Watch Filtronic (FTC)…

Riz

Experienced member
Messages
1,266
Likes
6
FTC is a world leader in the design and manufacture of customised radio frequency components and subsystems with eight principal operations: Filtronic Comtek, Components, Broadband, Solid State, Filtronic LK, Sage Laboratories Inc, Filtronic Compound Semiconductors, Sigtek…

Share Price Movements: Worse than our Cookie’s monkey:) …2300 in March, 750 in July, 1400 beg. Of Sept., 860 Nov., 350 beg. Of Dec., 460 end of Dec., 390 Jan. the 10th, 490 Jan. the 19th, 377 Jan. the 26th……

SHARE OF THE YEAR Recommendation by City Confidential at 390…”We believe that the company is very well positioned to capitalise on the huge investment in third generation cellular technology which is set to be made by mobile network operators worldwide over the next two to five years. Filtronic’s solid relationships with these operators and leading handset manufacturers means that the company should become a very significant player in this market over the medium term. Whilst the semiconductor factory in County Durham is proving to be a short term drain on resources, this operation has huge potential in the future to manufacture components for Filtronic’s products as well as for third party manufacturers.

Although the shares are friendless at the moment, we think they could be standing substantially higher in two years’ time as investors’ attention focuses on the roll out of third generation mobiles. The purchase of £1m of shares in the company by chairman Professor David Rhodes at above the current price is a clear demonstration of his confidence in the future and we therefore rate the shares our 2001 Share of the Year.”

Tipped for the top in 2001 - Observer
'The fourth selection, from last year's winner John Hatherly of M&G,
is also a technology stock. He has plumped for Filtronic which, he
says, has 'a fantastic position in mobile infrastructure' and stands
on a prospective p/e of under 10 times for 2003 if all goes to plan.
There are risks - its financial position is stretched and it may not
manage to implement its strategy - but the potential rewards are
high.'

http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk...l&Issue=latest&ArticleID=14641&ID=Template1A: "..........telecoms components manufacturer Filtronic – has fallen below the loose buying targets that I set in June. My target for Filtronic was 700p. Its shares now trade at 412p, so, superficially, you might think that they are a steal. Trouble is, when I set those targets City analysts were expecting about 20p of earnings from Filtronic in the current year. Now forecasts are down to below 12p following fears that Filtronic was losing orders to supply components for mobile handsets; fears that Filtronic's management hasn't wholly put at rest. So Filtronic's shares are still rated just above the 35 times price/earnings ratio that guided my buying target in the first place."

And finally todays Sunday Telegraph says: A risky punt and strictly for the brave.

Since last week of December the share price has gone up and down twice gaining and losing around 100p each time…that’s caused by the interim results coming closer and closer (tomorrow)…making investors more and more nervous.. are they going to finally get some respite? Are they going to meet City demands for a refinancing, partnership or sale at the troubled Newton Aycliffe compound semiconductors plant in County Durham, which is losing £1m a month or are the margins on mobile handsets are more squeezed? Is the core wireless infrastructure business which growing at 30 per cent as thought?

Any positive answer to one or more of those questions together with a positive news about Newton Aycliffe can see the price flying…

Last week’s sharp decline saw the price breaking the strong 390 support on which it gained 100 recently..next support level is 350 which is year low..at 377.5 the price is not far from the year low…

Last week’s fall caused the price touch the lower BB leaving 10 and 26 Day MA sround the 20 day MA which is well over 400..previously the price has jumped up on each such occasion except for the big fall of around 500 in November…narrowed down BBs look like about to widen up…both Stochastics approaching 20 line where they bounced up on last 2 occassions…MACD histogram shows a possible rise comparing the last 3 curves…

Over all FCT is worth to watch closely tomorrow with a view of recovery BUY…we need positive or not worse than expected results tomorrow…If it’s not marked up first thing in the morning, I’d also look for a bottom to be formed…

rizgar (Riz for trade room users.. :) )

[Edited by rizgar on 28-01-2001 at 02:37 PM]
 
A bounce finally..up +11 (3.2%) to 356 thus price crossing over the lower BB...stochastics at the bottom line indicating oversell, RSI flat, MFI heaading down, OBV up sharply which is usually the first good sign I get..over all it's still early to predict the start of a fast recovery, but worth watching...

rizgar
 
Up +12.5(3.6%) to 360 after forming double bottom around 350…it’s worth to note that this is the second time FTC forms double bottom around this level..last time being in beg. of Nov. end of Dec. when it jumped of by about 70 immediately afterwards…the second bottom also shows a jump off the lower BB..RSI and MFI still heading down at the oversold areas…Stochastics have been at the 0 line for a while with D heading slightly up…OBV also has started heading up…overall excluding the negative market sentiment (Nasdaq losing over 100 points on Friday) FTC shows signs of recovery and worth to watch closely with a view to get in once the positive signs/news increase…

(No financial advice intended)

rizgar
 
rizgar,

a nice post on filtronic. I think that the company may have a bright future and agree with your TA.

At the moment I don't like the market and wish well to anybody brave enough to take the risk.
 
