CARDPOINT, A GROWTH COMPANY GOING PLACES.

Im recommending Cardpoint after having this stock on my watch list for the last three months and have to say it really as a fantastic management, and a management that backs the company up with solid Director Buying. It’s a simple business the management have formed and has been acquisitive throughout the last financial year creating growth and value for company shareholders.

What Does It Do?

Cardpoint plc is an independent owner and operator of 1,800 ATMs and 2,900 mobile top up terminals across the UK. The ATMs are typically placed in convenience stores, shopping centres, motorway service stations, hospitals and train stations, and in areas that are not traditionally serviced by other ATM providers, thereby offering their customers greater convenience and access to cash. The Company typically charges #1.50 per cash withdrawal, with its customers' go-ahead, and also receives transaction revenues for balance enquiries and rejections. The Company recently acquired Securicor Cash Machine Limited for up to #9.2m over two years. The mobile top division, acquired in July 2003, trades under the name of PT Distribution Limited and is being rebranded to Cardpoint Merchant Retail from September 2003 onwards and operates in retail outlets such as MOTO, Londis, Costcutter and Spar. Cardpoint is a full member of the LINK Network, the only branded shared network of ATMs and self-service terminals in the UK, which allows more than 80 million cardholders of every member financial institution to use the ATM of another LINK member. Cardpoint listed on the Alternative Investment Market in June 2002. The Company's Stock Exchange EPIC is CASH.

Recent Developments.

The company put out this recent trading update and also news of another quality acquisition.

Trading Update Cardpoint plc, the AIM listed ATM and mobile top up operator, is providing the following trading update as it goes into its closed period. Having reviewed the draft unaudited management accounts for the financial year ended 30 September 2003, the Board believes that the Group's performance will be closely in line with the revised market expectations following the two significant acquisitions made by the Company. The Preliminary Results will be released on 24 November 2003. The integration of Securicor Cash Machine (SCM), which was acquired in May 2003, and PT Distribution, acquired in July 2003, is continuing extremely well and the improved margins that were expected are filtering through to the bottom line.

Mark Mills, Chief Executive of Cardpoint plc, said: "The recent acquisitions have transformed Cardpoint into the fastest growing and third largest independent ATM deployer in the UK. "As a result of the recent acquisitions, the Group has continued to benefit from improved margins and a number of cross selling opportunities. We have a good pipeline of new business and are in the process of rebranding our machines to further increase visibility and footfall. I am confident that our figures will be in line with market expectations and the Board looks forward to start of the new financial year with great confidence."

News Of The Acquisition.

Cardpoint PLC 21 October 2003 Press Release 21 October 2003. Cardpoint to provide Thresher wine merchants with 1,000 mobile top up terminals Cardpoint plc, the AIM listed ATM and mobile top up operator, has been awarded a two year contract to provide Thresher Group with 1,000 electronic mobile top-up terminals across the country in the first major deal this year in the retail mobile top-up sector. The contract win follows Cardpoint's acquisition of PT Distribution Limited from Project Telecom in July for 1.7 million. PT Distribution has subsequently been renamed Cardpoint Merchant Retail. The top-up terminals will be rolled out before the end of 2003 with full supporting point of sale and marketing material. Thresher Group is the UK's leading specialist retail drinks retailer with over 2000 shops operating under brand names such as Thresher, Wine Rack, Victoria Wine and Bottoms Up. The group is the fifth largest private retailer and attracts over 150 million customers each year.

Mark Mills, Chief Executive of Cardpoint plc said: 'Since acquiring the top-up business, Cardpoint has restructured the sales and marketing functions which have directly led to this significant contract win. As I stated in our positive trading update of 30 September 2003, the Group has continued to benefit from improved margins and a number of cross selling opportunities following recent acquisitions and we are confident that our figures for the year ended 30 September 2003 will be in line with market expectations.'


Results And Forecasts.

Years To Sept T/O(m) Pre/Tax Profit (m) EPS(p) P/E

2002(A) 3.1 (0.8) (5.4) n/a
2003(E) 11.2 (0.5) (2.1) n/a
2004(E) 30.3 1.9 5.0 15.9


House Broker.

