AI Claims Solutions Discussion Board http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion http://www.iii.co.uk/icons/logos/uk_logo.gif http://www.iii.co.uk tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.9370207 Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 8:41 AM
Click for report
http://bit.ly/yabVyI By SpikeyDT ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=9370207&action=detail Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:52:00 GMT SpikeyDT tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.9022624 http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/ACS011211update.pdf
Thu, Dec 1, 2011 at 4:55 PM

The slowdown in motor accident claims frequency means that revenues and profits for the current year will fall short of expectations. Previously management had hoped for some market recovery, but is now more pessimistic. The flexibility in the cost base (the fleet is hired not owned) gives some protection to profits from lower revenues, and there has also been further progress on debtor collections so year-end net debt should be lower than we had expected. We believe this industry should further consolidate around a smaller number of low-cost, scale providers, working co-operatively with the insurers and that ACS is well placed to be one of them.

Ai Claims Solutions (ACS) provides credit hire and credit repair as well as other accident management solutions nationally. It represents non-fault drivers and insurers of at-fault drivers.

Year
End Revenue
(£m) PBT
(£m) EPS
(p) DPS
(p) P/E
(x) Yield
(%)
06/10 91.9
2.7
3.3
0.7
6.1
3.5
06/11 117.6
3.8
4.3
0.8
4.7
4.0
06/12e 108.2
3.0
3.4
0.8
5.9
4.0
06/13e 119.9
4.0
4.5
0.8
4.4
4.0
Ai Claims Solutions is a research client of Edison Investment Research. By SpikeyDT ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=9022624&action=detail Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:42:00 GMT SpikeyDT tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.8791205 http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=8791205&action=detail Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:38:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.8682036

Analyst: Ross Jones
Email: ross.jones@gecr.co.uk
Tel: 020 7562 3350


Ai Claims Solutions: Initiate Coverage at 25p with a stance of buy and 43p target

Key Data
EPIC

ACS
Share Price

25p
Spread

24.5p - 25.5p
Shares in issue

60.94 million
Market Cap

£15.2 million
12 Month Range

20.75p - 30.25p
Market

AIM
Website

www.autoindemnity.co.uk
Sector

Insurance - Non-life
Contact

Peter Harrison
Group Finance Director
0844 571 3333


Ai Claims Solutions provides motor claims services to the insurance and automotive sectors through bespoke product offerings and a low cost business model. This allows the company to offer a cost controlled, value added, end to end service to its clients. With limited exposure to the personal injury claims industry, we believe a key competitive advantage that Ai holds over the peer group is that, unlike its principal competitors, Ai does not own, but rents its replacement car fleet allowing the company to operate with far more flexibility. Our view is that cost efficiency services will prove key within this market specifically, as structurally the industry itself is under pressure, highlighted by the guidance given by the company on 27th July 2011 in its pre-close trading update.

Despite the weak macroeconomic backdrop, the company announced solid top line and earnings growth (57% and 89% respectively) on 1st March 2011 when it reported its results for the six months ended 31st December 2010. But despite the robust growth we are conscious of the strong market headwinds. Our view is that in the short-term the industry is set to continue to be constrained by higher fuel prices and increased insurance premiums which are subsequently leading to fewer miles driven and fewer accidents, the net effect being lower claim volumes. We do however believe that the high levels of client retention will support Ai’s growth trajectory and that in the short-term the business will be able to successfully focus on widening its margins and increasing operational efficiencies through further leverage of the company’s service platform and IT systems. The company announced on the 27th July that trading profit was set to be in line with market expectations when the full year results are announced on 27th September 2011. But the lack of guidance in regard to turnover leaves our forecasts showing slightly lower revenue than the consensus.

Despite the potential near-term top line risk, our view over the medium to long-term is that Ai is the best placed operation within its peer group to take advantage of both the developing legal reform and potential structural changes within the industry. Insurers are exposed to higher internal claims administrative costs and increased capital requirements than Ai and therefore we view the full end to end, low cost, flexible model, as being a key differentiator compared with the competition’s less robust, fleet ownership structure. In light of this, in the medium to long term, we envisage Ai growing through increased market share, won from the less efficient, slower claims handlers. Furthermore, the recent agreement, announced within the Interims on 1st March, with a major partner to settle its account (£4.9 million) and pay faster moving forward suggests that future cash flow should track profit growth closer.
Despite the near-term risks we view Ai as fairly placed to continue to operate robustly with increased operational efficiencies driving earnings growth in the short term. Currently trading on 5.9 times our forecast full year 2011 underlying earnings, the shares also offer a 2011 yield of 2.9%, making Ai the only company within its peer group to offer both growth and income. In addition, its competitive advantage seems to be undervalued by the market. We therefore value Ai Claims on a blended 2011 EV/EBIT multiple of 12, and an adjusted 2011 price earnings multiple of 10, initiating our coverage at 25 By SpikeyDT ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=8682036&action=detail Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:46:00 GMT SpikeyDT tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.8351372 http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=8351372&action=detail Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:11:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.8299061 ')" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/StockScreen/article/20110524/d6cb26ae-8535-11e0-adf5-00144f2af8e8/Small-but-perfectly-formed.jsp

