One I hold and one I don't!

First of all, a very quick mention of a company I hold.

PCF group released a trading statement this morning which has been well received since trading is in-line with market expectations. The growth metrics are looking very good, and as I write the shares are up almost 6%.  Here's their statement:-

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/PCF/13836455.html

A recent earnings enhancing acquisition should also aid growth prospects going forward:-

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/PCF/13819226.html

A very neat summary of where they are at the moment and what they hope to achieve can be found in the Midas article below:-

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-6146579/MIDAS-SHARE-TIPS-invest-PCF-Group-bank-thats-horsebox-expert.html

I'll be holding for the long term because I like the growth prospects, particularly as they continue to improve operational gearing and I'm always happy with a progressive dividend policy. Although the dividend is modest at the moment, for long term holders this income source can become quite substantial over time.

One I don't hold is Croma Security Solutions (CSSG) who released their final results this morning.

I've managed to contrive to miss out on buying into this company on two separate occasions now, in the mid teens and then early twenties. That's the share price I'm referring to btw and not my age. The share price is over £1 now. Never mind! :-(

They released a great set of figures this morning with a 59% increase in revenues to £35.1m (2017: £22.1m), a  significant rise in EBITDA to £2.5m (2017: £0.80m), a massive increase in pre-tax profits to £1.98m and earnings per share to 9.89p (2017: 0.36m and 2.13p respectively) and paid and proposed dividends up to 1.6p (2017: 0.5p). 

An outstanding performance all round. 

The share price has risen a very modest 1% as I write, chiefly I suspect due to the fact that this stellar performance won't be repeated next year:-

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/summary/company-summary/GB00B5MJV178GBGBXASX1.html

"In the current financial year, we can expect to replicate some but not all of the project income we received in FY 2018 due to some large exceptional projects that are unlikely to be repeated.  However, there has been a substantial increase in contracted income and this together with the expectation of some further project work make the Board confident of achieving a good result for the year, consistent with the underlying growth in the business. "

It's a great little business which is supported by a very solid balance sheet which boasts £2.2m in cash (up from £770,000 the previous year) and has next to zero debt. The current market cap. is a very modest £15m or thereabouts. In summary, many of the qualities that attract me to micro-caps.

CSSG is back on my watchlist, although even in my most optimistic mood I can't see the share price slipping back to the teens or twenties. Sadly, I can't envisage me revisiting my teens or twenties either except by way of a mid-life crisis?

I will be monitoring any opportunities very carefully though. 

As ever, this is just a personal blog and isn't an attempt to provide buy, sell or hold advice.

twitter: @michae1mouse