Why I think iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) could be something out of the box

A 267% jump in quarterly revenue may just be the beginning for iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) in its quest to lead the world in KYC solutions

Fast growing small caps such as iSignthis Ltd (ASX: ISX) are often trying to disrupt the way a current process is done. While their method may well be better than current practise, there is no certainty it will be taken up by the targeted industry. Inertia is a very powerful force.

iSignthis Ltd ISX (ASX) first came to my attention when I read its latest quarterly cash flow report. As you can see below the large jump in revenue from previous quarters is the stand out feature. As I wrote here revenue growth is not the only thing to look for but it does highlight if the company’s product is gaining traction.
From the 4C, it appears that for the last month of the quarter, iSignthis may have actually been cashflow positive, a big achievement for any small cap.

Source: iSignthis 4C report

The question you must be asking yourself by now is  what does iSignthis do, and why such a weird name?

To be honest the first time I heard its name I was a bit turned off, but it aptly describes what iSignthis does. Rather than me struggling to describe what they do I suggest watching their clip below.

Now that you understand what iSignthis does, lets take a look at its CEO and his background. This interview was done after iSignthis came onto the ASX back in 2015.

Conclusion

I won’t sugarcoat this, iSignthis operates in a very competitive market. Regtech is one of the fastest growing tech sectors and for a very good reason. When you think about how many transactions are processed around the world everyday, you can start to understand the prize on offer.

I have included a list here of regtech companies that you may like to investigate. While they do not all operate in the same space as iSignthis, it gives you an idea on the scope of the sector.

 

Do you have an opinion on ISX ?

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Disclosure and warning.

Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

At the time of publication Alonzo owned shares in iSighthis. Price at time of publication 15.5 cents.

 

GetSwift AGM 2017, Can it really conquer the world?

2017 has been a pivotal year for GetSwift (GSW:ASX) with management believing the best is yet to come for this small Australia tech company.

Let me kick off my thoughts on GetSwift Ltd (ASX: GSW) Annual General Meeting by saying that if you’re looking for an executive chairman who can sell a story, look no further than GetSwift’s Bane Hunter. If he’s doing as good a job on prospective clients as he did on the attendees at its AGM then the company is in safe hands.

I joked on the CTHGPRO forums if I was in a church at the end of Bane’s sermon, I would have jumped to my feet and yelled “hallelujah brother”!

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking Bane’s ability, in fact from what I can gauge, he’s a prized asset and for a company that boasts zero marketing staff, he seamlessly steps into that role.

So what did I learn at the AGM?

Firstly I was happy to see Bane kicking off proceedings by addressing a question many investors have regarding GetSwift.

Why would a company pay GetSwift Ltd when they could build it themselves ?

Let me start by saying if you hear an analyst ask this question, withdraw your money from their care and run not walk, as far away as you can. Why? because they obviously have zero real world experience.

Having worked in various companies across various industries, implementing company-wide software is far from easy. It takes considerable time and money. I am yet to see any large implementation go smoothly with many mistakes and miscalculations along the way. So when GeySwift comes knocking and says it will take on these risks and you only need to pay as you go, well-travelled CEOs and CFOs are definitely sitting up and listening.

Another key difference over an in-house approach is the intelligence gathered by GetSwift operating across different sectors and countries, which the team at GSW were keen to point out  is funneled back into software improvements.

Next came the presentation slides which can be found here

I will let you make your own mind up about the presentation.  The key takeaway in my opinion and a point that was made a few times by management at the AGM is that GetSwift is now being sought out by Fortune 1000 companies in the US as word-of-mouth spreads.

Question time

Before I go any further, I would encourage all shareholders to attend AGMs and to ask questions. Too many times I have attended AGMs and I’m the only one left to ask questions.

I kicked off question time by asking for specific examples of how GetSwift had improved its software over the last 12 months from intelligence gathered ?

To be honest, I am not sure my question was addressed completely. You know when someone says that’s a good question, they are trying to think of an answer. Without giving specifics examples, management answered that they had learned how different industries operated and offered new functionality in its software.

The next question that came from the audience and asked how the NA Williams project was progressing?

While the company was limited at what they could say in regards to market sensitive comments, they indicated the project was on track and an announcement about the progress would be made early in the new year.

