Vp Share Discussion Threads

[hazelton] 06/2/2006 23:40

I find things like Vantage Point hard to believe. Why sell it when if it worked then you could use it. There must be other requirements for it to work well.

[edmundshaw] 02/2/2006 11:06

I've reduced at these levels. Only hold 20% of what I did... seems fairly fully valued now; so I've moved to opportunities elsewhere. Still, if you believe in the company and its prospects, there could be more to come.

[paulf99] 20/1/2006 11:42

Yes I still hold and very happy to continue doing so. Whether to top up at these levels is another question.

[vernkel] 18/1/2006 22:03

Any holders still? Now around £2.70?

(tumble weed, tumble weed...)

[vernkel] 20/12/2005 22:36

I found these on a simple stock screen in 2004. So far have been more than happy. Bought in around £1.20 and have had steady growth from the share, together with a reasonable dividend. Would probably say that this is one of those shares that you just get pleasure from owning.. the hare and tortoise scenario. BTW I have checked these out again on the same screen and they still look probably the most attractive share on there.. and supported by a reasonable dividend/ dividend cover.

[welsheagle] 19/12/2005 21:50

Shares magazine mentioned a target price of 350p this week.

[welsheagle] 19/12/2005 21:48

Investors Chronicle last week mentioned low PE ratio, and considers thar recent acquisitions have not been factored ino the price.

[call-logger] 15/11/2005 01:12

This man has

[lurkalot] 15/11/2005 00:27

Has any body else seen this software?

[lurkalot] 14/11/2005 17:42

Hi,

I guess that is a no then.

Did you proceed with this in the end? And if so how have you found it?

[paulf99] 07/11/2005 19:44

That's good news. Quite a high price to pay considering the size of Trax and its historic profits - hopefully VP management can make more of Trax than leaving it as stand alone company, if so that should justify the price.

[welsheagle] 07/11/2005 07:46

RNS Number:7061T
Vp PLC
07 November 2005


Press Release 7 November 2005


Vp plc


("Vp" or "the Group")


Acquisition of Trax Portable Access Limited (TPA) for #11.5 million


Vp plc, the equipment rental specialist, today announces the acquisition of the
entire issued share capital of Trax Portable Access Limited, for an initial cash
consideration of #11.5 million. Additional consideration up to a maximum of
#7.93 million may be payable dependent upon the financial performance of the
company in each of the three years commencing 1st January 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The management team, who owned a significant minority stake in TPA, will remain
with the business and will continue to be led by Managing Director, Dale
Robinson, who has many years' experience in this sector. The consideration will
be payable from Vp's banking facilities and TPA will operate as a separate
division within Vp.


TPA is a leading supplier of portable roadway systems, bridging, fencing and
barriers primarily in the UK, but also in Ireland and mainland Europe. The
markets served by TPA include the UK and European events market, construction,
telecommunications, rail and power transmission.


For the year ended 31st December 2004, TPA reported profits before tax of #1.16
million on turnover of #6.32 million. Gross and net assets at 31st December
2004 were #8.22 million and #1.56 million respectively.


With over 80 employees and operating from locations in Worksop and London, TPA
has a strong reputation for product innovation, recognised by the securing of
the Queen's Award for Innovation in 2005.


Jeremy Pilkington, Chairman of Vp plc, commented: "TPA is a well run business
led by a management team we believe are capable of developing the business
further. TPA enjoys a strong market position and employs the same core skills
of asset management that are common to all Vp businesses. We believe TPA
represents an ideal sixth business stream to compliment the Group's existing
activities."


Dale Robinson, Managing Director of TPA, said: "TPA has built a successful
business with strong customer support and solid foundations for future growth.
We look forward to working with Vp to build on TPA's success and take the
company to its next stage of development."


- Ends -

[simon gordon] 05/10/2005 17:59

Hi Paul

I have stopped researching VP.

I was put off by family holding and lack of liquidity.

Good fortune!

[welsheagle] 01/10/2005 19:04

From August's 'Company Refs', when price was 210p:-
a/ Prospective PE ratio of 12.2 (based on five broker forecasts, three recommending 'buy', and two recommending 'hold').
b/ Forecast growth in eps of 19.4%.
c/ Two directors buying recently.
d/ Price to sales ratio of 1.09.
e/ Turnover up from £59.8m to £90m in last five years.
f/ Cash flow of 32.1p per share.
g/ Dividend yield of 3.18%.

Overall these compare favourably with the rest of the market.

[paulf99] 30/9/2005 13:11

Simon

Interested in your views on the growth potential for VP - given the large Ackers shareholding, are VP limited to growth based purely on surplus they can build up out of income or extra borrowing? Presumably Ackers wouldn't countenance a rights issue to fund growth (assuming VP saw a suitable opportunity) because of the size of the cash call which would fall on them, or risk dilution below 50% - neither of which courses of action would presumably suit their interests? In which case is VP likely to be left behind as some of its rivals grow faster? Any thoughts?

Paul

[simon gordon] 30/9/2005 08:23

Paul - I forgot about the AGM as I was focused on AUG which is also local and at the time looked more promising.

Good fortune!

[welsheagle] 30/9/2005 07:55

Trading Statement

RNS Number:9875R
Vp PLC
30 September 2005


Press Release 30 September 2005


Vp plc

("Vp" or "the Group")

Trading Statement


Vp plc, the equipment rental specialist, today issues the following trading
update in advance of its Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September
2005, which are to be announced on 1 December 2005.


During the period, trading for the Group has been satisfactory and is in line
with expectations.


