Capital Access

Galliford Try released a trading update on its 1HFY25 performance to December, which continues to demonstrate the strong progress it is making towards the 2030 targets it announced last May. Trading is ahead of the Board’s expectations and it expects revenue and PBT to be at the upper end of current market forecasts. Consensus estimates were upgraded significantly post the FY24 results with the current upper end of the ranges for revenue and PBT currently standing at £1,835m and £35.4m respectively, 3.5% and 8.3% ahead of the respective FY24 actuals. That performance reflects delivery on the existing order book and wins on a number of key projects and places on strategic frameworks in Water and ranging across the company’s business lines including in the higher margin target adjacent businesses. The order book increased to £3.9bn at the end of December (£3.7bn at 31-Dec-23). Want to learn more about #GFRD? Our research is available, for free, on our website: https://lnkd.in/erDpFJ8h #Research #Equities #UKEquities #investmentresearch #construction #contractors

Breaking: Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte. Ltd. adopts SulNOx and invests! 🚢   A huge milestone for us - and a game-changer for the shipping industry. EPS, one of the world’s largest privately-owned shipping companies, has completed an extensive evaluation of SulNOxEco™ and committed to adopt it on a minimum of 30+ vessels.   During their evaluation, they saw: ✅ Up to 5% fuel savings with Heavy Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) and B30 biofuel ✅ Cleaner engines and components ✅ Reduced emissions   But EPS didn’t just stop at adoption. They believe in SulNOx’s potential so much that they’ve become a major shareholder.   This is just the beginning. With EPS introducing SulNOxEco™ to other major fleets, we’re ready to help even more of the marine industry save fuel, cut emissions, and keep engines running cleaner.   Want to know more? Get in touch to learn more about the evaluation, and how SulNOxEco™ could deliver similar results for your fleet

Read our latest update on The Craneware Group after its H1 trading update was published this morning. Ahead of the publication of H1 results expected to on 11 March, Management note another period of positive trading with double-digit growth of c10% in revenue to over US$100m and a similar increase in adjusted EBITDA to US$30.3m. The pace of growth in ARR has increased to 3% and Net Revenue Retention was above 100%. Sales included the first major customer contract secured via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, following the alliance Craneware announced last July. The group ended the period with net cash of US$40.6m (US$0.8m of net debt at 30 June 2024). The group is trading in line with market expectations and we maintain our current forecast including growth in EPS of 14%. Our DCF-based valuation of 3,073p is nearly 50% above the current share price. Want to learn more about #CRW? Our research notes are available, for free, on our website: https://lnkd.in/erDpFJ8h #Research #Equities #UKEquities #AIM #investmentresearch #software #healthcare #technology #UShealthcare #SaaS

Thinking about your investor engagement strategy for 2025 and beyond? Take a look at this article by our Head of Corporate Access Ollie Harris-st John from the Autumn edition of Informed, The Investor Relations Society's magazine. The article examines 'marginal buyers' - an often-overlooked group of investors that could be your ideal shareholders. When targeted correctly, they can make up c. 8-10% of a company’s share register (significantly higher for investment trusts and smaller companies), and can be an influential, incremental source of liquidity. #investorrelations #irbestpractice #investortargeting #investorengagement #UKinvestors

Please join Ailsa Craig & Marek Poszepczynski, Portfolio Managers of the International Biotechnology Trust Plc (IBT) in this virtual update. They will share their key takeaways having attended the January J.P. Morgan #Healthcare Conference, the largest event of its kind, exploring the significant trends poised to shape the #biotechnology landscape in 2025. There will be opportunity to ask Ailsa & Marek questions, ensuring you leave with the insights you need to stay well-informed in the sector. You can sign up for this webinar by registering here: https://lnkd.in/eq-kCQNV #InvestmentTrusts Alex MacEwen