The next question came back to me and I asked if they could explain the 1 billion transactions (NA Williams) as I was struggling to understand where those numbers came from?

I was pleased to learn the 1 billion figure actually came from NA Williams itself when they engaged GetSwift. Both the chairman and managing director admitted they also doubted those figures when they first heard them. This led to them spending sometime in the US with NA Williams at their delivery sites and on delivery trucks to get a better grasp of how many transactions would be involved across all divisions of NA Williams.

The next question was around small companies vs larger deals and where that was headed?

At the moment around 60% of transactions are from smaller companies but as deals are signed and come on line Getswift was expecting it to end up 80/20 to larger implementations.

The final question and perhaps the most telling was one asked about the current trading halt and the announcement of a “significant deal”.

The chairman said that while he was unable to give any specifics until it was released to market (tomorrow) he joked many readers of the announcement would experience a jaw dropping moment.

The AGM concluded with an update that a number of key appointments would be announced shortly from well known international companies. GetSwift management believes this validates their faith in the company.

Conclusion

I have written a few times that I like to keep my distance from company management so I do not fall under the spell of a great storyteller.

Having said that I was happy to see management was prepared to address the questions that the market has for such a young company. As a shareholder of GSW I look forward to finding myself nursing a sore jaw around 10am tomorrow morning but my 20 odd years in the market has me very skeptical indeed.

 

Do you have an opinion on GetSwift?

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Disclosure:
Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

 

Why you need to know GetSwift quick smart!

It is not often that Australia produces a company with prospects of a worldwide audience but in GetSwift Ltd (ASX:GSW) we might just have one.

Well I never thought I would be excited by a company run by an ex-footballer but it has happened!

Former Brisbane and Melbourne AFL player Joel Macdonald in my opinion may well control one of the most exciting stocks on the ASX if not globally at this very moment.

I was not surprise to learn in the company’s recent capital raising that overseas investors were not only keeping a close eye on his company but were also prepared to invest substantial cash into the idea.

So what is GetSwift and why do I like it so much?

You would have to have been living under a rock not to have heard about Amazon’s upcoming arrival in Australia, along with the dire predictions for the Australian retail sector when the US giant hits our shores.

What is particularly worrying for Australian retailers is Amazon’s ability to deliver quickly and cheaply. This means for Aussie retailers to survive, they will need to be able to match such a service.

Through adversity comes opportunity

In a nutshell GetSwift provides retailers with software that manages dispatch and delivery services to their customers.

The company’s slogan might give you an idea of why I am excited by GetSwift’s prospects.

“Dispatch like Uber, track like Dominos, set routes like FedEx”

Chairman Bane Hunter describes GetSwift’s advantage in this manner.

“GetSwift is a cost effective way of tackling the threat from Amazon, Foodora, UberEats, Deliveroo and other global technology companies attempting to capture this space, and charge retailers a significant premium for the benefit of what is becoming an expected service,”

But it isn’t just large retailers that can benefit from GetSwift’s software. Small shop front retailers will benefit from delivery drivers with excess capacity who can log in and pick up jobs from GetSwift’s platform similar to the way UberEats functions.

In theory this means any corner store could start to compete with Amazon on delivery times at a cost effective price!

Do you have an opinion on GetSwift or how Amazon will change retail in Australia?

I would love to hear it!

Please join me on my new forum. Just click here.

Disclosure:

Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

Please note.

There have been some lies spread around the internet that this page was removed because of Getswift’s fall from grace. This is far from the truth, a few pages were switched off a while back including the famous George Costanza (reverse thing) page 🙂 because they were causing the website to slow. With an upgrade in hosting plans and updates in the forum software I am now able to switch all pages back on. I find it strange that such lies were spread when my second article on GetSwift has remained up on the site since it was written back in 2017 plus Get-Swift is far from my worst performer. Anyway haters gonna hate as they say. If anyone has concerns please feel free to contact me directly at cthgpro@gmail.com.

Trump’s in trouble is it time to sell?

Love or hate Donald Trump, many Australian investors will be asking themselves what the latest events in the US means for their investments

Wow, what is going on over in the US ?

While many predicted Trump would implode in office, it is unlikely they thought it would occur so soon into his presidency. Trump’s unconventional methods have drawn its fair share of supporters along with critics as he brought his own unique style of business to the oval office.

