I bought into these yesterday and they are rising steadily. Main market listing with results in August and the market seems to like them. They are in the rapid growth oil and gas support area.

one to interest cynic!!

obviously no one interested in this one yet--small pull back today but give it time. results end of Aug should spark some more interest.

Excellent trading statement--results in Aug. I'm surprised there's not more interest in this one--the sp is rising nicely and it seems a good solid one for the isa.

excellent rise today. where are you all????

lol, making money is such a lonely thing sometimes isn't it ?

Got some yesterday morning at 4.67 on the slight dip, was looking to add this morning but price ran away from me.

Decent volume over the last few days suggests more to come.

all the best

capa

thanks capa--nice to hear from someone!

still rising--still no interest I see!

It does move around a lot intra-day also the spread at times is quite prohibitive.

Added some more yesterday at 5.36

capa

Results have been very well received, makes a change to see upward movement after results day, especially considering the price rise over the last few months.

You still in moneyplus?

capa

took profits yesterday as I expected a drop today...wrong again!! I hope to buy back on the next market dip. o/t have you heard the rumour about a massive market drop in the 3rd week in sept? some enormous shorts being placed according to posters on the other side like some placed just before 9/11 disaster rocked the markets -not sure what to make of it at all.

sold out myself now moneyplus on back of the rise today.

totally unaware of the rumour mentioned in your last post, thanks for highlighting it. could be urban myth becoming a self fulfilling prophecy, doesn't take much to cause a panic in these markets. Worth keeping a cash pile handy for any bargains that come around. WSM at 5.00 again would be nice

all the best

capa

Bugger, fat chance of 5 now.

capa

God what a miss.THANKS FOR THE TIP MONEYPLUS.UP 77p.

I made a nice profit but still kicking myself for selling at 5.90! It's so difficult to second guess the market---I held jhl and their figures seem excellent but still a steep dive in sp today that's what I expected of wsm !! No good moaning-good luck those who are holding on.

SORRY but its up again. all good news.855/856.5p

Well I sold to buy Moneysupermarket which is just beginning to rise---still kicking myself though!

mp
You must be full of bruises.

lol driver---all mine are deep red at the moment except vyke so selling wsm, my remaining sola and also fxpo were not my best decisions! cfe looks hopeful, tom is sinking and yoo,seo etc are in the dog basket!! I hope you are prospering.

Lots of positive press and broker comment earlier this week seems to triggered a further surge - not to mention the effect of consolidation rumours within its subsector.

go to google.com and search Wellstream within the NEWS area there. It shows a stack of coverage in half a dozen papers.

17th June 2007

Wellstream International Ltd has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of Hydro and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation worth 18m for the supply of twelve (12) 11.5-inch ID flexible risers for the Peregrino project offshore Brazil. These risers will be used to connect subsea pipelines to two wellhead platforms and an FPSO in a water depth of approximately 125m.

The pipes will be partially manufactured in Newcastle before delivery to Wellstream's new Brazilian manufacturing facility in Niteroi where the pipe will be completed for loadout at the adjacent Bardella Base. Delivery of this contract is scheduled for 2nd quarter 2009.

CEO Gordon Chapman commented "We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to supply risers to the Peregrino project and to continue our long-established relationship with Hydro. This project continues to build on Wellstream's excellent track record with international operators working offshore Brazil, and follows the successful execution of projects such as Shell Bijupira/Salema, Devon Polvo, and the ongoing Chevron Frade, which is currently in the manufacturing stage. With the award of Peregrino, Wellstream will have supplied all of the non-Petrobras flexible pipe projects in Brazil to date."

Wellstream International Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wellstream Holdings PLC (FTSE:WSM). The company is a leading designer and manufacturer of bespoke flexible pipeline products, systems and solutions for the oil and gas industry. Its pipeline portfolio includes established product lines such as dynamic flexible risers and static flowlines, for deep and ultra-deepwater environments, in addition to newer products designed for onshore (FlexSteelTM) and high temperature/high pressure products for drilling and service applications. With over 700 employees internationally, Wellstream has offices/facilities in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, Panama City, Houston and Denver, USA, Calgary, Canada, Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi Brazil and Perth, Australia. Further information regarding Wellstream, its products and services can be accessed at www.wellstream.com.

