Next Investors logo grey

Small cap successes highlighted at the Australian Microcap Investment Conference

Published 18-OCT-2019 12:39 P.M.

|

6 minute read

Hey! Looks like you have stumbled on the section of our website where we have archived articles from our old business model.

In 2019 the original founding team returned to run Next Investors, we changed our business model to only write about stocks we carefully research and are invested in for the long term.

The below articles were written under our previous business model. We have kept these articles online here for your reference.

Our new mission is to build a high performing ASX micro cap investment portfolio and share our research, analysis and investment strategy with our readers.


Click Here to View Latest Articles

The 10th Annual Australian Microcap Investment Conference will be held on Tuesday 22 October 2019 over two days at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

The Conference is Australia’s largest and most comprehensive emerging company investment event and will showcase the services, products, strategies and people driving Australia's micro-capped ASX listed growth companies.

The CEOs of 27 of Australia’s leading and dynamic emerging companies, from a varied range of sectors, will showcase their companies, strategies and people to investors.

Joel Fleming and Peter Switzer will act as keynote speakers.

Fleming is the Fund Manager of the UBS Microcap Fund, and Switzer, a widely known and respected identity in the investment and business community, the founder of the Switzer Report.

Both speakers will impart their wide knowledge of investing, particularly in the Microcap sector, to the Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday morning respectively.

Emerging or microcap companies provide access to many niche industry sectors, as well as emerging technologies and business areas that are sometimes overlooked by larger companies. The sector is generally recognised as comprising those companies with a market capitalisation of under $300 million.

Sectors are up

Despite the topsy turvy year for the markets, there are some sectors that have presented well in 2019 and are worth a look.

Medtech is up 64%, Industrial Chemicals up 63%, Life Sciences Tools and Services up 55%, Interactive Media and Services up 52% and Aerospace and Defence Goods up 29% this year.

Several companies within these industries will be presenting at this year's conference. Interestingly, in the ten years the conference has been in operation, eleven of the companies that have presented have grown to have a market capitalisation in excess of $500 million with four companies having grown to a market capitalisation of over $1 billion.

Amongst the Success Stories’ that have been presented at the Conference over the years that have ‘shot the lights out’ are:
• Jumbo Interactive first presented at the conference with a market capitalisation of $9 million now has a market cap of $1.6 billion
• EML Payments presented with a $56 million market capitalisation, now at $1.12 billion
• Nearmap Limited $1.1 billion
• Gold Road Resources $1.0 billion
• AMA group $710 million
• HUB24 $727 million
• Webster $706 million
• Phoslock Environmental $678 million
• Infigin Energy $645 million
• Vocus $620million
• Integrated Research $534 million

Each of the above companies presented at the Conference when their market capitalisation was under $130 million.

At last year’s Conference 26 listed companies presented. Six of the companies achieved returns of over 30% in the year to 30 September 2019. These companies include Phoslock Environmental (213%), Bluechiip (166%), CV Check (113%), Image Resources (100%), XTEK (74%) and Australian Ethical Investment (47%). Over the same period the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index produced a return of 17%.

The companies presenting at this year’s Conference include financial services groups (Australian Ethical Investments, APN Property Group, DomaCom, Collection House), a security specialist (XTEK), technology solutions providers (CV Check, 1st Group, Hazer Group, identitii, RETECH and Xref).

Vasco has partnered with leading investor relations firm Bourse Communications, The City of Melbourne, insurance specialist GSA Insurance, marketing communications group Motivo and corporate advisory firm D H Flinders to present the conference in conjunction with association partners the Stockbrokers and Financial Advisers Association of Australia and the UNSW Business School.

The Australian Microcap Investment Conference aims to act as a conduit and facilitate the sometimes challenging communication process between a company and its stakeholders, which may include shareholders, stockbrokers, fund managers, analysts, institutions, private investors and the business media.

In commenting on Australia’s largest Microcap Event, Craig Dunstan, Managing Director of Vasco Trustees said: “We are delighted to have secured 27 outstanding ASX listed companies to present as well as key note presentations from Mr Joel Fleming, Fund Manager of the UBS Microcap Fund and Mr Peter Switzer, founder and publisher of the Switzer Report.”