Unfortunately for Trump, it appears he has failed to grasp the true nature of his office and may well have overstepped into an area which is seeing his tenure on the presidency questioned.

Now I am not here to cast judgement on Trump. I do however believe it is important for Australian investors to weigh up the ramifications on the ASX.

Is this the end of the Trump Trade and it is time to sell?

No doubt a great many investors will be asking themselves this exact question today. While there is no simple answer (as no one knows what the market will do) I believe it is important to look at facts and historical events rather than letting emotions make the decisions for us.

History

Last year we were told by the media that two events, if they occurred, would result in financial melt down: Brexit and Trump. As we now know this was not the case and financial markets continued to head higher; in fact, just last night Britain reported its lowest unemployment figures since 1975!

Economics

Over 80% of companies last quarter in the US (Q1/2017) beat earnings forecasts while European companies are growing earnings by around 20%. GDP in Europe, the UK and America continues to grow with the federal reserve able to slow interest rate rises, if Trump’s problems flow onto the economy.

Emotions

I wrote previously on studies that show commentators who project a negative sentiment on the economy are seen as more knowledgeable than those who present a more positive view. No doubt there will be plenty of negative views floating around the markets today and over coming weeks.

What will change if the worst does occur and Trump is removed from office?

The short answer is not much. The US will still have a republican president in Mike Pence and a republican congress.

While life under Pence may not be as exciting as Trump, I believe big businesses would remain happy with such a possible combination.

Conclusion

A favourite investing quote of mine comes from Robert Arnott  “In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.”

While investors will no doubt be feeling uncomfortable on whether Trump survives, they need to weigh up the facts and put aside emotions to decide on whether this is finally “the end” or yet another opportunity just waiting to be taken?

Do you have an opinion on Donald Trump and what ASX investors should be doing?

I would love to hear it!

Please join me on my new forum. Just click here.

Disclosure:


Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

Why Warren Buffett is causing many ordinary investors to underperform the market

No one can dispute Warren Buffett’s investing skills but has he actually done more harm than good to ordinary investors?

Yes that’s right, I said it and I am not taking it back! I believe Warren Buffett the world’s greatest investor is responsible for many investors underperforming the market.

Now before you rush to the bottom of the page to leave an unpublishable comment please hear me out.

First let me say Warren Buffett is an absolute investing legend and I am not here to argue that any of his analysis is wrong. On the contrary, his ability to value companies and articulate as such has resulted in a generation of Warren Buffett clones. So this raises the question why are we not seeing millions of investors outperform the market in the very same way Warren has?

My argument is that Warren’s analysis was perfect for his time when companies would survive a generation but with the advent of the internet and ease of disruption, such analysis while still useful has lost its degree of relevance to today’s investors.

I’ll pause a minute as Buffett disciples pick themselves up off the floor.

If you don’t believe me ask yourself why Warren failed to invest in two of the largest companies on the planet Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) ?

(As luck would have it, as I was writing this article Warren Buffett actually addressed this very question here )

While you think about that, let me repeat I am not saying Warren Buffett was wrong. What I’m trying to impart is that many investors have become fixated on particular tools that Warren used, such as the well known Price to Earnings Ratio at the expense of other important considerations.

I’ve lost count of the number of investors who have told me they were buying a company simply because of a low PE without any thought given to the fact that such ratios only measure past performance.

Future is the key

Research on Dow Jones companies by Bain & Co. indicates that two out of three large companies (worth $5 billion or more) will go bankrupt, be acquired or break into pieces in the next 15 years.

With such sobering statistics I believe it is important investors approach investment from a different perspective.

Rather than looking at a company because it appears cheap, I suggest starting your research in a sector which has fallen out of favour from the market. From there understand where each company fits, (leader, new entrant, or on the way out) then ask which company has the highest profit margin and which company is growing market share.

Once you determine the pick of the litter Warren’s fundamental approach can be used as a guide for valuation and a suitable entry point.

Do you have an opinion on Warren Buffett and whether he has helped or hindered your performance?

I would love to hear it!

Please join me on my new forum. Just click here.

Disclosure:
Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

Can George Costanza really make you a better investor?

Are you investing like George Costanza? Here’s how “acting opposite” could help make you a better investor.

