Looking good since the demerger. Lots of potential growth opportunities, a potential bid target and green credentials to boot. what more could you ask for?!

Biffa has posted first-half profit before tax up 19.9% to 41.6m, boosted by organic growth.

The waste management services company, which recently demerged from water company Severn Trent, also saw revenues up 5.8% to 376.5m in the six months to September 29th.

Biffa's maiden interim dividend was set at 2.1p per share.

CEO, Martin Bettington, said, 'Biffa has delivered a strong set of maiden results, with all divisions achieving organic growth in the first half of the year.'

This looks like a good long term hold. However I think it will get a takeover before long..

Either way shareholders will be winners - along with the environment :-)

LONDON (AFX) - Waste management services company Biffa PLC said its finance director, Timothy Lowth, has bought 17,150 shares in the company at 288.5 pence apiece, raising his holding to 22,587, or 0.006 pct.


Also see the other news today: Directors are increasing holdings.

Another obvious positive signal. Things are looking good :-)

I'm liking the look of this stock and think I have to get in.

Well Greyhound it's green, growing and a takeover target - join the party!

..Mes amities mes ami/es .D'accord completement. .Chartwise -.ln employing relatively basic simple variables 260p signalled the point of entry. And chartwise 320 was point of exit... .. 335p+ seems a little too heady for myself at THIS time and the current precarious s/p , whilst perhaps no more than a minor bleep, is looking slightly overbought and overpriced . l fully anticipate a little profit taking as % players like myself lock into some healthy profits - followed by an ensuing fall in s/p , ; and a very temporary retracement to perhaps the 300p level; at which point there is solid intrinsic support and an s/p l would consider taking a position. At 300p there is massive support. . Talk about the s/p being walked uo the upper bolly band from 260 to 310 , and the ensuing push to wards 350 makes Biff looks as if there is more downside as opposed to upside; and hence temporarily overvalued. .Juste as MMs can walkthe s/p up the upper bollinger bandwith it can wan walk them back down the lower band . ..ln saying that i suggest this scenario will be shortlived as BIFF has some very healthy fundementals coupled with impressive organic growth fuelling its monumental 30% since Dec and to boot a 2.1p maiden divi All in all - One to follow VERY closely . ,,,,Finally has anyone any idea if Sev Trent in disposing of this none core asset hived off ANYof the enlarged groups debts to its newly spun off enterprise- juste as BT with O2. ....Last i heard SEV were making noises that this waste management outfit was not as cost effective as the board anticipated . .......Any comments .... @+ J..............OT - A look @ WNG may prove of great interest to many on this board . ......... . . ..............

Interesting bit about possible rerating for outfits like BIFF In AFX below I thought.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=1836916

Thanks Stan

Merci beaucoup FC...

Managed to get out with over half of my holding before the little quick drop from 341.5p.

....Moves about this one doesn't It?

Proving to be a reliable trading opportunity this one.

Proving to be a reliable trading opportunity this one.

Anyone know If this Is adding or selling?

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200703231615086391T.html

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200703261713447424T.html

Might provide a nice little spike In SP around that time.

One would hope so Stan. Most market comments have been favourable with the exception of the recent broker note. Still a potential bid target as well.

Queen1, did you see they even got a mention In the Pennon results yesterday -):

I didn't - what was the gist of that?

It's In the link below, If the link does not highlight I will cut/paste It.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=1864026

ED: No highlight, I will get the relevant stuff.

Her we are then Q1,

"Pennon Group continues to be seen as a prime takeover target as infrastructure funds show increased interest for water and waste assets, interest evidenced by the recent acquisitions of Cory Environmental in the UK and Saur in France.

Analysts said that an absence of obvious candidates for failed bidders, as well as European protectionism, make Pennon and Biffa stand out."

Thanks Stan. The more reporting like this the better IMO. Biffa's a quality product in the right market at the right time. Let's see how the story unfolds.

Certainly get the feeling that something may be In the offing, only problem Is when of course -):

Still patience Is a virtue as they say.

http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:BIFF.L&it=le&display=news

Well didn't expect that, SP been down around 331p. all day on bigger then usual volume.

Will they take It down another 20/30p or up by a similar amount...answers on a postcard

please?

