Although Caminus was
founded in 1998, it is actually a company with a long history. You see, the
company is the result of the merger of several software firms: Zai*Net
Software, Caminus Engery Ltd., Positron Energy Consulting and DC Systems.
Essentially, Caminus is a software and services provider for the energy
industry. Of course, lately the energy markets have been surging. But
there is another big trend: deregulation. To stay competitive, energy
companies need to deploy new technologies.
Caminus’s suite of software applications is called Zai*Net. With it, energy
companies can perform trading risk management, credit exposure analysis,
power and natural gas scheduling and analytics. In a sense, energy
companies are becoming investment firms, as they must deal with such things
as futures, swaps and stock options.
Caminus also provides strategic consulting. Services include long-term
capital investments, deployment of operations in deregulated energy markets
and the management of energy assets.
The company has been showing traction in its financials. In the past
quarter, revenues increased 87% to $11.2 million (compared to the same
period a year ago). Pro forma net income was $1.8 million. The company
added a variety of big-name clients like BP Amoco, Cargill-Alliant and
Citgo.
Although, Caminus has not stopped its acquisitions spree. The company
recently purchased Nucleus Corporation, which was definitely a smart buy.
Nucleus is a leading software supplier for the energy market. The company
is expected to generate $3.5 million to $4 million in revenues for the rest
of the year. More importantly, the acquisition will be accretive.
According to the CFO of Caminus, the deal should add a minimum of $10
million in revenues in 2001, as well as 5 cents per share in cash earnings.
However, in the past few days, the stock price has surged (there was an
analyst upgrade). So, it would probably be wise to wait for the stock to
have some profit taking before buying.
