Two Stocks Under Spotlight: DS Smith Plc and Eqtec Plc

DS Smith PLC

London, the United Kingdom-based DS Smith PLC (SMDS) is a multinational packaging company. The group comprises of plastic packaging globally and a leading provider of corrugated packaging.

SMDS-Recent News

On 3rd October 2019, the company announced the appointment of Gareth Davis, as a Non-Executive Director of Gresham House PLC. On 5th December 2019, the company will announce the half-year results of 2019/20.

SMDS- Pre-closing statement (as on 31^st October 2019)

On 31st October 2019, the company released pre-closing statement. The company expects good margin progression for the period and return on sales to be in the range of 10 to 12 per cent. The company is thriving on the new business wins in Europe and the United States. The company expects net proceeds of around £400 million from the disposal of Plastics division of the company by the end of the current fiscal year.

SMDS-Trading Statement (as on 3rd September 2019)

In the current scenario, the company persists to progress well despite the macro-economic uncertainty, and the opportunities for overall financial performance remain unchanged. The outstanding consumer engagement and differentiators of service, innovation, scale, and quality has enabled robust pricing discipline.

This, combined through ongoing operating cost-effectiveness and emphasis on cash flow generation, together with new business wins in the United States and Europe, gives the company confidence in the resilient commercial model in spite of ongoing subdued volumes in several markets, in particular, those economies with substantial export-led market exposure.

Europac assimilation and synergy delivery are continuing very well, with good employee and customer engagement.

SMDS-Financial Highlights for FY19

In FY2019, the company’s reported revenue stood at £6,171 million, an increase of 12 per cent as compared to £5,518 million in FY2018 which was due to organic growth from Interstate Resources and Europac. The company’s adjusted PBT (Profit before Tax) surged by 31 per cent to £569 million in the current fiscal year. The company’s adjusted EPS (Basic) from continuing operations climbed to 33.3 pence in FY2019. The company’s total dividend/share was up by 13 per cent to 16.2 pence in FY2019.

SMDS-Share price performance

(Source: Thomson Reuters)

On 1st November 2019, at 01:49 PM GMT, DS Smith PLC shares clocked a current market price of GBX 361.2 per share; which was up by 1 per cent in comparison to the last traded price of the previous day. The company’s market capitalisation stood at around £4.89 billion.

On 06th November 2018, the shares of SMDS had touched a new peak of GBX 403.40 and reached the lowest price level of GBX 285.83 on 20th December 2018 in the last 52 weeks. The company’s shares were hovering at 10.46 per cent below from the 52-week high price mark and 26.36 per cent above from the 52-week low price mark at the current trading level as can be seen in the price chart.

On 1st November 2019, before the market close, the stock’s traded volume hovered around 1,293,668. The stock's 5-day average daily traded volume of the company was 3,493,344.60; 30 days average daily traded volume- 4,942,294.87 and 90 days average daily traded volume – 4,730,144.10. The volatility of the company’s stock was 7 per cent higher as compared with the index taken as the benchmark, as the beta (5Y monthly) of the company’s stock was recorded at 1.07.

In the last quarter, the shares of the company have delivered a positive return of 0.25 per cent. The company’s stock surged by 19.48 per cent from the start of the year to till date. The company’s stock has given investors 8.98 per cent of a negative return in the last year.Â

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Eqtec Plc

UK based, EQTEC Plc (EQT) is a technology solution company which converts waste into gas to run energy projects. Advanced gasification technology is where the company specialises in for industrial size power plants.

EQT-Financial highlights for H1 FY19

The company’s revenue was recorded at €1.56 million in H1 FY19 as against €0.55 million in H1 FY18. The company’s loss for the period stood at €1.96 million in H1 FY19 as against a loss of €1.87 million in H1 FY18. The company announced the restructuring of debt and placement of shares in June 2019. The company successfully mustered an equity swap for approximately £2.70 million of existing debt which will result in the reduction of debt by 60 per cent. The company successfully raised £0.75 million with existing and new shareholders. The company implemented a cost reduction program through July 2020. The company net current assets were valued at €0.53 million by the end of H1 FY19. The company’s net assets were valued at €15.80 million at the end of the period.

EQT-Share price performance

(Source: Thomson Reuters)

On 1st November 2019, at 01:54 PM GMT, EQTEC Plc shares clocked a current market price of GBX 0.12 per share; which remained flat in comparison to the last traded price of the previous day. The company’s market capitalisation was at £3.70 million.

On 15th January 2019, the shares of EQT had touched a new peak of GBX 1.84 and reached the lowest price level of GBX 0.092 on 25th October 2019 in the last 52 weeks. The company’s shares hovered at 93.47 per cent below from the 52-week high price mark and 30.43 per cent above from the 52-week low price mark at the reported trading level.

The stock's 5-day average daily traded volume of the company was 6,478,147.00; 30 days average daily traded volume- 7,782,947.20 and 90 days average daily traded volume – 14,234,214.74. The volatility of the company’s stock was 70 per cent higher as compared with the index taken as the benchmark, as the beta (5Y monthly) of the company’s stock was recorded at 1.70.

In the last quarter, the shares of the company have delivered a negative return of 48.94 per cent. The company’s stock plunged by 87.10 per cent from the start of the year to till date. The company’s stock has given investors 88 per cent of a negative return in the last year.Â