AIM-quoted investment company Braveheart Investment (LON: BRH) has increased its stake in loss-making thermal insulation material manufacturer Autins Group (LON: AUTG) following the latter’s disappointing trading statement and related share price slump.
Braveheart Investment spent £161,000 buying 2.3 million AIM-quoted Autins shares at 7p each, taking its stake to 12.9%. The Autins share price had fallen from 14p to 8p after the trading statement and it has fallen by 61.9% this year.
Braveheart originally acquired 1.1 million shares at a cost of £224,140 and then bought a further 3.65 million shares for £803,750 – average price of 22.02p a share.
Braveheart Investment Autins placing that raised £3m at 20p a share that diluted the Braveheart Investment stake to 8.7%. That provide to be a wise decision.
The Braveheart Investment share price is unchanged at 8.2p a share. It recently increased its stake in AIM-quoted architect Aukett Swanke (LON: AUK) to 19.4%.
Autins
Autins management said second half sales were on a par with those in the first half., which is worse than expected. The fourth quarter was weak because of production disruption at a major customer. Automotive customers are finding it difficult to secure electronic components and therefore other suppliers are hit by delays.
Autins core market is acoustic and thermal insulation for the automotive sector – with a focus towards the luxury end of the market. There are operations in the UK, Sweden and Germany. It is building up sales to other sectors, but it is still dependent on automotive and its production schedules.
Higher costs have put pressure on gross margins at Autins. Management hopes to reduce the loss in the short-term through operational efficiencies. Net debt was £2.4m at the end of September 2022.