Created: 24 May 2011 Written by: Graeme Davies

Six months ago we ran a small cap stock screen to find smaller companies with solid asset backing which should stand them in good stead in volatile times. The six companies we identified have done well; only one of the six fell in value, and in aggregate they posted an 8.5 per cent gain, compared to a 3 per cent rise in the FTSE Aim All-share (five of the six trade on the junior market).
The performance is shown in the table below.
Company Share price performance 16/11/10 - 16/05/11
AI Claims Solutions +18%
Carr’s Milling Industries +14%
Dart Group +2%
Falkland Island Holdings -16%
First Property +27%
IS Pharma +6%
Back in November 2010, equity markets generally were still in growth mode. Now, with UK economic growth looking anaemic, markets are struggling to make any headway. There are worries that if the Federal Reserve calls time on quantitative easing (see Watching the Fed), risk appetite will slump.
So if you're going to be invested in small-caps, it would be wise to find the strongest ones you can, with solid asset backing and decent growth prospects, and not to pay too much for them. For those reasons, we ran our small-cap value screen again.
Its central metric is price to book value, beloved of Benjamin Graham amongst others. It helps identify companies that are effectively valued at or less than their assets. This means investors are getting any growth potential for free, and there should be some natural downside protection too.
We used the stock screening tool on the Investors Chronicle website to search the market for:
■ Market value between £10m and £250m
■ A beta of less than one, so as to identify shares which are less likely to collapse simply on the back of a market reversal
■ Five-year revenue growth of 10 per cent or more a year; we want some growth as well as safety!
■ Price to earnings ratio of less than ten, so we are not overpaying
■ A price to book ratio of less than two, and preferably closer to one. This gives us those companies with solid asset backing - what value investing legend Benjamin Graham called the "key margin of safety". We used book values sourced from the screening tool to work out the price to book ratio.
The screen produced its usual eclectic mix of smaller companies. Some are the same as those picked up in the original screen. We've looked at the most interesting five below.
Company TIDM Price Beta Revenue Growth P/E PBV
AI Claims Solutions ACS 27p 0.65 20% 6.7 1
Begbies Traynor BEG 46p 0.21 22.80% 8.4 0.6
Caretech CTH 134p 0.43 31.90% 10 0.9
Carr's Milling Industries CRM 717.5p 0.59 12.40% 8.6 1.8
Dart Group DTG 85p 0.55 10.15% 5.3 0.9
Falkland Islands Holdings FKL 310p 0.09 18% 5.7 0.7
H&T HAT 313p 0.3 33.70% 6.4 1.75
Lighthouse Group LGT 8.25p 0.68 14.20% 7.3 0.8
Orchid Developments OCH 17.75p 0.37 63% 1.56 0.2
Rotala ROL 40p 0.38 62.30% 8 0.7
Sceptre Leisure SCEL 23.5p 0.66 69.50% 10 0.9
FIVE IN DETAIL...
AI Claims Solutions
The most recent results for the motor insurance claims management business suggested the business is performing well with revenues well ahead of the same stage a year ago and pre-tax profits having doubled at the half year stage, marking a record start to the year. New contract wins have allowed the company to leverage its existing operational cost base to produce this improvement.
Begbies Traynor
The insolvency and taxation advisory business has fallen out of favour with investors after two profit warnings in three months. The main problem is that the rate of insolvencies has not picked up as expected, partly because HM Customs & Excise has been cutting distressed companies a bit more slack. Nonetheless, Begbies will match its first half performance in the second half of the year and that insolvency work is likely By SpikeyDT ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=8299061&action=detail Tue, 24 May 2011 15:10:00 GMT SpikeyDT tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.8294512 http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=8294512&action=detail Mon, 23 May 2011 20:29:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.8292820 Monday, May 23 2011 by Edison Investment Research


May 23rd 2011 - Edison Investment Research today published a report on Ai Claims Solutions (ACS.L, LSE:ACS, LON:ACS) entitled "Growth Continues". In summary, the report says:

We have reviewed our forecast growth for Ai Claims for the balance of this year (to 30 June 2011) and subsequent periods following competitor, HelpHire’s, recent profit warning. We are not changing our forecasts despite industry pressures resulting from high motoring costs and lower car usage. We see expanded distribution as a more significant driver of growth than broader industry conditions, and while we see some near-term risk to the top line, we also see scope for margin improvement. H1 also brought welcome progress on debtor collections and we see no read across from HelpHire’s warning that its trade receivables have been overstated due to accounting errors.

