Tclarke Share Discussion Threads

[igoe104] 04/9/2020 07:50

Another one of holdings RNWH have just realised a beat on expectations RNS. They have done nothing but fall over the last few months.just shows how markets can be wrong.

[cc2014] 03/9/2020 20:07

Or maybe just the 700pt drop on the Dow (which is now 900 as I write) has taken the froth off things

[igoe104] 03/9/2020 19:57

Costain negative announcement today, I think has pulled CTO price down.

[twells1] 03/9/2020 18:05

IGOE 104 - I share your view about T Clarke and was very surprised to see the big price move today. Before the lock down margins were increasing as was turnover and things looked very good especially with the very large order book. I cannot find the negative article you refer to. Any chance of your copying it to this forum or summarising it. Thanks M

[igoe104] 03/9/2020 17:29

Justed seen this posted on another forum.

CTO but its mentioned in today's Share Mag under
Exploring small cap stocks on single-digit multiples.

Forward PE 5.4

A near-9% bid/offer spread also dilutes the appeal of investing in T Clarke (CTO), which is a shame as there is a lot to like about the business. It builds data centres and infrastructure projects, and played a frontline role in the pandemic fitting out the 200-bed Nightingale Hospital in Exeter in just six weeks.

It generated earnings and positive net cash during the first-half while increasing its order book to over £400 million and bidding on a further £600 million of projects.

Costs have been trimmed and banking facilities have been renewed with no debt due before 2024.

As well as building data centres, where T Clarke is currently involved in three projects and could tender for a further dozen in the second-half, the firm offers an ESG-friendly ‘smart building solution’ which controls heating, lighting, air quality and security and which can be retrofitted into existing building as well as installed in new builds.

[owenski] 03/9/2020 16:31

Profits and importantly, margins, down at last results, 2% margin is concerning if things go wrong, no guarantee on outlook as such, no wonder it's been dripping down.

[igoe104] 03/9/2020 16:02

Cost news is effecting CTO today. What a frustrating share this is, I've held for 4 years now and it's been constantly two steps forward two steps back. And never seen any director buys....

[santangello] 03/8/2020 15:41

A good friend who is on of those Chart users advised me today is a great day to buy CTO.....so I did....twice.I honestly don't do charts, but his demonstrated recent success using the same principal pursuaded me on this occasion lol.

[cc2014] 31/7/2020 13:22

Algo seller back...

[skinny] 28/7/2020 10:25

Well that helped! :-)

[paleje] 27/7/2020 14:37

Yes CC2014 he's singing their praises again



The disconnect between the strength of the bid pipeline and contracted order book, the modest valuation (enterprise valuation equates to 3.5 times operating profit in a ‘normal’ year) and the board’s commitment to the dividend points to a profitable outcome materialising. Buy.

[cc2014] 27/7/2020 12:16

buyers appearing. I bet it's Simon Thompson again!

Indeed I have found it now

[cc2014] 27/7/2020 10:11

Sort of slightly off topic too and we're drifting as I kind of used BP., AV. and BLND as an example when I could have named hundreds of stocks.

One of my trades in CTO was in November 2014 and I paid 43p. At that time AV. was 500p and RDSB 2400p

Now CTO is 88p, AV. is 275p. and RDSB is 1200p Of course things have changed since then but my point is regardless of whether you see CTO as good value at 88p, I have become more inclined to put my capital to work on AV., RDSB or whatever

[skinny] 25/7/2020 11:03

Off topic so a one off post, if you compare AV & LGEN over 5 or 10 years - there is clearly only one winner - I hold both AV 2010 @294, LGEN @99.89.

[skyship] 25/7/2020 07:26

CC - Agree with AV., though the chart below suggests really dowsn't matter which you go for AV. or LGEN. Personally though I'll wait awhile as they both seem to be headed lower.

BLND? The notional NAV discount seems good, but the clue is in the word notional - and I suppose that applies to all propcos. As you may have seen from posts elsewhere, especially the commercial property thread (CP+), I prefer to play the smaller regional players. Pick them off one at a time when you see a valuation anomaly. EPIC @ c51p seems one such, so bought in there this week. 43% discount and well covered reduced dividend still provides a 7.8% yield.


free stock charts from uk.advfn.com

[cc2014] 24/7/2020 12:37

I sold out at various prices between 75 and 82p.

I can't see myself buying back in anytime soon but haven't got to know this company very closely it's worthswhile keeping up to date.

