Steve Markus
@stevem1.bsky.social
Chesterfield UK based Investor, like small caps and general industrials. Fundies based on the whole, like to buy and hold. Background in management consulting and software/database tech across the development and implementation lifecycle.
Babcock #BAB.L H1 results look good, EPS 33.7p (25.7p), divi 2.5p (2.0p), net debt excluding leases £55.8M (145.8M). Outlook for FY 2026 inline and 'pursuing exciting opportunities for sustainable growth and margin expansion, both in the UK and internationally'. Quite a turnround from a few yrs ago.
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Babcock #BAB.L H1 results look good, EPS 33.7p (25.7p), divi 2.5p (2.0p), net debt excluding leases £55.8M (145.8M). Outlook for FY 2026 inline and 'pursuing exciting opportunities for sustainable growth and margin expansion, both in the UK and internationally'. Quite a turnround from a few yrs ago.
Norcros #NXR.L interims look ok, underlying operating profit up 7%, revenue up 1.3, debt down to £30.7M (44.9M). In line for full year, acquisition of Fibo in Norway to be earnings enhancing. Looks good and growth in earnings nice to see.
November 20, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Norcros #NXR.L interims look ok, underlying operating profit up 7%, revenue up 1.3, debt down to £30.7M (44.9M). In line for full year, acquisition of Fibo in Norway to be earnings enhancing. Looks good and growth in earnings nice to see.
Tracsis #TRCS.L finals look ok but heavily adjusted, 24.8p eps turns into 1.7p basic! Results flattish but ok, plus has £23.4M net cash. Waiting for UK Rail to sort themselves out, looking for acquisitions. Q1 in line, full yr adj EBITDA in line (and is slightly higher at £13-13.8M).
November 20, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Tracsis #TRCS.L finals look ok but heavily adjusted, 24.8p eps turns into 1.7p basic! Results flattish but ok, plus has £23.4M net cash. Waiting for UK Rail to sort themselves out, looking for acquisitions. Q1 in line, full yr adj EBITDA in line (and is slightly higher at £13-13.8M).
Solid State #SOLI.L announcing several major orders for specialist power packs for Custom Power subsidiary worth $7.4M, both new and repeat business. Custom Power had shown promise but not been outstanding, so good news. I bought #SOLI on TU a couple of weeks ago, pleased to see this.
November 20, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Rotork #ROR.L TU, full year expectations unchanged, new £50M buyback announced and they can afford it with £37.3M net cash. Group order intake 8% higher YoY including Noah acqn, overall end markets remain supportive. Another niche engineer doing well.
November 19, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Rotork #ROR.L TU, full year expectations unchanged, new £50M buyback announced and they can afford it with £37.3M net cash. Group order intake 8% higher YoY including Noah acqn, overall end markets remain supportive. Another niche engineer doing well.
Likeise #LIKE.L TU, blow own trumpet loudly regarding revenue growth of 8.9% YTD but fails to recognise that turnover is vanity and profits sanity and tells us that underlying PBT is going to fall short of expectations. Still going to be 'significantly ahead' of previous years though. Oops.
November 19, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Likeise #LIKE.L TU, blow own trumpet loudly regarding revenue growth of 8.9% YTD but fails to recognise that turnover is vanity and profits sanity and tells us that underlying PBT is going to fall short of expectations. Still going to be 'significantly ahead' of previous years though. Oops.
Hill & Smith #HILS.L TU, FY in line with expectations, US Engineered Solutions offsetting weaker UK and India, Galvanising showing volume growth in both UK and US. Expect progress on Group margins. Cash generation continued to be good, has always been a feature of HILS. One of my favourites.
November 19, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Hill & Smith #HILS.L TU, FY in line with expectations, US Engineered Solutions offsetting weaker UK and India, Galvanising showing volume growth in both UK and US. Expect progress on Group margins. Cash generation continued to be good, has always been a feature of HILS. One of my favourites.
Zotefoams #ZTF.L has acquired a Spanish technical foams co, Overseas Konstellation Company, for Eu27.6M initial plus up to Eu8.4M earnout. Earnings accretive in the first full yr, a lot of info in the RNS about strategic fit re markets and geography, looks well thought through and a decent acqn.
