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Connect Group (CNCT)     

skinny - 24 Apr 2014 08:20

logo-connectgroup.png



Chart.aspx?Provider=EODIntra&Code=CNCT&Size=900&Skin=BlackBlue&Type=3&Scale=0&Cycle=DAY1&Span=MONTH12&OVER=MA(15);MA(50);MA(200);AreaBB(26,2)&IND=VOLMA(60);RSI(14);MACD(26,12,9)&Layout=2Line;Default;Price;HisDate&XCycle=&XFormat=

Link to Old company thread

Connect Group operates a diverse portfolio of businesses leading distribution specialists in carefully chosen markets. With a combined revenue of £1.8bn, we employ 4,500 staff and operate in the UK and worldwide.

Company Website

Financial Calendar

Recent Broker notes

BarChart Indicators

Recent Market news

Connect Group Fundamentals

skinny - 14 Oct 2015 12:13 - 41 of 72

Preliminary Results year ended 31 August 2015

HIGHLIGHTS:

Strong performance with Adjusted profit ahead of expectations
· Revenue of £1,875.1m up 3.7% and Adjusted profit before tax up 13.0% to £56.5m, benefitting from the post-acquisition contribution from Tuffnells
· Adjusted earnings per share of 19.7p up 0.5%, reflecting post-acquisition profits from Tuffnells and impact of rights issue shares
· Free cash flow of £39.8m, up 7.0%; Net debt £153.4m; Net debt/Adjusted EBITDA (3) 1.9x, starting paydown from peak post acquisition debt level
· Final dividend of 6.3p up 5.0%, making a full year dividend of 9.2p, up 4.5%

Transformational year for the Group
· Scale acquisition of Tuffnells completed in December 2014
o Excellent early performance under Connect Group ownership
o Integration and synergies on track and creating new growth opportunities
· Launch of Click & Collect delivery service: Pass My Parcel
o Successfully accelerated rollout to over 3,000 stores
o Agreement in principle to launch new mobile enabled returns service with new client

Foundations in place for continuing growth
· Strategy on track with clear opportunities across the Group

skinny - 14 Oct 2015 12:15 - 42 of 72

Liberum Capital Buy 158.63 180.00 180.00 Reiterates

skinny - 13 Jan 2016 08:52 - 43 of 72

TRADING UPDATE & ASOS RETURN SERVICE LAUNCH

Connect Group PLC, a leading specialist distributor operating in four divisions; News & Media, Books, Education & Care and Parcel Freight, is today issuing its Trading Update covering the 19 week period to 9 January 2016. It is also pleased to announce ASOS, a leading online fashion retailer, as the second customer for Pass My Parcel, the Group's Click & Collect service.

Overall performance continues in line with management expectations with total Group revenues increasing 6.4% compared to the same period last year, including the benefit of a full period's strong contribution from the Parcel Freight division following the acquisition of Tuffnells in December 2014. Total Group like for like revenues decreased 2.3%.

The Group continues to make good progress with its growth initiatives. Pass My Parcel delivered an excellent operational performance over the peak Christmas period remaining on track with its current expansion plans. The launch of a mobile enabled returns collection service, with a QR (Quick Response) code sent to customers' mobile phones, is the next step in the Group's strategy to grow Pass My Parcel, having originally launched the Click & Collect service in October 2014 with Amazon as its first client. The Group today names ASOS as its second customer with an initial trial in 20 retail outlets to be rolled out across the remaining 3,000 outlets over the coming months.

The performance of each division was as follows:
· Connect News & Media: News total revenues decreased by 2.7% and like for like revenues decreased by 3.7%, with newspaper performance in line with recent run rates and magazine run rates continuing to improve. Media total revenues increased by 2.5% while like for like revenues increased by 1.8%.

· Connect Books: total revenues declined by 0.8%, while like for like revenues increased by 1.2%, through a sustained focus on more profitable contracts as part of the efforts to reduce costs and increase margins. Ongoing significant growth in Wordery and a good performance in Wholesale were offset by continuing tough conditions in UK Libraries and International markets.

· Connect Education & Care: total and like for like revenues both increased by 0.1%. Core revenues increased by 1.7% underpinned by strong growth in Early Years partly offset by performance in Secondary Education, with the division remaining focused on maintaining a strong gross margin.

· Connect Parcel Freight: total and like for like revenues both increased by 12.1% with continued positive market growth and new customer wins. The division's performance remains in line with management expectations, with strong growth under the Group's ownership.

There has been no change in the underlying financial condition of the Group since the preliminary financial results announcement on 14 October 2015.

