Tag Archives: (AIM: TIDE)

Crimson Tide issues earnings upgrade

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Aim-listed Crimson Tide, issued a very encouraging update today in which it detailed that it expects to beat profit expectations forĀ the year ending 31 December 2015.

It noted: ā€œProfit before tax will be higher than market expectations and significantly higher than for the previous year.ā€

In addition, analyst Eric Burns at house broker WH Ireland raised his profit forecast for the stock from 2.25p to 3.5p and changed it from a ā€˜Speculative Buyā€™ to a ā€˜Buyā€™.

The outperformance was due in no small part to the massive win with Tesco that I wrote about on this blog some time ago. (17 September RNS in which TescoĀ was not named).

In a detailed note out today, Burns confirmed thatĀ he expects it to start paying a dividend this year, which coupled with earnings upgrades should lead to a further re-rating of the stock.

He wote: ā€œForecast risk exists due to the phasing of new customer rollouts (with Tesco being an example of upside risk as it was rolled out faster than anticipated) but recurring revenue is building (65% est of our FY16 revenue forecast) and provided TIDE can continue to build its subscriber base there could be material upside to the shares trading on 12.9x our new FY17 EPS forecast. In our view, the introduction of a dividend in the current year (which we now forecast) will add to the sharesā€™ attractions.ā€

The EPS for FY16 is estimated at 0.11 putting it on a forward PE of 15.8, dropping to a PE of 12.9 with EPS of 0.22p for 2017.

However, I expect upgrades for 2017 as Tesco and Nestle sign up more users to its subscription-based software as a service.

Just to reiterate, Crimson TideĀ is a fast growing, profitable, operationally-geared company with great scope for growth. It has no debt and plans to pay a dividend. Whatā€™s not to like?

I’d be very surprised if more small cap fundsĀ don’t start piling into this very soon. Indeed,Ā  given the illiquid nature of AIM stocks and theĀ fact that the shares are tightly held, this could easilyĀ double again in price within 18 months. It is currently around 3.5p to buy.

Of course this is my personal view and not a recommendation to buy. You should do your research before ever investing in a stock and never invest more than you can afford to lose.

The writer holds stock in Crimson Tide.

See and Tide float my investing boat

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Iā€™m hardly surprised that stock markets around the world have been tanking, indeed the surprise for me has been how long it has taken for people to realise that the global economy is in a very bad way. Moreover, things are likely to get a good deal worse as the US economy weakens.

This doesnā€™t mean Iā€™m completely bearish about stocks: I favour some small caps. In an era of low GDP growth, innovativeĀ andĀ well run small caps willĀ still thrive. One of which, Crimson Tide (TIDE), has been re-rated slightly following good news but it has much further to go.

Another, Seeing Machines (SEE) has barely moved despite lots of evidence that it is making inroads into selling its eye-tracking technology into the Driver Monitoring Systems of automotive manufacturers, while conducting successful trials with fleet managers.

The price is stuck at around 5p and I guess it wonā€™t start to move until official RNS news comes outĀ  detailing launch dates of cars containing its technology and signed contracts with trucking and bus companies. I’m taking advantage of this stalled stock price to load up, as opportunities like this don’t come round too often in my experience.

With its technology proven by the likes of Caterpillar it isn’t a jam tomorrow stock but rather a caviar fairlyĀ soon one. We’ll see – perhaps I’ll end up eating my words?

One piece of information I havenā€™t seen elsewhere is that Miton hold around 4% of SEE. And fund manager Gervais Williams is still keen on the stock as he revealed in this article (P62 ā€˜From Tech Acornsā€¦)

I hold both companies but do please conduct your own research before investing your hard-earned cash.

Every little contract helps Crimson Tide grow profits

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Small capĀ Crimson Tide (AIM: TIDE) has produced good interims today, showing a rise in both profits and revenues.

For the 6 months to June 30, 2015 pre-tax profits increased 140% to Ā£60k from Ā£25k for the same period in 2014. Notably, this was achieved on revenue growth of only 10% with turnover of Ā£673k (2014: Ā£614k).

Net cash balances increased from Ā£239k at the end of 2014 to Ā£499k at 30 June 2015 partly assisted by asset finance from Lombard for new hand-held devices purchased for new contracts.

Gross margins are now over 90% and being operationally geared, the increasingly large contracts that are being signed for its MPRO5 software service (average term 3 years) are delivering steady and predictable profit growth.

Itā€™s got blue chip clients across a range of industries. In the first half it won a contract for mpro5 to distribute The Evening Standard (it already does the Metro nationally). It addition, its deal with Nestle is continuing well: following initial roll-out in Australia, it has now being used in German and Brazil.

Another major contract for a major UK supermarket was signed following a long pilot during the first half.

In addition, it will be targeting opportunities in healthcare as well as food health and safety, where executive chairman Barrie Whipp sees ā€˜tremendous upsideā€.

Potential

Iā€™ve been a fan of this company for a while, and admittedly its progress has been slow but steady – still that is the kind of company that wins the race and delivers great returns for early investors.

Iā€™d strongly recommend that any investor looking for a combination of profitable growth that will drive share price appreciation take a good look at Crimson Tide.

Currently, its share price trades between 1.75p-2p. However, I expect it to burst through this range as soon as the market cottons on to this growth story. (In the meantime, it can be picked up fairly cheaply).

Analyst Eric BurnsĀ  at house broker WH Ireland expects full year pre-tax profits of Ā£177k for 2015, rising to Ā£421k in 2016 and Ā£921k in 2017.

He commented in a note out this morning: ā€œTIDE remains a cash cow with a Ā£361k cash inflow from operating activities (against EBITDA of Ā£198k) taking cash balances to Ā£500k. A building level of recurring contracted revenue also adds weight to theinvestment case. We retain a Speculative Buy rating and 2.25p price target. ā€œ

Personally, I think that with increased marketing effort and a steadily growing reputation in the market it could well beat these targets in fairly short order.

Executive chairman Barrie Whipp isnā€™t given to hyperbole, quite the reverse. Thus the bullish tone of his comments accompanying these results is worth noting: ā€œThe Board and I feel that we are now seeing the benefits of the substantial gearing that we have generated. We are confident that the new channel strategy will result in greater opportunities and look forward to the future with ever increasing optimism. ā€œ

Of course, small caps are inherently risky and any investor should do their own research.Ā  Still, Iā€™m expecting that regardless of the macroeconomic scene this will be a multiple of its current price within 2-3 years.

The writer holds shares in Crimson Tide