November 18, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Zotefoams #ZTF.L has acquired a Spanish technical foams co, Overseas Konstellation Company, for Eu27.6M initial plus up to Eu8.4M earnout. Earnings accretive in the first full yr, a lot of info in the RNS about strategic fit re markets and geography, looks well thought through and a decent acqn.
Genuit #GEN.L hit by the curse of slow RMI, now expects adj operating profit in raange £92M-95M (was £95-99M). Revenue up 8.4% so margins must have declined although not clear in which area. the recent couple of acquisitions showing positive early trading signs. Conditions to persist into early 2026
November 17, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Genuit #GEN.L hit by the curse of slow RMI, now expects adj operating profit in raange £92M-95M (was £95-99M). Revenue up 8.4% so margins must have declined although not clear in which area. the recent couple of acquisitions showing positive early trading signs. Conditions to persist into early 2026
Stelrad #SRAD.L FY TU, bit lukewarm due to a subdued market for radiators, now expect FY adjusted operating profit between £32M and £33M, up on previous year with margins better, but looks a bit below expectations. Expect debt to improve, have been improving Turkish business at a cost of £1.6M.
November 17, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Stelrad #SRAD.L FY TU, bit lukewarm due to a subdued market for radiators, now expect FY adjusted operating profit between £32M and £33M, up on previous year with margins better, but looks a bit below expectations. Expect debt to improve, have been improving Turkish business at a cost of £1.6M.
Gleeson #GLE.L AGM TU, unexciting but steady, expects FY26 results to be in line with expectations but mindful of Autumn Budget, seeing some progress with reservation rates up on the same period YoY. One significant land sale still waiting for a technical solution
November 14, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Gleeson #GLE.L AGM TU, unexciting but steady, expects FY26 results to be in line with expectations but mindful of Autumn Budget, seeing some progress with reservation rates up on the same period YoY. One significant land sale still waiting for a technical solution
Melrose #MRO.L Q3 TU reads well, in line with full year expectations and Engines revenue up 28% with record backlogs, Structures up 5% helped by defence demand. A long way from GKN days.
November 14, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Melrose #MRO.L Q3 TU reads well, in line with full year expectations and Engines revenue up 28% with record backlogs, Structures up 5% helped by defence demand. A long way from GKN days.
Aviva #AV.L Q3 TU, on track to achieve 2026 targets a year early, Amanda Blanc 'the outlook for Aviva has never been better'. Upgrading savings from Direct Line acquisition, setting new 3 year targets. Reads very well.
November 13, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Aviva #AV.L Q3 TU, on track to achieve 2026 targets a year early, Amanda Blanc 'the outlook for Aviva has never been better'. Upgrading savings from Direct Line acquisition, setting new 3 year targets. Reads very well.
Convatec #CTEC.L 10 month TU, full yr 2025 in line, expecting 2026 to be another year of double-digit adjusted EPS growth. Some ongoing regulatory difficulties for product Innovamatrix, but not holding back growth. New CEO and CFO following unfortunate death thru illness of previous CEO Karim Bitar.
November 13, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Convatec #CTEC.L 10 month TU, full yr 2025 in line, expecting 2026 to be another year of double-digit adjusted EPS growth. Some ongoing regulatory difficulties for product Innovamatrix, but not holding back growth. New CEO and CFO following unfortunate death thru illness of previous CEO Karim Bitar.
Keller #KLR.L Q3 TU, confirming in line for full yr, Asia-Pacific performance 'robust', everywhere else seems fairly solid. Approaching net cash position by end of year. Record level order book, geographic diversity give visibility and resilience. Happy as a long term holder.
November 13, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Keller #KLR.L Q3 TU, confirming in line for full yr, Asia-Pacific performance 'robust', everywhere else seems fairly solid. Approaching net cash position by end of year. Record level order book, geographic diversity give visibility and resilience. Happy as a long term holder.
#IMI.L Q3 TU, plenty of repetitions of excellent, reads well. On track for full year expectations of mid single-digit growth and adj eps between 129 and 135p. Process Automation doing particularly well with revenue up 14%YTD and 26% in Q3.
November 6, 2025 at 7:13 AM
#IMI.L Q3 TU, plenty of repetitions of excellent, reads well. On track for full year expectations of mid single-digit growth and adj eps between 129 and 135p. Process Automation doing particularly well with revenue up 14%YTD and 26% in Q3.