Has been in a trading range between 335 and 480, for about 2 months. Have buy signals on various oscillators inc CCI, Trix and stochs. Agree RSI never went oversold. I would be a little nervous at the moment, as people say the Naz is going to have a bit of a retracement over next week or two. May affect stocks like FTC. Would therefore wait a day or two first, to see how it behaves relative to the rest of TMT's.

All the best,
Mark
 
bucked the trend..

Thanks Mark, yes I got in when it formed double bottom at 350 and started bucking the trend...been up +50 since then..doing good..

Up 30(8.1%) to 400 today...chart still shaping up nicely with price and 5 day EMA heading up sharply..5 SMA touching 10 SMA which is slightly bending up..both stochastics heading up at the oversold area with K above D..RSI also changed direction, up sharply now..all being bullish signs in my interpretation...MFI and OBV flat however..over all still worth watching..

rizgar
 
up after retracement...

up +12.5 (3.2%) to 400 today...in the mean time tipped in Shares Magazine feature:

Filtronic used to be a darling of the market; now it is the opposite. The City has plenty of reasons. Chairman David Rhodes is cavalier – to say the least – with his estimates. In the course of a lunch last week, his estimate of sales from the Newton Aycliffe chip plant ranged from ‘several hundred million dollars’ to ‘$1billion’. Meantime, he is trying to sell part of this ‘billion-dollar’ plant to conserve cash and rebuild credibility.

But underneath the bluster, Filtronic remains a fabulous business. It supplies components for mobile phone base stations and, less importantly, the aerials for the handsets. Growth is closely tied to mobile phone numbers worldwide, which are still rising at around 200 million a year. Delays in third-generation networks are an issue, but Filtronic is gaining market share in the meanwhile. Newton Aycliffe will not show a profit for 18 months, and will cost another £15 million in losses before then, having already swallowed £40 million for capital equipment. In May, the company hopes to unveil a partner to share the burden.

May year-end profits will be negligible, but supporters expect £20 million in 2002, and £30 million in 2003, even after the chip losses. At around 350p, the company is valued at just £250 million. Clearly there are risks, but the shares could also easily double over the next two years.

(no financial advice intended)

rizgar
 
still bucking the trend...

FTC bucked the trend once more and end the day up +9 (2.3%) to 409...chart still looking bullish..stochastics and RSI sharply heading up..no sign of OBV turning down yet...

rizgar
 
Typical MM manipulation on FTC today..worth to observe, without any news/rumours etc. they just pushed the price down by -%32 in the morning...and as the poor shareholders scarred the company was going under rushed to sell their shares, the price just stopped dropping at around 11.00 and soon started to fly up ending the day up +18.5%...now what would Cookie say to this I wonder...a price movement of over %50 in a day...

In the mean time FTC's press release suggested that there was nothing wrong with the company...

Riz
Filtronic PLC - On Target to Meet Forecasts
RNS Number:8491A
Filtronic PLC
21 March 2001

FILTRONIC ON TARGET TO MEET YEAR END FORECASTS

As a result of the recent movement in the Filtronic plc share price, the Board
believes it is appropriate to make the following statement:

With regard to current trading, the Board remains of the view that the Company
will meet current market expectations for financial performance for the year
ending 31 May 2001. This confidence is based upon the continuing strong level
of demand for wireless infrastructure products from our businesses in Europe,
USA, Australia and China and for our cellular handset products business, in
particular for internal antennas for GSM handsets.

The Board believes that the Company's existing borrowing facilities are
adequate to meet the Company's current requirements. Additionally, the Board
confirms that any change to the Company's credit rating would have no impact
on the terms and conditions of the $170m 10% Senior Notes 2005.

The Board confirms that the Company is continuing to pursue discussions with
potential corporate and financial partners in respect of its compound
semiconductor business and that it anticipates making a further statement in
due course and, in any event, before the end of this financial year.

Enquiries:

Professor David Rhodes Executive Chairman & CEO Filtronic plc
Professor Chris Snowden CEO Filtronic Compound Semiconductors
John Samuel Finance Director
Filtronic plc Tel: 01274 530622
 
Careful, Cookie, we don't want these b******s taking any of our members to court....on the other hand hmmm...
 
And up again today 10 (6.3%) to 170 while the majority of tech stocks going down...this explains why the MMs pushed the price down by %32 first thing yesterday morning...pushing ordinary investors like us out before the price jumps up...so typical

riz
 
Re FTC

Filtronic - they used to be on my watchlist, but not any longer. No advice intended or given, sorry I can't be more specific & good luck to holders.

VP
 
mmmmmmm FTC from a low of 92 to 183 in 3 days....currently @ 173
I would have liked some of that...
 
Up +30 (12.2%) to 275..

This baby bounced again today..missed the bounce as I had to go out...the following news worth reading in you're following FTC..

LONDON (AFX) - Filtronic PLC said it is in ongoing discussions with a leading international aerospace and defence original equipment manufacturer to form a joint venture company based upon the infrastructure located at Filtronic's Newton Aycliffe compound semiconductor facility.