BROKERWATCH Wellstream target price raised to 1,100p at Credit Suisse, rated 'outperform'


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Credit Suisse has reiterated its 'outperform'
rating for Wellstream, raised 2008-10 EPS estimates and target to 1,100 pence
from 800 on the back of higher capacity in Brazil and slightly more bullish
pricing assumptions.
In a note to clients, it has changed its assumption for existing Brazilian
capacity in 2008 from 100 normalised kilometre or nkm to 150 as management has
indicated that this is the exit rate for 2007 and it has confidence it can be
sustained at this level. It said overall its EPS estimates rise by 45 pct in
2008, 30 pct in 2009 and 48 pct in 2010 to 53.3p from 36.7, 65.0p from 50.0 and
77.7p from 52.3 respectively.

tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
nma/lam

What caused the rise today? Ayone know??

Sorry for the slip should be anyone know?

Wellstream Holdings PLC said it sees full-year
results significantly ahead of analysts' expectations on strong operational
performance.
The flexible pipeline systems maker said total order intake for the year was
about 365 mln stg. As of Dec 31, 2007, total revenue backlog was about 330 mln
stg compared with 226.8 mln stg a year ago.
price now 1271p

moneyplus to soon.

I kick myself every day for selling too soon--but maybe this will pull back enough to get in again! I'm in KENZ now waiting for the market to wake up to it's potential--any views?

WSM has been written up by Quantum Leap this week (psst! they have also promoted a few stinkers of late thanks to dodgy markets), but it is certainly an area in which i think it well worth investing .... hence my regular touting of PFC.

finals are due 2nd April and if the markets continue to be volatile at best, then there could well be (sorry!) better opportunities to jump in .... nevertheless, have put on my watchlist and will prob buy in due course, 12.00 being the obvious sort of level

THANKS FOR KENZ

bought some this morning at 1287 and also some WG. at 403.5 ..... i like the sector a lot, but had taken my profits in PFC yesterday or the day before

I hear a whisper that a well known naked individual is looking this one over. i'm not a subscriber but would hope he likes this one.

all slightly puzzling .... delighted that sp has shot up today, as has WG., but there is certainly no news out, other than riding on the back of the t/o approach to Expro, so ask myself whether or not i should bank a very quick but very nice profit.

with quite considerable reluctance, i banked my very tasty profit ..... it is far from impossible that i shall venture back again tomorrow, but if Dow turns nasty during the evening, and all markets are very unstable at the moment, then that profit could easily be wiped out before London opening

i could equally or even also have sold WG., but decided to hold that as on balance i thought it may have more going for it in terms of being a t/o target and also that it was recently recommended by Quantum Leap at 419

It is oil driving the gains at the moment !

Kenz up v. nicely today thanks RB.

glad i hold PFC and not WSM ..... don't think i could have taken the pain of two stocks getting totally smashed (this + IEC) .... i assume the figures disappointed though i have not looked

just looked at the resume ... all looks pretty good to me, so what did i miss?

Very odd indeed. Could be a good buying opportunity soon - Level 2 indicates it could fall further. There must be something else behind this; the fall is too great even for these (apparently) good results to have been factored in.

market clearly thinks so too ...... halved its loss yesterday and up again today .... coincidence or not, sp bounced off 25 dma yesterday

sp was whacked this morning when it was reported that Candover had placed its entire 14% holding .... however, on the basis that the shares were actually placed, implying no overhang, and the recent figures were excellent, i think the shares are worth a dabble ...... risk is that the markets generally will tumble, indiscriminately taking all and sundry south

Presumably Candover cant see much upside for the time being.

not necessarily so ...... could it not be that Candover needed to take some profits to enhance their liquidity or something?

Well, a minor blip & then the steady climb again.
Am unable to find a broker target for this at the moment, but anyone any idea how much further this can go before it becomes over valued?

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - "Oil services group Wellstream Holdings Plc. said it has won a four-year framework agreement from Petroleo Brasileiro SA worth over 600 million pounds.

