Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, could you give me your view on Sylogist? Also, the public float was maintained at about 21 million shares, but I now see that it is over 23 million. The stock has dropped over the last year, but I can find no explanation. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Sylogist Ltd., $9.20, symbol SYZ on the Toronto Venture Exchange (Shares outstanding: 23.7 million; Market cap: $218.0 million; www.sylogist.com), aims to provide organization-wide software, mainly to public-service operations with a focus on fund accounting, grant management and payroll. Sylogist’s public-sector customers include local governments, nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions and government agencies. The company currently has over 1,000 customers worldwide that range in size and operational complexity. The majority are located in the U.S. (75% of sales) and Canada (24%), with the remainder in U.K. and other jurisdictions (1%). Private-sector clients include Goodyear and Lockheed Martin. Sylogist intends to continue to grow its business through strategic acquisitions, or investments, meant to expand its existing public-sector business. Most of its customers are on annual contracts, which automatically renew. The average customer life is more than 10 years, although some have been using the company’s software for several decades. The historical customer retention rate is over 90%. The company’s software products, in addition to providing…