winningstreak
29 Jun 2017
Re: Projected under-consumption of energy co... Rightly or wrongly, I cannot help but feel that management has not been straight to investors from the outset. I took my money out long ago. IMHO
IOMINVESTCOM
29 Jun 2017
Projected under-consumption of energy contracts Oh dear ...yet more negative clouds..29 June 2017Utilitywise plc("Utilitywise", the "Company" or the "Group"
Projected under-consumption of energy contractsThe Board of Utilitywise, a leading independent utility cost management consultancy, announces that it has been made aware of apparent material levels of under-consumption in certain contracts placed with one of the major energy companies dealt with by the Group (the "Energy Company".Utilitywise remains in positive discussions with the Energy Company and has agreed to make repayments of commissions, previously paid to Utilitywise, totalling GBP7.6m between June 2017 and December 2020. As a result of changes in internal controls by both the Group and the Energy Company since August 2016, which mitigate the risk of significant under consumption in the contracts versus the estimated usage agreed at the outset, The Board is confident that contracts placed after August 2016 with the Energy Company will show more normal levels of consumption over the lives of those contracts.The Board however feels it is prudent to reflect the full potential impact of the payments in the financial statements of the Group at this stage, though is confident Utilitywise will receive some of the cash back from the Energy Company at the conclusion of the contracts. The majority of the contracts in question are ordinarily due to end in the calendar years 2020 and 2021, at which point the final value of commissions due to Utilitywise will be determined and the final cash position between the two parties then settled. Accordingly, the Group will recognise an accounting charge for the full potential impact, estimated at GBP11.2m, subject to external audit, in its income statement in the year ended 31 July 2017. GBP7.7m of this charge is expected to be recognised as an exceptional item, with the remaining GBP3.5m reducing the underlying profit before tax of the Group in the same period.The Board expects to fund this recovery from the Group's operating cash flow and available banking facilities, including a substantial offset of the negative cash flow in the year ended 31 July 2017. This will be through a combination of the corporation tax impact of the above noted accounting charge and working capital management. Accordingly, the Board does not change its expectations in respect of net debt of the Group as at 31 July 2017.The Board is satisfied that this issue is materially specific to those contracts placed with the Energy Company and that the risk of similar issues arising with other energy suppliers is low following changes in internal controls at the Group. Accordingly, the Board does not anticipate a risk to the future revenues, profits and cash flows of the Group as a result of a recurrence of this issue in other contracts.Brendan Flattery, Chief Executive Officer, Utilitywise, commented: "Along with the Board, the management and I are confident that the risk of similar issues with other suppliers is minimal. We have been working hard in terms of preparing Utilitywise for its next phase of growth. Part of this process has been increasing the transparency of the balance sheet, including the decision to discontinue cash advances from suppliers as well as improving our internal controls and methodology for estimating future energy usage when determining contracts with our energy suppliers. With an extensive portfolio of services in place and a focus on providing a great customer experience, Utilitywise has a strong platform for continued growth."Under-consumption issueThe Energy Company has assessed the latest consumption levels on its total portfolio of c. 4,400 live contracts placed by Utilitywise. The Board understands that the consumption levels have been determined by the Energy Company to be, on average, significantly lower than initially expected at the inception of the contracts. This determination is based in part upon actual consumption levels p
valuemanbuyer
08 Apr 2017
Re: Share Value Drop JasonsaxAs an unhappy investor I think you're bang-on. They're clearing the decks and will now need to prove their honesty and growth credentials before Investor's will believe them . It's not rocket science - just look at Inspred Energy.
claude reins
07 Apr 2017
Re: Share Value Drop I qonder what Mt Woodford makes of all this. Surely, he must have some say in the matter - qirth 29%+ shareholding?Significant shareholders (3% and above) Woodford Investment Management – 22,884,413 (29.16%) River and Mercantile Asset Management – 4,809,400 (6.13%) Miton Asset Management – 3,028,462 (3.89%) Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers (EO) – 3,006,079 (3.83%) Hargreave Hale stockbrokers – 2,980,042 (3.80%) Baillie Gifford – 2,710,382 (3.45%)Directors’ shareholdings Geoffrey Thompson (direct and family trust) – 8,559,414 (10.91%) Brendan Flattery – 60,000 (0.08%) Richard Laker – 0 Brin Sheridan – 0 Simon Waugh – 0 Kathie Child-Villiers – 0 Richard Feigen – 10,000 (0.01%) Paul Hailes – 35,001 (0.04%) Jeremy Middleton (direct, company, pension) – 3,287,559 (4.19%)
jaxonsax
07 Apr 2017
Re: Share Value Drop the big issue with this company is, and always has been, their aggressive accounting and in particular accounting for revenue. The accounts show £41m of accrued revenue which in some cases wont be billed for over 3 years. That for me makes it uninvestable.In the past this was a big issue for investors due to cashflow being weak compared to 'profit'. This was partially allayed 12-18 months ago by squeezing upfront cash in advance from suppliers - a practice which they now say they are discontinuing so the next 6-12 cash flow will be very poor hence the share price slump.At some point they will probably have to change their accounting policy to be more conservative and more in line with cashlow. Until they do that its always going to be down rated accordingly
IOMINVESTCOM
05 Apr 2017
Utilitywise: strong opportunity for growth, says Shore Capital Utilitywise: strong opportunity for growth, says Shore CapitalShore Capital is backing energy services company Utilitywise (UTW) in its new long-term plans for the business.Analyst Robin Speakman retained his ‘buy’ recommendation on the stock, which dropped 11%, or 17.5p, to 140p after it declared a first half loss of £6 million, down from an £11.8 million profit last year. With exceptional items excluded adjusted profits rose to £9.4 million from £9.1 million with an interim dividend of 2.3p.The company also announced that executive chairman Geoff Thompson would step down to be a non-executive chairman.‘We believe that Utilitywise is building foundations for its longer-term performance, the next half sees the company moving into a critical delivery phase, in our view, with the launch of water and gearing up the smart solutions across the group,’ he said.‘Looking at valuation, we take a risk-adjusted approach looking at a market with strong opportunity for growth.’[link]
winningstreak
04 Apr 2017
Re: Share Value Drop I feel more comfortable at INSE. ws
silvetici
04 Apr 2017
Share Value Drop Good grief, this is a huge drop in share value, I thought UTW was a good buy at around 180p per share, the fundamentals don't look bad, so I hope the company can get the share price moving up soon.
