Vantis Share Discussion Threads

[spaceparallax] 15/2/2006 08:53

News would be good to help maintain momentum.

[golden cross] 14/2/2006 21:00

I think VTS are likely to release news about another takeover soon. Pure speculation but on past behaviour and intent, it has to happen at some point soon. Could do with some news.

[spaceparallax] 13/2/2006 15:47

Shame to see all the recent good work disappear - we'll soon be back to the peak of Autumn 2005.

[chester] 06/2/2006 10:16

Looks a good place to go long....

[golden cross] 12/1/2006 17:29

A very good end to the day. As long as we carry on the steady climb rather than attract in day traders we will be fine. In saying that the volumes are always poor.

[penpont] 12/1/2006 17:16

Good write up and buy rec on citywire, includes following comment:

'House broker Charles Stanley reckons the stock is currently trading on a price to earnings ratio for the year to April of 13.3, falling to 11.3 for next year. It compared this to the valuation of Begbies Traynor, at 20 times this year falling to 16.9 times next year's earnings, and said that the 'discount is unwarranted'

[egoi] 12/1/2006 16:33

Gush!!! What a finish today with a T trade at 240p seconds before the bell. Used to be a sober stock!

[scumdog] 11/1/2006 12:27

LOL!
You could be right egoi. I've been looking at Tenon too.
Was considering an investment there but glad I didn't commit.
I'll take a close look at the results this evening.

[egoi] 11/1/2006 12:12

I know, I seem to get Martin's horses wrong too. -:)

They aren't referring to new contracts - the comment if you read it carefully clearly refers to possible acquisitions.

If Tenon for example with new management spend 18 months or so turning things around successfully i can see VTS pouncing at some stage as they did brilliantly with Numerica. Remember these guys at VTS were doing acquisitions for 16 years before they came to market!

Hopefully some ugrades next week!

[scumdog] 11/1/2006 11:31

I hate to see the word "pipeline" in these statements.

[egoi] 11/1/2006 07:39

What a lovely dependable company! I continue to hold.

Once again results from VTS should be well received. Rise in debt only due to the 16 million Numerica acquisition. Very manageable imho.

('Vantis', the 'Company' or the 'Group')
Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 31 October 2005

Vantis, the AIM listed professional services and accountancy group, announces
interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2005.

Key points

• Turnover increased 79% to £33.2m (2004: £18.6m as restated following the
adoption of UITF 40);

• Profit before goodwill amortisation, exceptional items, interest and tax
increased 83% to £5.5m (2004: £3.0m as restated);

• Operating margin increased to 16.7% (2004: 16.4% as restated) as
operational efficiencies improved following the acquisition of Numerica and
higher margin specialist services continue to be developed;

• Cash inflow from operating activities £4.1m (2004: £1.5m);

• Bank interest cover 5.3 times (2004: 6.4 times);

• Bank debt £30.4m (30 April 2005: £17.0m);

• Adjusted basic earnings per share increased by 91% to 8.46p (2004: 4.44p
as restated);

• Proposed interim dividend increased by 25% to 1.5p per share (2004: 1.2p);

• Net assets £29.7m (2004: £20.1m as restated); and

• Commenting on the results, Paul Gourmand, Chairman said:

Outlook

I am pleased to report that the Group has continued to perform in line with our
expectations since the period end. Prospects are encouraging in a broadly stable
market and we are well positioned for further growth as we continue our strategy
of selecting suitable businesses and teams of individuals from a strong pipeline
of opportunities.'

[golden cross] 11/1/2006 07:09

Good - The interims say just what we would expect them to say. No nasty surprises and the the chairman as usual appears bullish about the future. This company has really delivered solid share price performance for the last year and the Numerica deal seems to be settling in well. I can see no reason other than a lack of exposure as to why the share price should not continue to rise steadily. IMHO

[golden cross] 11/1/2006 06:49

Held these for over a year and hope today helps bring them the attention they deserve.

[mrpig] 10/1/2006 20:47

Results hopefully Tomorrow.
A lot of good buys today,
then a very interesting 35k trade after hours. Could be an eventful day the 11th.
regards mr.pig

[hearhear] 10/1/2006 09:44

OT - anyone from Bath or anywhere near like Bristol, Somerset etc (not relevant to others), please have a look at BPLC thread.

[egoi] 29/12/2005 11:08

Cheers. If anyone knows more, do tell.

[5later] 29/12/2005 10:09

Interims around 11 Jan. See post 128. This looks like a tipsheet move?

[mrpig] 29/12/2005 09:49

Golden Cross
It consolidated just above the £2 mark and now we are on a breakout and have hit record highs. One other thing last year interims were mid Dec, this year ?
were are they? has something leaked.

mr.pig

[golden cross] 29/12/2005 09:35

Nice break upwards developing today.

[egoi] 16/12/2005 13:54

Trying to breakout again.

[0rb1t] 27/11/2005 14:35

This is a bit old but worth reading as it shows what a great deal Vantis did with purchasing Numerica!

From www.accountancyage.com:

Advantage Vantis

On the frontline: Vantis' purchase of rival Numerica puts it ahead of the competition

Gavin Hinks, Accountancy Age, 16 May 2005

And then there were two. Vantis' purchase of all the share capital in Numerica last week saw the end of the consolidator triumvirate and the beginning of a new era with just two listed accountancy operators.

This deal may not be on the same scale as AOL's acquisition of TimeWarner, but in its own way, and to those of us with a professional interest in these matters, it represents the latest intriguing episode in the consolidators' battle for survival.

Absorbed by its smaller consolidator rival, and partly sold off to BDO Stoy Hayward, Numerica is effectively no more, after a deal that brings to an end a long period of difficulties for the consolidator.

