foxtel. And the costs of the platform transfer reduce.

Should also see the cash figure rise from the £7.8m at the end of Qtr 3. Won't be far off 50% of capitalisation! More likely to be used for an acquisition than handed over to shareholders in my view - but who knows. Could encourage Eurocom or Sintec to make a move!

Techno

[techno20] 06/3/2013 21:36

Pleasing to see the Ottilus proposition launched so swiftly after the announcement re. Taking control.....

OTTilus Introduces Business-Integrated OTT TV Solution
ShareNew End-To-End Platform Leverages Pilat Media's Business Management Expertisein TV Everywhere Solutions to Give Media Organizations a Smooth Path to DeliveringOTT Services
New End-To-End Platform Leverages Pilat Media's Business Management Expertise in TV Everywhere Solutions to Give Media Organizations a Smooth Path to Delivering OTT Services

LONDON - March 5, 2013 - OTTilus, a Pilat Media company, today announced the launch of the OTTilus Online Video Platform (OVP), an end-to-end enterprise-class, over-the-top (OTT) TV solution for delivering live, catch-up, and VOD services. Making its debut at London's TV Connect 2013, the OTTilus OVP enables media organizations to expand their multiplatform product offerings while leveraging their broadcast operations' existing workflows and systems.
"Broadcast-quality media continues to make its way to all consumer screens over the open Internet. Therefore, content owners, broadcasters, and service providers need to expand and differentiate their OTT offerings, but at the same time maximize operational efficiency given that OTT monetization is still very uncertain," said Bob Lamb, managing director of OTTilus. "Key to their success will be an OTT solution that tightly integrates business operations around workflows, metadata, rights, ad campaigns, and analytics - while supporting ubiquitous delivery of premium content to all devices and a great user experience. With Pilat Media's outstanding experience delivering business management solutions to the world's leading broadcasters, OTTilus is uniquely positioned to deliver on this promise."
OTTilus offers a broadcast-grade content factory, backend management software, and player applications that support all major streaming formats and end-user devices from smartphones to tablets to smart TVs. The result is a compelling and consistent viewer experience for live, catch-up, and VOD television for free and premium-protected content. The highly scalable system can support operations ranging from single-channel streaming services to complex multichannel, multiservice environments with large content and subscriber volumes. The OTTilus OVP is available either as a cloud service or an on-premise end-to-end or modular solution, and can be deployed quickly out of the box or tailored to meet specific client needs.
In addition, the OTTilus OVP can be augmented with a business management system (BMS) middleware layer to offer advanced integration with broadcast operations and multiplatform service management. This enables the operator to extend business management functions at a granular level to the OTT offering while maintaining centralized management of their operations.
For instance, the BMS middleware layer controls the planning and preparation of content offers across
platform services, enabling playout through the OTT system based on complex real-life content rights
windows for specific regions, platforms, devices, and service-delivery partners.
The OTTilus OVP also offers player-originated metrics on consumer usage and quality of experience, such as the number of consumers viewing a particular piece of content on each service, to provide input into promotional and advertising campaigns.
Live demonstrations of the OTTilus OVP can be seen at TV Connect in London March 19-21 in stand 114, and at the 2013 NAB Show in booth N6224. For more information about the OTTilus OVP, visit www.ottilus.com

[techno20] 14/2/2013 21:44

Solid move upwards today, albeit on tiny volumes.

Yesterday's announcement posted on web-site, but not rns'd may have helped.....

Sweden's TV4 Group Expands Implementation of Pilat Media IBMS
Share

Expansion Includes Automation of Airtime Sales for Both Local and National Campaigns, With Support for New Channels in Sweden and Norway

LONDON - Feb. 13, 2013 - Pilat Media, the leading supplier of business management software to the media industry, today announced that Swedish television network, TV4 Group, is significantly expanding the implementation of its Pilat Media Integrated Broadcast Management System (IBMS). A longtime user of IBMS Sales for full lifecycle management of its advertising campaigns, TV4 is now leveraging the system's enhanced functionality to consolidate its operations across local and national channels after last year's expansion into Norway and Denmark.