Biffa cautions on profits
MoneyAM
Biffa has told the market that full-year profits and revenues will be at the lower end of expectations.

The waste management firm, which demerged from utility Severn Trent last September, said profits from its Collection Division were likely to be below those achieved last year as it raised prices only selectively instead of across the board in order to retain more customers.

Biffa CEO, Martin Bettington, said the earnings slowdown was a strategy to keep hold of customers when new regulations come in in October requiring customers to pre-treat waste before it is taken away for landfill by Biffa. This will raise costs for consumers and the company wants to retain market share by not raising prices across the board.

'We've been looking at our local accounts,' he told reporters. 'The biggest change is that last year we put in a double-digit across the board price increase, which we've not done this year as it's not appropriate. The way the market is developing with the new regs in October we wanted to concentrate more on service and being more focused in terms of prices increases.'

Biffa's Leicester plant has also affected this year's numbers as it will not open following upgrades until the Summer.

Bettington said the company was not angry about Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget decision to raise the landfill tax by 24/tonne to 32/tonne by next year.

'Even with 24 a tonne you're below EU levels,' he said. '32/tonne will bring it closer. It's something we've been saying for some time: if we really want to get serious as a country about recycling, then you have to put the tax up.'

The resource recovery/landfill division and the power divisions are expected to show good growth, added the company.

I wasn't expecting that either although to be fair this wasn't a profits warning. They will still come in within analysts expectations, just the wrong end. That's why although there has been a drop it's not been as drastic as some I've seen. It wouldn't surprise me to see this jump again tomorrow.

I am confident they will be higher in a few months time queen.

This may calm a few nerves.

Price is reclaiming its old position but may consolidate for a while.




THIS IS FROM THE TIMES TODAY (5-4-07)





Private equity tricks could help Biffa thrive in the public arena

Tempus: Robert Cole

Kerpow! Biffa, a separately listed company for barely six months, yesterday learnt what it is like to deal with frisky and fickle public market investors. Six per cent was punched out of the value of the company on publication of a downbeat trading statement.

Some Delphic comments about pricing in the industrial and commercial waste-disposal division may have left some investors scratching their heads and, in their confusion, assuming the worst. The truth appears to be that volumes and pricing on national accounts where Biffa collects waste for supermarket chains and the like is OK but that the company is reappraising its approach to smaller industrial and commercial clients. Some customers, Biffa seems to believe, are more trouble than they are worth. By increasing prices selectively, it may make some of the clients worth the trouble they cause. Biffa seems to think that if some clients object, there will be no net loss to it, but it does admit that profits were constrained during the second half.

Biffas residential rubbish collection business is doing more than OK. Most of the market is served by one or other provider, but Biffa is showing that it can win local authority contracts. Just yesterday, it was talking about its deal with the Metropolitan Borough of the Wirral.

Waste-disposal companies have been talking about the positive business impact of enhanced environmental legislation for longer than anyone cares to remember, but it remains true that regulatory obligations are creating opportunites. Biffa, in common with similar companies, is becoming more of a processor of waste than a disposer of the stuff. That said, Biffas access to landfill, remains valuable and although it it is hard to get planning permission to fill new holes in the ground, Biffa is securing some new capacity.

Biffas shares fell yesterday partly because the company said that profits would be at the lower end of expectations. Whether this constitutes a profit warning is moot and may be a matter of pure semantics. In any case, the more powerful reason behind the shares fall may have been that the disappointment, such as it was, blew the froth off bid speculation.

Biffa has many of the attributes admired by private equity buyers. It adheres to a relatively simple business model and throws off good quantities of cash that could be used to pay down gearing.

Its shares trade at a chunky premium to its peers, however, and may be beyond any sensible buyers price range. They sit on a prospective price/earnings ratio of 22 and give a yield of just 1.8 per cent. The enterprise value of the company is a full 11 times the cash operating profits.

Biffa might see the sense of pulling the private equity tricks while retaining the public listing, which might release more value. Hold.

Seems a reasonable appraisal on events I think Fred, SP on the way back north as well.

As predicted, back up yesterday. Quality share with good prospects. Thanks for the article Fred1new.

