Anybody who invests in companies listed on the Aim market will no doubt be elated that from 5th August these shares will be eligible to be held in tax free ISAS. There's a great article written in today's Sunday Telegraph by Tom Stevenson that echoes my sentiments entirely:-
"Nanny doesn't always know best when it comes to Aim"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/tom-stevenson/10205683/Nanny-doesnt-always-know-best-when-it-comes-to-Aim.html
A good balanced article I would suggest. He's quite right that a large number of companies listed on Aim are not worth a second glance, but if you're a stock picker with a reasonable eye for sifting out the potential disasters from the possible winners then it is an exciting market with opportunities to multi-bag your money.
Is Aim listed Angle (AGL) one to stick into an ISA?
I've mentioned before that this is a speculative investment for me, and full year results will be released on Wednesday of this week. I'm not expecting the figures to be impressive at this stage in it's development, but I will be looking carefully at the narrative.
News to date has given cause for encouragement, and on Thursday 25th July they released news relating to a positive evaluation of the Parsortix System from the Cancer Research UK's Paterson Institute for Cancer Research.
Whilst I won't pretend to understand the significance of the Parsortix System being "Cell marker (epitope) independent", I am encouraged to read the comments from
The Paterson's Genomics Group Leader and Deputy, Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology, Dr Ged Brady, who commented:
"We see great promise in the Parsortix system with the possibility that it may help broaden our understanding of cancer patient blood borne biomarkers which may in turn eventually help us guide and improve therapy. The major attractions for us are the potential for the system to deliver an increased range and number of CTCs along with simplicity of execution. Initial positive results have resulted in the inclusion of the Parsortix device in our ongoing efforts to deliver personalised medicine."
It's incredibly difficult to say with any certainty what lies ahead for Angle. How much additional funding will they require and how will it be raised? how long will it be before we see significant sales of this device? etc, but if the Parsortix System does live up to it's promises then potentially it could be a very bright future for investors, although I might add the caveat that it's still early days relatively speaking!
I look forward to Wednesday with interest, and as ever no advice is intended or given.
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Monday, 15 July 2013
Access Intelligence - interims
Access Intelligence released an encouraging set of figures in their interims this morning with revenues up 6% to £4.2m, contracted revenue not yet invoiced up 25% to £5.5m, and recurring revenue up to £3.0m from £2.7m being 72% of total revenues.
They also recorded a small operating profit of £28,000 before taxes against a loss of £198,000 in the previous half-year.
Cash balances have decreased slightly since the year end to £2.3m from £2.8m due to their previously stated intention to invest in accelerating the growth of the business. Operating activities did generate £0.3m in cash.
Gross margins came in at an impressive 73% up from a healthy 67% last year.
Current trading reads as follows:-
They also recorded a small operating profit of £28,000 before taxes against a loss of £198,000 in the previous half-year.
Cash balances have decreased slightly since the year end to £2.3m from £2.8m due to their previously stated intention to invest in accelerating the growth of the business. Operating activities did generate £0.3m in cash.
Gross margins came in at an impressive 73% up from a healthy 67% last year.
Current trading reads as follows:-
"Despite challenging market conditions, the Group has maintained a strong position in the public and private sectors, with H1 2013 contracted revenue not yet invoiced up 25% to £5.5m (H1 2012: £4.4m), and recurring revenue now representing 72% of the total (H1 2012: 68%).
Product innovation remains core to our ability to drive growth in the individual brands, both in their respective markets and as an integrated enterprise solution. This, combined with continued pressure on companies to meet the requirements of external regulators and internal cost management, will continue to drive sales pipeline growth for the Group.
The consistent increases year on year in contracted revenue not yet invoiced, our recurring revenue base and investment in innovative product development, demonstrate the Group's long term stability and provide a solid foundation for continued growth."
In summary, good solid growth is being achieved and I fully expect the benefits to flow through and become apparent in the medium and long term.
I'd expect the company to make a small profit at year end on revenues approaching £10m, if they continue to build revenues in future years then the lion's share of these revenues should fall through to the bottom line and profit growth should be impressive.
I feel very comfortable with my investment here, and similar to my investment in Trakm8, will wait patiently for the market to eventually realise the potential.
As ever, no advice is intended or given.
Sunday, 14 July 2013
A week of mixed fortunes for two speculative investments
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I have made two very speculative investments. One in a company called Angle and the other in Avanti Communications.
This week both reported news on progress.
