Money pouring into the cloud computing market and new 5G networks has bolstered the outlook for Calnex Solutions (CLX), which makes equipment for testing telecoms and IT infrastructure. The Linlithgow-based company’s equipment is used in 68 countries by customers including BT, China Mobile, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel and IBM. Repeat orders make up about 80 per cent of its revenue.
Calnex was founded by chief executive Tommy Cook in 2006 and brought to market in 2020, raising an initial £6mn in a deal that valued the company at £42mn. Anyone who bought in at that time has made a tidy profit – it has since trebled in value and had a market cap of just below £149mn at the end of last week.
It operates in a sector that is growing at a compound rate of 11.5 per cent a year, according to Frost & Sullivan, but has managed to outperform this. Revenue for the year to 31 March grew by 23 per cent to £22mn, while pre-tax profit widened by 64 per cent to £6mn.
Post year-end it also made its first acquisition as a public company, buying Stevenage-based iTrinegy for up to £3.5mn in April. iTrinegy has developed hardware and software to test IT networks run by gaming, financial, technology and military/government customers in the UK and the US.
House broker Cenkos Securities thinks the deal will add about £1.3mn to this year’s revenue and £200,000 to its bottom line. It is forecasting a 22 per cent increase in revenue and a 21 per cent uplift in earnings per share to 6.3p, meaning the company currently trades at about 27 times forecast earnings.
Cook has seized the opportunity to cash in some of his chips, selling 1 per cent of the company for almost £1.6mn at the start of the month. He remains the largest shareholder, though, with a stake of just below 20 per cent.
Buys | |||||
Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Stake size |
Adriatic Metals | Paul Cronin (ce) | 02 Jun 22 | 139 † | 138,576 † | n/d |
Chapel Down | Jamie Brooke | 06-07 Jun 22 | 30 | 99,670 | 0.22% |
Conduit | Trevor Carvey (ce) | 06 Jun 22 | 348 | 95,675 | 0.15% |
Conduit | Neil Eckert (ch) | 09 Jun 22 | 348 | 102,712 | 0.39% |
DP Eurasia | Shyam Bhartia/Hari Bhartia/Pratik Pota * | 01 Jun 22 | 53 | 76,784 | 42.80% |
GSK | Dr Hal Barron (PDMR) | 07 Jun 22 | 3,515 (ADS) † | 40,918 † | n/d |
John Wood | Roy Franklin (ch) | 01 Jun 22 | 220 | 48,510 | n/d |
Kingfisher | Catherine Bradley | 07 Jun 22 | 262 | 26,170 | 0.00% |
Kingspan | Éimear Moloney | 07 Jun 22 | 6,443 † | 128,861 † | n/d |
Literacy Capital | Olly Cox (PDMR) | 07 Jun 22 | 390 | 53,816 | n/d |
Omega Diagnostics | Simon Douglas (ch) ** | 08 Jun 22 | 4 | 20,000 | 0.21% |
Omega Diagnostics | Jag Grewal (ce) ** | 08 Jun 22 | 4 | 20,000 | 0.31% |
Omega Diagnostics | Chris Lea (cfo) ** | 08 Jun 22 | 4 | 20,000 | 0.21% |
Omega Diagnostics | Jeremy Millard ** | 08 Jun 22 | 4 | 20,000 | 0.43% |
Peel Hunt | Maria Bentley | 09 Jun 22 | 114 | 24,059 | 0.02% |
Pure Gold Mining | Mark O'Dea (ce) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 745,295 † | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Graeme Currie (ch) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 93,162 † | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Robert Pease (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 62,108 † | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Troy Fierro (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 62,108 † | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Lenard Boggio (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 93,162 † | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Maryse Belanger (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 62,108 † | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Christopher Haubrich (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 93,162 | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Philip Smerchanski (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 24,843 | n/d |
Pure Gold Mining | Bryan Wilson (PDMR) | 25 May 22 | 9 † | 62,108 | n/d |
Redcentric | Nick Bate (ch) | 07 Jun 22 | 124 | 49,500 | 0.03% |
Softline | Igor Borovikov (ch) | 07 Jun 22 | 556 † (GDRs) | 927,889 † | n/d |
Sound Energy | Graham Lyon (ch) ** | 08 Jun 22 | 2 | 20,000 | 0.11% |
Sound Energy | Marco Fumagalli ** | 08 Jun 22 | 2 | 20,000 | 0.30% |
Speedy Hire | David Shearer (ch) | 06 Jun 22 | 48 | 48,005 | n/d |
Speedy Hire | David Garman * | 06 Jun 22 | 48 | 84,035 | n/d |
Speedy Hire | Shatish Dasani | 07 Jun 22 | 48 | 24,084 | n/d |
SuperSeed Capital | Mads Jensen (PDMR) * | 01 Jun 22 | 83 | 69,501 | 84.83% |
Symphony International | Anil Thadani (PDMR) | 07-09 Jun 22 | 43 † | 527,706 † | n/d |
UP Global Sourcing | Chris Dent (cfo) * | 01 Jun 22 | 130 | 22,522 | 0.06% |
Venture Life | Paul McGreevy (ch) | 10 Jun 22 | 35 | 48,500 | 0.23% |
Wizz Air | Robert Carey (PDMR) | 09 Jun 22 | 2,377 | 49,988 | n/d |
Sells | |||||
Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Stake size |
Adriatic Metals | Peter Bilbe | 01 Jun 22 | 137 † | 412,111 † | n/d |
Calnex Solutions | Tommy Cook (ce) | 01 Jun 22 | 159 | 1,592,000 | 19.90% |
Compass | Robin Mills (PDMR) | 07 Jun 22 | 1,791 | 43,682 | n/d |
Quartix Technologies | Daniel Mendis (PDMR) | 1-8 Jun 22 | 318 | 122,164 | 0.00% |
Sage | Aaron Harris (PDMR) | 07 Jun 22 | 657 | 196,950 | 0.03% |
Travis Perkins | Robin Miller (PDMR) * | 06 Jun 22 | 1,228 | 241,941 | n/d |
Wheaton Precious Metals | Eduardo Luna (PDMR) | 19-23 May 22 | 3,331 † | 999,418 † | n/d |
*Spouse/Family/Close Associate. ** placing / open offer † Converted from € / $ / A$ / C$ |