Ricardo Share Discussion Threads

[pictureframe] 05/11/2004 12:56

spread is stupid

[pictureframe] 05/11/2004 12:18

chart breakout ?

[pictureframe] 05/11/2004 12:14

£2 on the bid now

[pictureframe] 05/11/2004 12:12

They do seem to have got the company back on track, may be a while until we see £4.00 again but cant see why it wont get to £2.50 short term

[broadwood] 05/11/2004 09:33

Well an order book that has significantly improved seems pretty positive to me.

I would say price weakness is now behind us because that statement alone will put a floor under the price - mind you , I still have a long way to go to get my money back!

[jelfsie] 05/11/2004 09:10

Sorry its me again!!!!. Well, nice rise?. hang on, yesterday the offer was at 195p and today the bid is at...... um 195p, so nobody has made a bean (except the MM's who have a 7% spread!). The quoted 10% rise should be taken with the usual doese of salt. This should tell you that they are pretty much square, and there are as yet no institutional orders floating around - just the small punters being asked to pay high prices for small pozzies. Im still not buying as much as I would like to. Better opportunities elsewhere e.g CW. where the doom and gloom is resounding, and brokers all negative, but a closer look at the Q1 trading update suggests that whilst sales are still struggling, massive cost cutting will produce some pleasant surprises on cash generation at the interims due shortly. Im in there at 101p average. Good luck all.

[pictureframe] 05/11/2004 08:53

expecting at least a 15% rise today, this bit I like

The group said it has identified business opportunities in the Far East and
has secured an order to provide controls and electronics technical consulting to
a domestic Chinese automotive company.

Anyone else have views on this?

[pictureframe] 05/11/2004 08:28

This will be back to at least £2.50 short term imho

Order book looking good

LONDON (AFX) - Ricardo PLC, an independent UK automotive consultancy, said
trading during the first 18 weeks of the new financial year has been in line
with expectations.
The automotive group said its order book had 'significantly' improved
against the same period last year and at the end of September, the order book
was up year on year.
The company reiterated its outlook which it issued alongside the preliminary
results in September.
The group said it has identified business opportunities in the Far East and
has secured an order to provide controls and electronics technical consulting to
a domestic Chinese automotive company.
The company chairman, Marcus Bereford, said: "I remain cautiously optimistic
that the improving performance we have been experiencing since the second half
of last year will continue in this new financial year."
[e-mail]
ec

[pictureframe] 21/10/2004 09:59

Last day tomorrow to get the divi of 6.3p

[pictureframe] 06/10/2004 13:53

I wish I had that sort of money ! Still I do hold a few of these and the director stumping up that sort of cash has made me more determined to hold, that and the fact the divi payments are being made.

Agree that there have been some massive trades lately, just sitting back and seeing where we go.

[pictureframe] 06/10/2004 08:39

even at £1.48 , still spent £75,000 of his own money

[crystalclear] 05/10/2004 22:08

When do the options expire?
If they expire soon, it probably from necessity.
If they expire in the distant future, its probably to take a profit, otherwise why not let them run?

[cheltspy] 04/10/2004 18:23

It was a 'EXERCISE OF OPTION' the price being 1.48. Yes a very good buy.

[jelfsie] 04/10/2004 16:26

We assume that means 188p. Good news for him if he bought at 148p.

[pictureframe] 04/10/2004 15:36

director bought 50,000 shares at 1.48p , must be good news on the horizon

[pictureframe] 20/9/2004 15:14

short should see £2 but will be another six months before it can be said all is on track

[foolishboy2000] 20/9/2004 14:01

Only briefly read the results, but it seems that they are expected and it will be the slow and steasy recovery that will happen. Not bad overall, cash generation should now start picking up, debt very manageable even after the dodgy patch. In my opinion a buy for the patient, but do not expect instant fireworks

[pictureframe] 20/9/2004 09:47

Thanks Jelfsie,

[jelfsie] 20/9/2004 09:36

No nasty surprises WHICH IS GOOD, but reading the business overview there is still plenty of cautious noises. I'll be amazed if brokers consensus forcasts for 2005 are amended from the present £8M PBT (EPS 13p, divi of 9p) which puts the shares on a prospective P/E of 14. The divi yield of 5% will provide some support short term and there is room for a technical bounce to 190 / 220p area but not enough for me to buy. This share's market cap is too small for me to trade "technical bounces". I wish you luck though. It will be interesting to see brokers forecasts for 2006 when they come out. Stick-your-finger-in-the-air job IMHO so I rest my case on the current prospective 2005 P/E of 14. Furthermore, heavy director share buying will also be a sign to watch for. All IMHO of course. Im still not buying and will keep this share on my "watch list" only for the time being.

[pictureframe] 20/9/2004 08:40

Jelfsie, what do you think of this now ?, now up 3.1% as I type

[pictureframe] 20/9/2004 08:18

few buyers coming in now and up 2.8%, should move a lot more when martkets open at 8.30

[pictureframe] 20/9/2004 08:12

Well I just topped up ,another 1800 odd shares, before results are digested by the city. Nice divi payment.

Looks like the worst is over for the company and next few months should see a very good bounce imho


LONDON (AFX) - Ricardo PLC, an independent automotive consultancy, said its
prospects for the year ahead are looking "much brighter" following the worst
trading conditions seen in 10 years resulting in a series of project
cancellations which hit the company's UK operations and necessitated a major
restructuring.
As a result, profit before tax, goodwill amortisation and exceptional costs
fell from 16.1 mln stg to 1.8 mln. After goodwill and exceptionals, the group
incurred a pretax loss of 2.8 mln stg, down from a profit of 15.8 mln.
Turnover increased from 136.6 mln stg to 146.0 mln including the benefits of
the first full year's trading from the PROTOtechnik-IFT acquisition in Germany.
The board recommended a maintained final dividend of 6.3 pence, reflecting
confidence in future prospects.
Chief executive Rodney Westhead said that compared to this time last year,
prospects are much brighter and the group faces the new financial year with
cautious optimism for a progressively improving performance.
He said the new financial year started on a far more positive note with the
order pipeline more than 50 pct up on the position 12 months ago.
Westhead said he expects results to be significantly weighted to the second
half, assuming the company does not experience unforeseen cancellations. He
added a note of caution -- The vehicle engineering business remains slow to
improve and the uncertainty surrounding the UK car industry gives cause for
concern.
Westhead said the group has "reasonable prospects" spread across a greater
number of customers, less reliance on the major US car companies and a much
leaner organisation. Ricardo Germany is now a solid part of the group, RSC
continues to grow and RCE, the group's engines business and for many years the
bedrock of Ricardo, is in "very good shape".

[pictureframe] 17/9/2004 13:21

results out Monday, looking froward to seeing them