Evolution Beeson Gregory - recent comment.
All the acquisitions and cost-saving potential has created tremendous 'value creation' possibilities. For 2003 they expect earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization of 1.4 million and a pre tax loss of 500,000.

For 2004 they expect 6.6 million before EBITDA, with pre-tax profits coming in at 1.9 million on sales of 30.3 million. This would put the shares on a forward P/E rating of 15.8, which they point out is very cheap for a company with reasonable gearing, impressive margins and a very solid base on which to build out further growth.

Traded on Aim.

I believe this is a medium to long term growth punt and potential investors, please DYOR, you are responsible for your buying and selling actions.

Regards GF.

And another one tipping it. Great stuff.

Tip Update: still a lot of point in Cardpoint

Published: 13:14 Thr 20 Nov 2003


By Joanne Wallen, Associate Editor
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Cardpoint has done well for investors in the past year with results today showing a much larger and now profitable company, but don't cash in your chips just yet.

Cardpoint (CASH) is a supplier of cash machines, or ATMs to shopping centres, motorway service stations and small corner shops. The company has also diversified in the past year into providing electronic mobile phone top-up terminals through its acquisition of PT Distribution for ?1.7 million from Project Telecom, the remainder of which was sold to Vodafone.


Cardpoint's figures for the year to September were significantly ahead of expectations and the company turned in its first small pre-tax profit of ?50,000 against losses last time of ?757,000 on turnover up nearly fourfold at ?12.2 million.


The news sent shares up 5.5p to 85p, valuing the business at ?27.7 million. We tipped the shares a year ago at 44.5p, and earlier this month highlighted Irish entrepreneur Dermot Desmond's secret 1.8% stake in the company. Desmond owns Celtic football club, has a 1.9 million-share stake in Manchester United and is estimated to have made some ?56 million from trading shares in technology company Baltimore.


Cardpoint has grown both organically and through acquisition. It bought Green Machine in October last year, adding 105 ATMs to the business. In June this year, it changed tack slightly with the acquisition of Securicor Cash Machine, which added more than 1,200 ATMs, mostly in small corner shops, which the company had originally not targeted.


Chief executive Mark Mills told Citywire that Cardpoint had originally avoided these individual retailers because of the effort needed to sign them up, but buying a whole load through acquisition brings the same quality of individual transaction into the company.


The mobile top-up business fits well with the ATM operation as Cardpoint can offer the same retailers both bits of kit. The company takes a 2.5% commission on all air-time bought. It has already seen airtime values of ?7 million a month through the business, and the ATMs are dispensing more than ?50 million a month.


Some of the top-up terminals also enable ordinary debit and credit card purchases, which Mills sees as offering incremental revenues through the company's existing infrastructure.


Mills said there are thousands of potential sites for new machines, as both markets are growing strongly. The company has, since the year end, signed a deal with off-licence chain Threshers, to provide up to 1,000 mobile top-up terminals. The big opportunity here is that Cardpoint's terminals accept cash payments, where many accept only cards. Also, from next year the mobile operators will phase out scratch cards as a means of buying top-up airtime, which should give Cardpoint the opportunity to sell to those retailers that currently provide scratch-card top ups.


Citywire Verdict:


This is a very cash generative business with little bad debt exposure. Growth so far has been stellar, and there is no reason why it should not continue. In fact the company is expected to turn over ?30 million this year.
Even at the current price, the shares are valued at just 17.9 times this year's earnings estimates and 10 times 2005. Still worth buying.

cheers GF.

No movement today but majority buys.

cheers gf.

Hi GF - well, you must have definitely enjoyed the rugby game last week!!!
Just to let you know that RHPS's latest email re: CASH is to buy at a new limit price of 90p with a target of 1.40
Enjoy the next rugby match!
Anna

Wow, thanks Anna. Still not gone into our Bio yet, keep a watch out to see if it falls any further.

cheers GF,

ps, loved the rugby, I was so proud of the team. The Aussies played their hearts out aswell. I was washed out at the end of it, I thought I had been playing myself.

Going out celebrating now, but not too much. See you next week.

I hear that analysts have been upping their estimates on this one.

