gretel
23 Aug 2016
Good news from China [link] announces the launch of the first Xaar 1201 printers in ChinaCambridge: 22 August 2016 – Xaar plc, the leader in industrial inkjet technology, is delighted to announce that Guangzhou Xucheng Electronic Technology Ltd “Xucheng” is the first OEM partner to develop, and launch, wide-format inkjet printers based on the innovative new Xaar 1201 Thin Film piezo printhead. Xucheng, under the brand name Xu Li, has produced four wide-format, roll-to-roll eco-solvent printers with the Xaar 1201 and recently demonstrated two models ‒ the X7-3207 and X7-2007 ‒ for the first time at ISE in Guangzhau, China. "It’s an honour to work with Xaar, a leader in the world wide inkjet industry,” says James Zhao, General Manager of Xucheng. “Xaar already dominates the coding and marking and ceramic tile inkjet printing markets and I am certain that with the Xaar 1201 we are entering a new era in the graphics industry.........."“The wide-format graphics market has been waiting for a flexible, high-resolution printhead which delivers the very best combination of photo quality and productivity, at an affordable cost,” says Bob Bobertz, Director of Sales, Asia. “No other printhead comes close to producing the impressive levels of performance delivered by the new Xaar 1201 and we are not surprised by the response to this printhead from manufacturers around the world. Xucheng has moved quickly to take advantage of the new printhead and, in addition to their new eco-solvent printers, the company plans to introduce aqueous models using the Xaar 1201 in the future.”"
gretel
12 Jul 2016
Aberdeen Asset Mgmt buying more RNS - Aberdeen Asset Management have increased above 5% and now have 3.91m shares:[link]
gretel
26 Apr 2016
Peel hunt upgrade to Buy today Peel Hunt upgrade to a Buy today, with a 570p target:[link] More info on the upgrade:"0919 GMTPeel Hunt raises its target price on Xaar to 570p from 450p and lifts its rating to buy from hold ahead of the company's next-generation industrial inkjet printhead launch next month. Says the Xaar 5601 launch, is expected to open up vast new markets for conversion to digital printing and is a key component of the ambitious new 2020 revenue target of GBP220M. For the current 2016 year-end, Peel Hunt however expects group revenue to be broadly similar to 2015's GBP93.5M. Shares +3.9% at 495p."
gretel
16 Mar 2016
Results ahead of expectations Results were ahead of expectations AFAICS. 24.5p EPS compares to consensus forecast of 19.64p, and PBT of £20.8m compares to consensus £19.64m.The outlook is for similar revenues to 2015, which is as expected, with the usual limited visibility.XAR have £70m net cash - 20% of the m/cap.And everyone knows about the new products coming on stream and the fantastic IP and investment.I'm surprised at the market reaction here, which seems like a kneejerk and incorrect MM markdown, and not surprised at the bounce back.
J0HNNIEIS
09 Mar 2016
Prelims Preliminary results due 16th this month. Should be very good I reckon. How far north of 500 do others see the share price heading? I topped up yesterday!
