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Lite Access Technologies is a Buy, says Beacon Securities

Lite Access

Lite AccessLooking for exposure to the broad trend towards greater data consumption? Beacon Securities analyst Ahmad Shaath says Lite Access Technologies (Lite Access Technologies Stock Quote, Chart, News TSXV:LTE) is so far just skimming the surface on a multi-billion dollar opportunity and is currently trading at an attractive valuation.

Shaath initiated coverage of the company and stock on Wednesday with a “Buy” rating and $1.30 per share target price, which at press time represented a projected 12-month return of 71 per cent.

Vancouver-based Lite Access is a construction services company specializing in deployment of fibre networks and employs micro trenching techniques using its specially-developed blades to deploy fibre optic cables. Shaath said Lite Access has a number of high-profile communication networks clients including Olympic facilities, military and government agencies, numerous communities as well as global telecoms such as Verizon, Google, Telus and Rogers.

Shaath said LTE’s hiring of current CEO Carlo Shimoon in March, 2018, was part of a new focus for the company which saw its fortunes change for the better with the win of the first of three significant contracts with UK digital infrastructure company CityFibre in October, 2019. Those three contracts confirmed LTE’s credentials under new management, according to Shaath.

“Lite Access established a strong relationship with CityFibre, which earmarked $11 billion to invest in building its network to become the UK’s third largest provider of wholesale broadband over the next decade. CityFibre aims to reach eight million homes by 2025 under its Gigabit City program. To date, LTE won contracts for three cities with a total of 67,000 premises,” Shaath wrote.

With LTE, investors get exposure to a secular growth trend in data consumption, Shaath argued, one which was accelerated by the shift to work-from-home and an uptick in video conferencing. The analyst said penetration rates of full fibre-to-the-home in LTE’s two key markets remains very low, with the UK currently at 2.9 per cent and Canada at 17.2 per cent, both well below the OECD average of 28 per cent.

“LTE is in the very first innings of a multi-year period of triple digit/high double digit revenue and EBITDA growth. In addition to a steady flow of business in Canada, LTE’s has a confirmed order backlog of $54 million for deployment of 67,000 premises in three cities in the UK over the next 24 months,” Shaath wrote.

“As it ramps up its deployment, we expect LTE to post revenue growth of ~200 per cent and ~40 per cent in FY21E and FY22E, respectively. We expect LTE to turn EBITDA positive in FY21E and consequently grow its EBITDA by ~70 per cent,” he wrote.

Shaath is forecasting fiscal 2021 (year end September 30) revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $55.8 million and $6.4 million, respectively, and fiscal 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $78.0 million and $10.8 million, respectively.

Shaath said potential upcoming catalysts for LTE include: new and larger contract wins with CityFibre (expected in Q1 fiscal 2021), a new contract win with a new client in the UK (expected in the first half of fiscal 2021), acquisitions to expand its footprint in Canada (fiscal 2021), expanding existing relationships with UK clients into the United States (fiscal 2021) and quarterly results to continue showing double-digit topline growth and margin improvement.

About The Author /

Cantech Letter founder and editor Nick Waddell has lived in five Canadian provinces and is proud of his country's often overlooked contributions to the world of science and technology. Waddell takes a regular shift on the Canadian media circuit, making appearances on CTV, CBC and BNN, and contributing to publications such as Canadian Business and Business Insider.
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One thought on “Lite Access Technologies is a Buy, says Beacon Securities

  1. I’m curious to know if this analyst feels the same way after recent news? Is it still a buy, but perhaps a smaller target price?

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