Headlam #HEAD.L TU, surprisingly getting rid of CEO Payne has not helped and revenue in the recent quarter is 5% down YoY, so results for the year will be below expectations - the already downgraded ones from Sept interims. Restructure, cost reduction, asset sales plan. Board confident blah blah...
November 5, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Headlam #HEAD.L TU, surprisingly getting rid of CEO Payne has not helped and revenue in the recent quarter is 5% down YoY, so results for the year will be below expectations - the already downgraded ones from Sept interims. Restructure, cost reduction, asset sales plan. Board confident blah blah...
Solid State #SOLI.L H1 TU, healthy with revenue and adj PBT in excess of £85M and £4.75M. Seen some of their lumpy revenue come through, margins improved. H2 looking positive with order book £87.3M of which over 60% expected in H2, underpins FY excptns. Progress in shift to higher value activities,
November 4, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Solid State #SOLI.L H1 TU, healthy with revenue and adj PBT in excess of £85M and £4.75M. Seen some of their lumpy revenue come through, margins improved. H2 looking positive with order book £87.3M of which over 60% expected in H2, underpins FY excptns. Progress in shift to higher value activities,
Zotefoams #ZTF.L Q3 TU, performance in line with expectations and (caveated) full year revenue and adjusted PBT to be in line, to deliver mid single-digit growth for year as a whole. Plenty of strategic progress including interesting appointment of ex-Nike manager.
November 4, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Zotefoams #ZTF.L Q3 TU, performance in line with expectations and (caveated) full year revenue and adjusted PBT to be in line, to deliver mid single-digit growth for year as a whole. Plenty of strategic progress including interesting appointment of ex-Nike manager.
Brief Q3 TU from Spectris #SXS.L which is another holding being acquired, looks to be recovering with sales increasing YoY, up 11% on a reported bases and 4% at constant currency. Full year adjusted operating profit in line with expectations. Shame they are leaving the market.
October 30, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Brief Q3 TU from Spectris #SXS.L which is another holding being acquired, looks to be recovering with sales increasing YoY, up 11% on a reported bases and 4% at constant currency. Full year adjusted operating profit in line with expectations. Shame they are leaving the market.
TT Electronics #TTG.L have a takeover offer worth 155p, cash of 100p and shares in the acquirer worth 55p, from Swiss listed Cicor. Unanimous support from the TTG Board, maybe this will get further than the Volex attempt. No holding in TTG.
October 30, 2025 at 7:09 AM
TT Electronics #TTG.L have a takeover offer worth 155p, cash of 100p and shares in the acquirer worth 55p, from Swiss listed Cicor. Unanimous support from the TTG Board, maybe this will get further than the Volex attempt. No holding in TTG.
Elementis #ELM.L Q3 TU, on track for full yr performance in line with expectations, cost savings exceeding original target with further $5M expected this yr. Completed sale of Eaglescliffe site, altho they had to pay the purchaser $11M to take it! Was subject to an environmental 'incident' in 2023.
October 29, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Elementis #ELM.L Q3 TU, on track for full yr performance in line with expectations, cost savings exceeding original target with further $5M expected this yr. Completed sale of Eaglescliffe site, altho they had to pay the purchaser $11M to take it! Was subject to an environmental 'incident' in 2023.
Goodwin #GDWN.L issue a TU and break one of their normal rules by providing forward guidance - done because trading PBT for FY26 > £71M, 100% increase YoY with a 'high degree of confidence'. Plus... a special interim dividend of 532p. What a nice Monday morning surprise.
October 27, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Goodwin #GDWN.L issue a TU and break one of their normal rules by providing forward guidance - done because trading PBT for FY26 > £71M, 100% increase YoY with a 'high degree of confidence'. Plus... a special interim dividend of 532p. What a nice Monday morning surprise.
Alumasc #ALU.L AGM TU, cautious in tone especially for H1, Housebuilding still positive, Building Envelope/Water Mgmt revenue constrained by delays, despite healthy order books. Export good but lower YoY due to HK project last yr. Cautioun for H1, H2 weighting in 25/26, medium term very positive.
October 24, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Alumasc #ALU.L AGM TU, cautious in tone especially for H1, Housebuilding still positive, Building Envelope/Water Mgmt revenue constrained by delays, despite healthy order books. Export good but lower YoY due to HK project last yr. Cautioun for H1, H2 weighting in 25/26, medium term very positive.