S & U Share Discussion Threads

[plasybryn] 22/3/2016 07:45

You have to be impressed by these numbers. As it says going from strength to strength.The performance has always been solid but this now really seems to be accelerating.Let's hope it still remains under the radar.Well done all involved.

[cwa1] 22/3/2016 07:21

Anthony Coombs, Chairman of S&U plc commented:

"Although growth in the British economy has slowed and the Brexit debate might cause temporary uncertainty, the fundamentals influencing the labour market, inflation and living standards in Britain are sound. This is reflected in the robust health of the used sector of the motor market. We see very significant opportunities to maintain and even accelerate the steady and sustainable growth which has been S&U's hallmark."

[plasybryn] 23/2/2016 18:27

Ex dividend 12th March. Payment date 10th April. Happy days

[gorse] 15/2/2016 23:25

A ray of sunshine? Well, today, was a day when out of a mostly blue sky the sun was strong all day.

[gorse] 15/2/2016 23:21

A ray of sunshine? Well, today, was a day when out of a mostly blue sky the sun was strong all day.

[tudes100] 12/2/2016 23:55

A ray of sunshine, not one to trade in and out of for me given the spread.
Happy to hold despite general weakness in financials.

[plasybryn] 12/2/2016 18:04

Nice recovery today.
We were clearly over sold and for no valid reason.

[gorse] 12/2/2016 17:18

Compared with many others, this share has been pretty resilient, especially after today's substantial rise.

[cwa1] 12/2/2016 07:46

Yawn ;-)

YEAR END TRADING UPDATE

S&U plc, the motor finance and specialist lender, today issues a trading update for the period from its Trading Statement of 10 December 2015 to the Company's year-end on 31 January 2016.

S&U is pleased to announce that current trading remains strong and in line with market expectations; it will announce its final results on 22 March 2016.

Current Trading

Advantage Finance our motor finance business continues to produce record results. Live customer numbers are now around 32,500 up over 32% on the same time last year and budgeted new transactions for the year were exceeded comfortably. This reflects the investment during the past financial year of GBP27m into developing our motor finance business.

New refinements to our already highly sophisticated underwriting systems have allowed Advantage to deepen our understanding of our traditional customers. This leads to even more opportunities for the higher margin, high quality business which has been Advantage's hallmark. As a result an expanded book of excellent quality is reflected in monthly collections which are now approaching GBP7m.

Acquisitions

We continue to examine potential acquisition and start up opportunities in a rigorous and painstaking way and have added to our development team. The recent reverses in stock market values have confirmed our impression of unrealistic pricing last year and may lead to better value in the coming months. Our search continues, but against a background of continuing investment in Advantage, and our determination to maintain shareholder returns in areas where we have experience and expertise.

Funding and Treasury

Notwithstanding the payment to shareholders of GBP14.9m by way of a special dividend last November, the financial position of the Group remains very strong. Net borrowings of just GBP12m are covered by committed facilities of GBP70m leaving significant headroom for the right acquisition and organic growth.

Dividend

The strength of current trading, future prospects and the Group's robust treasury position justifies the Board's approval of a second interim dividend of 23p per ordinary share (2015:19p) on Friday 18th March 2016 to holders on the share register on the 26th February 2016. The first and second dividends paid this year will therefore total 43p against 36p last year an increase of 19%.

Commenting on the Group trading and outlook, Anthony Coombs, Chairman of S&U plc said:

"Although the slight rise in real incomes in Britain over the past year has led to greater consumer confidence, particularly in the car market, current economic uncertainties will place a premium on those finance companies possessing the best underwriting systems and highest debt quality.

Coupled with a more stable political and regulatory environment, that will continue to reward the business methods and customer focus for which Advantage Finance is rightly admired".

[plasybryn] 05/2/2016 18:17

Looks like wise money is taking advantage of this bargain price ahead of the Trading Statement.

[plasybryn] 02/2/2016 12:47

I'm looking forward to the Update next week.
I suspect it will be positive and this over sold situation will correct.

[tudes100] 02/2/2016 01:29

Update coming next week, results due end March (22nd I think from memory).
Have had a look at the broker forecasts and consensus forecast is for £19.2m PBT, 127.7p EPS. Based on customer numbers quoted for Advantage at the December trading update this seems light to me. H2 FY15 PBT was £9m and customer numbers are +28% on prior yr quoted in December update.
I suspect they'll do closer to £11m PBT in H2 which should get EPS somewhere north of 137p so a decent beat.
I don't think the story here is anything like over yet as we should see a significant acceleration in customer acquisition given the quoted £34m investment into Advantage & £13m investment into SME vehicle lending. Potential for bolt on acquisitions is obviously high given funds now available. Management track record suggests these will be added in a conservative fashion so we don't need to worry that the Board will get too carried away.
Recent share price weakness is, I suspect, a function of PI's trimming profits since the payout of the special divi (RSI now 33) but think current pricing offers good entry point.
Still holding...

