Project Telecom Share Discussion Threads

[srm10] 17/7/2003 12:14

I know someone who knows this company but i dont have any shares myself, they reckon theres no point in Voda buying them, think about it they have 80% of the base why invest 200 million to buy a base you already have???? surely the sensible option would be the likes of cpw who want to get into the corporate market??. I think they are the likey winners and i think it will go for about 85p a share

[scotty500] 17/7/2003 09:15

L2 strengthing also.

[scotty500] 17/7/2003 08:44

About time this started moving back up. Still holding & waiting for +70p bid approach

[37dolphin] 16/7/2003 10:41

I agree, I don't want to be caught short if there is an announcement, so happy to wait and see. My plan is sell 1/2 my holding once hit 70p, then leave the rest to see what develops. If there are more than 1 serious bidder, would expect any initial offer to be trumped - look at what happened with Hamleys.....

[iampoor] 15/7/2003 17:27

felt this thread is the true one so have copied question from other thread and my reply :-

SRM10:-
does anyone know who the bidders are likely to be??

My reply :-

cpw, vod oom, hutchison... all been mentioned ... see a lot of small punters cashed in and frightened off , from looking at the trades of last two days ...but not a lot of selling so maybe we are right to stick in there and wait for news ...see interesting posts by 37dolphin on other thread .........
thought he was a touch overoptimistic but not quite so sure now ...
are they in early stages of discussions or are things further down the line than we are led to believe ?
i know very small volume today but even so buys apparently outweigh sells ..........

PATIENCE .......I think

[iampoor] 15/7/2003 17:09

cpw, vod oom, hutchison... all been mentioned ... see a lot of small punters cashed in and frightened off , from looking at the trades of last two days ...but not a lot of selling so maybe we are right to stick in there and wait for news ...see interesting posts by 37dolphin on other thread .........
thought he was a touch overoptimistic but not quite so sure now ...
are they in early stages of discussions or are things further down the line than we are led to believe ????

[paulkent] 15/7/2003 11:30

well im delerious if fidelity are in...think they stock pick on average fairly well dont they?

[srm10] 15/7/2003 09:59

does anyone know who the bidders are likely to be??

[iampoor] 15/7/2003 07:25

many thanx 37DOLPHIN

[37dolphin] 15/7/2003 07:16

iampoor,

some comparative EBITDA multiples from telco sector, which I have calculated based on last y/e results:-

OOM - 5.4x
VOD - 8.7x
TEP - 21.6x
THUS - 11.2x

I would have thought that PJT is more similar to TEP & THUS than OOM/VOD.
Note - OOM, VOD, & THUS did not make profits last y/e, PJT and TEP did.

[potentials] 15/7/2003 00:01

I think the rns states that Fidelity sold 200k (not purchased) on the 11 July (date of the announcement) and looking at price achieved it seems to have sold before the announcement ie in the morning (79cents) - not very clever although it does have another 16m shares!!!!

[songtrader] 14/7/2003 22:11

RNS says Fidelity topped up recently with 200k and now holds 3.9% of PJT shares. Are Fidelity good guys or are they looking to cause trouble? Could they be the ones talking to buy PJT?

[iampoor] 14/7/2003 17:49

37DOLPHIN
"Apply an EBITDA multiple of 10x "
do you not think that might be too optimistic ?

[banj] 14/7/2003 12:42

Project Telecom leaps on bid approach
Fri Jul 11 15:45:12 BST 2003
Project Telecom's downturn in fortunes looks like becoming someone else's opportunity after the mobile services provider admitted today that it has had a bid approach.

The news sent shares (PJT) up 7p to 56p, well ahead of the 34p lows they found after the company issued a profits warning in April.

The shares have been rising rapidly this week, prompting Project Telecom to admit that it has received a preliminary approach that may or may not lead to an offer for the company.

The company would not say any more today, but it looks as though someone was looking to take advantage of the slump in the company's valuation.

Until April, Project Telecom had appeared to be building a very successful business providing mobile voice and data services to business customers. Project Telecom offers advice, consultancy and support to both large and small businesses wanting to provide the right equipment to their workforce for both mobile voice and data services. The company does not own any of its own infrastructure, but buys airtime wholesale and it is Project Telecom that manages the relationship with the corporate customer.

And this is precisely where the problems have come from. As competition between the mobile operators has got tougher, so they have begun to undercut each other, and consequently Project Telecom, which buys airtime from Vodafone and mmO2.

Chief executive Tim Radford told Citywire in April that: 'There has always been a fear that we could get squeezed at some point, and after ten successful years of growth we've had a tough couple of months.' Radford said the 'squeeze' was coming from T-Mobile and Orange in particular, both of which are aggressively slashing prices to entice business customers away from the likes of Vodafone and O2, and in turn therefore Project Telecom.

