Thursday 3 January 2013

New Year resolution

Well my entry on the "stocks to double in 2013" ADVFN thread has made a decent start. Up a tad yesterday and a further 10.5% today. Very early days yet, and as I mentioned in an earlier blog, Angle is a punt that could multibag or amount to nothing based on the success of its Parsortix product. I just hope it's the former rather than the latter.

I've made a New Year's resolution to try and post more often on my blog and will aim to write a piece four or five times a week if time permits.

What I've decided to do is to pick out a company from the news stories of the day and write a brief piece about my initial thoughts on the company. Please note that I don't offer any advice just some observations after a cursory glance at recent company news and financials.

Today I am going to start with Chemring (CHG) who announced the appointment of a new Group Finance Director. Steve Bowers joins from UMECO, a company that were recently acquired for £5.50 per share (close to their all-time high of just over £6). Interestingly Steve Bowers was closely involved with acquisitions and disposals whilst with UMECO. I say interestingly since Chemring were recently in discussions with Carlyle Group about a possible takeover. However, talks have subsequently collapsed and Chemring's share price has followed.

Despite a 6.5% rise in the share price today, Chemring's historic p/e ratio is around 6 and if they hold the dividend the payout is nearly 6%. So why do the shares look cheap? Well a recent trading statement stated that 2012 had been extremely disappointing and the market backdrop for 2013 remained challenging.

On a more positive note, they also mentioned that in the final quarter there was a significant cash inflow and that nebt debt would be £250m down £12.7m on last year. They also have a relatively new CEO - Mark Papworth who delivered substantial improvements in profitability in his time at Wood Group.

A bit of a mixed bag, but if nothing else maybe one to keep on your monitor, although no advice is given or intended and the figures I have quoted are directly taken from other sources and need checking.

For those of you who take time to read the blog many thanks and I'll endeavour to keep my New Year resolution.


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