25 May 2012

Ffilling up

22/11/2011 Ben Jaglom

FFastFill (FFA), a provider of software to the derivatives sector has swung into the red amidst tough trading conditions.

The AIM-quoted concern declared a loss of £127,000 (2010: profit of £553,000) on sales of £7.25 million (2010: £7.3 million) for the six months to September. Net cash stood at £1.4 million (2010: £1.1 million) while the order book was £11.4 million (2010: £11.8 million). FFastFill also reported that it had acquired Chicago based US back office specialist WTD consulting in a deal worth £7.6 million.

In an interview with Growth Company Investor chairman Keith Todd enthused the US acquisition 'reflected the fact that for some time we have said we want to access the US back office market'. Regarding the loss he remarked the company had lost some customers due to 'structural change' noting that MF Global was a customer prior to its bankruptcy.

Looking ahead he noted FFastFill was focused on its 'Asia strategy' which despite the name includes Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Todd enthused that with the exception of Japan 'There is no debt in Asia' and that the region has 'received a lot of investment in the last few years which we are now starting to see the benefit of'.

Analysts at house broker Canaccord are forecasting pre-tax profits of £2.1 million (EPS: 0.47p) on sales of £17.9 million for the year to March 2012. In 2013 profits of £3.9 million (EPS: 0.81p) on revenues of £23.7 million are expected.

FFastFill faces a weakening European and US market which it hopes to offset through further penetration of Asia. The latest acquisition should help its chances of expanding into the back office sector while the order book stands at a respectable level.

Recommended by Growth Company Investor in June at 11.5p, the shares currently trade at 10p. With considerable pressure on the sector, and with the threat of further customers going bankrupt there is a big expectation of a strong second half to achieve the numbers. We would advise cutting your losses - sell.

Tags: AIM quoted, Asia rising, Derivatives business, Europe fading, GCI downgrade

Sector: Software & Computer Services

Companies: FFastFill

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