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200704161257519190U.html

Interesting move. Believe JP Morgan Cazenove provide takeover advice among other things.

Don't they all Stan (not that I wouldn't appreciate takeover speculation!)?

I had not looked at It like that Queen1 -):

"Meanwhile, upbeat broker comment helped Biffa and Shanks Group, up 20p at 339p and 14.75p at 266.5p, respectively.

Goldman Sachs placed both waste management group's on its Conviction Buy List and said the UK sector lacks the scale to cope with the expected necessary investment programme and predicted consolidation."

"Conviction Buy List"?....not heard that one before -):

Goldmans 400p target seems a bit low I would consider 500p a more likely buy out price, still a good day today might see 400p before too long.

Well it's been a good bounce - I thought we may have been moving back towards 300p. If we can get to 350p by the end of the week I think that will be a good platform.

On the up still so far this morning, Support Services seems a good sector to be in at the moment.

Results announced today really weren't that bad - in fact they were very positive in many aspects - so why the large drop in SP so far?

It does look overdone to me. Believe there was an article in the Times or Guardian yesterday saying that if results aren't good, it's only bid activity that will support the price. The general lacklustre day is not helping.

There's also this to factor in:

Turning to the midcap downside, Biffa was the biggest faller, down 27 or 8.39 pct at 295 after the group's in-line full year numbers as the outlook disappointed.
The group posted a full-year pretax profit of 72.8 mln stg, an increase of 11.1 pct on the previous year.
The waste management firm said revenue rose 6.3 pct to 742.7 mln stg in the same comparison.
Merrill Lynch reiterated its 'sell' stance on Biffa, citing the fact that the company's statement is cautious about current year outlook, and suggesting that further downgrades may yet be necessary.

I decided to ditch this, better elsewhere with likes of Eaga and PVCS.

I still think it was overdone. Still, what do I know?!

Don't tempt me :-)

Worth buying this morning after yesterdays poorly received results.

3 directors bought stock at around 285p

That doesn't surprise me. This is still a quality play with a lot of long-term potential (or the potential to be taken over). The Directors know this and saw the post-results slump as a buying opportunity.

Although this company has had some good press coverage since its disappointing results and in the very long term should be a winner, it is likely to trade sideways for some time, probably months waiting for fundamentals to catch up.

From the maps, it could rebound and trade between 310 and 360p, but is more likely to trade between 280 and 310 p for months waiting for and improvement in projected fundamentals. (Some of the CEO comments could be reread.) From what I can see the bounce to-day has less than hoped for volume to support it.

BUT DYOH I am known to be wrong

You're probably right but I'm a long-term shareholder and in the case of this share I believe I will profit in the long term. But of course I too am known to be wrong!

STOCKWATCH Biffa weak; Morgan Stanley placing 22.8 mln shares


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Shares in Biffa PLC were weak in early morning
trade, with Morgan Stanley understood to be placing 22.8 mln shares in the waste
management firm via an accelerate book-build in a price range of 280-285 pence,
according to dealers.
At 9.18 am, Biffa shares were 11-3/4 pence lower at 282 in volumes of
898,790 shares traded, while the FTSE 250 index was down 126.3 points at
11,671.2.
tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
jmh/lce

...In case your wondering -):

Down 4.5% to 280p on a volume of 37 million. (average vol. of late is about 4 mill. from memory) so a serious correction here.

Looks like it is AVOID Biffa in the short term.

Agree H98, to much bad news with this one lately.

I think it will go down to 250p

Never.. 260p perhaps but no lower.

Three separate positive comments in Shares magazine last week. They appear to have called the bottom. Let's see what the market decides.

Biffa said the FY performance of its waste collection division is likely to be in line with the prior year.

Biffa said in July that the collection division was facing tough competition in its local account markets and technical problems at its Leicester mechanical-biological waste treatment plant.

Waste company, Biffa, said a number of significant new accounts had come on-stream in the second quarter in the division's national accounts business.

The unit is continuing to implement its revised pricing strategy and customer services initiatives in the local account arena.

'Following the completion of plant modification works to our mechanical-biological treatment plant earlier this year, our operations at Leicester have now returned to profit,' Biffa said in a trading update.