[tudes100] 19/1/2016 02:50

Only 5070 shares traded though.
Just to put that in context FEVR traded 570k and TSTL 630k shares yesterday. Happy to hold SUS until something specifically changes, market noise (even a lot of it) isn't going to make me sell.

[plasybryn] 18/1/2016 18:41

Yes according to the Web Site it is 12th Feb. Answering my own question!
Not often you see the share price drop 6% in a day.

[plasybryn] 18/1/2016 11:41

Charts suggests it should find support around here.
Are we due an Update next month?

[plasybryn] 07/1/2016 20:30

Peace in a storm as usual!

[jombaston] 11/12/2015 13:33

OK, there has been some research in Sep/Oct. The only publicly available is Edison. They have an operating profit of £25.5m for Jan 17. Adjusting the half-year cash balances by the £82.5m received for the sale and the £17.7m just paid in dividend, I get a forward EV/EBIT of 11.3x (on a price of £24.50).

After the latest news there is the possibility that numbers are upgraded, but even if they aren't it seems reasonable to expect that the rating will move up to 14x if the forward estimate becomes reality. This suggests £30 per share on a one-year view.

If the forecasts are upgraded and investors become more interested in a company with 20-30% profits growth then clearly that would be too conservative a target.

I will leave the bear case to someone else, but it would probably have to be built on the potential cyclicality of the business. I say potential because this hasn't been that marked in past results.

If anyone has access to Panmure or Canaccord research I would be interested to know their revenue and profit forecasts.

[jombaston] 11/12/2015 12:11

I can only think that the lack of reaction in the shares is due to the low liquidity and time of year.

As far as I can tell the growth in revenue has accelerated from mid-year with yoy customer numbers at +28%, up from +22%.

Of course, before the sale of Loans4U this was only part of the company growing at 20%+, now it is pretty much the whole company. As if that growth wasn't enough it looks as if there will be some earnings-enhancing acquisitions soon.

Now we are so close to the Jan y/e I think we can assume that 2016 numbers are close to a done deal so it makes sense to look forward to Jan 2017. However, my calculation of the forward multiple makes me think that I must be missing something (yes, I have taken out the profits from the discontinued operations!)

Fat margins, excellent ROCE, high growth, low multiple. Sounds too good to be true.

Perhaps the real reason the shares are cheap is that no-one has published any research on this company since the significant changes in the last few months. Which is why it is not yet valued on the company's new (and much improved) profitability and growth dynamic.

Maybe the shares will never re-rate in which case, sit back and enjoy the dividends. I don't know if they have ever cut the divvy as I only have data back to 1997 but they did hold if through the financial crisis which is pretty impressive.

[tudes100] 10/12/2015 07:50

boringingly predictable, wish all my holdings were like S&U.
Happy holder

[plasybryn] 10/12/2015 07:28

Don't you just love this share?No ramping needed.Just sit back & enjoy.Another exemplary Trading Update IMO.Well done S&U.

[cwa1] 10/12/2015 07:24

Now why didn't I just tip the lot in to S & U all those years ago?!

S&U TRADING STATEMENT

S&U, Britain's foremost niche specialist finance provider, announces a trading update for the period from 1st August to 9th December 2015.

Motor Finance

Advantage Finance, our market leading specialist car finance provider, continues to trade at record levels. On all measures, including new applications, customer numbers, monthly collection levels, debt quality and profitability, Advantage continues to break new ground. As always, it also continues to refine and improve its product offerings, its formidable underwriting capabilities and the speed and certainty of service it offers its introducers. The result has been live customer numbers which have now reached over 30,000 an increase of over 28% on a year ago.

Funding

The sale of Loansathome4u, our Home Credit division, was completed on 4th August 2015. The net proceeds of GBP80 million have been re-invested in the motor finance business, have funded a special dividend of GBP1.25p per ordinary share paid on 12th November 2015 and still allow substantial headroom within our funding facilities for both accelerated growth and acquisitions.

Shareholders are reminded that the payment date for our second interim dividend will this year be 18th March 2016 and the payment date for our final dividend will be 8th July 2016.

Acquisitions

Significant work is being carried out with our advisers on a limited number of opportunities meeting our acquisition criteria. These criteria include delivering earnings enhancement and significant future growth.

Overview

Commenting on Group trading, Anthony Coombs, S&U Chairman, said:

"Our excellent motor finance business is producing record results and operating in a general economic environment with the stability necessary to sustain strong consumer demand, thus providing balanced and sustained growth. We therefore continue to regard the future for S&U with great confidence."

[plasybryn] 18/11/2015 18:14

It looks like it might slowly be on its way higher again.

[plasybryn] 12/11/2015 11:10

Why not jeffian....you only live once!

[jeffian] 12/11/2015 11:09

I was thinking of blowing it, actually!

[plasybryn] 12/11/2015 10:58

Should get our dividend and special pay-out later today.
I wonder how many investors will reinvest all or some of that, pushing the share price higher?