Vianet Share Discussion Threads

[zipstuck] 15/5/2023 11:49

Looks like a really positive acquisition and finally a decent foothold in US.

[sleepy] 04/5/2023 19:49

May have been the Journalists mistake?

[masurenguy] 04/5/2023 14:01

"Brulines, the cellar monitoring equipment supplier, had a difficult time with pub closures but it’s swinging back now. Its tech remotely monitors and records the total volume of liquid that passes through the beer lines 24 hours a day at around a third of UK pubs. The tech is unique and advanced: they are now a significant player in monitoring vending machines in the UK and US."
Lord Lee: 4 May 2023: MoneyWeek.

LOL - he obviously overlooked the fact that Brulines changed its name to Vianet 11 years ago ! Nevertheless he is still a shrewd investor. 👍

[jeffian] 22/3/2023 15:31

"the really good news is that this diversifies VNET away from pubs and shows that there is growth potential."

To be fair, they have been diversifying from pubs since about 2011! Even in a struggling and declining pub sector, the core 'Brulines' business will remain a significant and relatively stable revenue base because pubs will not disappear altogether and the monitoring equipment has proved to be such an important management tool that it will always be required. Hopefully, the vending businesses will provide the growth on top of this.

[bouleversee] 15/3/2023 22:57

Yes, I have an awful lot which have gone down and I fear some may never come up again.

[jeffian] 15/3/2023 19:18

I think, despite various government (UK, US, Swiss etc) assurances, the fear of contagion is in the air. They said Lehman was a little local difficulty....until it wasn't. Frankly, I can't understand how the Italian banking system doesn't come crashing down but of course the ECB has to go on doing extraordinary things to prevent that because a major collapse would probably be the end of their beloved Euro.

The market is nervy and it is looking for any potential scare to dip further. There's nothing wrong with VNET but all ships go down on a falling tide so you might need to be brave for a while yet.

IMO, as they say.

[bouleversee] 15/3/2023 16:41

I know, J. If I knew how to put an emoji on here I would had one laughing. Hopefully, things will start to buck up though I was surprised to see the market has continued its downward track even after the budget which I thought, added to the bank t/o would have turned things round but then I know nothing.

[jeffian] 15/3/2023 15:35

b,
to be fair, given the mayhem of the past few days caused by the SVB banking collapse and the possible risk of contagion, a share price standing still is a pretty positive result!

[bouleversee] 15/3/2023 13:08

Doesn't look as though the news has filtered through to the market yet.

[zipstuck] 15/3/2023 12:52

Good budget news today.

11p duty cut on draft beer. Ill drink to that

[jeffian] 12/1/2023 14:33

There's life in the old dog yet!

[bouleversee] 07/12/2022 12:22

Thanks also to Casholaa.

Good to see share price moving in right direction today.

[bouleversee] 07/12/2022 12:20

Thanks, Jeffian. I never knew that. Just tried it so hope you received OK. Envelope barely visible on my laptop.

[jeffian] 06/12/2022 22:26

bouleversee,

Scroll to the top of the page and just under the ADVFN logo on the left hand side next to "Logout" you'll see an envelope sign. Click on that and it'll take you to private messages.

[jeffian] 06/12/2022 22:23

Don't worry, bouleversee, nothing inappropriate there! They were basically very optimistic, believing that their technology is ahead of any competition and they are clawing their way back from the after-effects of Covid, including expecting to pay off their Govt Covid-support loans shortly. They are cash-generative and expect to be paying divis again from July 2023. Smart Machines growing like crazy, particularly since Covid has limited human-interaction, and their technology gives clients more information and control than any other.

I've been a long-term holder here since Brulines days, although I haven't exactly bet the farm. Just going to leave it there and see how things progress.

[casholaa] 06/12/2022 21:25

There's an 'edit' link for each post ---> "bouleversee 6 Dec '22 - 20:26 - 946 of 948 Edit"

[bouleversee] 06/12/2022 20:28

Oh dear! I thought I was sending a private message. Someone please remind me how to do that.

[bouleversee] 06/12/2022 20:26

My CH has packed up as has my dishwasher and everything else, including my lungs, is either on the blink or totally caput so no time for the webinar or having time to listen to a recording. Any chance of a quick summary and opinion for this aged widow whose wealth is disappearing down the plughole at a rate of knots?

[jeffian] 06/12/2022 09:42

Reminder that there is an investor presentation today at 10.30 (see link above). You can access a recorded version later if you miss it.

[zipstuck] 06/12/2022 08:05

Neutral

Bit aerly to invest for me - still loss making, no growth in pubs. In debt ATM.

[jeffian] 18/11/2022 12:08

I find these investor presentations very good.

[galeforce1] 02/9/2022 06:58

Illsi - thanks. That’s all very interesting and helpful.

[illiswilgig] 01/9/2022 12:49

I don't disagree. Right now anything to derail the recovery is a seriously bad thing. It's certain;y the general perception that Smartzones produces much higher profits than smartmachines.

I've taken a look at the segmental profits from the recent FY results to March22.

Smartzones FY22 1.75m
Smartmachines FY22 1.588m

*taken from note3 of the results - and excluded corporate/technology amortisation

Whereas at the H1 results it was not as close

Smartzones H1 22 0.952m
Smartmachines H1 22 0.573m

which means, if I've got my adding up right - always debatable - that profitability reversed in H2:

Smartzones H2 22 0.798m
Smartmachines H2 22 1.015m

That's better than I expected. And the rate of increase in profit at smartmachines is remarkable. I agree that its nowhere near enough to take up the slack, but it's not the case that smartzones has produced much more of the profit in the last year.

It will be very interesting to see what progress smartmachines has made in the upcoming H1 results. If they can continue this trend - it's been a long time coming - and I am always wary that if there is another banana skin to slip on - they will find it!

There is certainly a high risk that a lot of pubs will shut in the coming months. But which ones?

As a rough finger in the air Vianet has connections to around 20% of the 47,000 UK pubs - and not all of Vianets connectionsa are to pubs, some are bars/hospitality venues. I perceive that the independent/gastropub/small chains are most vulnerable at the moment? Smartzones is mainly contracted with pubcos and brewery large estates. Some of these will be tenanted - I have no idea how many or how likely they will be to close. If there is a wholesale closure of pubs in the coming months I think there is a good chance it will be mainly outside of smartzones connections.

But what do I know? Not a lot. Any pubs shutting right now is bad news - but the reaction of the share price is overdone in my view. Ironically European gas prices have fallen 30% in the last week (source - trading economics) I'll be waiting until the share price stabilises but if it falls much further I shall be tempted to add a few more.

cheers

[celeritas] 01/9/2022 10:46

Smart zones which brings in the lions share are really going to suffer with pub closures.. Smart machines just isn't ready to take up the slack yet..