I expect a good week for the share.

cheers gf.

A poster on a competing board says this one was a new BUY this weekend. Lets hope for more action upwards.

cheers GF.

Instituions cant get enough.

Money man satisfies institutional thirst for Cardpoint shares


Published: 11:19 Sat 13 Dec 2003
By Graeme Davies, Companies Correspondent
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The finance director of cash machines group Cardpoint has taken advantage of its high share price by selling some shares.

Chris Hanson has bowed to institutional demand with the sale of 120,000 shares in the 31.5 million company at 93p each, banking 111,600 in the process. This sale leaves him with 280,000 shares or 0.9% of Cardpoint.


However the sale did not harm sentiment towards Cardpoint and its shares rose 1.5p to 96p on Friday. It has now risen from 34.6p earlier this year and is well ahead of the 44.5p level at which Citywire tipped Cardpoint (CASH) last year.


The company has grown through acquisition as well as organically as it succeeds in placing more cash machines into shops and railway stations. Earlier this year it bought PT Distribution from Project Telecom providing it with a mobile phone top-up terminals business.


According to last month's annual results both businesses are going great guns; airtime values of 7 million a month are passing through the top-up terminals and the cash machines are dispensing 50 million a month. In June it bought Securicor Cash Services, which had 1,200 cash machines.


In the year to September the company made a modest maiden profit of 50,000 compared with a loss of 757,000 the previous year as turnover quadrupled to 12.2 million.


Citywire revealed in October that shrewd Irish investor Dermot Desmond had taken a 1.8% stake in Cardpoint. He is better known for his involvement with Celtic and Manchester United football clubs.

cheers GF.

100p!

More to come i think!!!

Down a tad today, but what wasnt. Looks good for the future as aimtrader points out.

cheers GF.

This ones been unfairly tonked by the MMs so Ive placed a buy order in, lets seeif I can get within the spread.

cheers GF.

Hi Posters,

Ref Dermot Desmond above.

I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the company/share.However,I,being a businessman
and Irish know he is one of the shrewdest businesspeople you could imagine.
I would nearly buy a few shares in any company he has shares in---a bit of an
exaggeration but you see my point.rgds aj

Cheers thanks for that Ajren, yes citywire have him featured many times in their shrewd buyers section.

GF.

GF,

Nice to see the recent drop start to reverse again today, i have high hopes for CASH, i see them as a really solid stock, with plenty of growth ahead, and one for 2004.

Yup good one there aimtrader, Ive just seen aswell they were tipped in the Aim and Ofex tip sheet, must be about the fifth one that as tipped them. They have an excelent management.

cheers GF.

GF,

i have just read the latest Shares Magazine, and one of their jouralists has chosen Cardpoint as one of his top picks for 2004!!!

Reading through his article i can see why he has made his choice.

CASH have reduced transaction costs from 20p to just 5p per transaction.

1875 ATM machines now in service.
2200 ATM machine target by end of 2004.

Each new ATM becomes profitable after 800 withdrawals have taken place each month, (which is hardly a demanding target in my opinion).

CASH have a good record of increasing transaction volumes per machine, using improved signage and machine access.

Cashpoint is expected to make a pre-tax profit of 2.6 million in 2004, and 4 million in 2005.

Current market cap is 31 million.

Shares has featured Cardpoint at least a couple of times now, and I share their confidence.

This isn't a fancy tech stock, it simply gives people a service they need on an everyday basis, at a modest price, and that demand is set to increase, rather then decrease, IMHO.

CASH are looking good for the New Year, and I am making them one of my favourites for 2004.

Well a cracker of a day Andy. Fingers crossed we can stay above 100p this time.

cheers GF.

Been tipped by a top tip sheet this weekend as one of its tips for the year.

cheers GF.

News from another site that it has been tipped as one of techinvests tips of the year and doing very nicely this morning up near 5%.

cheers GF.

Evolution Beeson gregory note out on this yesterday evening.

Buy up to 119p and this may be conservastive. EBG say that the last results easily beat their forecasts and indicate a further upgrade may come.

they expect further organic growth this year, and perhaps more external moves.

cheers GF.