Zotefoams Share Discussion Threads

[exbroker] 22/4/2014 14:42

What is more exciting in the short term is they are getting big enough to go into the All share index in June, if they pass for liquidity.

[battlebus2] 22/4/2014 14:08

Hi janeann it's been a long but profitable hold for me since the mid sixties but what a break through today. Although contrairy to me reducing my portfolio I bought some as soon as the news was released.
I didn't know you were a holder.

[janeann] 22/4/2014 13:35

morning battlebus; yes very positive announcement, nice jump in price, and future looks good, especially after 2015 when exclusivity to Unilver is waived. Been a long slow process to get here though!

[battlebus2] 22/4/2014 12:53

Great news for ZTF and Unilever. Should lead to lots of additional orders. :))

[emeraldzebra] 27/3/2014 13:32

many thanks

[exbroker] 27/3/2014 08:45

There is a new broker buyer giving 225.54 that .54 or 20bps comm would suggest that it is for his in house fund manager so it could be Giles Hargreaves or it could be one of a number of others.

[emeraldzebra] 26/3/2014 12:00

big vol today - is there a reason behind the good kick up in price ? i am v unobservant so have probably missed the obvious for which apols to all...

[exbroker] 24/3/2014 22:45

I wish I could but I am not interested as I dont have to spend my time apologizing to important clients that this stack has gone down and down and down....The analyst used to believe in Santa!!

[battlebus2] 24/3/2014 12:23

The trol as you put it made me laugh, I believe it's turning the corner but if you can share anymore thoughts exbroker I would appreciate them.

[exbroker] 24/3/2014 12:20

The Trol as we used to call it! Bird flu was the only reason the price ever went up!Sorry off topic!

[battlebus2] 24/3/2014 12:19

Yep good to see these continue to rise. This is a long term hold for me as with BYOT but like this in time we will see significant gains for shareholders some of which have no patience.

[emeraldzebra] 24/3/2014 12:12

makes a nice change from byotrol - Battlebus2 ? !!

[exbroker] 19/3/2014 15:43

hxxp://versalite.com/

And how do the do this you ask?????

[exbroker] 19/3/2014 15:29

They have been doing the rounds, and continue to.
I have seen them today and they are very positive about both the HPP and MuCell divisions. They are both a bit dour normally so this was a pleasant change, there is no stock in the market and several buyers so it is heading back to a more realistic level. I have a lot of theses so am pleased and relaxed as one day they will be taken over, but the longer that takes the more I will make when it does!

[battlebus2] 19/3/2014 11:38

Reality of the improved situation in the results sinking in :))