I know what you’re thinking. How could George Costanza, possibly the single biggest loser to grace a television screen, teach anyone to be a better investor?

Seinfeld fans will remember the episode where George enters the Diner, sits down with Jerry and comes to the conclusion that everything he thought he had done right in his life has been wrong.

Jerry, in his usual mischievous fashion, suggests to George that if everything he has ever done is wrong, then the exact opposite must be right!

https://www.youtube.com/wathch?v=cKUvKE3bQlY

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Like George, all investors are prone to normal human emotions such as greed and fear.
When fear grips the market, such as the moment it became clear Donald Trump would be the next President, many investors immediately hit the panic button and sold. We now know the immediate share-price fall after Donald Trump’s win,  lasted less than 24 hours before the market again headed higher.

You might be surprised to know Peter Lynch, one of the world’s best investors, agrees with George in his opposite approach, telling investors it is important to act in a manner opposite to what your “gut” is telling you to do.

Unfortunately fear is not the only emotion investors need to guard against. Greed is possibly an even more dangerous emotion.

Ask yourself how many times you’ve sold a company only to watch it continue to track higher?

Many readers will probably be shaking their heads and reciting the old saying “you can’t go broke taking a profit”. In fact taking small profits can lead to a slow decline in capital if accompanied with large losses.

To understand this, you need to remember a rising share price has no limit. It can rise 100, 200, or even 10,000% whereas a declining share price can only fall to zero.

Small companies are often neglected by investors because their share price are seen to be much more volatile. While that is true, investors need to ask themselves whether the fear of price movement is stopping them from investing in some high quality companies?

Do you have an opinion on how George Costanza could help your investing? I would love to hear it!

Please join me on my new forum. Just click here.

Disclosure:

Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

Why new investors should keep an investment diary

While an investment diary may sound old fashioned, new investors can benefit from its methodical and repeatable approach.

I’m often asked by new investors about my biggest investing mistake. If you’ve been in the game as long as I have, then the list of mistakes to choose from will be enormous. Having said that, most of my early and stupidly repeated errors can be traced back to a lack of basic record keeping. 

Anyone who has dabbled in technical analysis or charting, will be aware how important it is to keep a trading diary to understand their system’s strengths and weaknesses. While it may not be so obvious fundamental, value and even growth investors can also benefit from the same record keeping procedure.

Misconception

Many investors mistakenly believe a rise in share price is proof that their decision to invest was proven correct. Rather than share price, investors need to judge success on whether the company has performed as they predicted it would via growth in sales and profits when they first decided to buy.

While this is not an exhaustive list I suggest the points below should form the back bone of data collected for each and every investment. Software such as FileMaker Pro would prove very useful for such an exercise and will enable reporting at a later date.

Investment Diary Form
Company Name
Market Cap
Sector
What does the company actually do ?  (15 words or less)
What is the current PE?
Your prediction for PE in 12 and 24 months?
Historical PE (suitable for more mature companies)
Current EPS
Your Forecast EPS (12 month/24 month)
Cashflow positive ? If not ,when do you expect it will be?
Debt level
When will the debt mature?
What is the company’s gross margin on sales?
Does it pay a dividend?
If yes, what is the payout ratio?
How did you find this company?
Percentage away from 52 week high?
Management
What percentage of the company does management own?
Does management have a good record at forecasting future earnings ?
Does management over or under promise ?
Other
Did you consider 2 opinions that disagree with your thesis to buy ?
Did you consider 2 opinions that agree with your decision to buy ?
What is the over riding reason you’re buying? Cheap? Industry tailwinds ? Management?
Frame of Mind
Do you believe the ASX is over or under valued ?
Do you believe the DOW is over or undervalued?
What are your feelings about the market? Calm or volatile ?
How are you feeling about your last investment? Positive or Negative ?
How volatile has the share price been over the last 3 years? % up and down 
Are you prepared to stay the course if it has the same volatility over the coming 3 years?
What is your price target? 
Will you sell or reassess when it hits your target price ?

Conclusion

As I stated above, this list should not be considered the beginning and end of your investment recording keeping. Each investor will look at a particular company in a different way and should tailor their check list to suit. As an example if I was investing in the resource sector, I would include the commodity price along with at what point in the commodity cycle I believed it to be.

