Tele Columbus win sign of momentum for Espial (Mackie) Tele Columbus AG win another sign of momentum for Espial, says Mackie
A key contract win announced this morning is one more reason to buy
Espial (TSX:ESP), says Mackie Research Capital analyst Nikhil Thadani.
This morning, Espial announced it had licensed its G4 STB client and Media Services platform to German cable network operator Tele Columbus AG. The Ottawa-based company says the deal will provide Tele Columbus customers with a “world-class” viewing experience that will include on-demand content and advanced functionality.
“Tele Columbus is a visionary force among European network operators, and we are honoured to be selected for their next-generation platform,” said Espial CEO Jaison Dolvane. “The Espial G4 and MSP solutions lead the market in delivering a world-class UX and are highly scalable. They will support our partner Tele Columbus’s growth strategy and provide them with a flexible, open UX platform which can be customized for regional and demographic based market segments.”
Thadani says the size of the Tele Columbus subscriber base, at 2.8-million, is larger than he expected, owing to the company’s acquisition of Primacom. He notes that opportunities to win contracts with operators who boast subscriber bases of more than one million abound, with 45 such targets in Europe, 20 in the United States, and another four in Japan. The analyst points out that the contract is well-timed, coming in front of an important trade show.
“We expect today’s news and the upcoming IBC trade show later this week lead to positive momentum and industry “chatter” for ESP solutions,” says Thadani.
In a research update to clients this morning, Thadani maintained his “Buy” rating and one year target price of $5.25, implying a return of 77% at the time of publication.