http://www.stockopedia.co.uk/research/growth-continues-56777/

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/?ACT=18&ID=5115 By SpikeyDT ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=8292820&action=detail Mon, 23 May 2011 14:35:00 GMT SpikeyDT tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.7885844 http://www.stockopedia.co.uk/research/when-credit-is-due-54457/ By SpikeyDT ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=7885844&action=detail Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:35:00 GMT SpikeyDT tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.7884535 http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=7884535&action=detail Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:00:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.6987221
http://www.autoindemnity.co.uk/files/Ai_-_Prelims_-_FINAL_-_27_09_10.pdf

There is some very useful information on risks and mitigating factors, key performance indicators, and loan covenant conditions.

Some highlights;

1) Revenue up 65% £55.7m to £91.9m.

2) Gross margin down from 26% to 18% in line with change in sales mix.

3) Profit for the year attributable to ordinary shareholders up 47% from £1.3m to £1.9m.

4) Basic earnings per share up 47% from 2.13p to 3.14p.

5) Dividend up 10% from 0.60p to 0.66p. Fives times covered.

6) Bank facilities doubled from £15m to £30m to fund working capital growth.

7) Strong start to new financial year with new contract starting on 1 July.

8) Chairman has agreed agreed to extend his 100% share price linked remuneration scheme for a further 2 years.

9) Debtor days up from 98 to 103 but still significantly below industry average. Also, 93% of revenue recognised prior to 30 June 2009 had been collected by 30 June 2010.

10) Net debt up from £8.1m to £18.1m. Based on a revenue increase of £36.2m and debtor days of 103 days, this is entirely working capital driven.

11) Return on capital employed up from 10% to 13%.


By TheWeeble ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=6987221&action=detail Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:30:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.6682372
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/business/Claims-company-motoring-ahead-.6440048.jp

A couple of new quotes from Peter Harrison in this article. Says they have taken on 100 new staff in the last 12 months. By TheWeeble ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=6682372&action=detail Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:45:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.6677179
The announcement last February of the interim results for the period to 31 December 2009 included the disclosure that the Company had commenced the implementation of a full outsource scheme for an insurer in run off. Since that time, the level of activity associated with the run off arrangement has delivered repair volumes in excess of that initially anticipated. The Company has in addition witnessed increased demand from existing key referral sources.

Both of these factors have positively benefitted the Company during the period ending 30 June 2010. As a consequence, the Board now expects turnover, profit before tax and earning per share for the financial year ending 30 June 2010 to be ahead of market forecasts.

The Company is also pleased to announce that two significant schemes with a major intermediary have also been implemented as expected. The benefits of these new schemes will impact positively on the results for the year ending 30 June 2011.
By TheWeeble ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=6677179&action=detail Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:36:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.6668262
Even building in the fact that net margins are slim, the rate of growth of turnover and 10 for 1 multiplier is going to light a fire under the share price at some point.

The dividend yield of 3% is similar to the FTSE 100 average and I doubt many FTSE 100 companies are forecasting a 41% increase in turnover this year.

By TheWeeble ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=6668262&action=detail Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:37:00 GMT TheWeeble tag:iii.co.uk,2003:tst.6668151
FAST-expanding claims management company Ai Claims Solutions plc is set for further growth after securing a significantly increased working capital facility from Yorkshire Bank.

Yorkshire Bank’s Preston Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) has provided an additional £15million of working capital to enable Ai Claims Solutions to service growth, following the award of a significant new contract with a major motor insurance claims intermediary.

The Blackpool-based company manages motor claims on behalf of some of the UK’s largest insurers, brokers and automotive businesses. Analysts anticipate turnover of around £85million this year, a 52% increase, and around £120million next year. The company has 450 employees and is one of the largest private sector employers on the Fylde coast.

Peter Harrison, CFO at Ai Claims Solutions, said: “we have expanded rapidly over the last couple of years and made substantial investment in our systems and infra-structure, including the completion of a £4m investment in our claims administration system. Our new working capital facility enables us to continue our expansion.”

Andy Nurse, business partner at Yorkshire Bank’s Preston FSC, said: “Ai Claims Solutions is a solid business with clear growth plans and an ambitious and focused management team. We are very pleased to be able to support the company’s organic growth with this significant working capital facility.”

Ai Claims Solutions manages motor claims from the initial incident through to final resolution, including replacement vehicles and repairs, for several of the leading insurance companies, brokers, and automotive businesses across the UK.

In May, Yorkshire Bank introduced its Investing for Growth package which offers a dedicated business planning service and flexible approach to investment finance to enable businesses to invest in quality growth opportunities. By TheWeeble ]]> http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:ACS.L&display=discussion&id=6668151&action=detail Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:27:00 GMT TheWeeble