"Since 2007, IBMS Sales has become an essential component in our ability to manage our traffic and ad sales operations efficiently and profitably," said Daniel Lindén, head of technical operations, TV4. "With a single platform for both national and local airtime sales, we can implement consistent processes among all of our internal departments. The seamless integration of IBMS with our content management, financial, and other systems guarantees a comprehensive end-to-end sales process."

At TV4, IBMS provides a central point of reference for all key booking, inventory, traffic, and post-reconciliation information for every advertising campaign. With the expansion, TV4 will bring all local and regional airtime sales bookings for more than 30 regional channels under the auspices of IBMS, which previously was used only for national sales. By providing a unified system for both national and local bookings, IBMS will enable TV4 to optimize revenues through easy reallocation of airtime between national and local campaigns. In addition, a common system will result in lower cost of ownership with fewer systems requiring maintenance. Beyond this initial expansion phase, the system opens the door to new opportunities such as significant expansion of nonlinear services.

"Under the management of IBMS Sales, TV4 has grown from a single-channel operator to one of the Nordic region's leading media companies," said Aviv Atlas, senior vice president account management, Pilat Media. "With the new expansion of IBMS to cover all airtime sales, the network is moving to the next level for delivery of complex campaigns segmented by platform, audience, and demand. TV4 is a stellar example of how IBMS can help today's complex media operations optimize their sales profitability, streamline resource requirements, and provide the management information necessary to inform strategic decisions."
More information about the complete IBMS product family is available at www.pilatmedia.com.

# # #

About TV4
For two decades, TV4 Group has delivered engaging news, high-quality entertainment, and live sports to the Swedish people. In addition its main TV4 channel, TV4 Group operates 40 TV channels in the Nordic region, including free-TV, mini-pay, and a pay TV service provided by C More. TV4 Group also has 25 local television stations and a host of other services online, in mobile and on-demand, including TV4 Play, which collects content from TV4 Group channels. For more information, see tv4gruppen.se.

About Pilat Media
Pilat Media Global plc (AIM: PGB) develops, markets, and supports business management software solutions for content and service providers in the media industry. Designed with the direct involvement of top-tier broadcasters, Pilat Media's systems improve business performance; accelerate time to market; and enable diversification and growth of content programming, advertising sales, traffic, and media operations for multiplatform linear and on-demand services. More than 60 blue-chip media companies around the world use Pilat Media solutions, including CBS, Corus, Discovery, SABC, Chello DMC, the BBC World Service, Media General, Sky Italia, ESPN Star Sports, and FOXTEL. These and other deployments represent the management of billions of dollars in advertising revenue and programming that reaches hundreds of millions of viewers. In addition, Pilat Media offers an end-to-end enterprise class OTT solution that seamlessly integrates with broadcast operations through the company's subsidiary, OTTilus. More information is available at www.pilatmedia.com.

[techno20] 12/2/2013 08:00

Interesting announcement today.

Suspect this wasn't the plan! Initial announcement talked about a 5 year timeframe rather than not much more than 5 months. Suggests the teams didn't work overly well together.

Hope it's not money down the drain. Reference to "extremely pleased" suggests maybe not. In reality, if the platforms' virtually delivered and PGB now own it 100%, it could be a good result.

Techno

[alter ego] 30/1/2013 08:01

Hope you're right.

[techno20] 29/1/2013 22:50

Interesting development on Monday. Eurocom now move up to over 26% shareholding - just 4% from having to formally announce a takeover and 3% above Sintec.

It'll be interesting to see whether Sintec respond. This scenario is playing out painfully slowly, but having taken over 2 businesses already in 2013 and with parent Riverwood stating they are looking for Israeli investments,we could find 2013 could at long last see some value being created for pi's.


Techno

[azalea] 06/12/2012 12:22

The gentle tick up is interesting, cannot get a quote to buy even 4k online, selling not a problem.