The Group will announce its interim results for the six months ending 29 February 2016 on 19 April 2016.

skinny - 13 Jan 2016 09:24 - 44 of 72

Peel Hunt Buy 167.88 174.00 174.00 Reiterates

Liberum Capital Buy 167.88 190.00 190.00 Reiterates

skinny - 19 Apr 2016 08:48 - 45 of 72

Unaudited Interim Results for 6mths ended 29/2/16

Highlights:

· Group performance in line with management expectations

· Adjusted revenue up 4.2%
· Adjusted profit before tax up 13.0%, driven by post acquisition profits and growth in Parcel Freight
· Adjusted EPS of 8.9p, up 3.5%
· Strong free cash flow generating £18.0m, up 12.5%

· The Group continues to make good progress on its strategic priorities
- Impressive revenue and profit growth in Parcel Freight
- Continued resilience in core News business
- Pass My Parcel growing customers, services and brand awareness
- E-commerce initiatives in Books and Education helping to offset currently challenging markets

· Ongoing confidence in Group prospects reflected in DPS of 3.0p up 3.4%

skinny - 19 Apr 2016 08:48 - 46 of 72

5yr contract extension with Northern & Shell

skinny - 08 Oct 2016 16:26 - 47 of 72

Regrets, I’ve got a few, but . . .

skinny - 26 Jan 2017 08:32 - 48 of 72

Trading Update

Connect Group PLC, a leading specialist distributor operating in four divisions; News & Media, Parcel Freight, Education & Care and Books, is today issuing its Trading Update covering the 20 week period to 21 January 2017.

Total Group revenues increased 0.2% compared to the same period last year, whilst total Group like for like revenues increased 0.6%.

The performance of each division was as follows:

· Connect News & Media: News total revenues decreased by 2.6%, and like for like revenues decreased by 2.3%. Newspaper and magazine revenues were both in line with our medium term expectations. Our ongoing cost efficiency programme facilitates continued investment in Pass My Parcel. Media total revenues increased by 8.7% while like for like revenues increased by 6.0%.

· Connect Parcel Freight: total and like for like revenues both increased by 5.2% in the period. The Group continues to make a sizeable investment in the Parcel Freight division, to establish a platform for growth through sales leadership, customer service and operational excellence. We anticipate a greater percentage of Tuffnells' full year profit to be generated in the second half than was the case last year.

· Connect Education & Care: total and like for like revenues both decreased by 4.6%. Core revenues decreased by 4.4% with increased revenues in Early Years being offset by difficult trading conditions in our other markets.

· Connect Books: total revenues increased by 14.3%, while like for like revenues increased by 15.1%. Strong growth in Wholesale and Wordery was offset by continued difficult trading conditions in our higher margin library markets.

The Group will announce its interim results for the six months ending 28 February 2017 on 25 April 2017.

skinny - 26 Jan 2017 08:32 - 49 of 72

26 Jan Peel Hunt Add 143.88 167.00 167.00 Reiterates

26 Jan finnCap Buy 143.88 196.00 196.00 Reiterates

26 Jan Liberum Capital Buy 143.88 170.00 170.00 Reiterates

skinny - 25 Apr 2017 12:32 - 50 of 72

Unaudited Interim Results for the six months ended 28 February 2017

Highlights:

· Proposed sale of Education & Care, a significant milestone in the Group's strategy
· Robust continuing Adjusted profit, driven by a resilient performance in News distribution
· News distribution, on track to achieve £10m of efficiencies by FY2018
· Pass My Parcel - new returns services with Amazon and French Connection, and a contract with UK Mail for returns and 'failed household deliveries', expected to go live in the second half
· Parcel Freight revenue growth of 5.1%, helping support £1.5m of planned investment
· Good free cash flow generation after allowing for increased capital expenditure
· Leverage reduced to 1.8x with a further reduction to circa 1.2x on completion of the sale of Education & Care
· Interim dividend of 3.1p reflects confidence in the ongoing strength of the Group
· No change in management expectations for the full year performance

skinny - 25 Apr 2017 12:32 - 51 of 72

Peel Hunt Add 130.88 167.00 167.00 Reiterates

Berenberg Buy 130.88 185.00 185.00 Reiterates

finnCap Buy 130.88 200.00 200.00 Reiterates

Liberum Capital Buy 130.88 170.00 170.00 Reiterates

skinny - 02 Jun 2017 08:11 - 52 of 72

Peel Hunt Add 131.25 167.00 135.00 Reiterates

skinny - 24 Jul 2017 07:46 - 53 of 72

Trading Update

Connect Group PLC is today issuing its Trading Update covering the 45 week period to 15 July 2017.

Overall performance continues to be in line with expectations with a stronger second half from News & Media offsetting softer trading in Parcel Freight.

Total Group revenue for continuing operations of £1,497.5m (2016: £1,517.6m) has decreased by 1.3% year to date, a consequence of the anticipated decline of newspaper and magazine sales, offsetting revenue growth in our other markets.

The sale of the Group's Education & Care division to RM plc completed on 30 June 2017, for a cash consideration of £56.5m, delivering an Internal Rate of Return of 10% over the lifetime of our ownership. The disposal is a milestone in the Group's strategy to focus future investment on core operations, facilitating the transition to becoming an integrated specialist distribution business.