The proposed new company will offer to both shareholders the supply of advanced compound semiconductors and the use of an automated microwave factory, capable of supplying cost effective microwave electronic subsystems in volume manufacturing quantities, it added. Key products for Filtronic will include high power gallium arsenide
transistors for power amplifiers in 3G base stations, customised microwave monolithic integrated circuits for millimetre wave broadband wireless products
and photonic components.

It added it is intended the microwave factory will supply Filtronic with complete amplifier and transceiver subsystems for both commercial and defence
requirements.

Further development for defence systems requirements will lead to the production of compound semiconductor devices suitable for both phased array radars and electronic countermeasure systems, it said.

Additional capacity in the microwave factory would enable the production of high performance, cost effective, microwave electronic subsystems for various
defence systems in addition to Filtronic's own supply to EuroDass and Euroradar for embodiments in the Typhoon avionics system, it added.

It is also envisaged that there will be one or more selected third party customers for the compound semiconductor products, which do not compete with the
principal shareholders' businesses, it said.

It added, overall, this would lead to a significant proportion of the manufactured output for both compound semiconductor products and the microwave
factory being for commercial applications.

This, in turn, would enable the products within the defence related business to be produced to a high quality in a very cost effective manner, which normally
could not be achieved due to the relatively limited level of demand for defence
products.

The board of Filtronic said it will make a further announcement regarding the proposed joint venture at a later date as appropriate.

Riz
 
After tubling down to 100ish for not being able to find a solution to Newton Aycliffe problem causing £1m-a-month losses , FTC is back for a strong bounce as there are news that they "have signed a deal with BAE Systems to stem the £1m-a-month losses at the company's plant in Newton Aycliffe, Durham.
Another deal, with M/A- com, an American firm, will also help to cut the losses.
No redundancies are now expected among the 140 workers at Newton Aycliffe.
Filtronic will announce its new joint ventures tomorrow when it releases its figures for the year to May."

Chart also suggesting a recovery as strong resistance around 130 has been broken through, both stochastics and RSI indicating further upward movements...

Back on my watch list

Riz
(no financial advice intended)
 

Attachments

  • ftc.gif
    ftc.gif
    21.5 KB · Views: 256
Thanks for that interesting post Riz.

All my research this weekend leads me to believe that the bulls are in control again.
 
I've got it as my comp entry, purely on TA. I'ts nice to see there's some news behind it...I gotta beat Dave somehow....
 
Up +38.5 (28.7%) at 172.5

And here is the news:

LONDON (AFX) - Filtronic PLC said it has entered into separate heads of agreement with two
companies for its troubled Newton Aycliffe manufacturing facility in County Durham which it hopes
will see the plant move into profit in the year-ending 2003.
This came as the microwave electronic products group reported full-year results showing pretax
losses sharply widening, partly due to a 14 mln stg write-down in carrying value on its US
semiconductor division.
Filtronic said it has signed heads of agreement for a strategic alliance with Tyco International Ltd
subsidiary M/A-COM Inc and a development and supply agreement with BAe Systems Avionics Ltd
for its Newton Aycliffe Facility.
The combined effect of these agreements will be to improve cash flow and profitability of Newton
Aycliffe significantly, the group said.
These agreements will see the group supply large volumes of compound semiconductors to the
mobile handset, wireless local area, network and other commercial markets for M/A-COM, and to
supply compound semiconductor devices for defence applications for BAE Systems.
Newton Aycliffe will also have the capability for Filtronic to supply a wider range of products for its
own applications. These include devices for higher levels of integration in base station power
amplifiers, point to point microwave transceivers and optical transceivers.
Said executive chairman David Rhodes: "The combined effect of these agreements will be to
improve the cash flow and profitability of the Newton Aycliffe operation significantly such that
Newton Aycliffe's impact on the financial results of the group as a whole for the year ending 31 May
2002 is likely to be immaterial.
"The site is expected to move into profitability in the following
financial year."
This came as Filtronic reported results for the year ending 31 May 2001 showing a loss before
taxation at 21.2 mln stg, a widening of 81 pct against 3.9 mln in its last fiscal year.
This loss included net interest charges of 12.5 mln stg, and exceptional goodwill impairment of
14.0 mln stg relating to the group's compound semiconductor operation at Filtronic Solid State in the
US.
Following a review, the directors concluded that the carrying value of these US semiconductor
assets, including goodwill, exceeded their net realisable value by the write-off level.
Sales over the period were up 34 pct at 297.4 mln stg from 222.3 mln in 2000, while operating
profit before goodwill amortisation, exceptional goodwill impairment and share compensation costs
was 12.2 mln stg, up 42 pct from 8.6 mln last time.
This resulted in a basic loss per share of 31.24 pence, from 11.64 pence last year.
The board is proposing to maintain the final dividend of 1.8 pence.
In its outlook statement, David Rhodes said the board "recognises the significant loss of
shareholder value which has occurred in the last year" -- shares have fallen by four-fifths during its
fiscal 2001.
"By concentrating on strategy which is appropriate for the company in the medium to longer term,
the Board believes that the best value can be provided to our shareholders," he said.

Riz
 
Top