Xaar Share Discussion Threads

[she-ra] 31/8/2018 12:30

Probably the worst tip ever by The Telegraph; I was suspicious as it almost sounded apologetic. However it helped prop it up for this warning. Had there not been the tip I'm sure it would be much lower by now. It was as though they knew this was on the horizon.

Revenues have collapsed. I see the current valuation as still far too high.

[meijiman] 31/8/2018 08:57

Being a shareholder here is like a slow motion car crash. most of the present issues were visible some years ago but were not addressed then...now the company seems to be fire fighting to stay alive.

[trjones2] 31/8/2018 07:55

nothing apart from the biggest 2 losers of the day

[papillon] 30/8/2018 23:31

??????????????? What's CRAW got to do with XAR?

[smithie6] 30/8/2018 12:06

My view ?

Avoid..

It had a great time making profits a few years ago...
..rns says things are tough

Those that bt thinking profit mountain/wave would be sure to repeat with new products were way over optimistic; glad I wasn't one.

Crawshaw.... Also over optimistic investors....

How ppl ever got excited about a business selling meat in the high st....beats me. Nuts.

[meijiman] 30/8/2018 10:33

Shambolic state of affairs here.

[varies] 30/8/2018 09:13

Questor won't be feeling quite as foolish as I do, having paid 311p for purchases on 15 & 18 July ! His point about the risk of buying into a stock after a profit warning has been only too well illustrated.
I am tempted all the same to buy a few more shares but may need a stiff drink first.

[masurenguy] 30/8/2018 08:57

Don't be a slabber !

[volsung] 30/8/2018 08:25

The DT must be scundered

[pugugly] 30/8/2018 07:20

2nd or is it 3rd profit warning-

Likely (imo) to be near top of top list losers today.

[rogerrail] 24/8/2018 19:06

I also can see this going the same way as many other similar UK technology and engineering companies, a nice little bolt on acquisition for a US company flush with cash backed by a strong dollar.

[amt] 14/8/2018 07:38

Yes I would think it will be bought out.

[robow] 31/7/2018 08:39

from The Daily Telegraph
Questor share tip: buy Xaar, a technology leader with global reach





31 JULY 2018 • 6:46AM

Piling into a stock after a profit warning is always an exercise that comes with risk, especially as such disappointments tend to come along like buses, in packs and never alone.

Anyone of a nervous disposition may therefore wish to stop reading now, or perhaps wait a little to see if another profit warning emerges from Xaar before they do any further research on the company.

Patient investors who are willing – and able – to suffer losses in pursuit of portfolio gains, on the other hand, may be tempted to have a look now, given that the shares are languishing at levels last seen in late 2014.

Cambridge-headquartered Xaar is a global leader in digital inkjet printing, and provides industrial inkjet printheads and industrial 3D printing systems, as well as ink systems and services to optimise ink flow.

Client industries include 3D printing, textiles, packaging, ceramics, advanced manufacturing and the graphic arts.


Xaar’s customers are able to customise the printheads to differentiate their services to their own clients, by firing substantially higher volumes of liquid, by operating at much higher speeds, or by laying down intricate and higher-quality designs on different surfaces, such as codes, batch numbers and markers for the packaging industry.

Last year, Asia accounted for around half of the company’s sales, America a fifth and Europe, the Middle East and Africa the remainder, so Xaar truly operates on the world stage.

To foster its competitive position and enable it to sell on the basis of technological edge and not just price, the firm spent £12m, or 12pc of sales, on research and development in 2017.

This is all part of the “Vision 2020” plan laid down by Doug Edwards, the chief executive, who took the helm in early 2015.

The goal was to take sales to £220m by 2020 and then £525m by 2025. These targets have proved tougher to achieve than hoped, however.

Revenue peaked at £137m in 2013, when operating profit topped out at £40m as Xaar capitalised on a boom in demand for printing on ceramic tiles and laminates from China in particular. Since then, the market has begun to move away from ceramics and Chinese demand has cooled, leaving Edwards and his team to develop new markets and manage the transition towards “thin film” printheads.

