Zytronic Share Discussion Threads

[cliffpeat] 09/2/2023 11:25

@Dozey3

Is SOLI acquisitive?

This is its "Displays" web page:

Would there be synergies or obvious exploitation by SOLI of ZYT's customer base?

Do you have any contacts at SOLI who you might ask?

[estienne] 09/2/2023 11:12

They are a small but pretty stable company on market capital of £13M with net assets of £15M of which £6.6M in cash. Revenue of £12.3M with a consistent profit. Once supply issues are resolved that revenue will be greatly increased. It seems to me to be worthwhile to hold

[dozey3] 09/2/2023 11:03

Just wonder if Solid State (SOLI) might see ZYT as a worthwhile acquisition. Must be synergies and the market price is approaching derisory with the cash in the bank. I hold both btw.

[kiwihope] 09/2/2023 10:49

I wouldn't be too concerned about the grey market comment. In my past life I was involved in electronics manufacture and we had to sometimes resort to this. There are companies that specilaise in it and there are techniques to reduce the risk of low quality parts. Often it is excess stock being sold by other credible manufacturers, still in original packaging, batch or date code, etc. What it can do is increase costs a bit but overall I wouldn't have thought by too much. It can be better than the alternative which is no sales.

[cliffpeat] 09/2/2023 10:09

@ScepticaLInvestor

The B2B world has been dealing with the component shortage and related costs for a long time now and manufacturing companies like SRT.L state that customers understand the pressures, price rises are negotiated and margins maintained.

Is ZYT supplying "must have now" products? Are their competitors any better placed in fulfilling orders without having to resort to the grey market?

My guess is that top line revenue may be affected by postponed (but not cancelled) sales - and I hope that CEO is skilful enough to negotiate the best way through this slowly resolving supply-side issue.

I don't agree with your 20p target.

As an aside: Noting ZYT's LinkedIn and twitter feeds it sometimes seems that the company has developed touch HMI technology that is looking for applications. I wonder if they have any "side hustles" - it would be great if they invented their own unique product with a large potential business or consumer market that they could sell as a stand alone income stream.

[kiwihope] 09/2/2023 09:58

On a value basis this is fair to good value. I have held for a long time now and will keep holding. If they can just get some growth in eps then this will rocket. Otherwise it might be a value trap. Evenly poised at the moment but I am prepared to give management more time...

[trident5] 09/2/2023 09:23

Cash is over £6m
there's only 10m shares in issue - your target is a market cap of £2m.

[cerrito] 09/2/2023 09:22

I wondered if I should buy some more but saw that the current quote is 120/135 with last reported purchases at 133.5. This wide spread discouraged me so I will go back to sleep.
As Boyston notes the NTAV is £14.5m so we are trading t a 15% discount approx at the mid price. This is not something I place much emphasis on.
I also see that their current ratio is essentially 6.8 and the quick ratio 5.5.
Not something that I base an investment decision on but I do wonder if there is another quoted manufacturing company with such high ratios.

[scepticalinvestor] 09/2/2023 09:12

Target 20p which is c. Cash value

[scepticalinvestor] 09/2/2023 09:11

Using 'grey' market components? Quality must be super consistent no?No ways will they hold margin with that admission.Bargepole

[rivaldo] 09/2/2023 09:10

The order intake and supply chain problems are unchanged from the results outlook, whereas I'd hoped for signs of an upturn for this H1. At least the "opportunities pipeline" continues to improve, auguring well once these short-term difficulties are out of the way.

There's no point in selling at 120p imo, particularly taking a longer-term view of the prospects here. The £13.8m m/cap is backed by £6.8m net cash (which has risen nicely since the year end), a further £5.1m of PPE and an innovative business which with steadily improving markets (see Quixant) could see much improved trading with time - hopefully in this upcoming H2.

[cerrito] 09/2/2023 08:21

Given the supply chain and other issues makes sense for Mr Cambridge to concentrate on being CEO. Not optimal that both the NEDs will have a city rather than a commercial background and note that they will be setting the policy before appointing other NEDs.
Interested that a 5pc shareholder can get a place on the Board but obviously because of close periods he does have trading restrictions.
For me TU as cleas as mud which I recognize reflects the real world. I note last year the revenue was £5.9m in H1 and £6.4m in H2 per their comment on weightings this FY compared to the last one.
Early fall no surprise, although not expecting it to be so sharp.

[gdjs100] 09/2/2023 08:07

The wage increases won't take too much off H2. I think a breakeven H1 followed by a H2 that beats last year, as supply chains (hopefully) ease, GMs move back up, and we get this increased H2 revenue already flagged.

[boystown] 09/2/2023 07:50

Yeah - that and the small matter of almost £14.5m in NTAV

[elsa7878] 09/2/2023 07:46

So approx £6.4 million and 300k pre-tax in H1 (H2 2022 figures)...H2 wages increases to come. Stripping out the cash leaves a business making 500k post-tax if they're lucky valued at £10 million ie 20x. Disappointing. At one point I had 150k shares now a token holding.

[cerrito] 05/2/2023 21:33

I would appreciate feedback from anyone who makes this Thursday's AGM.