gretel
27 Jan 2016
3D printing article on XAR Excellent coverage on this 3D printing web site - here's a couple of extracts:[link] Speed Sintering Steps Towards Commercialization with Xaar's Newest Hire Michael Molitch-Hou On Mon, January 25, 2016 ·Currently packing up his office at Sheffield University, the primary inventor of high speed sintering (HSS) Professor Neil Hopkinson is about to take this cutting edge technology from the lab to the industrial sphere. As the newly appointed Director of 3D Printing with Cambridge-based Xaar plc, Hopkinson will oversee the development of HSS and other 3D printing technologies within the inkjet printhead company for use by their OEM partners. I was recently introduced to Prof. Hopkinson through IP lawyer and 3D printing expert John Hornick, who described HSS in his new book 3D Printing Will Rock the World. Unlike selective laser sintering (SLS), which fuses material powders with a laser, point by point, HSS uses infrared lamps, making it possible to 3D print large objects, or series of objects, at speeds that rival injection moulding. In other words, HSS has the potential to make 3D printing a truly viable option for the mainstream mass manufacturing of end products. Hopkinson tells me that he came upon the idea for HSS shortly after completing his doctorate....." "It’s no wonder, then, that the UK government funded Hopkinson’s research to the tune of £1.5 million (including industry partner contributions) to examine how huge industry partners Unilever, BAE Systems, and Cobham Technical Services could implement the technology for possible end part production. Xaar, who were also involved in the UK-funded FACTUM project, naturally chose to take Prof. Hopkinson on as their Director of 3D Printing, given his technology’s use of their industrial inkjet heads in the HSS process." "While Neil cannot speak in great detail at this stage about the firm’s planned use of HSS, he was able to say that the company is preparing to assist its OEM partners who had obtained licenses to commercialize the technology. One partner he was able to mention explicitly was 3D printer manufacturer voxeljet. voxeljet has already been able to successfully license binder jetting technology invented by ZCorp for its own large-scale 3D printing systems. The German firm has since reported that it plans to offer its own HSS system by 2017 or 2018. We can’t say for sure what other routes may be found for the technology to make it out of the lab and into the world of mass manufacturing. It’s possible, looking at the industrial members of the FACTUM project, that we could see a company like Unilever use HSS for consumer goods and BAE Systems 3D printing aerospace parts, with a vast range of sectors and applications between these two extremes." "With the ability to 3D print large objects and batches of objects at a speed of around 10 seconds per layer, HSS has the power to bring the benefits of 3D printing to the world of mainstream manufacturing. You can imagine printing complex geometries and many completely unique orders in a single build at rates that will quickly pay off the purchase of the machine. In other words, the era of mass customization could very well be upon us. And, now that Xaar has taken on one of the pioneers of that technology, we could see HSS move from the lab to the world at large in the very near future."
gretel
14 Jan 2016
Informative article in Shares Mag today:"Xaar to ride R&D rallyMultiple catalysts for re-rating as investment pays-off in 2016There are several potential catalysts in 2016 that could reverse the fortunesof printing technology manufacturer Xaar (XAR), and spark a re-rating of theshares at 452p. The Cambridge and Huntingdon based company has wisely invested heavily in research and development (R&D) even in the face of ebbing Chinese consumer spending during the past year to 18 months.Xaar is a world-leading designer and maker of digital inkjet printhead technology used across several industrial applications, including barcodes, in graphic design, on packaging, but most lucratively, on ceramic tiles and laminates. This latter market had boomed, largely thanks to China’s soaring economic growth leading to record-breaking results in 2013, but bitingcompetition and slowing volumes in China have squeezed growth rates.Xaar’s response has been to aggressively up the R&D ante still further. In 2013 the company more than doubled R&D spend to £16.4 million, raising the bar again in 2014 to £19.2 million. The £10.2 million invested into new product development in the first half of 2015 point to a further jump again, perhaps as high as £22 million to £23 million for the year to 31 December 2015. This has generated a swathe of new product lines that are helping the company to open up new opportunities to dilute the exposure to Chinese ceramic tile decoration.‘This year (2016), we expect to see the Xaar 501 gain traction, the first Print Bar Systems shipped, further commercial progress in direct to-shape and the thin film Piezo product launch,’ explains Peel Hunt’s Dominic Convey. The Xaar501 is the next generation architecture aimed at the graphic design market, Print Bar Systems are high-precision engineered complete systems which use ultra-violet light technology, while piezoelectric inkjet technologies are used for highly detailed print demands.Xaar is also accelerating its 3D printing technology developments. A number ofmilestones have already been reached in 3D printing in recent months and the unit’s management was strengthened on 6 January with the appointment of Professor Neil Hopkinson to a new role as director of 3D printing.Hopkinson, who will join in March 2016, is the original inventor of transformational High Speed Sintering (HSS) technology designed to use inkjetprint heads and infra-red heating technology to manufacture products layer by layer from polymer powder materials.‘This strong pipeline of new applications ought to deliver signifi cant revenue growth in the coming years, and the broader revenue base should reduce earnings volatility,’ claims Peel Hunt’s Convey. There is even the chance thatXaar could become another UK intellectual property play to fall to an overseas buyer. In June 2015 rival Domino Printing Sciences was acquired in a £1 billion deal by Japan’s Brother Industries (6448:T).‘The global inkjet market is forecast to grow strongly over the next 10 years and the acquisition of Domino Printing by Brother last year underscored the strategic value of digital print assets,’ concludes the Peel Hunt analyst.SHARES SAYS: We have been long-run supporters of the Xaar story and a cash-adjusted price-to-earnings (PE) multiple of about 18 is attractive for this fine technology company."