Read Sarah Godfrey's latest research note 🔍 📖 on BlackRock's Energy & Resources Income Trust. #BERI has posted solid NAV and share price total returns in the FY ended 30 November 2024, outperforming both its The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) peer group and the average for the investment trust universe. BERI – historically a blend of traditional #energy and #mining stocks – broadened its remit in 2020 to include #energytransition plays, with neutral positions of 30% each in conventional energy and energy transition, and 40% in mining. At end-FY24, exposures were broadly in line with these neutral levels – a change from recent years, which have seen the mining sector above 40% while energy transition has been a long-term underweight. Although traditional energy companies (particularly in the US) have seen a boost from the election of climate change sceptic Donald Trump as president, oil prices remain relatively muted on the back of abundant supply, informing the decision of #BERI’s managers – Mark Hume (an energy expert) and Thomas Holl (a mining specialist) – to maintain their neutral weighting on the sector. Meanwhile, more attractive valuations, coupled with growth opportunities from the buildout of #AIinfrastructure, have seen the portfolio’s exposure to energy transition (and #energyefficiency in particular) rise close to a four-year high. While #copper remains a favoured subsector in mined commodities, overall mining exposure has declined as #China’s economic woes continue. In allocating between the three segments, the team seeks to maximise capital and income returns, and the dynamic and flexible approach is a key factor in limiting volatility over the longer term. As suggested by the trust’s name, income is an important consideration, with the vast majority now arising naturally from dividends rather than being created through option writing. While income from special dividends – which had contributed strongly to revenue returns in recent years – has continued to reduce in FY24, #BERI has achieved a fourth year of consecutive dividend growth, paying out 4.5p per share (a 3.8% yield based on the current share price), up 1.7% on the previous year. Dividends have historically been fully covered by income, and there is a healthy revenue reserve of around a year’s dividend available to supplement any potential shortfall. To learn more about #BERI, please get in touch with our team. You can also find the note on Bloomberg, Refinitiv, FactSet, AlphaSense and Research Tree. Alex MacEwen #investmenttrusts #Oil #Gas #equities #LSE #research

This morning we have initiated coverage 🔍 📖 of Supermarket Income REIT (LSE: SUPR). #SUPR is a specialist property fund that seeks to achieve attractive levels of defensive, long-dated income from a portfolio of grocery stores, mainly in the UK although a recent move into France has provided diversification. While supermarket operators’ margins have been squeezed in the recent period of higher inflation, market growth remains solid, and consumers are beginning to trade back up to more premium products as they see their wages rise and price increases moderate. The REIT owns 74 supermarkets (57 of which are in the UK), with a strategic focus on ‘omnichannel’ assets offering a combination of in-person shopping, click-and-collect and online order fulfilment. #SUPR’s managers target strongly performing stores, usually among the top 25% of an operator’s trading locations. More than three-quarters of the portfolio by value is let to Tesco and Sainsbury’s, the UK’s two largest grocery players by market share, whose status as large, listed companies provides greater transparency over their trading performance, which remains strong in the evidence of recent results statements. Sarah Godfrey writes that investors could be 'bagging a bargain' as recent acquisitions prove the value opportunity in the grocery sector. To learn more about or arrange a meeting with #SUPR, please get in touch with our team. You can also find the note on Bloomberg, Refinitiv, FactSet, AlphaSense and Research Tree. The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Alex MacEwen #investmenttrusts #REITs #realestate #equities #LSE #research #supermarkets

Read our latest update on Duke Capital Limited after H1 25 results were published this morning. #DUKE is on track to meet our FY25 forecasts with recurring cash revenue of £12.7m, up 4% YoY. The group deployed over £15m in new capital to its capital partners during the half. Post period end, Duke successfully completed an oversubscribed £23.5m equity raise, materially strengthening its balance sheet and intends future capital funding to be generated by way of a third-party capital model. Duke is trading at a c25% discount to book despite generating returns above its cost of capital with multiple further investment opportunities and the potential for larger equity returns as its portfolio matures. We recently published an initiation on Duke which is available here: https://lnkd.in/e6XdAugq #Research #Equities #UKEquities #SMEs #AIM #investmentresearch

Well worth a read of the note, or if you’re strapped for time, a watch of Sarah Godfrey’s video discussing why AEW’s AEW UK REIT PLC presents such a compelling opportunity.

Read our latest research after Seplat Energy Plc published the prospectus for its reverse takeover of MPNU, with the deal expected to close on Thursday, 12th December. This has been a long time coming and is transformational for the company, more than doubling production to 120kboed and nearly doubling 2P reserves to 0.9bnboe. The final payment on completion is $672m for a total payment of $800m including the deposit already paid. Funding is from Seplat’s existing cash and revolving credit facility, together with a new $300m three-year Advanced Payment Facility provided by the vendor, ExxonMobil. From a financial perspective, the deal trebles adj. EBITDA although the impact on cash flow is more muted, reflecting the high cash tax rate paid by MPNU as a result of limited investment over the last years. That represents part of the opportunity #SEPL now has to unlock value from this deal. #UKequities #equities #equityresearch #investmentresearch #resources #oil #gas #Nigeria #acquisition