[exbroker] 18/3/2014 09:22

From Charles Stanley one of the Brokers

Destocking now in the past
Whilst the outlook for HPP foams and Mucell continues to strengthen, FY13
results were significantly impacted by destocking in the core polyolefin business.
This now looks to have run its course, with management reporting good volume
growth and improving orders so far in FY14. Whilst the PE rating naturally
reflects past difficulties, it undervalues the exciting medium to long term
growth prospects, particularly for HPP and Mucell. Mucell newsflow is now
expected to strengthen and we have moved to a Buy and a price target of 220p.
 Much as expected – Group revenue was down 5%, reflecting an 8% decline in core
polyolefin sales. This was due to customer destocking in response to Zotefoams'
shortened delivery times, and also lower government spending in the USA. As a
result, Zotefoams' normalised PBT reduced by 26% to £4.46m from £6.33m. After
growth of 51% in FY12, High-Performance Products ('HPP') grew revenues by a
further 20% to £4.3m (£3.6m), generating a first time operating profit of £0.42m
(£0.08m loss), which exceeded expectation. MuCell Extrusion grew sales by 13% to
£1.56m and produced an operating loss of £0.16m (£0.02m loss) with increased
investment into the business. On an underlying basis, Mucell achieved a 41%
increase in revenue (excluding a final payment from a licensee in FY12), driven by a
63% increase in equipment sales that bodes well for future royalty payments.
 Improving outlook – Customer destocking finally appears to have run its course with
management confirming that FY14 has seen good volumes in its polyolefin business
and an improving order intake, particularly in Asia. Operational gearing is high and
the 'profit' drop through in FY13 was c. 70% on the reduction in revenue. As such,
we anticipate a strong recovery in profit in FY14 and note that management are
commissioning additional capacity in Q2 this year. Work has also been undertaken to
better monitor distributor stock levels in the future. The higher levels of investment
in HPP and Mucell are bearing fruit and good growth is anticipated. Mucell is
focused on the thin films and extrusion blow moulding bottles markets and key
product launches, validating the technology, are expected in FY14.
 Attractive valuation – We have left our FY14 and FY15 forecasts unchanged but
would expect any further strengthening of sterling to have an adverse impact.
Nevertheless, we see the current rating as an attractive entry point into a Group that
promises strong medium to long term growth.
Key financial data (£m) - IFRS
Year to December 2012A 2013A 2014E 2015E 2016E
Sales 47.2 44.6 49.5 52.8 56.0
PBT normalised 6.1 4.2 6.4 7.1 7.9
EPS normalised 12.34 8.79 12.73 14.04 15.50
DPS paid (p) 5.20 5.30 5.50 5.80 6.10
PER (x) 14.4 20.2 13.9 12.6 11.5
EV/EBITDA (x) 7.2 8.8 6.8 6.5 5.9
FCF yield (%) 2.6 2.4 1.3 4.5 5.6
Dividend yield (%) 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.4
I hope you can make sense of this as it has not copied over that well from the PDF

[battlebus2] 18/3/2014 07:16

Results out and are better than i had anticipated...

HIGHLIGHTS

-- High-Performance Products ('HPP')
o Revenue increase of 20% to GBP4.31m (2012: GBP3.60m)

o First full-year segment profit of GBP0.42m (2012: loss of GBP0.08m)

-- MuCell Extrusion LLC ('MEL')
o Increased sales by 17%, with an underlying growth rate of 44%

-- Polyolefin foams
o Sales down 8% with customer destocking particularly in Continental Europe

o Strong levels of order intake in 2014 to date

-- Overall Group revenue GBP44.63m (2012: GBP47.19m)
-- Adjusted(1) profit before tax of GBP4.18m (2012: GBP6.08m(2) )
-- Profit before tax of GBP3.86m (2012: GBP5.78m(2) )
-- Strong balance sheet with gearing under 3%
-- Increase in proposed final dividend to 3.6p per ordinary 5p share (2012: 3.5p)
Commenting on the results, Nigel Howard, Chairman, said:

"Group sales and profit before tax were adversely impacted by a fall in revenue in Polyolefin foams with customer destocking particularly in Continental Europe impacting performance. Sales in our HPP segment increased by 20% to GBP4.31m (2012: GBP3.60m), building on a 51% revenue increase the previous year, and I am pleased to say in 2013 generated a full-year segment profit for the first time. MEL sales grew 17% to GBP1.56m (2012: GBP1.33m), with a 44% underlying growth rate masked by one of our earlier licensees making its final contractual payment in 2012.

So far in 2014 we have experienced good growth in Polyolefin foams. Levels of order intake are strong and, as planned, we are commissioning additional capacity early in the second quarter of this year. The outlook for our HPP foams and MEL licensing businesses remains positive and we are already seeing the benefit of the higher levels of business development activities in 2013, which we expect to translate into growth in 2014 and beyond. While being mindful of near-term economic conditions, the Board anticipates a return to growth and improvement in performance in 2014 and remains confident about the long-term prospects for our business."

[exbroker] 14/3/2014 14:05

Figs on 18 March

[exbroker] 23/1/2014 21:23

There are a couple of buyers and the seller has finished.

[battlebus2] 21/1/2014 08:08

Now higher than before the trading update, funny old world share trading :))

[battlebus2] 18/1/2014 08:16

I like Pauls take on this one and feel like 2014 onwards could be very good for Zotefoams.

Foam maker Zotefoams (LON:ZTF) has issued a broadly in line (i.e. slightly below) expectations trading update for the year ended 31 Dec 2013.

