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Todays drop unprecedented and will be taken advantage of. Expecting an opportunity for Directors to buy.
"The fundamentals of Studio's business model are solid, notwithstanding the market challenges that have been exacerbated by our over-commitment to stock in the near term. The trading performance over Christmas, with sales up 18% over two years, shows our offer is resonating with a customer base of 2.3m. We will continue to drive the long-term profitability and success of the group."
Covids over, expecting positives here moving forwards.
Hoping so Chr155, but I’m not sure even the most positive trading statement is going to turn this cruise ship of a share price around. Until Frasers issue an RNS confirming their current holding, (which would indicate a closing of a sell order) we will not see the share price move positively. I really hope I am wrong.
Frasers we’re compelled to make an offer for STU in March 2019 when they increased their holding from 29.9 per cent to 37.2 per cent. They made an offer of 161 pence per share which at that time was considered derisory and unanimously rejected by the other 63 per cent of shareholders. I’m hoping 161 pence is as low as it will go now.
Schroders along with Toscafund were the original funds that supported the rights issue back in 2011 so the Schroders average price is much lower. At one point Toscafund owned as much 29.9 per cent of shares before colluding with Schroders to each sell a lump of their respective holdings in 2015 to Sports Direct (now Frasers) as they were known then. I’m sure you know but Studio PLC were called Findel PLC until their name change in August 2019. With Mike Ashley due to step down in May this year and his son in law Michael Murray due to take control, it is difficult to predict how far Frasers will reduce their holding, if indeed this is the reason behind the flagging share price. Apologies for the vague response but with so little information available, we as retail shareholders can only guess as to what is really going on.
To the contrary CHR155, I’m currently holding 22,500 shares at a much higher average than the current price. Totally agree with your point concerning fundamentals but I’ve been invested here since 2012 and have been endlessly frustrated by Frasers efforts to acquire this business at rock bottom prices since their initial purchase in 2015. Our current board appear to be doing little or nothing to promote the company prospects to new investors.
It is also interesting to note that our own chief executive has not purchased a single share in STU since the 22nd April 2021, and even then he only bought 6,546 shares at 304 pence. If the man believes in this business, what better time to buy than now as the price is as low as I can remember it. Unless of course he thinks it is going to fall further. This board need to put their hands in their pockets.
Good luck with your investment CHR155 but with Frasers and Schroders as our two largest shareholders, the value of this share is going nowhere fast. My guess is that Frasers currently have an open sell order which is killing any hope of progression, coupled with a board that are keeping their release of information to the market all too brief resulting in this ridiculous stalemate.
Andy Brough mentions Studio Retail #STU in the latest PIWORLD interview at 17m50s then again at 19m47s
Watch the video here: https://www.piworld.co.uk/education-videos/piworld-interview-with-andy-brough-markets-lessons-learned-in-2021/
Or listen to the Podcast here: https://piworld.podbean.com/e/piworld-interview-with-andy-brough-markets-lessons-learned-in-2021/
Just in case anyone is assuming that the half year report is negative, these are the headlines
Adjusted PBT +36 per cent at £23.7m
PBT +67 per cent at £26.5m
Core net debt -53.98 per cent at £20.8m
Group revenue +3.2 per cent at £239.6m
Market cap now £162m.
Negative forecasting by the chief executive and the chief financial officer has successfully reduced the share price by 20 per cent. Well done gentlemen, despite stellar figures you have further destroyed value. Expect an offer from a group who knows how to create value.
I thought that Mr Kendrick would be the new chief executive to take this company to the next level and finally realise the true value of the company. Unfortunately this has not proved to be the case. Communication with the stock market has been kept to the absolute minimum which has resulted in erosion of both company value and my investment. My hope now is that the half year results will help to push the share price closer to my break even and I will divest, never to invest again. This is an excellent company but is under performing because of poor management.
I would be pleased if that were to be the case philhaslam. Any update, good or bad would be welcomed, at least then we can make a reasoned decision as to whether these shares are still worth holding onto.
I am told we will have a trading update by the end of the month but I do agree with you that we are largely kept in the dark.