[cerrito] 03/2/2023 09:31

Thanks for that find Rivaldo.
I went to the cash flow statement of the last final accounts and see that in the last 2 years cash spent on plant and equipment was £179k and £280k so this is for Zyt a big spend.

[dozey3] 03/2/2023 09:06

Very encouraging. Good to hear ambitious management in a small British company actually investing in the future rather than more share buybacks. Derisory share price, but I would say that having a shed load.

[rivaldo] 03/2/2023 08:19

This sounds encouraging:



"Zytronic invests £400,000 in tech to capitalise on customers' Covid bounceback

The Tyneside touch screen sensor firm says the new equipment gives it the chance to take advantage of new opportunities

2 FEB 2023

Tyneside touch tech specialist Zytronic has invested around £400,000 into new equipment to boost its manufacturing operations.

The Blaydon based business has invested in a second laser soldering system within a factory cleanroom, which directors say allows Zytronic to leverage the latest production technology....

....Mark Cambridge, managing director of Zytronic, said: “The investment in this next-generation laser bonding system supports our continued drive for yield improvements and accelerating throughput. This new and more advanced system complements the one we installed in another cleanroom a few years ago and mitigates the risk associated with only having one laser soldering system available to production.”

"Zytronic’s continued investment in its UK touchscreen manufacturing operations aims to give the company the chance to take advantage of new opportunities as its global customer base recovers from the effects of the pandemic.

The firm last month posted full year results for the year ended September 2020, saying it had improved performance despite continued unpredictability across its supply chains and key markets.

It reported a rise in revenue to £12.3m from £11.7m, while group operating profit increased from £453,000 to £695,000, saying it was confident the return of global business development and marketing activity following Covid restrictions would start to yield results."

[pugugly] 02/2/2023 16:12

Rivaldo - Not you - possibly the HR case histories = Cae hitory record- I assure you not me.

[rivaldo] 27/1/2023 12:43

HotStockRockets (!) yesterday posted this article changing their stance on ZYT to a Buy. I have no idea what the rest of the article says as it's subscription-only:



"Zytronic – now a recovery Buy?

By HotStockRockets | Thursday 26 January 2023

In August we downgraded our stance on touch sensors company Zytronic (ZYT) to sell with the shares at 135p as we noted the short-term outlook looked challenged. Despite the recent somewhat stock market recovery, that has proven sensible as the shares are now at an offer price of...135p. That is though a recovery from 112.5p at the start of October and there now looks reason to believe that the recovery has a good deal further to go."

EDIT - intriguing that someone's downticked this! Oh well.....

[rivaldo] 29/12/2022 07:18

Interesting article about ElectroglaZ - the conclusion reads rather nicely:



Conclusion:

"Analysis: Concept sound system has us peering through the looking glass of what may be possible

While the ElectroglaZ may not look like the prettiest of hi-fi systems that we’ve seen, its ground-breaking tech and the future it points to definitely has us excited.

Zytronic says it's already incorporated the transparent power conduction system into a series of other concept devices including a glass coffee table capable of juicing up mobile phones and tablets via inbuilt induction charging, and a transparent ‘huddle’ meeting room panel with video camera and LCD display powered through the glass.

There’s clearly plenty of aesthetic benefits to be had from the tech that were previously unachievable – we’re throwing out the idea of an all-glass soundbar as a living room centerpiece – but there’s also important practical benefits that could stem from this breakthrough.

With the system seemingly able to work through very thin glass, Zytronic and Pilkington’s tech could make a world of difference to smart eyewear and VR glasses, potentially allowing for HUD-style displays to be powered more easily and discreetly."

And another article about the raliway station contract roll-out:

[dimknaf] 16/12/2022 14:43

That's a very extensive presentation on Zytronic by Alex Stuart at the London Value Investing Club, and then discussion by the participants.

[rivaldo] 16/12/2022 07:34

Intriguing news flow from ZYT at present - yesterday saw another two news stories which show the potential and imagination in ZYT's products.

This one's about ElectroglaZ, developed with Pilkington::



And here's ZYT exhibiting ElectroglaZ plus multi touch round tables:

[rivaldo] 15/12/2022 07:21

News:



"UK railway introduces ticket vending machines featuring interactive touchscreens
Dec. 13, 2022

The Govia Thameslink Railway in the U.K. is rolling out ticket vending machines with interactive touchscreens to network stations following a trial at Gatwick Airport, according to a press release.

The machines support The Williams-Schapps Plan for Rail strategy to improve the ticket purchasing experience for rail users. The machine's surface is made from a single piece of elongated glass measuring 80 inches diagonally, which protects the two screen displays. The top screen is for travel information and other targeted content, while the bottom is touch active for selecting and buying tickets.

The railway chose Zytronic and its U.K. partner, Display Technology, because of Zytronic PLC's ability to customize the projected capacitive touch sensors to meet the client's requirements and specification.

The machine surface is made from 6mm-thick, thermally-toughened glass, which is custom-machined and printed at Zytronic's manufacturing facility in the U.K. The lower screen, which is touch interactive, utilizes Zytronic's ZyBrid touch technology and patented ZXY500 multi-touch controller."