The contract covers the procurement of standard 2.5 inch to 9.5 inch flowlines and risers between 2009 and 2012, the company said."

.... lifted from across road

Wellstream Holdings PLC

FORECASTS
2008 2009

Date Rec Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p)

Blue Oar Securities
06-03-09 BUY 76.30 52.90 12.00 91.70 64.50 13.20

Evolution Securities Ltd
02-03-09 BUY 73.10 50.70 10.00 86.40 58.30 12.00

Arden Partners
02-03-09 BUY 78.90 54.40 9.30 91.80 62.60 12.50

ABN AMRO
10-02-09 HOLD 75.29 51.29 10.26 84.67 57.27 11.45

Seymour Pierce [R]
16-05-08 BUY 70.70 50.40 10.00

2008 2009

Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p
)
Consensus 76.71 52.10 10.42 85.52 59.22 12.00

1 Month Change 0.04 0.03 0.01 0.02 0.06 0.00
3 Month Change -2.60 -2.24 0.04 -6.05 -3.95 -0.17


GROWTH
2007 (A) 2008 (E) 2009 (E)

Norm. EPS 0.73% 50.89% 13.67%
DPS % % 15.16%

INVESTMENT RATIOS

2007 (A) 2008 (E) 2009 (E)

EBITDA 55.52m 89.46m 103.27m

EBIT 50.25m m m

Dividend Yield 0.00% 2.71% 3.12%

Dividend Cover x 5.00x 4.94x

PER 11.15x 7.39x 6.50x

PEG 15.25f 0.14f 0.48f

Net Asset Value PS 63.06p 144.23p 197.68p

Good to see Robbie Burns (naked trader) long on this one. From his web site...

"After taking losses initially on Wellstream (WSM) I bought back at just over 400 and managed to take 10% as it went back to 450. However I won't claim credit for this as it was between updates.

But I did buy a further lot after they tumbled again which I still have, 1,000 shares at 365.4. Target 440 stop 340. With its volatility my previous mistake was to not to treat it as a more short-term trade. So this is what this will probably be"! .......... ENDS.

Dont always agree with him but I think hes called this one right although his trading length may be a little longer now that the markets are rallying

Wellstream downgraded to reduce from buy at Arden.

PFC and LAM both performing well ....... WSM clearly not!

Wellstream's first-half results indicate a profit warning, says RBS analyst Phil Lindsay.
'We see a potential downgrade of 23-27% to our forecasts and also to consensus. Project delays are reducing backlog and impacting efficiency at its production plants. Current market conditions could persist well into 2010.'
RBS keeps its hold rating but sees the shares under pressure in the short-term.

UBS note issued this morning:
"Wellstreams 1H results were a profit warning 1H results announced on 20 August were in our view a profit warning, citing weak production, low margin product mix, lower prices, and lower utilisation. Brazilian demand in our view remains strong in the medium term but with less activity in the short term, particularly in the Santos basin. Although the shares have under-performed since results off 6% vs. the market we believe there is further to go. If the company is a target, acquirers and value are hard to identify

As we highlighted in our February initiation, Wellstream is a small independent company with no controlling shareholder, currently subject to a cyclical down-swing in demand, and additionally about to make a major investment in installation capacity, a strategic change. We note the COO sold half of his shares on 29 September. We believe none of its direct competitors is a likely buyer.

Investment in installation capacity highlights strategic challenge. Wellstream has been seeking to control installation capacity since its IPO, initially through the Seastream JV and now with a proposed JV for a new build high capacity vessel to a Wellstream-approved design. This change to a manufacture + install strategy means more capital employed, more operating risk, and most likely greater volatility which we doubt is priced in.

