As we enter the latter half of the second quarter, I believe now is a great time to look at the bounceback potential of three recent Footsie fallers.
Radio star
Digital radio maker Sepura (LSE: SEPU) has endured a nightmare start to the current quarter after hitting the market with disappointing trading news. Sepura advised in early April that “two significant opportunities” had not been inked in time for the period ending March 2016, providing a hefty knock to full-year earnings.
The business confirmed this news late last month by advising that full-year adjusted EBITDA will clock in at €17m. To rub salt in the wounds, Sepura went on to announce that it needs to enter talks with its lenders, and raise £50m via a share issuance, to mitigate the delayed contracts.
But despite Sepura’s near-term financial travails, I believe soaring demand for its products should make growth seekers sit up and take notice. Indeed, the firm is expected to print record revenues of €191m for 2016, up 45% on an annualised basis.
Given the strength of its core markets, the City expects the manufacturer to recover from a predicted 67% earnings decline for fiscal 2016 with a 225% bounce in the current period.
Consequently Sepura changes hands on an ultra-low P/E rating of 6.8 times for 2017. Given the long-term potential created by its high-tech products, I reckon the business could prove a wise purchase for long-term investors at current prices.
Diggers dented
I am not so optimistic concerning the earnings prospects of commodities plays Glencore (LSE: GLEN) and Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO), however. Both companies have endured double-digit percentage share price declines since the start of April thanks to washy supply and demand indicators.
And latest trade data from China is unlikely to soothe investor concerns for the weeks and months ahead. Copper play Antofagasta, for example, will have been perturbed by news that Chinese red metal imports slumped 21% month-on-month in April.
All in all, demand signals from the Asian giant remains mixed — indeed, Chinese demand for many resources hit record levels just in March. This has left the investment community perplexed as to whether underlying materials demand remains strong, or whether Beijing is simply embarking on significant inventory building.
And while the People’s Bank of China remains locked on a course of monetary easing to boost the economy, the jury is out on whether these measures are likely to stimulate metals and energy consumption to the extent needed to suck up abundant market supplies.
But one thing is for sure — with Glencore and Antofagasta dealing on massive P/E ratings of 35.9 times and 58.1 times for 2016, I believe both stocks are in peril of even further share price weakness should market data keep on disappointing.