Going forward I see significant reduction in demand in the construction sector leading to over-capacity and depressed margins. Good management will do their best. Out of the universe of all stocks there's now plenty to choose from. BP. at 300, AV. at 285, RBS at 115, BLND at 360 and if I look at the FTSE250 the opportunties appear even greater.

I don't have a price target for CTO as I'd like to see where we are when the market stabilises.

The pension deficit concerns me. When I first bought in it would have been half what it is now. The £25m of intangible assets which they never amortise bothers me too, in that if profits get bad for any length of time that's a difficult discussion with the auditors

GLA

[theoldcodger] 24/7/2020 09:41

But with the share price firmly on a downward trend, there's currently no need to be in a rush to buy. I top sliced (actually more like top chunked) my holding in early June and will build it up again to a full weighting in due course, but it wouldn't surprise me if we see something below 84p before then. I've been buying and selling shares in CTO for well over 30 years and have learnt that it pays to be patient. Obviously I like the Company, it's solid and well managed, the pension deficit is a bit of negative, but that will sort itself out over time. I just don't see a catalyst for a company specific rerating in the immediate future (of course I could be wrong) and in the event of a general market rally, then CTO is unlikely to lead the way, so there should be an opportunity to climb on board before the train has left the station.

All purely my thoughts and not meant as advice in any way.

I hold.

Regards,
TOC

[edmundshaw] 23/7/2020 15:32

CC2014, for transparency, what price did you sellout at on March 31st? Somewhere around 84p I would guess... You still come across as interested here, so I hope you find a good entry point for coming back in, but please do not wait too long, this company will be going places in a year or so... and I am wary of being too short on shares as good news on vaccines, testing and the like could cause a pretty decent general rally.

I know it is hard psychologically to re-enter at a higher price unless your money has made nice profits elsewhere, but we all get things wrong (or the market does - it hardly matters which), so sometimes we have to take a small loss on the chin...

[skinny] 23/7/2020 13:05

Added a small (500) amount.

[cc2014] 23/7/2020 13:02

One the plus side I'm sure Simon Thompson will be along in a day or two to tip to give the share price a boost. He seems to be tipping the same shares over and over. I do wonder if that has anyting to do with a personal interest in the share.


On the downside between the jigs and the reels the actual loss for the half year if you include the exceptionals and the increase in pension deficit is £7.2m.

Pension deficit now stands at £30m which is getting to a level that it's going to need attention at the expense of shareholder dividends. Given the level of 30 year bond yields it doesn't look like a rise in interest rates any time soon is going to save the day.

The order book is about flat compared with the last update. So, they've done £106m revenue and got enough orders to replace the £106m. The question is if they return to a normal turnover in the second half of around £170m whether they can replace it with £170m or more likely somewhere between £106m and £170m. After all if they were confident they were going to be able to replace £170m they wouldn't be making staff redundant and would have committed to the small interim dividend.

The net cash of £7.5m important but don't let's forget the government are allowing delays in payment of VAT. So, how much is that? Or have they not taken advantage of it? Further if the cash position is so strong why draw down the £15m RCF? Tbh I think there's nothing odd happenning there other than a desire to say they've got £22.5m cash which I'm sure opens more doors when negotiating orders. But, there could be other reasons.


In summary management doing the best they can in a difficult set of circumstances. Nothing in there that could not have been forseen a few months ago except perhaps the dividend. The interim dividend would cost cash of around £325k. One wonders why a company with £7.5m in net cash does not have the confidence to declare it. The Board says it will wait to see once the results of the year can be forecast with clarity. I would sugget if the Board does not have the confidence to declare 0.75p at half time then both the first 0.75p and the final 3.65p appear at risk.


I'm sure Regent will be along to pick up some shares at the right price which will provide some support.

GLA

[lasmo] 23/7/2020 12:28

Uncertainty around London’s commercial property market would be my guess.

[squarepeg86] 23/7/2020 12:17

Hopefully. It seems to have been a recurring theme with this share, there's always been a seller in the background offloading. Would be nice to see it back at higher levels.

[santangello] 23/7/2020 12:13

Just a seller clearing.....been doing so for a little while.Patience will win the day.....you only have to read the RNS on Tuesday and interpret the sector backdrop.£1+ quickly when the seller clears I would assume.

[squarepeg86] 23/7/2020 11:21

Well this wasn't expected...

[varies] 21/7/2020 10:38

The size of the pension fund deficit (now increased from £26 million to £29m) is a little worrying and CTO needs to pay £1.5m into the fund p.a. towards this. Otherwise this report strikes me as very encouraging.