As the years pass by on your investment journey, patterns should start to emerge in regard to your strengths and weaknesses.

While keeping investment records will not guarantee success, it is designed to help new investors become more methodical in how they approach each new investment and should help minimize many common and often repeated investing mistakes.

 

Do you have an opinion on what records an investor needs to keep? I would love to hear it!

Please join me on my new forum. Just click here.

Disclosure:

Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

2 small caps I recently purchased after their half yearly reports

Small ASX companies have fallen out of favour over the last 6 months. This short term pain has presented some compelling opportunities.

As many of you may know I am not adverse to stealing ideas from famous investors. If it is not broken why fix it, right? With this in mind as I approach any new investment in the small cap space I always remind myself of Peter Lynch’s famous quote “share price will always follow earnings and cash flow“.

For any new small investors reading this article if there is nothing else you learn from the rubbish I write, earnings and cash flow are the most important to keep in mind. While it might seem obvious, many investors get caught up in the “hype” of a company and end up losing money in businesses that are highly unlikely to ever produce any meaningful revenue let alone profits.

As I wrote in my previous article here you can monitor how a company is travelling via their Appendix 4C reports. This way you can project when a company should turn cash flow positive. You may even like to start building a stake just before this occurs because as you can imagine once this happens many investors will soon become interested.

An approach I will sometimes take is to start with a 20% holding of what my final position maybe in anticipation of the company turning cash flow positive. Once it occurs I will reassess the business and add the remaining stake if I am satisfied everything remains on track. ( example: If I wanted to invest $20K total in company X my first order would be for $4K or 20%)

I should add here that I will only enter a pre cash flow positive position (tongue twister) when I am extremely confident in the company. Most times I prefer to wait for confirmation via a half yearly financial report.

I know what you are thinking, enough of the lecture just get onto the 2 companies you pushed in the headline.

EML PAYMENTS LTD (ASX:EML)
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EML Payments Limited is a financial services company, specialising in prepaid stored value products.

EML offers prepaid debit card programs for commercial entities, corporations and government departments. Presently EML manages over 850 programs in 13 countries including Austria, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.

What I like
EML’s recent report is the strongest so far delivered, driven by  growth in Australia, Europe and North America. This report is also the first one with a full contribution from its North American acquisition.
Importantly all key operating metrics, including Total Value of Dollar Loads,  Active Accounts and Stored Balances have grown strongly. In simple terms EML generates its  revenue from transaction fees, processing fees, load fees, interchange and breakage on non-reloadable cards. (EML retains any unused value non-reloadable cards). Another source of income is interest on stored balances, so as interest rates around the world return to more normal levels EML is set to benefit.
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RXP Services Ltd (ASX:RXP)
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RXP Services Limited is an ICT and digital professional services company, providing consulting and professional services to a number of S&P/ASX 200 corporations and government bodies in Australia and in Asia.

What I like

After losing its way a few years ago RXP appears to have regained it mojo along with the formula to not only grow client numbers but also to retain them.

RXP’s report in my opinion was extremely encouraging. Despite the negative response from the market  I was happy to start a position in a company which is trading at an undemanding valuation when compared to its larger more well known rivals.

What was extremely pleasing to see (and should help to restore market trust) was the fact RXP reconfirmed guidance at the upper end of previously announced, along with the company being financially capable of pursuing future acquisitions.

 

Do you have an opinion on either or both stocks? I would love to hear it!

Please join me on my new forum. Just click here.

 

Disclosure:

Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

Here’s where I start my search for the next big small cap

Investors are always on the outlook for the next big thing. This is where I start my search.

Every minute of every day, investors dream of finding the next big thing. A small cap company which will grow rapidly over coming years resulting in the company’s share price doubling many times over.

If you are like me you will have listened enviously as other investors recount stories of buying Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX:WFD) or Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) at some ridiculous price when they first hit the market.

While some investors like to buy in at the initial public offering, in the belief that the prospectus is a true reflection of the company’s future. I prefer to see runs on the board before investing.

Appendix 4C

 
To this end I eagerly await the mandatory quarterly reporting period for small companies. These reports known as Appendix 4C can be found on the ASX website at the end of each quarter.