I last reported on this one on 23 Oct 2013, when they warned on H2 profits (see broker downgrades in October on the - graphic to the left), due to de-stocking by European customers.

At the time it seemed to me that the shares still didn't look cheap, despite a 10% fall to 170p per share. It bounced a little, but has since drifted back down to 171p, although given that European economies now seem to be recovering, along with the USA and UK, one should perhaps start to factor in a bit of a trading recovery?


So they look set to make about 9p EPS for 2013, which means the PER is 19, still pricey. However, if you assume a decent bounce in trading for 2014, broker forecast is for 12.5p EPS, then the PER comes in at a much more reasonable 13.7.

It looks quite a good quality business - with a reasonably good operating profit margin, and was profitable every year through the downturn of the last five years. It has also maintained its dividend, increasing it slightly in three small steps from 4.5p in 2007 to 5.2p last year. So the 3.0% forecast dividend yield is not to be sniffed at, and likely to be sustained, especially if you assume that this could be the low point in the earnings cycle, and an operationally geared recovery could be about to happen?

Interestingly, their pension deficit is almost cleared, so overpayments of £55k per month are due to end in Sep 2014. It also has a nice solid Balance Sheet, so can be seen as relatively low risk. That combined with a valuation that is now starting to look reasonable, the divi yield, and recovery hopes, mean I'm more positive on this stock than ever before. The upside is probably not exciting enough for me to buy any yet, but it's certainly going on the watch list.

Businesses which disappointed in 2013, but are fundamentally sound and should recover in 2014, are one of the few places where reasonable valuations can now be found, and this is a good area to be hunting for value & GARP in my view. The momentum-driven, highly rated stocks that are so popular now will no doubt provide plenty of banana skins for investors in 2014, if they disappoint in any way. I'd rather search through the bargains to find quality, than chase fashionable stocks up to higher & higher prices, and then wake up one morning to find the stock has dropped 50% pre-opening on a disappointing statement.

- See more at: hxxp://www.-.com/content/small-cap-value-report-15-jan-2014-goal-cms-ebq-ztf-phc-80593/#sthash.SWmqRCah.dpuf

[battlebus2] 15/1/2014 12:46

Holding up well considering.

[battlebus2] 15/1/2014 07:32

Trading Update out, basically inline so likely to drift further while we hope for an improvement in 2014... Still holding these to see if the results in March show some progress.

15 January 2014 - Zotefoams, a world leader in cellular material technology, today provides a trading update following the Company's financial year end on 31 December 2013.

In the fourth quarter Zotefoams continued to experience good growth in sales of High-Performance Products ("HPP"), which was augmented by strong growth in our MuCell Extrusion ("MEL") technology licensing business. However, as anticipated in our Third Quarter Interim Management Statement dated 23 October 2013, the fourth quarter saw lower levels of shipments of polyolefin foams to Europe. This fall is, in the main, related to inventory adjustments at a single large customer who reports that this is due to improved lead times from Zotefoams and continued destocking in their downstream market, affecting their demand levels in the short-term. As stated on 23 October 2013, with the benefit of our shorter lead times, we expect to progress in this market in 2014.

For the 2013 full year we expect to see growth in HPP and MEL, although overall Group sales are expected to show a decline of approximately 5% compared with 2012, mainly as a result of lower polyolefin sales in continental Europe.

For the fourth quarter the euro-denominated price of low density polyethylene (LDPE), our major raw material, remained at a similar average price to the first nine months of the year. Exchange rates were similar to those reported in October with a slight strengthening of sterling in the period, particularly against the US dollar.

Overall the Board expects an outcome for 2013 broadly in line with management expectations.

The Company intends to announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013 on Tuesday, 18 March 2014.

[battlebus2] 12/1/2014 16:45

lol, not often you can use that excuse!

[exbroker] 12/1/2014 15:10

No trading statement yet, I asked my man and he sent me the following.
Clifford (FD) stranded in a snow drift over the pond. Early next week we hope.