“This year we have over 400 professional investors, stockbrokers and financial advisers registered to attend. The microcap sector is generating greater interest each year as investors realise the gains to be made by investing in smaller companies.”

The microcap universe comprises over 1,800 companies with a market capitalisation of under $300m presenting many opportunities for investors.

Australia’s leading group of emerging ASX listed companies to showcase at this year’s Conference are:

Capital Goods
XTEK Limited (XTE) Philippe Odouard, Managing Director

Diversified Financials
Australian Ethical Investment Limited (AEF) Steve Gibbs, Acting Chief Executive Officer
APN Property Group (APD) Tim Slattery, Chief Executive Officer
DomaCom Limited (DCL) Arthur Naoumidis, Chief Executive Officer
Collection House Limited (CLH) Anthony Rivas, Managing Director

Materials
Leaf Resources Limited (LER) Alex Baker, Chief Executive Officer
NOVONIX Limited (NVX) Philip St Baker, Managing Director
Altech Chemicals Limited (ATC) Iggy Tan, Managing Director
Hazer Group (HZR) Geoff Ward, Managing Director

Utilities
Genex Power Limited (GNX) Simon Kidston, Executive Director
Localities Planning Energy Holdings Limited (LPE) Damien Glanville, Managing Director

Food, Beverage and Tobacco
Clean Seas Seafood Limited (CSS) David Head, Managing Director

Health Care Equipment & Services
1st Group (1st) Klaus Bartosch, Managing Director
EMVision medical Devices Limited (EMV) Dr Ron Weinberger, Chief Executive Officer
IMEXHS Limited (IME) Dr German Arango, Chief Executive Officer
LBT Innovations Limited (LBT) Brent Barnes, Managing Director
Osteopore Limited (OSX) Geoff Pocock, Executive Director
TruScreen Limited (NSX:TRU) Martin Dillon, Chief Executive Officer

Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology
Actinogen Medical Limited (ACW) Dr Bill Ketelbey, Managing Director
Acrux Limited (ACR) Michael Kotsanis, Managing Director
AdAlta Limited (1AD) Paul MacLeman, Executive Chairman
Anatara Lifesciences Ltd (ANR) Steven Lydeamore, Chief Executive Officer
CANNATREK Tommy Huppert, Chief Executive Officer

Software & Services
CV Check Limited (CV1) Rod Sherwood, Chief Executive Officer
Identitii (ID8) Nick Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer
Xref Limited (XF1) Lee-Martin Seymour, Chief Executive Officer
Retech Technology Company Limited (RTE) Edward Slade, Consultant

For more information please visit www.microcapconferences.com and go to ‘Events’.



General Information Only

S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (S3, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) (CAR No. 433913) is a corporate authorised representative of LeMessurier Securities Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 296877). The information contained in this article is general information and is for informational purposes only. Any advice is general advice only. Any advice contained in this article does not constitute personal advice and S3 has not taken into consideration your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Please seek your own independent professional advice before making any financial investment decision. Those persons acting upon information contained in this article do so entirely at their own risk.

Conflicts of Interest Notice

S3 and its associated entities may hold investments in companies featured in its articles, including through being paid in the securities of the companies we provide commentary on. We disclose the securities held in relation to a particular company that we provide commentary on. Refer to our Disclosure Policy for information on our self-imposed trading blackouts, hold conditions and de-risking (sell conditions) which seek to mitigate against any potential conflicts of interest.

Publication Notice and Disclaimer

The information contained in this article is current as at the publication date. At the time of publishing, the information contained in this article is based on sources which are available in the public domain that we consider to be reliable, and our own analysis of those sources. The views of the author may not reflect the views of the AFSL holder. Any decision by you to purchase securities in the companies featured in this article should be done so after you have sought your own independent professional advice regarding this information and made your own inquiries as to the validity of any information in this article.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this article are not guarantees or predictions of future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, and which may cause actual results or performance of companies featured to differ materially from those expressed in the statements contained in this article. S3 cannot and does not give any assurance that the results or performance expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this article will actually occur and readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

This article may include references to our past investing performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of our future investing performance.