Lavenonews
23 Jan 2015
Re: Trading statement due soon Hoping for no surprises, from history with CRE you never know what lurks around the corner. My suspicion is that as they did not fully complete the buyback there is an acquisition planned. Track record on this front decidedly average! We will see.
gretel
23 Jan 2015
Trading statement due soon The next trading statement is due imminently as last year's was 3rd February.Hopefully another rise coming in the run-up - and afterwards 
))A reminder that consensus from 3 analysts for the year ending soon is 12.5p EPS, with a 4.1p dividend.The year commencing 1st April sees 13.1p EPS and a 4.3p dividend.
gretel
29 Dec 2014
Tipped in the IC Good to see the share price rising today on just a 3,600 share buy - perhaps it's hard to find any stock.CRE has been tipped in the IC - strip out the cash pile and CRE are still on a single-figure P/E, with a foreign exchange benefit set to boost H2 as well:"The re-rating I predicted at small-cap marketing communications company Creston (CRE: 129p) has worked out a treat and last week the shares had now run up into the middle of a historic price band between 130p and 135p, and to within pennies of my year-end target price of 135p (‘Buy the break out’, 4 November 2014). In the current market environment a 10 per cent gain during which time the market is down around 4 per cent is not to be sniffed at. That said, there are sound reasons to continue to run with the position. Interims at the end of last month demonstrated solid organic growth: like-for-like revenues rose 4 per cent to £37.1m and drove up pre-tax profits by 9 per cent in constant currencies. True, the strength of sterling clipped 3 percentage points off that profit growth rate when Creston reported its numbers, but with sterling falling back almost 4 per cent against the US dollar since the September half-year end, and around 7 per cent below its first half average, this first half forex headwind has turned into a second half tailwind for Creston. Operationally, the company is performing well. Significant new business wins include contracts with Danone, McCain and insurer Allianz. Digital is a key component of this growth as this segment now accounts for over half of all revenue. It's higher growth, too, as global internet advertising spend is forecast to grow by almost half in the next four years. Creston domestic bias is also working in its favour as over two-thirds of revenue is generated in the UK, a country with the highest economic growth rate in Europe and also the largest internet advertising market. And there are obvious cross-selling opportunities across the business to create a more integrated agency group, an area the board are targeting with its Unlimited brand. A £6.3m cash pile, worth 10p a share, provides ample funding to pursue organic growth and make selective acquisitions in the digital marketing. Trading on 11 times full-year earnings estimates, and underpinned by a 3 per cent yield, I would continue to run your profits if you followed my buy advice last month."
gretel
18 Dec 2014
Institutional buying RNS - DBay continue to buy. Another 634,000 or so shares takes them to above 15% with 8.93m in total:[link]
The Money Shot
08 Dec 2014
Re: Tipped this weekend 150p is still cheap, I am hoping to see a steady rise to 150ish over the next month. My next target being 200p over next 12-18 mths
gretel
08 Dec 2014
Tipped this weekend Another positive article this weekend - note that their EPS is out of date and has been increased to 12.7p EPS as pre my post above.Given that their 150p would be a current year P/E of only 11.8 - and probably only 10 or so stripping out the cash pile - I'd say 150p would still be cheap:[link] prophets.com/views/9394/creston-interims-on-track "Marketing communications group Creston plc (CRE) has announced its results for the six months to 30th September 2014 and that “current trading is in line with its expectations for the full year”.The results show an adjusted pre-tax profit of £3.77 million on revenue of £37.30 million (up 4% like-for-like on the corresponding 2013 period), generating earnings per share of 4.99p, up from 4.36p. After particularly £1.09 million of tax, a net £1.48 million working capital outflow, £1.60 million of dividends paid and £1.21 million on share buybacks, cash (net) was £1.16 million lower at £6.29 million. The company noted that it, despite remaining cautious in light of the global macro-economic climate, “as in previous years, anticipates increased revenues in the second half of the current financial year” and we continue to consider full-year forecasts of 12.5p of earnings per share and 4.1p of dividends per share (an increased interim dividend of 1.35p per share is to be paid on 9th January to shareholders on the register at 5th December) eminently achievable. With further growth expected next year, despite at a current 126p-129p being well ahead of the 87p offer price at which they were tipped on our Nifty Fifty site less than a year ago, the shares continue to look attractive reasonable value. We'd consider c150p an exit point so pro tem we’d still see upside."
