Strix’s (KETL) shares have been on a downwards trend since last September, after rising by over 190 per cent between listing in 2017 and that point. The company has been hit by higher freight costs, foreign exchange fluctuations, supply chain issues, and has been attacked by “a cyber incident of Russian origin”, an event disclosed by the company in February.
But the Aim-traded designer, manufacturer and supplier of kettle safety controls and water temperature components still looks as though it is on track to double revenue over the medium term. Its new factory in Guangzhou, China, is now up and running and this doubles manufacturing capacity. Price increases on legacy and newer products – some already implemented and some to come – will help the company battle inflation, although the outlook is of course challenging.
In the latest results, for the year to 31 December, revenue was up by a quarter to £119mn as the business benefited from a full year’s contribution from Italian water purification company LAICA, which was acquired in October 2020. The adjusted gross margin fell to 39.7 per cent (down from 41.4 per cent in the prior year), with commodity price and freight cost headwinds having an impact.
Strix’s directors are clearly confident about the company’s outlook, with several key figures picking up shares on 4 April. Chief executive Mark Bartlett bought £267,000-worth of shares, paying 199p apiece. Chief financial officer Raudres Wong and chairman Gary Lamb plumped for £44,000-worth and £88,000-worth of shares, respectively, meaning that executive directors secured £400,000-worth of the company’s shares on the day.
Management said it “remains confident of delivering on the medium-term strategic plan and delivering against its targets”, despite the “growing uncertainties ahead”.
| Buys | ||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
| Bellway | Ian McHoul | 08 Apr 22 | 2,520 | 50,400 |
| Bellway | John Tutte (ch) * | 07 Apr 22 | 2,545 | 509,096 |
| Brand Architekts | Roger McDowell (ch) | 05-06 Apr 22 | 78 | 272,250 |
| Dechra Pharmaceuticals | Alison Platt (ch) | 05 Apr 22 | 4,230 | 99,231 |
| Devro | Rohan Cummings (cfo) | 06 Apr 22 | 209 | 39,601 |
| Faron Pharmaceuticals | Markku Jalkanen (ce) | 05 Apr 22 | 235† | 58,750† |
| Goodwin | Bernard Goodwin (PDMR) * | 04 Apr 22 | 3,357 | 99,083 |
| Gresham House Energy | John Stephen Leggate | 06 Apr 22 | 146 | 59,130 |
| Horizonte Minerals | Allan Walker | 06 Apr 22 | 7 | 39,589 |
| IWG | Francois Pauly | 07 Apr 22 | 269 | 53,778 |
| Oxford BioDynamics | Stephen Diggle * | 06 Apr 22 | 19 | 112,200 |
| Oxford Nanopore | Wendy Becker | 04 Apr 22 | 389 | 35,000 |
| Quarto | Chuk Kin Lau (PDMR) * | 01-05 Apr 22 | 132 | 2,290,700 |
| Rio Tinto | Dominic Barton (ch designate) | 07 Apr 22 | 6,809† | 360,874† |
| SourceBio | Jay LeCoque (ch) | 06 Apr 22 | 130 | 129,500 |
| Strix | Mark Bartlett (ce) | 04 Apr 22 | 199 | 267,156 |
| Strix | Raudres Wong (cfo) | 04 Apr 22 | 199 | 44,178 |
| Strix | Gary Lamb (ch) | 04 Apr 22 | 199 | 88,356 |
| TMT Investments | Artemii Iniutin (PDMR) *, Alexander Morgulchik (PDMR) *, German Kaplun (PDMR) * | 07 Apr 22 | 528† | 229,569† |
| Trustpilot | Peter Mühlmann (ce) * | 01 Apr 22 | 147 | 27,145 |
| Victorian Plumbing | Mark Radcliffe (ce) | 04 Apr 22 | 51 | 354,200 |
Sells | ||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
| BAE Systems | Gabrielle Costigan (PDMR) | 07 Apr 22 | 731 | 50,632 |
| Croda International | Jeremy Maiden (PDMR) * | 07 Apr 22 | 8,000 | 490,647 |
| Jardine Matheson | Anthony Nightingale | 01 Apr 22 | 4,356† | 1,176,120† |
| *Spouse/Family/Close Associate. ** Placing / Open Offer † Converted from € / $ / C$ / ZAR / A$ | ||||