Valuation: Downgrade to Sell, raise 12-month price target to 520p
We base our valuation on a mix of DCF and replacement cost. At our price target the stock would trade at 8.9x 2010 EV/EBIT and 11.4x 2010 P/E, roughly a 20% discount to the sectors current multiples. We make no changes to our EPS estimates."

the chart's pretty ugly too with both 25 and 50 dma easily breached ..... 500/510 where sp hits 200 dma may be a good place to look for a bounce

From Citigroup 10-12-09:
"Summary We downgrade Wellstream to Sell from Hold and cut our target price to 4.35 from 5.75. Uncertain demand outside Brazil exposes 2010 earnings. The long-term margin may be reduced by installation a critical but margin-dilutive service required by clients. The stock looks expensive in our view, trading at 13.4 times our 2011e earnings, a 17% premium to the sector.
2010 Earnings Exposed The weak backlog and order outlook for the Newcastle plant targeting demand outside Brazil should hurt 2010 earnings. We estimate Newcastle end-2009 backlog at 30m, just 28% of its 2010e sales. We cut our 2010 EPS estimates by 31% mostly because of Newcastle uncertainty. This risk is known but does not look priced in, with the stock recovering after the trading update (17 Nov), and the market seemingly looking beyond 2010. We look beyond 2010 too, and see margin dilution."

Faint rumours of a t/o approach yesterday.

good call by Citigroup!
volume today is usefully 2x norm, though whether there is actually a bid in the offing remains to be seen
no, i wasn't remotely smart enough to buy below 540, but am more than happy to have bought at 576, well into the recovery phase

Allegedly Prysmian is interested (formerly Pirelli Cables).
To be fair to Citigroup, they had not factored in the t/o element, which is the reason for the current level of the sp. If the rumour is solidly quashed, I would expect the sp to fall to it's normal trading range.

Broker note from Evolution today:
"We have long believed that Wellstream (WSM) is a prime M&A target for subsea players looking for high tech flexible pipe technology. Yesterday the CEO of Prysmian (MCap. 2.7bn), an Italian maker of high tech umbilicals/armoured cables for the energy market is reported to have said that Wellstream would be a beautiful acquisition. Although subsequently denied, Prysmian does have aspirations in the SURF flex pipe market which is a logical progression from its steel and thermoplastic umbilicals indeed Prysmian already has a 4 year frame agreement from Petrobras for flexibles, but no real capability of delivering before 2011".

JP Morgan broker note:
"Yesterday evening (after market close) Technip announced that it has won a major contract to supply flexible pipe for the Tupi field in the Brazilian pre-salt. The contract includes the engineering, procurement, manufacturing and supply of 90km of risers and flowlines for water injection, oil production, gas lift and carbon dioxide re-injection. Delivery of the pipes is scheduled to start towards the end of 2010 and finish at the end of 2012.

This is negative news for Wellstream, which has been competing with Technip for the supply of these in-field pipes, and we believe while the long-term opportunity in Brazil is substantial this will no doubt increase the markets perception that Technips product is technically superior. We highlight the fact that Wellstream was awarded the contract to supply pipe for all the extended well test (EWT) work last year, and we do not believe this award to Technip was made on technical grounds.

The Tupi pilot scheme will utilise a single Floating Production Storage & Offloading (FPSO) vessel (on a long term lease with Modec) and industry reports point to a total of 16 wells (including injectors). Petrobras was widely anticipated to use flexible risers and flowlines for the Tupi pilot scheme and Technips announcement this morning that it has agreed to purchase a second Brazilian-flagged flexlay vessel (with its partner DOF) hints at continued commitment by Petrobras for flexibles.

Wellstream's average normalised kilometre pipe price of c. 800k (920k) in 2009, indicates a contract value of c. 80m for Technip. However the range of per kilometre prices varies tremendously based on the diameter and technical specification of the pipe, and we believe the total value to Technip is substantially higher than this.

This pilot scheme is the first phase of the Tupi development, and later phases will incorporate additional floating production units (likely to be FPSOs) and demand for a much larger quantity of flexible pipe. We believe longer term pipe supply is likely to be split between Technip and Wellstream (and eventually possibly NKT Flexibles and Prysmian).
Technip's installation capability, which we generally see as an important competitive advantage, is much less relevant in Brazil as Petrobras always purchases pipe independently from installation contracts, which are managed internally (it is the only oil company that does this).

In the longer term we remain confident that the pre-salt development will incorporate both flexible and rigid risers - a subject discussed in detail in our recent report Momentum building for selection of rigid risers for Iara and Guara - flowlines to go flexible.