gretel
01 Dec 2014
Forecasts now increased.... New Edison note FYI - and forecasts have been increased.They now go for 12.7p EPS this year, with a 4.1p dividend.Next year it's 13.1p EPS, with a 4.4p dividend.They also forecast £5.4m net cash at the year end, and note that CRE are on a 13% discount t0 other UK-quoted comparators:[link]
sound money
21 Nov 2014
Re: Main IC tip now 860,000 shares traded today, when dud that last happen.M
The Money Shot
21 Nov 2014
Re: Main IC tip now Great rise today and plenty more to come. 150 by Christmas and then more to come next year. Very pleased to be a holder and glad to have stuck it out over the last few years.Good luck all
sound money
21 Nov 2014
Re: Main IC tip now Volume really up today. Someone building a stake? £1.50 would not be expensive. Further to go.M
gretel
21 Nov 2014
Main IC tip now Tipped today as follows:"Creston PLCThu 20 November 2014Theron MohamedInvestors in search of a bargain should consider Creston (CRE). After two years of listless growth, the communications and marketing group has appointed new management, refreshed its strategy and looks set to deliver. Moreover, its shares do not currently seem to be pricing in improving prospects. We think any evidence of progress in the company's upcoming results later this month could provide a real boost to the shares.Creston's new chief executive and finance director plan to unite its pack of media agencies under a single brand, 'Unlimited'. The idea is to coax the group's communications, health and insight segments into sharing and referring clients, driving organic growth and lowering costs. True, former chief executive Don Elgie trumpeted a similar strategy back in 2012. But there's definite scope for improvement - only six of the group's 50 largest clients use services from all three divisions.Creston is in a good position to pursue growth as it has a lot of exposure to the fast-expanding digital-marketing industry, as well as the enormous US healthcare market. The group's digital and online sales rose 10 per cent last year and account for more than two-thirds of its communication revenues and over half of total sales. Geographically, Creston may prove well positioned too. While it aims to earn about half of its revenues overseas over the next five years, for now two-thirds of its revenues come from the UK, which should make it a beneficiary of economic recovery. The company can also boast an impressive customer base that spans from food retailers to automotive manufacturers, and includes Unilever and Diageo.Furthermore, its solid net cash position should support investment in growth opportunities and acquisitions. Creston is already using acquisitions to broaden its business to include new services such as technology consulting. It recently acquired Walnut, a neuroscience consultancy, and Liberation, a healthcare communications agency. It is also expanding internationally through partnerships and acquisitions - it acquired digital healthcare agency DJM two years ago, and launched it in the US in September.There is work to be done for Creston to realise its potential. Underlying profits fell last year, but importantly they rose in the second half of the year, reflecting £8.6m in new business with HSBC, Novartis and others. And first-quarter revenues climbed 3 per cent thanks to further client wins and international work. So things seem to be heading in the right direction, with broker Liberum forecasting an 8 per cent increase in EPS this year to 12.8p, followed by 6 per cent growth in the year to March 2016.CRESTON (CRE)ORD PRICE: 121p MARKET VALUE: £ 71mTOUCH: 120-122p 12-MONTH HIGH: 121p LOW: 78pFWD DIVIDEND YIELD: 3.6% FWD PE RATIO: 9NET ASSET VALUE: 191p* NET CASH: £7.5mYear to 31 Mar Turnover (£m) Pre-tax profit (£m)** Earnings per share (p)** Dividend per share (p)2012 74.9 10.3 12.3 3.52013 75.1 10.0 14.7 3.72014 74.9 9.6 11.8 3.92015** 77.9 9.8 12.8 4.12016** 81.1 10.3 13.6 4.3% change +4 +5 +6 +5Normal market sizr: 3,000Matched bargain tradingBeta: 0.60*Includes intangible assets of £105m, or 179p a share**Liberum forecasts, adjusted PTP and EPS figuresShare tip summaryManagement do have work to do to revitalise the business, but we think investors are undervaluing the group's improved prospects based on progress made so far. Adjusting for cash, the shares trade at 9 times consensus next 12-month forecast earnings. That looks cheap compared with Cello (CLL) and Chime Communications, both of which have net debt and trade at 11 times forecasts. Creston's rating also represents a stark discount to the sector average rating of 17. The shares also boast a useful forecast yield of 3.4 per cent this year. Furthermore, Creston has earmarked up to £2m to buy back shares
