Zytronic Share Discussion Threads

[shauney2] 17/5/2016 08:07

Very good.
Revenue down a touch but EPS up with touch revenue increasing margins.
Cash well up £9.5 million,well over 50p per share.Dividend up also.

[impvesta] 17/5/2016 07:58

Interims out today:



Look solid if unspectacular at first glance

[fizzypop] 16/5/2016 09:19

Up 4% today in anticipation of good results tomorrow. Management usually under-promise and over-deliver. A good long term hold with strongly increasing divis each year.

[fizzypop] 15/5/2016 18:20

Interims Tues 17 May.

[rivaldo] 04/5/2016 07:23

News re ZYT's installations in industrial applications - medical, O&G, food processing etc. Worth reading:



Extract:

"Zytronic – Pushing Touch technology to the Extreme in Industrial applications
03 May 2016

Traditionally, industrial and medical equipment designers have relied on mechanical switches and dials for system control, and for a long time this has suited the industry well enough. However the appeal of touchscreen enabled tablet PC’s and smartphones has led designers of industrial equipment to reconsider how users interact with complex machines and systems in the workplace.

However, implementing touchscreen technology in often challenging environments is not straightforward. There may be many obstacles to consider and overcome, and some touch technologies may not be capable of operating in extreme conditions.

But Zytronic are acknowledged leaders in the manufacture of durable touch sensors, and our technology is proven in the most demanding applications and environments.

The combination of an intuitive interface, and our rugged projected capacitive touch technology continues to change how people interact with machines and computers in the workplace.

etc..."

[shauney2] 29/4/2016 16:10

A good rise this week ahead of results on the 17th.

Getting back to where they were when bearbull in the IC did a job on them.

[rivaldo] 27/4/2016 22:46

Nice late surge today.

And some news - good to see this is already installed in 50 casinos. Lots more to go for:



"Zytronic speeds the pace of roulette with unique multiplayer table
26 April 2016

Euro Games Technology (EGT), one of the fastest growing companies in the global gaming industry, used Zytronic Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT™) to create a completely new multiplayer luxury roulette game on an 84” table with up to eight independent touch areas. The EGT Luxury Touch Table won an award at G2E last year and has already been installed in 50 casinos, including WINBET in Bulgaria, Casino Advanced Technology, France and Casino VINMOE in Ireland.

According to Tihomir Asenov, Research Manager at EGT, “Our concept in creating the EGT Luxury Touch Table was to increase the pace of play increasing profitability, and to reduce the operating costs and the chances of discrepancies. We have realised a completely new and elegant luxury version of roulette, a traditional casino game. It has been specifically projected to cater for big casino interiors and combines the latest digital innovations in the industry with the live table experience of having a real wheel and a live dealer to spin it.”

The EGT Luxury Touch Table is a high-end product, featuring an exquisite design, modern technologies and demanding performance standards. Critically, the new Table concept required six or eight completely independent touch zones operating seamlessly over a single 84” LCD, allowing individuals to place bets within a shared game experience, without the risk of each players “virtual” gambling chips becoming mixed up.

He continued, “Whilst there are 84” multi-touch screens on the market, there was no product offering independent playing areas on a large table. Our partner Elatec recommended Zytronic to provide the technology to create this concept. We had a very successful partnership with Elatec and the R&D team at Zytronic. In delivering a completely new approach like the Luxury Touch Table there are always technical challenges to overcome, and together, the three companies worked together effectively to achieve a panel that is robust and reliable.”

Zytronic is supplying 84-inch diagonal anti-glare treated glass panel, equipped with either six 21” or eight 19” separate touch zones around the perimeter of the screen. Each playing area is supported by its own ZXY100 touch controller. These touch areas are seamless, without bezel or border, blending into the overall display. Furthermore, the 6mm thick, screen printed glass is thermally toughened to resist deliberate or accidental damage.

The Luxury Touch Table is offered in three variants: live wheel, automatic wheel or lucky circle cash generator. Bets and payouts are identical to those in effect at a traditional roulette table with EGT’s proprietary technology identifying each person’s bet and handling the “virtual” chips accordingly before automatically calculating the winnings. In contrast to traditional roulette games which average around 35 games per hour, the new EGT tables are capable of producing between 60 and 80 results per hour, enhancing the venue’s return on investment."

[rivaldo] 27/4/2016 07:53

Results to be on 17th May.

Agreed - following exactly the same path as last year, with no further comment necessary on current trading following the positive AGM statement, implying trading continues to be nicely in line pre-interims as per last year.

[rcturner2] 27/4/2016 07:30

Announcement of interim results publication date. No comment on current trading so presumably in line?

[rcturner2] 22/3/2016 08:43

igoe, thanks for that, an interesting read

long term bullish for me

[igoe104] 21/3/2016 14:19

A Interview with Mark Cambridge.



Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

It’s not many companies in the digital signage or digital out-of-home sector that we run into that have a history like that of Zytronic, based in Blaydon on Tyne in the U.K.

Mark CambridgeWhile under the name Zytronic since 2000, the company actually began in 1943 providing lens for gas masks.

The first person we met on the trade show floor at #dse2016 was Mark Cambridge, who will celebrate 25 years with the company this coming July and has been Zytronic’s CEO since 2008.

“This is our second year here,” said Cambridge. “It’s the best vehicle in North America for us.”

Cambridge gave us a rundown on the history of the company and how it had become the company with such robust, laminated touch screens in an almost limitless range of sizes and shapes for almost any display, kiosk and more. The company had provided displays for medical devices and covers for ATM machines by the 1980s. Its Zytouch for ATMs and kiosks was on the market before the mobile explosion.

“We were providing niche solutions,” said Cambridge, “but they were costly, high premium products for external use. By 2005, we were seeing more activations, although limited, because of the cost. But we could see applications for the touch ecosystem. So we developed a further technology called ZyPos, which gave a light touch possibility. Initial products involved one-touch at that time.

“We saw more opportunities and found our place with digital signage applications, the military and ATMs. We felt we had the best technology solution but went further and developed Zybrid, a highly durable touch sensor product. That really helped with costs. Today, we offer up to 40 touch points for multi-users.”

Zytronic projected capacitive touch technology products for secure encrypted touch sensors are used in transactional kiosks, curved interactive surfaces for casino cabinets, and rugged, anti-microbial glass touch screens for high use unattended environments. When one is buying a train ticket, withdrawing cash, fuelling a car or buying a snack, a Zytronic touch sensor has likely unknowingly been used.

Zytronic products are used around the globe: 50% in Europe and 25% each in North America and Asia. Clients include companies like Coca-Cola, Diebold and NCR.

“About 90% of our business is now Zybrid, 5% is ZyPos and 5% is Zytouch,” said Cambridge, as he demonstrated that Zytronic can handle from 5” to 85” screens and more, including curved solutions. “We took various patents out in 2012, and have approval, to date, for four in the UK and three in the US, Europe and China and elsewhere.

“We recently brought out an Android solution with a zoom function that makes a multi-user screen like an ‘iPad on steroids’.R21;

Cambridge said that Zytronic has had an annual growth of 15% to 20% annually since 2008. And for the future, “Table touch will drive us. We’re seeing it used in car showrooms, in real estate offices, and in travel agencies.

“Our biggest advantage is our flexibility. We can do niche, and can do one or two, or in the hundreds.”

What’s coming next? Zytronic’s special encrypted touchscreen with a technique that will allow use of a pen on the glass









hxxps://t.co/bnEQxOb2Nh

[rivaldo] 17/3/2016 07:39

News:



"Zytronic intros app for designing multitouch UIs for Android at DSE16
March 16, 2016

Touch sensor solutions developer Zytronic today announced its Android ZyConfig App designed to make it quicker and easier to design multitouch user interfaces for Android.

"Android is becoming increasingly popular as system integrators adopt the freely available operating system and the lower-cost computing hardware that supports it," Zytronic Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ian Crosby said in the announcement. "It has spread rapidly beyond handsets and tablets, and is now becoming a much more common operating system for digital signage and other self-service hardware."

The app is available from hxxp://zytronic.co.uk/support/downloads and is loaded onto the Android target hardware. Once loaded, the tool detects the attached Zytronic touch controller and the user just needs to calibrate the touchscreen and tune the touch sensitivity through the app.

"Each target hardware running Android can be slightly different, and setting up the Android operating system to work with a touch controller and touchscreen requires a certain amount of low-level software configuration, which not all companies have the in-house expertise to perform," Crosby said. "We've made it as easy as downloading an app onto the target hardware and performing two simple steps to remove the complexity from the installation and set-up process."

[fizzypop] 11/3/2016 11:56

Divi payday today.

[rivaldo] 06/3/2016 23:22

"Zytronic Raises the Bar on Interactive Signage at DSE
March 4, 2016

The company will be showcasing touch solutions that demonstrate different aspects of their technology for commercial and public applications.

Zytronic, the manufacturer and developer of advanced, durable Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT and MPCT) touch sensors will be raising the bar on interactive digital signage at Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas (Booth #237) showing an immersive 40-inch curved, multi-touch kiosk, and a 55-inch multi-touch table alongside eight other touch solutions demonstrating different aspects of their technology for commercial and public applications.

