Once the worst-performing new issue of 2001, having shed 96% of its value that year as well as its chief executive and finance director, FFastfill's business model has been changed under incoming executive chairman Keith Todd, who has now signed 21 major banks to the group's derivatives trading software.

In the years since he took over in 2002, Todd – who made his reputation by turning around ICL in the 1990s and more recently by selling ECSsoft and EasyNet for healthy premiums – has ironed out the glitches and brought the software up to the high industry standards. He has opted to sell the software as a service (SaaS), providing better revenue visibility for FFastfill and offering savings of ‘at least’ 20% to customers over traditional means.

FFastfill has concentrated on niches within the trading community in order to make its name, with derivatives being its core focus and more recently introducing foreign exchange and bonds. Derivatives is an especially good area to be building business now as traders wallow in volatility and risk, with trades in this area having reached record levels recently.

For the year to March 2008 – results are scheduled for publication in mid-May – broker KBC Peel Hunt forecasts a turnaround from losses to £900,000 of pre-tax profit, on sales increased 87% to £11.4m. Expected earnings of 0.27p put the shares on a forward p/e ratio of 25.5. Going forward, the plan is to ‘harvest’ further business from within the 20-plus large clients, cross-selling from, say, derivatives into other asset classes or offering its middle- and back-office functionality.

Given Todd's proven eye for an opportunity and track record of shareholder value creation, shares in FFastfill represent an interesting speculation.

Growth Company Investor subscribers have full access to all our AIM and small-cap share recommendations. To subscribe today with a half-price offer, and gain immediate access to all the recommendations, click here.

FFastFill	AIM	£24.26m	6.12p	0.00p
Click here for interactive charting
Other company articles:
FFastfill			30/04/2008
Will there be jam tomorrow?			03/08/2005
Cautiously upbeat			02/08/2004
Software survivors			03/02/2004
Cash-rich companies			02/04/2002