These challenges help to explain May’s profit warning as ceramics sales have been slower than hoped in 2018, and adoption rates for new products and technologies are proving unpredictable.

But Xaar has been here before. Product cycles, or demand from particular countries, drove huge rises in earnings in 2006-07 and 2011-13, for example. In the latter case, operating margins reached 29pc (compared with the 8pc‑10pc now expected by analysts for 2018), and earnings per share reached 41.9p (against the 9.2p predicted for 2018).

The lowly numbers for this year explain why the stock looks so expensive on nearly 30 times earnings. Any recovery in sales and margins towards the 2013 highs – let alone the 2020 and 2025 targets – would leave the shares looking very cheap.

There are clear risks. Trading visibility is low at the moment and history shows that profits can be volatile – operating profit has fallen year on year nine times and risen eight times since 2000.

But Xaar has a £44.7m net cash pile so it can continue to invest and position itself for the future without having any banks on its back.

This buys management valuable time, which is a good thing as analysts expect a further drop in profits for 2018 and possibly 2019 too, and it means that investors can also afford to be patient.

The next scheduled news is due at the interims on Sept 5.

There is a chance of further near-term profit disappointment but Xaar could just as easily be targeted by an overseas predator on the hunt for a technology leader.

Questor says: buy

Ticker: XAR

Share price at close: 250p

[shieldbug] 12/7/2018 13:38

I am not a holder of Xaar but have an interest in 3D printing. The high speed SLS that they are developing looks very similar to the HP Fusion Jet printing. Both print a dark Heat absorbing) liquid onto the surface of a powder substrate (usually Nylon) and then use a heat source to sinter (melt) the printed area. This produces a grey/black Nylon part. It is a bit faster than traditional SLS but unlikely to produce as strong or detailed a part. TCT magazine is reporting "The new company will leverage Xaar’s High Speed Sintering technology and industrial piezo inkjet printheads, along with Stratasys' commercial and market expertise."

Personally I would like to see Xaar develop printheads for use in Polyjet printers similar to the ones Stratasys already make and preferably in competition. Their collaboration with BASF to develop photo polymer jetting looked as though that might be happening.

[varies] 12/7/2018 09:56

I have had a quick look at Stratasys and Autodesk (referred to in my previous post).
Stratasys has proved a poor investment over the last 5 years, down from $111 to $20 and is currently loss-making. Even so it has a market cap of c$10 billion.
Autodesk has a market cap of c$30 billion; I have not looked any further.
I have much more work to do !

[varies] 12/7/2018 09:32

No details are given of what Stratasys is contributing to the joint venture in return for its 15% and rights to a further 15%.
I have fond memories of DELCAM, an AIM company taken over a few years ago by the Americans at a handsome price. I think the buyer was called Autoserve or perhaps Autodesk and it was a leader in 3D printing.
As Tonsil says, the Americans are keen on this business and I expect that Stratasys shares sell on a P/E of about 30 with a very high market cap. I am going to look on their web-site for further information.

[tonsil] 12/7/2018 08:06

So XAR forms a partnership with leading 3D printing company and . . . Nothing!Wait til the US opens this will be more interesting to the US where 3D manufacturing is still hot

[volsung] 29/6/2018 13:36

Nice divi payment in the day

[amt] 28/6/2018 19:41

Because the IP is very valuable.

[she-ra] 28/6/2018 13:24

Why all of a sudden is it going to get taken over?

Things are set to get worse.

[my retirement fund] 28/6/2018 09:38

Its rare to come up with a unique process that can be patented. Most advances are made by small incremental improvements and additions to pre existing technology and any avenues for patents are then very constricted and often end up serving more for marketing and sales patter than anything else.

[renewed1] 28/6/2018 09:29

What I never understand with Xaar is that they spend a fortune on research and development come up with great new products that are patented but within 18 months they have competition from cheaper products.If its that easy to copy without infringing patents why do they spend so much on R & D?

[amt] 27/6/2018 21:09

The IP alone is probably worth more than market cap. That's what someone will be after.