It is going to take another twenty days before hVIVO (LON:HVO) starts to save money on its shares being quoted on the Euronext Growth Market.
This morning the fast-growing contract research group has announced that it is cancelling its ability to have the Euronext facility, which will come into play as from 2nd September.
As hVIVO’s primary operations, along with the majority of its employees and investor base, are in the UK, the group has decided to consolidate trading of its stock to its primary listing on the LSE AIM Market.
The cancellation will also remove certain costs, complexities and duplication that comes from administering two listing regimes – in my view it is an immensely sensible step, and is probably a measure that should be followed by scores of other UK companies that have such dual listings.
Analyst Views
Analysts Stuart Harris and Chris Donnellan at Cavendish Capital Markets stated that:
“We see this as a sensible move, it is clear from the share price move and appetite from UK-based investors over the past 18-months that there is plentiful capital for what has become a quality growth story.”
They have estimates out for the current year to end-December for revenues to rise to £62.0m (£56.0m) helping to lift adjusted pre-tax profits to £12.2m (£11.9m), generating 1.4p (1.3p) in earnings and covering a 0.2p (0.4p) per share dividend.
For the coming year they see £67.4m sales, £14.0m profits, 1.6p earnings and another 0.2p per share dividend.
The analysts note that:
“HVO operates in a structurally attractive HCT industry that we believe is being increasingly relevant for its biopharma customer base.
It is a world leader, with unique benefits versus the competitors.
2024 targets point to another year of strong revenue and profit growth, with a history of over-delivery.
Longer-term targets have been set which we believe are achievable, offering double-digit compound revenue, profit and cash flow growth, and the company has established a progressive dividend policy, after the special dividend paid in 2023.”
In My View
The £193m capitalised group’s shares are 1.25p lower this morning at 28.50p, not in response to the above decision, but instead due to the much weaker market generally, which could give a good buying opportunity to risk-tolerant investors taking a medium-term view.