Updates UBC media, Densitron, DDD Group and C21

Shares in UBC Media rose a further 18% yesterday. Whilst there has been no official news from the company regarding any developments, activity on the bulletin board has clearly brought this company to the attention of more private investors. I've already outlined my reasons for investing in UBC in the BOO below and at present, I intend to hold shares in this company for the long term and watch developments. It's particular attraction to me is that it has the potential for spectacular growth whilst boasting a sound balance sheet.

http://michae1mouse.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/ubc-media-where-lots-of-boos-are-very.html

There are some very informative links on the ADVFN bulletin board (UBC thread). In particular the article below from the Telegraph in April is interesting:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/10002982/Audioboo-follows-YouTube-with-professionally-made-show.html

"Since I came in in October we've gone from three million listens a month to 12 million," he said. "We're on course to break even in 2014."

If Audioboo does beak even in 2014 then (imo) it's a complete game changer for UBC, who own 36.5% of the company. Investors have a voracious appetite for these rapidly growing social media companies. Speculative yes, but certainly exciting and with a solid balance sheet the rewards could be spectacular. Even after recent share price rises I don't think the market cap. of UBC is overstretched.

In other news, DDD group released a profit warning. I wrote an article about DDD in January where I expressed an interest in buying shares in a 3D company but felt that the valuation of DDD was far too high:-

http://michae1mouse.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/fantastic-3d-but-where-do-i-invest.html

"With a current market cap. of £30m it's a bit too expensive for my tastes at the moment. However, should a suitable opportunity arise then I'll be a keen buyer."

The valuation has sunk to around £14m over recent months and fell further after yesterday's profit warning. Whilst I haven't taken the plunge yet I will keep a careful eye on the share price for further weakness.

Revenues from their TriDef  2D to 3D solution software fell by an alarming $4m to $2.4m in the first half, but my interpretation is that this is due to a contraction in the PC market as a whole as opposed to their particular software solution. Revenues from TV sales have increased by 16% and they are gaining traction in the tablet market. Margins are a whopping 99%, cash balances over $3.7m and the group has no debt. Not cheap enough for me yet, but I am watching closely.

Densitron was a company in which I held shares, but I did sell in June following a poor trading statement. You can follow my reasoning in the blog below:-

http://michae1mouse.blogspot.co.uk/2013_06_01_archive.html

Following Friday's interim statement, I have no appetite to repurchase any shares in this company.

Revenues decreased by 6% whilst orders booked fell by 7% and the company reported a £315,000 loss.

Whilst the company sounds positive about the second half, has a reasonable balance sheet and is paying an interim dividend of 0.1p, I am nervous about the outstanding writ against the company. This matter has been dragging on for many months despite their attempts to resolve the matter out of court. A date has now been set for the trial on 8th December. This suggests to me that the Landlord has a very strong case, and any settlement either inside or outside of court could (imo) be very punitive for Densitron.

I'll continue to monitor the situation, and never say never, as the saying goes, but allied to recent inconsistent trading this one will remain on the monitor.

Interestingly the fortunes of this company run almost parallel with the fortunes of a company called C21. Just when you think the company has turned a corner, a profit warning appears out of the blue.

It's an interesting parallel since Jan Holstrom is Chairman of Densitron and until yesterday was the Non-executive Chairman of C21.

It is worthwhile looking back at the history of both these companies and the twists and turns contained in their statements and news stories. You gain a good idea of just how similar their histories have been. Certainly in recent times.

As ever, all opinions are just my own musings and no advice is intended or given.

13% rise for Belgravium Technologies

It's been a fairly quiet time regarding tangible news stories for many of the stocks I hold or am interested in, but since AIM stocks have become 'ISA'able I have detected that certain companies listed on this market have sprung into life. I mentioned UBC Media yesterday which is one such example.

Another company that I have invested in recently is Belgravium Technologies which has also shown signs of life in the last couple of trading days, rising by 13% today.

The company describes itself as follows:-

"Belgravium Technologies plc ((AIM:BVM) 'Belgravium' or 'The Group')), designers and suppliers of computing solutions and services for mobile data capture applications to a wide variety of industrial sectors".

I have been accumulating shares in Belgravium at prices below 3p.

Whilst they described their year end results for 2012 as disappointing with revenues of GBP8,669,000 (2011: GBP11,157,000), profit after tax of GBP336,000 (2011: GBP876,000), a maintained dividend of 0.1p (2011: 0.1p), strong cash flows and net cash position of GBP1,566,000 (2011; BP1,074,000) and EPS of 0.33p (2011: 0.87p), at 3.25p the historic p/e is around 10, if they can eventually return to 2011 levels of profitability then the p/e drops to 4. The dividend yield is 3% and they managed to improve their cash balance by £400,000.

Their trading statement reads as follows :- "2012 was a challenging year and we do not expect our markets to change significantly in 2013. However, the Group has a strong balance sheet and has initiatives in place which should at least ensure improved profitability in the current year."

If you look at the figures and project forward to any improvement in profitability in the future then, even after today's rise in the share price, the company looks cheap.

They also state that :-  "Whilst the Board believes it is important to maintain cash reserves for development and investment projects, it is also committed to maintaining the payment of dividends, a policy restored in the previous year." It's always nice to receive a dividend payment and I see this as a sign of confidence going forward.

The current market cap. is around £3.3m. The company has negligible debt and has recently acquired a company called Feedback Data plc for a consideration of £600,000.

"FDP specialises in workforce management for companies operating in both the industrial and retail environments with an impressive list of clients within the logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, leisure and consumer retail. FDP's systems sit behind thousands of workers capturing millions of actions using wired, wireless and cloud based networks."

Interim results will be released on 6th September and it will be interesting to assess current trading and how the integration of their recent acquisition is progressing.

Given the fundamentals and a more conducive trading environment, it is difficult to see any downside from here. As mentioned already, any indication of trading returning to 2011 levels should see a significant spike in the share price.

Anyway we won't have to wait too long to find out!

As ever no advice is intended or given.

UBC Media - Where lots of BOOS are very positive!!

I've used Audioboo for my latest blog where I talk about my recent investment in UBC Media.

Click the link below to listen to my BOO.

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1557019-ubc-media