Ripley94
21 Dec 2019
Get it done As borris says.
Callun
26 Apr 2018
Q1 update Well the market response has been strongly negative so far with a further 4% drop in the SP today. I guess it wanted to see something better than "in line with expectation" words. The steady drift in SP leading up to this statement suggests that it didn't expect too much, though.The use of "challenging", the overhang of "material risks and uncertainties facing the Group, including its onerous contracts and other legacy issues", and "limited cash generation in 2018" will hold back progress for some time, it seems.Callun
Callun
24 Apr 2018
Re: SP There has been a steady decline in the SP since before the Annual Financial Report on 21st March to what seems a 115p floor.We should be due a Q1 trading update statement soon (27th last year) so hopefully there will be something there to raise the SP a little. However, as Q1 had become a relatively small proportion of the overall results for the year, it's unlikely to have a significant effect.Callu
nk1999
14 Mar 2018
Telegraph- Questor "Questor: keep buying Cobham – time is back on the side of its management and investors: After five profit warnings, a dividend cut and two rights issues, Cobham’s full year results were relatively quiet. That is exactly what was required as David Lockwood, Chief Executive, and David Mellors, Chief financial Officer, look to turn the aviation services and defence electronics business around. We have now had two consecutive sets of six-monthly figures that were no worse than expected. In addition, the $455 million (£325 million) sale of the wireless and avionics communications businesses further reduces debt and takes net borrowings almost back to the levels of 2011, before the acquisition spree that unstitched the balance sheet. Best of all, Lockwood is not lowering expectations for 2018, pending any further sales or changes to group structure.A 9% drop in order intake needs to be watched. Any improvement here would be a great sign. In addition, the firm is still wrestling with a problematic contract for the U.S. air force and awaiting the results of an investigation by the City regulator into a potential breach of market disclosure rules in 2016. A forward price to earnings ratio of more than 20 looks unappealing but it comes after five straight falls in annual profits and is based on a consensus earnings per share forecast of 5.8p. Cobham has made nearly 20p in the past (on an underlying basis) and the firm does not need to get too near that to look cheap again. Questor says “Buy”."
Callun
09 Mar 2018
Re: FT comment That's a big leap of faith. It will probably take something more than the recent results to produce a lift of 50% of the pre results price. The rehabilitation has only just begun.Care to place a timescale on your prediction?Callun
Chief Mukuni
08 Mar 2018
Re: FT comment Back to £1.70 based on these results.
nk1999
03 Feb 2018
FT comment On disposal.......... (extracts)"Cobham has taken the first step to reversing the ill-fated acquisition spree that left the aerospace and defence supplier crippled with debt, with the sale on Friday of its wireless and avionics communications testing business to US-based Viavi Solutions for $455m in cash. David Lockwood, brought in as chief executive just over a year ago to turn round the struggling defence and aerospace equipment supplier, said the disposal would leave the group “in a much stronger position to be able to address core markets without distraction”. Cobham would also be able to pay off £440m of its £943m gross debt, including a significant portion of private placement borrowings in the US. However, the strategic evaluation of the group’s remaining businesses would continue. “This is the shape of Cobham now,” he said. “[But] any company that says they have finished the strategic process is probably going to die.” Cobham has been struggling to recover from its ill-fated attempt to diversify away from defence markets with the 2014 acquisition of Aeroflex, a US manufacturer of communications and connectivity equipment. The $1.5bn deal left it burdened with heavy debt and when many of Aeroflex’s markets collapsed, the company came close to breaching its banking covenants. It has been forced to raise more than £1bn in two rights issues in the last two years, and has issued five profit warnings. With this sale, Cobham has exited roughly 40 per cent of the Aeroflex business, Mr Lockwood said. Analysts were pleasantly surprised at the speed of execution, with the operations having been put on the block only last August.The disposal of the so-called Wireless and AvComm unit, which performs radio and avionic testing as well as validation services for mobile and IP networks, was what investors had pushed for, said Andrew Gollan, aerospace analyst at Berenberg investment bank. “In terms of strategic moves necessary to recover this business, this is one we wanted to see to focus the portfolio,” he said. “It is good because they are exiting a business investors do not understand.” Some investors are likely to press the group to restart dividend payments, after suspending the payout last year. Cobham was for many years one of the sector’s most consistent and highest yielding dividend payers. However, Mr Lockwood and his finance director David Mellors insisted that the discussion of how to allocate capital would not take place before the turnround was complete. Cobham intended to update investors on capital allocation by the end of the year, Mr Mellors said. Nick Cunningham, aerospace analyst, said Cobham was right to be cautious about the recovery at this stage, despite having significantly reduced risk with the disposal................."
Callun
12 Jan 2018
Re: SP Strong upsurge this week. Are we due a trading update shortly? Some good news would be useful to firm this rise.Callun
Callun
15 Nov 2017
Trading update Today's announcement is brief and contains nothing new, indicating only that the Group's performance in the first ten months of 2017 has been largely as expected.It is weak on outlook, indicating that meeting expectationsl depends on there being no disasters before the year end.At least there was no seriously negative news, and for now has stopped the SP slide.Callun
Callun
14 Nov 2017
Re: SP You are probably correct, where on a day of FTSE250 fell over 230 points the specific association with Ultra markets would be expected to further depress the Cobham SP.However, the SP decline pre-dates the Ultra announcement, and has been steadily reducing for a month, following a period of stability since the half year results. I am suspicious that some bad news has leaked out. Hopefully the soon to come trading update will prove me wrong.Callun
nk1999
13 Nov 2017
Re: SP There is perhaps some damage from Ultra Electronics news as well.
Callun
13 Nov 2017
SP SP currently at pre August half year report levels.With a trading update due mid-November (date not yet released) the recent dive in the SP from what seemed to be a promising rise in early October seems a little suspicious. Should we be bracing ourselves for more bad news, and has that been leaked to interested parties ahead of public release? I hope not since the company is already under investigation for a similar misdemeanor.Has Lockwood's "Challenging turnaround" stalled?Callun
nk1999
21 Oct 2017
Telegraph- Questor "Cobham came close to running out of fuel but is poised to take wing again: Five profit warnings, a substantially reduced dividend and two rights issues hardly sound like a basis for an investment case. But it is always eye-catching when share prices start to rise even as the news remains bad and Cobham is showing such pleasing resilience. Aeroflex went wrong and a vital refuelling systems contract for the U.S. Air Force suffered delays at the same time. Cobham’s profits plunged and the over-indebted balance sheet fell apart. Hence the need for the rights issues. August’s interims were no worse than expected, which in itself was a nice change, and the management overhaul has continued with the appointment of industry heavy-hitter Paul Kahn as head of the communications operations, which include the units that could be sold. As with any turnaround story the risks are considerable, so the stock is suitable only for patient, risk-tolerant investors who can tough out any further turbulence. Questor says ‘Buy’ (@142.7p)."[link]
Callun
28 Jul 2017
Re: Broker forecast Another......from 2 days ago......Barclays Capital today reaffirms its equal weight investment rating on Cobham PLC (LON:COB) and set its price target at 135p.
Callun
06 Jul 2017
Broker forecast JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Cobham PLC (LON:COB) and cut its price target to 130p (from 135p).---------- ---------- -----Seems that despite the management changes and cash calls there is no observable sign of improvement. Callun
