Saturday 2 November 2013

Netplay - worth a flutter?

Netplay, an interactive gaming company looks interesting. This week's FT features a small article regarding it's recent acquisition of Vernon's.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c83aa18-4323-11e3-9d3c-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=uk#axzz2jV2hHMc1

Netplay used to feature on my monitor, but it's not one that I followed very closely and I don't own any shares.

However, I've just cast my eyes over the company again, and it does appear to have been progressing well, and certainly has potential.

The shares have fallen below 5p in the not too distant past (2011) and in fact traded just below 12p as recently as early this year, I suspect that they may have much further to run though with a medium/long term view.

Broker forecasts are for 1.53p in the year ending Dec 2013 and 1.83p in 2014 giving forward EPS of 14 and 12 respectively. However, I would expect these to be upgraded given that the Vernons acquisition is immediately earnings enhancing. A recent trading statement (pre Vernons) confirmed that trading continued to be strong and that they were confident of meeting market expectations.

What I like about this company is that it is strongly cash generative and appears to be growing at a very healthy rate, and as far as I can see it doesn't have any debt. In fact it currently boasts £15m in cash on it's balance sheet which is nearly a quarter of its current market cap.

The strong cash generation will enable the company to continue with a progressive dividend policy whilst at the same time pick up strategic acquisitions to help further it's growth.

It appears to a be a company that doesn't immediately look cheap, but on closer inspection and with continued growth momentum, it may well prove to be a very profitable medium to long term prospect.

As ever, no advice intended or given.



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