In summary the report indicates the sales made in the quarter the costs incurred along with the remaining cash balance.

New investors will most likely be overwhelmed by the number of 4C reports released at the end of each quarter. To separate the wheat from the chaff at this stage I suggest only looking at companies which are actually producing revenue.

You will find this in the very top corner of the report. This will exclude most of the small cap exploration companies making the task much easier.

Next only consider companies which have grown revenue over the previous quarter. I recently learned that legendary investor Peter Lynch excluded companies whose revenue had grown by over 25% but I prefer to keep these companies under watch.

Once these companies have been found I suggest looking at the their quarterly activities report which is usually released with the 4C. While the 4C has a standard format, activity reports come in all shapes and sizes.

It is important for new investors to realize the activity report can be very much a marketing exercise but investors can quickly learn from this report the business conducted by the company. From here they can start to decide if they are able to understand what the company does and in turn possible risks etc.

Now that I have a list of growing companies running a business I can understand, I start to review past 4C reports.

Here I am looking to understand if revenue has been growing steadily or the recent report was a one off. Here I can also quickly learn if costs are continuing to rise or are they starting to level off which should see a growing cash balance. (positive cash flow)

From the 4C, remaining cash balance (found at the very bottom) will also alert you to how soon the company may need to raise capital from the market.

Conclusion

While there are never any sure things, I have been able to locate many profitable companies by this process including most recently Paragon Care Ltd. (ASX:PGC) and Nanosonics Ltd. (ASX:NAN) .

I suggest to new investors that this should be only the beginning of your research on a particularly company. From here you may check out the companies website. read annual reports and start looking for any broker coverage to help your understanding of what makes the company tick.

Disclosure:
Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.

Is CML Group Ltd (ASX:CGR) a potential “multibagger”?

2016 has been a transformational year for CML Group Ltd (ASX:CGR) with its move into invoicing financing starting to pay dividends.

2016 has been a significant year for CML Group Ltd (ASX:CGR).  CML Group Ltd has been transformed by disposing of its payroll services to concentrate resources into its fast growing debtor finance division.

To this end CML Goup has recently acquired 2 competitors (Cashflow Advantage and 180 Group) and is now in the process of rebranding the businesses under “Cashflow Finance”.

This is how invoice finance works. (source CML Group Ltd website)

Debtor Finance at a glance

Cashflow can make or break a business. Debtor finance, also known as invoice factoring, can streamline cashflow, making income regular and reliable.

 It is not a loan.

In a nutshell, debtor finance means that when you set up your facility with a provider, upon invoicing a client, that provider will pay up to 80 percent of the invoice to you, often within 24 hours of it being lodged. When your client pays, you receive the rest, minus a small fee. No waiting and no worrying.

http://cashflowfinance.com.au/

 

CML Group – 2016FY and Outlook

 

Comments

From its 2016FY results we can see that CML Group Ltd‘s growth has started to accelerate with its move into invoice/debtor financing. While the numbers are impressive the growth hasn’t been without its hiccups. Just 12 months ago a major debt went bad leaving a substantial hole in the company’s bottom line. While the threat of bad debts is part of doing business, the risk has been reduced with the growth in the loan book size. This means any single bad debt will now have less of an impact.

Management

As I have written before, I like companies where the original owner still holds a substantial slice of the company. CML ticks this box with the chairman and founder of CML holding around 10% of the register.

Also on the plus side I liked the addition to the board back in 2015 of Geoffrey Sam, primarily due to his previous experience on the board of Money3 Corporation Limited (ASX:MNY) another company I rank highly in the small cap space.

Catalyst

When looking for companies with the potential to “multibag” it is important to find possible catalysts which might make this occur. For CML Group I can see 3 possible catalysts.

1.       Continued Acquisitions

2.       Large New Client wins

3.       Takeover target

 Tips for new investors

As every seasoned investor knows, there is no such thing as a “sure thing”. Even the very best business ideas can come unstuck when unforeseen problems arise. When I look to invest in small companies I look for companies that are cash flow positive and a business that I can understand. This way the company will not be continually asking me to provide more capital and I am able to foresee external problems before they impact the business substantially.

 

Disclosure:
Please Note: None of the above should be considered investment advice. These are my own opinions based on a number of years market experience. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor if you wish to invest.