Well, the last time I posted here in May 21, the share price was 306 pence. Four and a half months later the price is fifteen per cent lower despite zero core debt and forecast profit before tax this financial year to be around the £50m mark. The biggest disappointment for me is that the board of directors continue to treat the shareholders as growing mushrooms. Mr Kendrick clearly has no time for investors. I wish I had not reinvested in this company. Our board need to be reminded that they oversee a PUBLIC Limited Company. Poor communication with the stock market only leads to disillusioned investors. Wake up and provide us with a trading statement.
Thank you. I will take a look.
Morning Ejackson, we are the only two investors left standing on LSE. You may be interested to read some of the posts on ADVFN, most notably from our friend 1GW_ and Inever, both of which make some very interesting and valid comments. Registration is free.
https://uk.advfn.com/p.php?pid=logout
We close above £3.00.
A quick look at the shares traded suggests a batch of sell orders going through and we have been rewarded with a 5% uplift.
Are we witnessing Frasers selling down and increasing liquidity? Who knows but if the market is sending a message to MA that if he does something meaningful then the SP will respond accordingly.
Not too long to wait to hear what the final numbers were for last year and of more importance, what is contained in the Capital Markets Day.
20.615 per cent was the declared Schroders holding on the 9th December 2020. 19.206 per cent is the new holding declared today, an approximate difference of 1,223,964 shares. This does not constitute adding in my opinion, merely buying back. If Schroders are so convinced of the positive intentions of Frasers, why did they sell nearly 1.5 million shares in the last five months ? The performance of the business has only improved in those five months. Just saying.........
So, AB must have liked his telcon with MA enough to top up.
My sense is that we will know more after the presentation and results at the end of June. Disappointing that we have to wait so long but it could herald a new dawn.
I am looking for guidance on dividends as we are now cash generative and given the projections on revenue (PK repeatedly has referenced £1bn as his target) and what we could reasonably expect this to translate to earnings, we could be looking at a very low future single digit P/E at today’s valuation.
It appears to me that this very basic assumption is not lost on AB / Schroders and given the level of contact he will have had with senior management of late, he has turned buyer again.
I am pleased my hunch to top up a month or so ago when the SP was a bit lower has been endorsed and notwithstanding the above, we could still see MA make a move per my previous view. If I had his resources, I would definitely be looking to take control, give the management some ‘skin’ to reward them further down the line and reap the reward on a significant multiple when the company realists. MA doesn’t like to sit on the share register without an exit strategy normally because it’s a distressed asset. , He always ultimately wants control and the only thing that seems to have worked against him here is that STU has actually turned the business around and become very profitable albeit with the assistance of COVID.
An interesting conundrum for him to have but I can only see it ultimately working to our advantage.
Schroders only backed the board in March 19 because the offer that Frasers made was at an audaciously low level. You will remember that Schroders along with Toscafund were jointly responsible for selling part of their respective holdings to Sports Direct in the first place. Prior to Sports Direct becoming a shareholder, our share price was as high as 330 pence. To their credit Schroders did take up a holding at the rights issue which is one of the reasons why it succeeded but since then quite frankly their involvement has only been negative. I’m sorry to disappoint you Ejackson but I just don’t trust the intentions of Mr Brough because I believe that were Schroders, Frasers and the board working collectively then our share price would be well above its current level. I believe that Frasers want Studio PLC as part of their portfolio for something under 300 pence a share and currently Schroders appear to be supporting this plan. We have a new chief executive, could it be that Messrs Brough and Kendrick disagree on the future direction of the business ?
Come on Skindle, you know better than that.
If Schroders are so much in Frasers/ MA’s pocket, he would have backed his previous mandatory takeover.
I am cross at how things are currently but we need to keep some perspective until we know the next development which is likely to be either an offer from MA per my previous viewpoint or following the presentation from the Board in June.
Either Mr Brough is powerless to act or more likely he is supportive of Frasers plan. Whatever it is, he is no friend of other shareholders.
Looking at how a Director purchase of 6,500 reduces our SP by approaching 2%, can you imagine what would happen if MA sold down to below 30%.
AB make the call please.....!
Good to see another Director buying today.
When will the market agree with the confidence being shown by the people in the know and move the share price accordingly.
Perversely, every time a Director has bought recently, the share price has fallen.
This has developed into a game of chess between Schroders, Frasers and the board. Currently the board are in check. It is therefore incumbent upon the board to make the next move.
Once again, good to see the buying activity today and the SP going south accordingly.