Utilitywise Share Discussion Threads

[bennywin] 05/4/2017 13:43

I cant quite see why you would spend the time posting on this stock Angel.

Your previous posts have clearly stated that you had no confidence in the company so I doubt you would have invested a penny unless you were bonkers.

[larva] 05/4/2017 12:08

unmitigated disaster

[angel81] 05/4/2017 12:08

I agree however i am worried at the cost to the shareholders and the cost to the UTW's clients. I am assuming the board would not have doing this unless something has changed in their model. Given the strategy is to be "more transparent to customers to attract more" i am very suspicious that said suppliers did not want to play ball. If this is true, and why else would they turn down free cash? Then there could be a potential time bomb on the horizon. All very commendable but personally why pick a stock with so many question marks when there are so many others out there that don't have any mess....one to avoid i think

[nocton] 05/4/2017 11:48

I appreciate your and Paul Scott's comments, angel81, but surely the statement:
"To further strengthen its commercial prospects, Utilitywise has decided to discontinue the practice of taking cash advances from suppliers, and to increase the transparency of the balance sheet" is intended to help sort out the muddle, not make it worse? So the board should be commended and the share price not punished.

[angel81] 05/4/2017 11:46

One more thought if they are consuming so much cash in h2 to pay back advances how is a dividend to be funded??? All very very concerning given an expansion strategy that is sure to consume cash and a new team at the helm...red lights all around for me

[angel81] 05/4/2017 11:46

One more thought if they are consuming so much cash in h2 to pay back advances how is a dividend to be funded??? All very very concerning given an expansion strategy that is sure to consume cash and a new team at the helm...red lights all around for me

[angel81] 05/4/2017 10:30

Paul Scott sums this one up...My opinion - what a mess! Multiple accounting issues, and net debt about to soar - it looks horrible to me, I wouldn't go near this share after this announcement.

The dividend yield is looking very attractive, at over 5%, after today's fall.

I see Geoff Thompson is stepping down from Exec Chairman to Non-Exec Chairman, in a separate announcement today. In this statement, he gushes;

...I firmly believe we are still only really scratching the surface in terms of the opportunities available to us
If that's the case, why did he bank squillions in personal share sales in 2012, 2013, and 2014? See the Stockopedia Director transactions page here. Sure there have been some hefty Director buys too, more recently, but these are still dwarfed by the massive sales previously. As the saying goes, follow the money! i.e. watch what Directors do, rather than what they say.

Personally, I like companies with simple business models, and straightforward, transparent accounts. Why get involved in something like this? I think the accounts here are pretty ropey, and I'm not sure management are up to scratch either. With all these latest issues, I can't see any reason to get involved.

I would add if they are not taking any supplier advances why? Have they fallen out with a supplier? Does this make them less competitive? Given they now state they are pushing for more transparency to customers does this mean that the supplier refused to play ball? Following this to a logical conclusion does this mean that they have some skeletons in the closet that past customers may find they have been overcharged??

There is a lot of noise around re mis selling and overcharging of undisclosed commissions, if true, and the board are now trying to sort what price on results and cash? Is this the first hit in sorting this problem? Will the alleged sins of the past come back to haunt this stock, a great to time to step away as an exec you could argue?

[cockerhoop] 04/4/2017 15:41

Alternatively you could have looked at my comment on this board at 8:02 ;-)

[joshgroeny] 04/4/2017 14:58

Well seen Mr Mark.. I wish I'd set my alarm for 7am and read the complete statement before market open!

[mrmark01] 04/4/2017 14:34

Could this explain the fall?

"This means that the Group will not seek previously planned cash advances totalling £9.2m during the second half of FY17 and, as a result of its commitment, will also repay a further £4.5m as the assumed volume of contracts delivered by the Group for certain suppliers will not be met. These amounts, along with associated VAT, will together lead to a one-off impact upon the Group's cash flow during the second half of FY17 of £16.4m with a resultant increase in the closing net debt of the Group at 31 July 2017 compared to the previously forecast position."

[mrmark01] 04/4/2017 14:17

Getting 140 offer now!

[mrmark01] 04/4/2017 14:15

Lampran - Do you need to pay to get access to - research-tree.com ?

[mrmark01] 04/4/2017 14:09

Trying to buy, but cant get a price via HL ! :(

[its the oxman] 04/4/2017 13:45

Think the jury is out on this one.

[paleje] 04/4/2017 11:44

Liberum reiterated their 228p buy.

[lampran] 04/4/2017 10:07

supposed to be a few broker notes out this morning, can't find panmure, but finnCap's is here:

hxxps://www.research-tree.com/companies/uk/support-services/utilitywise-plc/research/finncap/laying-the-foundations-for-the-next-phase-of-growth/14388

pretty good read, finnCap definitely bullish.

"...only 16% of UK businesses use third parties to get a better deal on energy. This under-penetration and Utilitywise’s investment in innovative services demonstrate the potential for significant long-term growth.

anybody find panmure plz let me konw

[quepassa] 04/4/2017 10:05

Interest at a bank is 0.5%

A divi growth rate of 5% is still ok.

- Combined with a very positive outlook.


Looks pretty good. Keep the faith.

ALL IMO. DYOR.
QP

[shawzie] 04/4/2017 09:55

Disappointing growth of 5% in interim dividend, relative to historic increases.
EPS pretty static. Is this a buying opportunity or is there trouble ahead?

[cockerhoop] 04/4/2017 08:02

Look at the H2 cash flow forecast and follow through to debt! Accounting policies catching up imo.

[bennywin] 04/4/2017 07:40

Not the ideal start for BF.
Solid , if unspectacular.

[hutch_pod] 03/4/2017 23:11

Yes, technically weak but fundamentals look good to me

[eggbaconandbubble] 03/4/2017 15:48

Well said Freddie! I can't see any reason to panic with the sell button at the mo.

"We want Freddie for our leader.
Freddie is a man of class"

[freddie ferret] 03/4/2017 15:19

PE has just been sub 7.5 now rising again. Short sharp sell off.

Rising T/O for years, rising profits for years, rising divis for years.

[bennywin] 03/4/2017 14:58

Looking a bit bleak !