According to Ian Crosby, vice president of sales and marketing at Zytronic , “Retailers and other users are increasingly seeking to create an exciting customer experience in all possible environments. Using our patented multi-touch projected capacitive technology (MPCT), we can create touchscreens to fit displays of up to 85-inch diagonal, with 4K resolution, and able to detect over 40 simultaneous touch points – indoors and outdoors. We have recently invested over $1.5 million to increase our capacity to manufacture these sophisticated touchscreens.”

The Zytronic exhibit at DSE will include an example of a curved multi-touch sensor, featuring a single edge-to-edge, toughened and curved glass multi-touch interface with a seamless 40-inch main screen and a 19-inch waist-height, button deck. Demonstrating the near-limitless levels of customisation possible with Zytronic technology, the twin display/single glass surface is managed by two ZXY200 multi-touch controllers.

Alongside, it will show a 55-inch multi-touch sensor integrated into a table, of a type that is proving highly popular in upscale retail environments, allowing customers to browse products from clothes to automobiles in large “coffee table” format. Zytronic will also demonstrate its latest downloadable Android app-based interface, which is expected to be increasingly popular as system integrators adopt this freely available operating system and the lower-cost computing hardware that supports it.

The Zytronic team on hand at DSE Las Vegas this year will be strengthened by the sales and technical support staff of their recently opened Atlanta office."

[rivaldo] 01/3/2016 13:34

This reads well - lots of potential I'd have thought:



"1st March 2016

Zytronic brings gesture recognition to ATM displays

Zytronic has a multi-touch controller which supports gesture recognition in small format self-service touchscreen applications.Designed for displays of 22-inch diagonal and less, the ZXY150 touch controller is designed to bring multi-touch functionality to kiosks, ATMs and vending machines.

It provides native support for the latest multi-touch capable operating systems, with on-board firmware featuring 10-point touch and palm rejection functionality.

Used in combination with Zytronic’s ZYBRID touch sensors, the supplier says the controller will operate reliably through 10mm thick toughened glass.

The footprint of the new controller measures 76mm x 66mm. Connection and power are provided via a USB mini-B connector.

There is also support for the more recent Windows and Linux operating systems."

[rcturner2] 29/2/2016 15:06

kalkanite, my understanding is that "may be ahead by 10%" is not the test. The listing requires them to notify the market when they KNOW they will be more than 10% different from the analyst consensus, not before or after. This means of course that often they have a very good idea that they will be ahead but cannot actually know for sure until the period ends.

[kalkanite] 29/2/2016 12:20

RCT / Rivaldo

You are of course correct, however, some management constantly give estimates that are rarely achieved while others are more reserved and subsequently often beaten.

Over the past 2 years Zytronic's forecasts have started with modest expectations that have climbed throughout the year. I suspect that any cautious management who felt that they may be ahead by 10% after 5 months trading would probably not upgrade expectations until visibility is much clearer while other managers would shoot for the top with upgrades.

My point was that history of hitting / beating / losing targets are a better guide than just taking the brokers consensus alone. Some can be more relied upon than others, particularly early in the 12 month reporting period.

[rivaldo] 29/2/2016 11:34

Management expectations are usually the same as or slightly higher than broker forecasts (which are usually "guided" by management anyway).

It's therefore not worth getting too worked up about the difference, though I agree it seems silly when companies refer to nebulous/unknown management expectations rather than known market forecasts.

There's an informative summary of the AGM on the ShareSoc web site:



Subscription only for Sharesoc members I think. Sharesoc is well worth joining imo (around £40 from memory?), and you can get back most of your sub from attending the meetings with companies throughout the year.

I'll try to remember to copy the report here after a suitable interval.

[effortless cool] 26/2/2016 14:41

I wonder how that works if the analyst consensus is breakeven?

[rcturner2] 26/2/2016 14:10

If the management expectations are more than +-10% of the analysts forecasts, then they have to say so, that is requirement of their listing.

[kalkanite] 26/2/2016 11:25

The guidance at the AGM was inline with managements expectations whether that is the same as broker estimates is an unknown (to me at least).

Investing on broker forecasts can be a misguided investment philosophy. If you believe the broker forecasts then the current PE is high.

What we have here is a growing company in a niche sector which is itself in a growth industry with an enthusiastic CEO. There have been a great deal of new initiatives in the last 12 months, there is good reason to believe that these will help to grow the business further, hence the recent £1m investment to improve production facilities. Personally I like a company that under promises and over delivers.

PS - I like the new website.

[bookbroker] 26/2/2016 11:05

I think the lack of any guidance at the AGM speaks volumes, ok they said trading in line, but that is not going to propel this any higher, very vulnerable to a set-back!

[melody9999] 26/2/2016 07:45

did anyone attend the agm and can they report pls?

[amencorner] 25/2/2016 13:28

Positive AGM trading statement "in line with expectations"; good enough for me.