Vp Share Discussion Threads

[deadly] 17/10/2012 12:34

Breaking out to new highs now, perhaps due to good news from house builders recently.

[edmundshaw] 10/9/2012 17:36

VP a class outfit over the last several years. I have held for three periods, first lasting 2.5 years, then for 1 year and for 6 months, always profitably and always with a nice yield.

I only sold out in July as the price was approaching fair, the economy in question and I thought I saw a better investment; but £4+ should be a do-able target if the customers stay willing. Good luck holders - until I rejoin you again :-)

[deadly] 10/9/2012 10:46

thanks for that - certainly has made an impact; up 8% today!

From the recent IMS:

20 August 2012

In the AGM statement issued on 18 July 2012, the Group reported that the new
financial year had started well and was in line with management's expectations.
This trend has continued. The businesses acquired from Balfour Beatty Group in
July 2012 are integrating well within Vp. Despite challenging markets, the
Group continues to identify and secure new opportunities.

This promising start to the new financial year, coupled with the Group's
continued balance sheet strength and diversity of activity, provides the Board
with confidence that Vp will deliver further satisfactory results in the current
financial year.

[mail2] 09/9/2012 08:55

Equipment rental specialist Vp is forging ahead despite unsettled economic conditions. The company's record is impressive, the management team is ambitious and the shares should rise.
The firm is also taking City analysts to see some of its operations this Wednesday and a series of meetings with brokers has been arranged over the next few weeks, which should give the stock a further boost.


Read more:

[edmundshaw] 09/7/2012 17:03

Sorry, that does not add up. Assuming that is in fact £30k of net buys, the rise is too big, so there may be an incomplete order being worked.

Could be anything of course, but the buyer seems happy to buy at quite full prices.

[grahamburn] 09/7/2012 16:40

Might just be a pre-ex-dividend date rise, though, if it is, it's a pretty dramatic one. The overall volume is significantly up on the usual average daily level recently, but, apart from a couple of trades, the individual trade sizes are fairly insignificant.

[ed 123] 09/7/2012 16:33

What are you wondering?

[edmundshaw] 09/7/2012 16:07

Rats. No dip.

On the other hand a nice (and unexpected) rise. Makes me wonder...

[edmundshaw] 30/5/2012 09:16

Shhhhh! I want it to dip over the summer to accumulate a few more...

[deadly] 29/5/2012 23:07

What excellent results again; the company's management are one of the most competent around.

And therefore of course it is ignored by most ADVFN punters.

Highlights

* Record revenues with excellent organic growth

* Revenues increased by 16% to GBP163.6 million (2011: GBP141.0 million)

* Profit before amortisation, exceptional items and tax increased 16% to
GBP16.0 million (2011: GBP13.8 million)

* Basic earnings per share pre-amortisation and exceptional items, increased
by 18% to 30.8 pence (2011: 26.1 pence)

* Proposed final dividend of 8.25 pence per share, an increase of 7.1%,
making a total of 11.35 pence for the full year (2011: 10.80 pence)

* Capital investment in fleet of GBP32.1 million and net debt broadly
unchanged at GBP40.4 million

* Post year end GBP7.8 million returned to shareholders by way of tender offer

* Solid balance sheet with strong operational cashflows

[edmundshaw] 24/5/2012 21:42

Upswing in N. Sea activity good for VP's oil services arm I'd think:

The North Sea is experiencing a strong revival in drilling following the new tax breaks set by the UK government, leading to a renewed interest in the region by oil majors BP and Total, and Norway's energy giant Statoil.

The so called 'dash for gas' race to feed the new investment in gas fired power generation may well be adding extra lustre to the attraction of Ithaca's assets.

North Sea Revival - Lloyd's List today

North Sea oil and gas production is diminishing as reserves from mature wells shrink, but new UK tax laws are injecting a fresh impetus to eke out the last drops from existing wells and open up new deepwater drilling opportunities.

The previous tax regime was unfavourable to oil companies. As a result, oil and gas production plummeted by 17% in 2011 compared with 2010. The number of exploration wells drilled was down by as much as 50% on 2010 as companies took their business elsewhere. People even started to call the North Sea the "Dead Sea".

The UK government realised its mistake and changed the tax regime this year, largely to encourage drilling in the last undeveloped frontier of the North Sea, the deepwater fields west of the Shetland Islands.

The government also gave tax relief certainty on the decommissioning of old platforms. This will allow oil majors to decommission old infrastructure at reasonable expense, allowing smaller companies to take over and squeeze out the last few barrels from old fields.

Oil analysts say these tax changes could lead to £40bn ($64bn) of new investments in the North Sea. Big international players such as BP, Total and Statoil are now interested in oil and gas from the North Sea again.

"Vessel activity, particularly subsea construction vessels, in the North Sea region is certainly very high for this time of year, which of course is always a good sign," says Steve Gibson, director of oil and gas for GAC UK, a shipping and marine services company.