The Group has also maintained progress with key initiatives in its core markets:

News & Media

Sales in Smiths News remain in line with our strategic forecast; total revenue of £1,125.8m (2016: £1,173.7m) decreased by 4.1% with newspapers continuing to perform more strongly than magazines. Media total revenue of £24.7m (2016: £23.2m) has increased by 6.1%. Planned efficiencies of £5m in the year will be fully delivered, and a robust operational performance with ongoing cost control, is contributing to a strong second half. The new regional hub at Hemel Hempstead is operational and making good progress.

Parcel Freight

Total revenue of £157.3m (2016: £151.3m) has increased by 4.0% driven largely by price increases. Despite a successful spring peak for consignment volumes, market competition is limiting revenue growth, and the efficiency benefits from our investments in the business are coming through more slowly than anticipated. As a consequence, overall performance has followed the same trend as the first half of the year.

Pass My Parcel

Pass My Parcel's volume run rate has continued to increase, driven by a combination of core growth, new client partnerships and the development of additional services. Total parcels handled in June 2017 averaged 23,400 per week, up 149% on the same period last year. Customer service and operational performance has remained strong throughout.

Good progress is being made in leveraging the Group's capabilities in B2B final mile and early-morning delivery, attracting a growing client pipeline with a range of service propositions. We expect our contract with UK Mail to handle returns and failed household deliveries to commence in 2018, following the implementation of supporting IT.

Books

Total revenue of £189.7m (2016: £169.4m) has increased 12.0% with continued strong sales in UK Wholesale and Wordery, offset by weaker sales in Libraries. The recent announcement of the Joint National Consortia framework agreement saw Dawson Books re-listed as a leading supplier, a strong result reflecting the quality of our offer; the framework agreement takes effect from 1 August 2017 for a minimum of two years. The first phase of new automated packing technology is now installed at the Norwich hub and contributing to efficiency savings that will help to mitigate future increases in the National Living Wage.

Integration

The Group's strategy for integration is focused on the delivery of cost synergies between News & Media and Parcel Freight, group overhead and structure, as well as providing a broader customer proposition leveraging the combined strengths of our two specialist distribution networks, creating additional growth opportunities. We will update the market on progress at the preliminary results.


There has been no change in the underlying financial condition of the Group since the interim financial results announcement on 25 April 2017.

The Group will announce its preliminary results for the full year ending 31 August on 26 October 2017.

skinny - 24 Jul 2017 08:11 - 54 of 72

finnCap Buy 105.50 187.00 187.00 Reiterates

skinny - 24 Jul 2017 09:16 - 55 of 72

Peel Hunt Add 106.00 135.00 135.00 Reiterates

skinny - 25 Jul 2017 08:05 - 56 of 72

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 116.25 152.00 144.00 Reiterates

skinny - 31 Jul 2017 13:02 - 57 of 72

Notification of Change in Director's Role and Responsibilities

Connect Group PLC is pleased to announce that Jonathan Bunting, previously Managing Director of the Group's News & Media division, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for operations across the Smiths News and Tuffnells businesses. This announcement follows the Group's recent confirmation of its strategy to bring together its News & Media and Parcel Freight divisions, together with supporting Group functions, into one integrated structure. The change will take effect from 1 September 2017.

skinny - 31 Jul 2017 13:02 - 58 of 72

finnCap Buy 111.88 187.00 154.00 Reiterates

skinny - 26 Oct 2017 08:18 - 59 of 72

Unaudited Preliminary Results Announcement for the year ended 31 August 2017

STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS:

· Focused strategy continues, concentrating on opportunities in Early Distribution and Mixed Freight
· Adjusted continuing PBT £48.0m down £2.4m, due to weaker performance in Mixed Freight
· Resilient trading in News offset by higher costs in Pass My Parcel
· Step change in the integration of Smiths News and Tuffnells
· Plans to deliver an initial £15m of savings over two years
· Sale of Education & Care for an enterprise value of £64.4m and net cash proceeds of £58.2m
· Books planned disposal expected in FY18
· Leverage (4) reduces to 1.2x and bank facilities renewed in October 2017 until January 2021
· Final dividend of 6.7p up 3.1%, making a full year dividend of 9.8p, up 3.2%

Mark Cashmore, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"In what has been a challenging year, we have concurrently managed a period of tough trading while refocusing our strategy, restructuring our leadership, and disposing of the Education & Care division.

A two-year transformation programme is underway, centred on a comprehensive integration of our core businesses, extending from leadership and central services through to the network and frontline delivery.

We are now wholly focused on opportunities in Early Distribution and Mixed Freight - and we are moving at pace with a transformation programme, to deliver a combination of efficiencies, service and organic sales that will underpin growth."

skinny - 26 Oct 2017 08:20 - 60 of 72

26 Oct finnCap Buy 99.00 154.00 154.00 Reiterates
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