Profit delay is a big hurdle for WSM.

StockMarketWire.com
"Oil services group Wellstream Holdings confirms it has received a number of preliminary approaches regarding a possible offer.

The company's statement follows movement in its share price.

It says there can be no certainty that an acceptable offer will be made. A further announcement will be made in due course. "

wow! I wish I'd stayed in this one!

JP Morgan note:
"For some time we have seen Wellstream as the most likely target amongst our pan European oilfield service stocks indeed Wellstream operates in a rather consolidated market segment with a differentiated product in a subsea market with long-term structural growth opportunities. Wellstream appears to have been losing market share to its competitors outside Brazil in our view this is primarily because oil companies are increasingly looking for a one stop shop for oil services (recent M&A supports this view) the market share appears to have gone to companies like Acergy and Technip those companies that can both manufacture flexible product and install it. In addition we believe that in tight market conditions (2006-08) there was significant inflation in the installation market oil companies may have separated the procurement of pipe (50% of the total cost) from the installation contracts (50%) in a bid to increase pricing transparency and reduce cost. This would have been a positive for Wellstream during that time. In our
view it makes a lot of sense for Wellstream to be integrated into an existing installation contractor although we believe it makes less sense for an installation contractor (vessel owner) to own manufacturing capacity (indeed oil companies often specify a preferred pipe supplier). However, with much of the Subsea Umbilicals Risers and Flowlines (SURF) growth opportunity in Brazil, ownership of Wellstream can help satisfy critical local presence requirement in that market.

Wellstream has heavy operational gearing, and declining utilisation of their facility in the UK has explained much of the downgrades 2011 consensus (I/B/E/S) EPS forecasts fells by 60% in 2009 and a further 31% YTD. Wellstreams valuation (2010-11 PER of 29x and 17x based on our forecasts and yesterdays close) imply strong positive momentum going forward in our view which could materialise, particularly with the company in the right hands."

StockMarketWire.com
"General Electric (GE) has said this morning that it is disappointed that the directors of Wellstream Holdings has not accepted its takeover terms.

GE's bid is worth 7.50 per share. It says that there is no certainty it will take any further action and may make a reduced offer. "

From the special situations desk at Olivetree
"Wellstream is weak this morning on GE's statement that it (1) made a 750p rejected bid but (2) will be disciplined when considering a next move. With the stock in the 750s as a result, for the first time we think the risk reward is finally becoming attractive.

Todays statement is interesting as much for what isnt in there as for what is. Importantly GE could have walked away today but they chose not to. There is plenty of language in UK to allow them to have come back at a later date (with a recommendation for instance). So what we know now as fact is that a large industrial buyer has bid 750p, that they are still in the game despite being told to pay more, and the press widely reports that the target is looking for 800p.

It is also interesting to us that it is GE putting the statement out rather than WSM. The panel almost always goes to the target for clarification rather than the acquirer - for some reason GE have "chosen" to make the statement in WSM's place. Remember a statement from WSM could have given us clarity on the position of other bidders too. If seems possible that WSM directed the panel in GEs direction, given that GE could have given clarity on the future intentions part of yesterdays press. GE would likely have been under no obligation to comment (the real obligation lies with WSM ultimately). However, GE did comment presumably therefore by choice sending a strong signal that they ultimately want to consummate a deal. If we believe the theory that GE chose to put this statement out (although admittedly under encouragement from the panel), given the nature of the buyer and their decision to go public, we think it relatively unlikely they dont close this deal for a 5% spread.
This would be nicely in keeping with the press we saw yesterday, where we interpreted the stories as WSM guiding down expectations by effectively saying to shareholders its not going to be much more than 800p. Todays statement effectively is GE saying its not going to be much more than 800p, and its GE youre dealing with here, not some small-time buyer. So in our model, although the chances of a deal come back a little bit, they do not come back too far in fact given we have much more factual information now than ever before, the situation is more analysable than ever. We see it as likely GE would pay 800 and likely that the board would recommend this if told to do so by shareholders. All that realistically matters now is what WSM shareholders are feeding back to management - all that matters is whether shareholders tell them to sell c800p or not."