Biffa said it had continued to see encouraging performances from its resource recovery and landfill and power generation divisions into the second quarter and both divisions are expected to show continued growth. 'We continue to make good progress across the company in preparation for the introduction of the pre-treatment regulations which come into effect on 30th October,' the group said in a trading update for the 26 weeks to September 28th.

Great day rise today tomoorow even better back to 260p..

It would be good to see a consolidation or continuation of today's rise mitzy.

looking great again today queen a couple of papers have buy ratings which should help.

Well it is a quality outfit mitzy and talent will out eventually. Let's hope it keeps going northwards!!

hard to break the 260p level.

Big news for Biffa and the SP reacted accordingly:

Montagu Private Equity LLP said Biffa PLC has rejected the joint approach by the company and Hg Pooled Management Ltd (HgCapital).

Montagu said it and HgCapital approached Biffa to secure a recommended cash offer for Biffa and any offer, if made, would be at a significant premium to its share price immediately prior to the approach on Sept 4.

Despite the rejection, Montagu said it and HgCapital are committed to pursuing an investment in Biffa. The bid vehicle formed for the purpose of making any offer currently holds a 2.4 pct stake in Biffa.

Up nearly 25% as well, well done Q1 for keeping in there.

greatnews queen1 I knew they would be a sitting duck.

Thanks both! A negative reaction today by some and not a little profit-taking but I think this announcement shows the potential for Biffa as a takeover play. And the core business is attractive longer term as well.

plenty of support about 300p level.

Encouraging press release from Montagu private equity this morning. Could be an interesting ride.

Yes, BIFF has managed to keep its head above 3 which is good news. If we can see out tomorrow then next week could be interesting.

I am guessing the French will make a counter bid in time.

Well BIFF has suffered every time the market has seen red over the last few months but again today another little rise. Interesting times indeed.

It has to be Viola.

Some info for you from today's Times:

Info re possible counterbid for Biffa - from The Times 09 February

Thanks for that Toya.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/investing/article-5186543/MIDAS-TIPS-Cash-Christmas-Clean-Biffa.html

Is this a) an opportunity now that China won't take our waste or
b) a risk because they don't deal with all of it in-house and some goes to China

I would say long term this could be interesting.

Trades on 13.5x earnings. Dividend yield of 2.6% at share price of 254

A pullback in the share price of 10% might tempt me. I'd prefer more dividends

Hammered down by 12% on generally in-line results. I've been waiting for an entry on this one and have bought a few to hold long term on today's fall.

I think long term the Chinese recycling issue will flow through with costs either being passed onto customers or other solutions found.


Biffa plc ('Biffa' or 'the Group'), a leading UK integrated waste management company, today issues a trading update ahead of its announcement of results for the year ending 30 March 2018, scheduled for 13 June 2018.

Trading in the second half of the year, and therefore for the full year, is expected to be in line with the Board's expectations. Biffa has continued to deliver solid organic and acquisitive revenue growth, and Underlying EBITDA and Underlying Operating Profit growth have been driven by a good operational performance and cost control.

The Industrial & Commercial division has continued to deliver both good organic growth, underpinned by pricing discipline and reduced customer churn, and acquisitive growth. Trading in the Municipal division remains satisfactory, set against unchanged competitive market conditions. The Energy division has continued to perform as expected.

As anticipated, in the Resource Recovery & Treatment division, strong landfill performance has largely mitigated cost and price headwinds arising from the recent changes in Chinese regulations for the import of recycled commodities. In the near term we expect these headwinds to persist, impacting divisional performance. Nevertheless, Biffa remains strongly positioned over the medium and long term due to its investment in recycling operations and focus on high quality products.

Since the Half Year Results in November, Biffa has completed two further acquisitions bringing the total number of acquisitions for the year to date to seven with combined targeted annual revenue of c.£49m. Integration of these acquisitions is progressing as planned. The acquisition pipeline remains robust and further opportunities are being explored.

The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with cash generation and net debt also in line with our expectations.

Those Shares' tips not doing too well. Dignity halved and now this.

Cheer up.

It might mean the death rate is going down.

Most "share magazines" produce decent background info on cies. Their share tips though are as good as marriage advise from a twice divorced marriage councilor.