winningstreak
30 Jan 2017
INSE Having been a shareholder here, I moved across to INSE (similar activities) some timeago. No regrets. Solid progress at INSE. Results out this morning. May be of interest tothose who want to be invested in both companies.ws
IOMINVESTCOM
14 Dec 2016
benefit from link up with Business Stream, says Shore Capital Utilitywise to benefit from link up with Business Stream, says Shore CapitalEnergy and water consultancy Utilitywise (UTW) has partnered with non-domestic water supplier Business Stream, which Shore Capital said would enhance cross-selling.Analyst Robin Speakman retained his ‘buy’ recommendation on the stock, which was trading flat at 190p yesterday.‘The utility services specialist has announced a partnership with Business Stream, the UK’s third largest non-domestic water supplier,’ he said.‘This agreement leverages the ongoing deregulation of the UK water market in England. This appears to us to offer another strong business partnership to Utilitywise. The strategy here is one of cross-selling between the organisations to leverage respective customer bases to offer business clients simplicity in billing and control of the utility bills, so potentially bundling services.‘Business Stream, post the acquisition of Southern Water’s non-domestic customer base, taking effect in April 2017, services c.190,000 clients.’[link]
claude reins
09 Aug 2016
New heavweight CEO from Sage Good news that finally there is a CEO appointment, and a good one based on previous experience. Sage is a big and successful player. A big turnround of news after yesterday's updat
IOMINVESTCOM
09 Aug 2016
Utilitywise faces operating issues but valuation still adds up Utilitywise faces operating issues but valuation still adds upGrowth at Utilitywise (UTW) may be constrained as the energy and water consultancy tries to resolve operating issues.Shore Capital analyst Robin Speakman retained his ‘buy’ recommendation but does not have a target price on the shares, which fell 8.5% to 130.4p yesterday.‘[An] update from Utilitywise confirms a better cash performance for the year to end July 2016 but also reveals that the operating difficulties in the core enterprise division have continued resulting in slower revenue build than anticipated with a knock-on impact to EBITDA,’ he said.‘The group has still generated strong growth overall, but resolving the operating issues in the enterprise division now potentially constrains growth for the current year.’Speakman reduced his revenue forecast for the year by c.£10 million to c.£95 million.‘Given a strong balance sheet, we anticipate growth investment plans to continue with cost investment continuing and an unchanged ability to drive dividend growth. On valuation grounds, we retain a “buy” stance.’[link]
IOMINVESTCOM
08 Aug 2016
Paul Scott's view [link]
Sambram
08 Aug 2016
Re: Trading Update yeah, but it's a mixed bag really.finnCap note (taken from research tree)...City broker finnCap covered the results in a report published this morning, highlighting staff attrition as a significant challenge to the company in H2, but saying cash flow had improved and net debt has been significantly reduced. finnCap believe staff attrition has presented a significant challenge to the company in H2, reducing productivity and limiting EBITDA:"Energy Consultant headcount was 625 at July 2016, flat on the end of H1. Staff attrition has continued to be a challenge, limiting sales growth to 19% in FY 2016 and reducing productivity so that EBITDA is now expected to be up slightly on last year (greater than £18m)."However, despite low profit growth, Utilitywise's enterprise customers grew 21% y-o-y and an estimated 75% of sales came from new customers. Analyst Guy Hewett also highlighted that the company had improved it's commercial terms and cash flow, meaning net debt was down considerably:"Net debt at the year-end was £0.2m, down from £10.2m at H1 and better than our original forecast of £3m. We estimate operating cash conversion was approaching 100% in the full year (over 200% in H2), significantly better than the £2.5m operating cash outflow in 2015 as improved commercial terms benefited."
winningstreak
08 Aug 2016
Trading Update Not impressed by today's Trading Update. Glad I put my money on Inspired Energy (INSE) instead.ws