As part of the aggressive price wars, and in answer to the Competition Commission's ruling that the operators had to cut their cut their termination charges - the fees they levy on other operators for a call made to their networks the operators cut the connection commissions they were paying to Project Telecom 'significantly,' in some cases by more than ?50 per customer the company said.

Last year Project Telecom turned in profits for the year to December of ?14 million before goodwill and exceptionals on its continuing businesses, and had been expected to grow that to around ?18.7 million this year before warning in April that profits for this year would be flat on last year.

So who might be interested in buying the company? Well the most obvious candidates would be one of the mobile operators themselves. Since there is an ever decreasing amount of new business to be won, mobile operators are looking to increase the amount that existing customers spend with them, and attempt to prevent customers defecting to the competition. To do that, they really need to 'own' the relationship with the customer.

Project Telecom's business users would be of great interest to any of the operators. Vodafone might boast a huge market share, but the majority of its customers are private customers. The business market is the one that ultimately will have more use for the precious data services that make optimum use of the new 3G networks.

Vodafone and O2 already have a relationship with Project Telecom, so either might be a candidate. Equally Orange and T-Mobile are getting aggressive in their quest for market share, and then there's 3, the new entrant from Hutchison, which might want a ready-made business audience for its 3G services.

As the company said, it is early days.

Citywire Verdict:

In April, Citywire advised investors to let the dust settle and see how things looked in a few months. Shares were then 41.5p. Clearly, if the bid, or any other bid, comes to nothing, the company will have a fight on its hands this year. But at this early stage, it looks worth hanging on for further news.


continue to hold IMO ;-)

[37dolphin] 14/7/2003 09:02

I'm not sure what the telegraph means by "a few more pence"?

[37dolphin] 14/7/2003 08:52

In my opinion -

Valuation Based On Estimated EBITDA:-

Continuing Business Only -

2002 EBITDA £16.5m
Apply an EBITDA multiple of 10x
Valuation of £165m - 74p per share
2003 EBITDA £21.3m
Apply an EBITDA multiple of 10x
Valuation of £213m - 96p per share

These would equal sales multiples of
2002 - 1.3x (sales of £130m)
2003 - 1.4x (sales of £152m)

[scotty500] 14/7/2003 08:36

I'm happy to wait until "at least 70 pence".

[stuart_moose] 13/7/2003 22:32

What does the telegraph know, not much by the looks of it, bunch of muppets.

[iampoor] 13/7/2003 21:10

Master RSI ...........
was just about to sell (oh yeah !!!) ......... seen ur posts over the past few weeks ..............thanx ...........a winner at end of day .. or have i missed something ?

[master rsi] 13/7/2003 18:57

Iampoor

Telegraph got it wrong for going in too early on the cycle of the tech and phoned recovery, and now got it wrong again for bailing out too early for a big loss, when they could recoup the price paid back in January.

[iampoor] 13/7/2003 17:15

should i take the Sunday Telegraph advice ??! - opinions please

"Project Telecom

We have been faithful fans of Project Telecom, the mobile telecoms reseller, which we tipped in January at 74p. In April, we advised readers to keep on buying, we advised readers to keep on buying, even though a profit warning had sent the shares plummeting to 39.5p.

Those who took the advice have seen their shares rise since to 57p. The company, which had been hit not only by tough trading conditions but by a Competition Commission decision to cut the price of calls to mobile phones from other networks, announced on Friday that it has been approached by potential buyers.

Although any talks are at very early stages we understand that the top management, who with their families are also substantial shareholders, are willing sellers at the right price. Plucky readers may gain a few pence by hanging on but, given the company's recent problems, we believe now is the time to bail out. "

[iampoor] 13/7/2003 14:12

from Financial Times:-

"Any bid would require the approval of Tim Radford, chief executive, and Richard Cunningham, finance director, whose families represent about 60 per cent of the equity. Gautam Malkani "

[gotnorolex] 13/7/2003 10:23

Vodafone homes in on Project Telecom deal
By Liz Vaughan-Adams
12 July 2003


The mobile phone operator Vodafone is thought to be one of the players interested in snapping up Project Telecom, the telecoms business which confirmed yesterday it had received "approaches".

Project Telecom made the announcement after a sharp rise in its shares over the past few weeks - a rally that had been fuelled by speculation that Vodafone was casting its eye over the business.

Rumours continued to circulate last night that Vodafone was the main name in the frame and that the mobile phone giant was willing to pay at least 70p a share in cash. The mobile phone operator refused to comment last night. Project Telecom, meanwhile, emphasised that any discussions "with the interested parties" were at a "very early stage".

Shares in Project Telecom, which stood at 34p at the beginning of May after it issued a profit warning, ticked up 8p at 57p yesterday.

Project Telecom provides mobile and fixed line telecoms services to the business market, although more than 90 per cent of its profits come from reselling mobile services, mainly Vodafone's.

[issie] 13/7/2003 09:23

top brass do definatley want out!!!!...won`t be about while monday now

[issie] 13/7/2003 09:22

by the way the telegraph said bail out this morning!!!!