Hire Station


Hire Station, our tools and specialist products business, is recovering well and
trading profitably. The integration of the Pivotal Services safety products and
training business, acquired in July 2005, is progressing as planned.


Groundforce


Prospects from the new AMP4 five year water infrastructure programme are
encouraging and should start to impact trading volumes positively in the second
half. As anticipated, Groundforce has experienced lower workloads as AMP3 has
drawn to a close. Demand from Groundforce's other markets remains strong.


Torrent Trackside


Torrent Trackside has experienced some reduction in activity following the
restructuring of Network Rail's maintenance plant contract. Torrent is making
progress in developing alternative customers and markets.


Airpac Oilfield Services


Airpac Oilfield Services has enjoyed a steady start to the year and the forward
order book for the remainder of the year is encouraging.


UK Forks


UK Forks has traded well and has made good progress in securing further
preferred supplier arrangements.


Outlook


Overall, the Group is pleased with the performance for the first six months and
look forward to a satisfactory outcome to deliver another year of growth in line
with management expectations.

[paulf99] 12/9/2005 12:42

FWIW - a bit of gossip over on TMF about VP indicates some improvement in one (unnamed) area of the business

[paulf99] 10/9/2005 13:03

Simon

Did you go to the AGM? What were your impressions?

[stoic warrior] 25/8/2005 17:42

I've been investigating a number of trading platforms & software packages for trading assistance, especially those trained on intermarket relationships using AI & neural networks. One I've shortlisted is Vantage Point.

Anyone here with any hands-on experience they can share?

[paulf99] 13/8/2005 19:30

Simon

It will be most interesting to have your feedback after the AGM.

Ackers is established (presumably) to provide protection from unwanted take-overs of VP. Which means the situation is unlikely to change, at least as long as Pilkington is active (which presumably is likely to be a long time). As the AR describes Ackers as the holding company for VP, is it worth asking the board of VP what they understand to be Ackers' expectations for the company and hence what performance Ackers are requiring from the VP board?

Also, do they see themselves as opportunity-limited or are there more opportunities to grow the company by acquisition than they can afford to do?

[simon gordon] 13/8/2005 13:34

Just started looking at VP.

Brewin forecasts:

03/06
PBT - 10.5m
EPS - 16.5
DPS - 6.3
P/E - 12.4

03/07
PBT - 12.1m
EPS - 19
DPS - 7
P/E - 10.7

Brewin reckon VP want to get gearing up to 50%. I think it is around 10% now.

If they spend 40m and get say 6m in PBT then pay 6% interest on 50m = 3m. They could add 3m to total PBT.

They could also sell Hire Station and re-deploy the capital into niche areas, letting the market consolidate - rather than let capital stagnate.

The most critical and negative factor for this stock is the Ackers 51% shareholding. Leading to a lack of liquidity and an institutional aversion to being a shareholder. VP is a quasi PLC.

As they are based near to me I will go to the AGM and I'll report back. If you have any questions, post them and I will put them to the board.

[green sand] 01/5/2005 11:45

Morning Bird, good post. Eps 10% as per below, info from April REFS. I hope the table transposes OK.


2005 ESTIMATES 2006 ESTIMATES
Broker Date Rec Pbt Eps Dps Pbt Eps Dps
T & G Jun-04 BUY+ 9.50 15.3+ 5.50+ 11.0 17.7 6.20
Numis Dec-04 HOLD 9.60 15.2 5.30 10.5 16.6 5.70
Brewin Jan-05 BUY 9.50 15.1– 5.50 10.5 16.5+ 6.00
Finn Feb-05 HOLD 9.30+ 15.0+ 5.50 10.5 16.5 6.00
Consens 9.50 15.1 5.50 10.5 16.5 6.00

Good luck

GS

[bird of dawning] 30/4/2005 19:47

As Vibroplant appear to have a free cash flow of £8.19m (margin: 18%) and ROCE: 7.35% with net debt:£3.5m and gearing:£22.5m then they look to be on the best side of any sector shakeout.

Incidentally, VP.is also selling at a discount to its intrinsic value (value in a private sale) using legendary value investor Benjamin Grahams' 1970's basic formula for calculating intrinsic value: E = (2R + 8.5) x 4.4/y where E = historic earnings, R = rate of prospective earnings growth (Yahoo finance), 8.5 is Graham's estimate of a no, or low growth p/e. The y is UK corporate bond yield (Economist stats.). All this pans out as £0.1459( 2x6.24% + 8.5) x 4.4/5.23% result: £2.58 intrinsic share price.

I don't quite understand where the above mentioned (post 298) eps growth of 10% originates. I've used the average analysts eps estimate 2004/5 (Yahoo Finance). However, using the former 10% figure and running it through the above calc, will result in a £3.50 intrinsic share price. Vibroplant looks like value c/w growth to me!
Regards
bod

[green sand] 06/4/2005 16:52

Just found the following in the Contract Journal

"Analysis finds 265 hire firms are "struggling"

"Plimsoll Publishing's latest analysis highlights 477 cash-rich plant hire companies and 265 acquisition prospects.
The cash-rich companies are making pre-tax profit margins of 4%, while the potential targets are making a 5.5% pre-tax loss.
Debts on loss making companies amount to 9% of sales, and David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll, said these companies will find it difficult to trade their way out of their current position.
"By acquiring and clearing the debts of any one of these struggling companies, a cash-rich firm can become the owner of a profitable business" he said"

Points to some more consolidation in the sector

GS