gretel
14 Jan 2016
Broker increases forecasts The trading statement was nicely reassuring - especially with £70m of cash (91p per share), and the brokers have increased their forecasts per the Daily Mail:"Digital-printing firm Xaar jumped 49p or almost 11pc to 500p after a much better-than-expected year-end update. Profitability was higher than expected because of improved plant efficiency in both Sweden and Huntingdon. Broker N+1 Singer lifted its 2015 pre-tax profit forecast 10 per cent to £19.1million. Net cash rose to £70million or 91p per share."
gretel
15 Sep 2015
New interview with CEO Excellent new article about the prospects for XAR. Lots to talk about, but here's just one small extract:[link] "He’s also hoping that Xaar can tap into another potentially enormous market – direct-to-shape printing. If big brands follow the example of Belgium’s Martens Brouwerij, this could be huge. “Just a few percent would be bigger than ceramics,” Edwards says. “Market adoption will be driven by brands, and they are starting to see it as viable.”"
Centre Court
27 Aug 2015
Re: Good interim results IMHO the results are not really good but could have been worse. The cash position is the result of improved margins, which in itself is the result of cost cutting. In terms of EPS / operating profit, I think the IFRS figures are the more accurate and reflect the true operating performance since the adjusted figures included not only one off's such as restructuring costs, but also R&D. A tech. company like XAAR need to regularly spend on R&D to maintain its market position. Based on the adjusted EPS, the 2015 PER is around 22; based on IFRS EPS it is nearer 50. Way too high for a company which has stabilised its business but still heavily dependent on the Chinese construction sector which is not exactly in recovery mode.
broad_bean
27 Aug 2015
Good interim results Net cash up due to good operating cashflow and operating margin increased. Dividend up 5%.
oldjoe1
24 Jul 2015
XAAR Storming UP XAR XAAR lovely chart with GAP to fill. I agree with others this is a prime contender as a takeover target. Trades on a P/E of 29 and PEG of 0.91. Forecast P/E for 2016 25.4.Not over demanding for a Tech Stock.[link]
II Editor
07 Jul 2015
NEW ARTICLE: Inside Xaar "A visit to Xaar’s recently expanded manufacturing facility in Huntingdon provides a glimpse of the future “Factory†seems too mundane a word. I’m standing on a gantry in the roof of Xaar’s manufacturing facility, a re-purposed window frame ..."[link]
II Editor
14 May 2015
NEW ARTICLE: Xaar AGM: OK. This time it’s different "Although Xaar’s experienced feast and famine before, the fact that the company’s profitability dropped in 2014 doesn’t necessarily mean it will slip into famine again.I attended the Xaar AGM yesterday to better understand why, despite the ..."[link]
II Editor
13 May 2015
NEW ARTICLE: Xaar: Maybe it’s different this time "The digital printhead manufacturer’s many aces haven’t always added up to winning hand. Maybe it’s different this time.Expecting a decline in digital printhead manufacturer Xaar’s biggest market, ceramic tile decoration, I was more ..."[link]