Alongside high oil prices and tax incentives, improved technology in oil and gas recovery methods have contributed to the North Sea revival, he adds.

Stepping on the Gas - Lloyd's List today

Critics have been quick to attack the UK's draft energy bill published this week, claiming the lack of firm long-term government subsidies for low carbon electricity generation creates an uncertain investment landscape.

Nevertheless, the bill is a welcome step forward for offshore shipping, which stands to benefit as North Sea gas production ramps up in the coming years to feed the new gas-fired power plants that will replace polluting coal plants and provide back-up for intermittent wind energy.

The southern part of the North Sea has historically specialised in gas production not oil, so this is where platform supply vessels can expect to be deployed, potentially seeing daily earnings rise as demand for their services grows.

Jack-up rigs can also look forward to more North Sea activity as the so-called dash for gas gathers pace.

The situation is a far cry from how the North Sea was viewed just six months ago. The so-called dead sea saw investment and production plummet as harsh tax rules spooked the international energy majors and sent them to explore for hydrocarbons in more favourable economic climes.

But this year UK politicians have handed out tax breaks to encourage investment and drilling and now the draft energy bill lays out in black and white how serious they are about building new gas-fired power plants and moving the UK closer to the holy grail of energy security.

This involves finding more gas in the UK's North Sea waters. The International Energy Agency's forecast of a golden age of gas now seems to be moving closer to reality.

[crawfish123] 11/2/2012 19:25

I was pleased to see this buy back proposal, considering this year's earnings and the on going reduction in gearing, its a good use of funds. Positive impact on eps next year is also good news.
Hopefully this will be a regular occurrence...
I will not be taking them up on their offer, but i hope everyone else does!

[sleepy] 10/2/2012 15:32

I don't claim to be uptodate on UK tax but I though dividends paid by a UK company to a UK company were tax free so Anders P the parent would not have to pay any tax on its VP dividend income

[adeg] 10/2/2012 15:21

I'm not trying to be cynical, I think they have done it this way as it more tax efficient to extract funds from the company as a capital gain than dividend income for the majority shareholder.

Only time will tell if it was the right decision. I won't be participating as my target price is over £3.

[edmundshaw] 10/2/2012 14:18

A bit cynical adeg. Also CGT will be 28% not 18%. Also I don't believe Entrepreneurs Relief would be available, as the company is not likely to be wound up, and I don't see another way he could use ER.

More likely, I would think, is there is a major shareholder who would like to sell down at a reasonable price that is also viewed as reasonable by the board, or the company wants to buy back shares but the market is too illiquid for an on-market program. Or both...

[adeg] 10/2/2012 11:13

So Mr Pilkington can take his dividend and pay income tax at 42.5%.

Or he can pay capital gains tax at a flat rate of 18%.

He may even be able to claim Entrepreneurs relief and pay no tax at all.

It looks to me like good tax advice for the major shareholder & Chairman.

[edmundshaw] 10/2/2012 09:53

With 7% fewer shares, does that mean the next year's dividend will be up 7%? (at no extra cost) :-)

[deadly] 10/2/2012 09:23

Nice tender offer, instead of enhanced divi.

[edmundshaw] 07/2/2012 11:09

Hm. "significantly" or "materially" is usually use dfor over 10%. I am thinking though that with 2 months of the half still to go, there must be some room for a change to that forecast.

It is a good sign to get an ahead statement, though, with 2 months of the period to go.

[jimbox1] 07/2/2012 10:45

"Moderately above current market expectations. . ." should mean more than 10% above consensus forecasts, I believe. Maybe there will be scope for a dividend increase. Let's hope so.

[edmundshaw] 07/2/2012 09:20

Everything except general construction seems to be fine. We still have "outlook for the economy remains uncertain", but we also have a secure yield of nearly 5% and a low historic PER.

Looking at the last 5 years:

Basic EPS p 17.49 24.40 36.09 36.41 24.68
DPS ----- p _6.60 _8.25 10.50 10.80 10.80

I would expect a good economic recovery to produce earnings of 35p plus, and the dividend to get back on a growth track. I am not saying we will do that well this year, but clearly with 18p odd earnings in H1 and a good statement, we are headed in the right direction.

[jon l] 07/2/2012 08:25

Today's trading statement is the most upbeat from this company in a few years. Normally the language is very sober, even cautious, so "moderately above current market expectations" is strong stuff.

[jbtrend2] 10/1/2012 21:49

VP PLC
10/01/12 18:48
Arbuthnot
Initiates/Starts
Buy
2
300.00
300
2

[edmundshaw] 15/12/2011 14:22

So that's 6.37% of shares bought back altogether.

The last buyback is 3.73% of non-treasury shares.

Of course, the shares are not cancelled and can be re-used (eg for an acquisition). But this plus a c.5% yield shows how cheap this company is. Also shows confidence that cashflow is not any kind of issue.