And in that sense, Numerica had looked like a takeover target for some time. The real surprise is that Vantis made the move that sealed Numerica's fate, and not one of the larger mid-tier firms. BDO, as is well known, walked away from a deal with Numerica some time ago, citing the complexities involved in the company's particular problems.

The main players in this particular twist are Paul Jackson and Paul Ashton, Vantis' chief executive and executive director, respectively. Ashton is the man in charge of supervising Vantis' raison d'etre - or to put it another way, its mergers and acquisitions policy. That is, after all, what a consolidator does. He will have been at the forefront of negotiations and will carry responsibility for the deal that acquired Numerica's share capital for £15m of Vantis shares, and then sold on three Numerica offices to BDO for £12m in cash.
That's a neat deal and sees Vantis emerge with considerably more cash than was laid out, something CEO Jackson will no doubt be very pleased about. Accounts for the six months to October 2004 showed Vantis was carrying net debt of around £12m - a sum the BDO cash would settle very nicely. As long as Numerica shareholders don't elect en masse to take cash instead of shares, of course.
But it should come as no surprise that Ashton and Jackson appear to have sealed a fabulous deal for Vantis. Both have extensive experience and Ashton is described by those who know him as 'very stable and very able'.
Jackson has advised on flotations in a professional capacity and knows corporate finance inside out.

Jackson's chief difficulty will now be integrating Numerica into the Vantis apparatus. That may prove an onerous task given that Numerica is much bigger than any of the other Vantis acquisitions.

There's also the cultural problem of dealing with Numerica partners, who will have to adapt to being employees, and senior managers. This they will no doubt approach with some nervousness after an earlier, aborted attempt to do the same at Numerica.

That said, observers believe Jackson and Ashton are running the most promising of the consolidators. The key question will be how much time and effort will be needed to ensure this deal doesn't turn sour.

[0rb1t] 27/11/2005 14:32

I found this on AccountancyAge.com, the interims should be good:

Vantis expectations in line ahead of interims
Listed consolidator upbeat on future prospects as Numerica integration remains on track

Nicholas Neveling, Accountancy Age, 29 Sep 2005


Vantis chairman Paul Gourmand announced this morning that the Aim-listed consolidator is on track to grow turnover to £68.2m by the end of 2006.

Speaking at the group's AGM, Gourmand said there had been good progress across all areas of the business and that market prospects remained encouraging.

Gourmand said the integration of the Numerica six offices Vantis acquired in May was moving according to plan, and that the group would continue to consolidate the sector.

'Our growth strategy remains focused on acquisitions, team recruitment, integration, and the development of our service lines across the United Kingdom,' said Gourmand.

Vantis has been very successful in its consolidation of smaller accounting firms, reporting 59% growth in turnover to £37.7m for the year ended April 2005.

These results did not include the Numerica acquisition. Vantis broker Charles Stanley said that once the Numerica offices were added, turnover for the 2006 financial year would reach £68.2m.

Despite Vantis' impressive growth, it has come in for criticism from sole practitioners who have suggested that consolidators, such as Vantis and Tenon, are driven by creating shareholder value, which compromises service levels to small clients.

Vantis reports interim results for the half year to the end of October on 11 January 2006.

[egoi] 21/11/2005 16:25

QM, did you get in? Progressing nicely appears to have confirmed support base, looking to move up imho.

[egoi] 14/11/2005 16:26

Hi quickmind, I have been holding since results, (not for first time as you'll gather from me starting the thread, smashing company) nice little (cash) acquisition today. also sneaked in a trading update which says 'in line'. Thanks for the CS comments. Re the chart almost identical to early 2005, not long before the last breakout.

Vantis plc
('Vantis' or the 'Company')

Acquisition of the non-audit business of Booth Anderson Chester LLP

Vantis, the AIM quoted accountancy and professional advisory group, is pleased
to announce the acquisition of the non-audit business of Booth Anderson Chester
LLP ('BAC').

BAC is an established, five client partner general practice firm, based in
Harrow, north-west London.

All five client partners of the BAC team, plus support staff, will join Vantis'
City of London office. This will improve cost efficiencies and facilitate rapid
integration into Vantis. BAC will provide increased geographical coverage as
well as extra support to the Vantis offices in central London and throughout the
south of England.

The unaudited partnership accounts of BAC show that in the year ended 31 March
2005, BAC generated profits attributable to the members of £643,000 on turnover
of approximately £1.7 million.

The results include the audit business of BAC, which is not being acquired by
Vantis. The directors of Vantis estimate that the acquired non-audit turnover
amounts to approximately £1.6 million, from which Vantis expects a continuing
pre-tax contribution on an annualised basis of approximately £650,000 after
accounting for certain of the cost savings arising from the integration process.
After remuneration charges for the continuing members of BAC, Vantis anticipates
this level of contribution will be seen in the second full year following
acquisition.

The initial consideration for the acquisition will be £624,000 to be satisfied
in cash at completion. The balance of the consideration is payable in cash over
the next three years and is dependent upon the performance and growth
expectation of BAC over that period. The Board anticipates that the balance will
be approximately £1.7 million. The maximum total consideration for the
acquisition is capped at £3.5 million. The consideration includes the fixed
assets of BAC, but excludes work in progress, which is to be acquired at cost,
but payable when BAC receives the fees arising.

Commenting on the acquisition, Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of Vantis, said:

'We are delighted to welcome BAC's partners and team into the Vantis group. BAC
is a successful and established accounting and business advisory services firm.
BAC brings business opportunities and an experienced, motivated team to Vantis
enabling us to strengthen our range of services and extend our geographical
reach. BAC will operate from existing Vantis offices in the City of London and
will be an integral part of the group's development in the South East.

We are also pleased to report that the Group continues to perform in line with
management expectations in the current financial year and the integration of
Numerica continues to progress in accordance with plan