Saturday, 6 October 2012

Interior Services Group


 “An international construction services company delivering fit out, construction and a range of specialist services”,.

I was attracted to the company by a hefty dividend, low P/E ratio and Director purchases despite the company clearly competing against a lack lustre UK economy, competitive pressures and the inevitability of squeezed margins.

As ever, I wasn’t expecting a quick turnaround on this investment, but longer term it looks a good bet.

Whilst it was disappointing that they reduced dividend payments in the current year, the yield is still over 6%, and management are committed to a progressive dividend policy. The company is still heavily reliant on the UK, but overseas operations are growing rapidly and there is plenty of cash on the balance sheet. Hopefully, the UK is seeing some green shoots of recovery.

The 2012 outlook statement was encouraging without being overly optimistic.

I bought shares at around £1.35, and did see them fall back to just over £1 at one point, however, they have recovered since and I am now slightly in profit.

Having seen what happened at Zetar yesterday I’m intrigued, whilst I’m pleased with the rapid share price recovery, I see no particular driver for it at present. Yes, in the long term I believe that the company will prosper and the share price improve considerably from here, but I wonder why there has been a sudden interest at this juncture.

Interior Services have talked about acquisitions to fuel further growth, but like Zetar will they become the prey. If share price action is anything to go by then, given the similarities, the answer is possibly yes.

No comments:

Post a Comment