On Monday, Angle informed the market that
"ANGLE plc (AIM: AGL), the specialist medtech company
, is pleased to announce successful results from third party testing of its Parsortix non-invasive cancer diagnostic product on colorectal cancer patient blood."
This validation from the University of Surrey Oncology Group (Surrey) is another key milestone in their pursuit of selling their Parsortix device for research purposes and ultimately for clinical use.
The share price rose in response to the news and continued to rise over the next few days.
According to the milestone chart, next up should be validation from the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research with lung cancer patient blood.
Whilst this is a highly speculative investment, it does appear that things are progressing on track at the moment, and I'll continue to hold.
Preliminary results should be released this month.
If this device does turn out to be as effective and cost efficient as it appears to be then the future could be very promising indeed, not least for the patients that may ultimately benefit from its diagnostic capabilities.
On Wednesday (a day before they had recently announced a trading statement would be released), it was not such good news from Avanti Communications, although the initial pounding that the share price took was more than a bit harsh.
A revenue shortfall of £10m for their year ending the 30th June appears to be the main reason for the sell-off, but the company did become cash flow positive at the operating level in June and has signed contracts with major telecoms and media companies including Vodafone, Technicolor and CNN.
The main worry with Avanti is the large amount of debt that it carries, but the company "is conservatively financed, with a very long term repayment profile on its debts and remains in full compliance with all covenants."
I bought shares in Avanti around the £2.60 mark, and this investment has fluctuated between profit and loss since I have held them.
With this type of company (just like Angle) you have to accept that it's a highly speculative play, a long term game and that you could lose all or most of your money. The hope is that either or both might multi-bag.
As long as you don't bet the house on these type of investments then they can provide an exciting ride.
Some investors would argue that the preservation of capital is the most important dictum in investing and I'd agree. However, if you're a stock picker I'd strongly argue that it's the whole portfolio of shares that you look at and you shouldn't get too hung up about any individual stock losses.
I will remain a holder of both these two companies and would love to see both of them succeed over the long term. Firstly from a selfish point of view, but also both companies have already achieved significant milestones from humble beginnings which is testament to their innovation and entrepreneurship.
I wish both companies well, and will continue to monitor their news flow with interest.
This week both reported news on progress.
On Monday, Angle informed the market that
"ANGLE plc (AIM: AGL), the specialist medtech company
, is pleased to announce successful results from third party testing of its Parsortix non-invasive cancer diagnostic product on colorectal cancer patient blood." This validation from the University of Surrey Oncology Group (Surrey) is another key milestone in their pursuit of selling their Parsortix device for research purposes and ultimately for clinical use.
The share price rose in response to the news and continued to rise over the next few days.
According to the milestone chart, next up should be validation from the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research with lung cancer patient blood.
Whilst this is a highly speculative investment, it does appear that things are progressing on track at the moment, and I'll continue to hold.
Preliminary results should be released this month.
If this device does turn out to be as effective and cost efficient as it appears to be then the future could be very promising indeed, not least for the patients that may ultimately benefit from its diagnostic capabilities.
On Wednesday (a day before they had recently announced a trading statement would be released), it was not such good news from Avanti Communications, although the initial pounding that the share price took was more than a bit harsh.
A revenue shortfall of £10m for their year ending the 30th June appears to be the main reason for the sell-off, but the company did become cash flow positive at the operating level in June and has signed contracts with major telecoms and media companies
including Vodafone, Technicolor and CNN. The main worry with Avanti is the large amount of debt that it carries, but the company "is conservatively financed, with a very long term repayment profile on its debts and remains in full compliance with all covenants."
I bought shares in Avanti around the £2.60 mark, and this investment has fluctuated between profit and loss since I have held them.
With this type of company (just like Angle) you have to accept that it's a highly speculative play, a long term game and that you could lose all or most of your money. The hope is that either or both might multi-bag.
As long as you don't bet the house on these type of investments then they can provide an exciting ride.
Some investors would argue that the preservation of capital is the most important dictum in investing and I'd agree. However, if you're a stock picker I'd strongly argue that it's the whole portfolio of shares that you look at and you shouldn't get too hung up about any individual stock losses.
I will remain a holder of both these two companies and would love to see both of them succeed over the long term. Firstly from a selfish point of view, but also both companies have already achieved significant milestones from humble beginnings which is testament to their innovation and entrepreneurship.
I wish both companies well, and will continue to monitor their news flow with interest.
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