The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.
Gave ITV a buy rating at 9am this morning.
Their closing remarks were;
As the next chapter unfolds for ITV, we expect the shares to maintain their recent momentum, buoyed by the company’s solid digital performance and promising outlook. With a strategic focus on efficiency, innovation, and delivering value for shareholders, ITV is well-positioned to script a successful narrative in 2024.
GLA
While the Company has started to realize some economies of scale in the cost of frames and in the area of shipping and logistics, the cost of prescription lenses has grown disproportionately and significantly more than the Company's revenue, which has had a significant negative impact on gross profit margin. Prescription smart eyewear offered direct-to-consumer has been a key unique selling point used to attract new customers, bringing an important marketing benefit since it is not offered by most of our competitors. We are working with our current prescription lens provider to explore opportunities to reduce costs and we are also actively in discussions with alternative prescription lens suppliers whom we believe may help further lower our lens fulfillment costs. Ultimately, we believe that the majority of our business will come from frame sales to distributors and eyewear retailers, who will outfit lenses themselves for the final customer. We anticipate that the launches of more co-branded products later this year will help us progress towards our long-term goal of shifting our sales mix over time more towards the wholesale channel, which carries higher margins for us as such sales to our third-party retail store partners do not include the cost of prescription lenses.
Finally, as we continue to refine our product mix with sales data, we anticipate further reducing our unit costs by focusing only on the highest volume, market-tested styles.
Units sold increased 150% & Revenue Increased 165% in Q1 2024 vs Q1 2023
The sales growth reported by the Company precedes the launch of three new product lines - Eddie Bauer® Powered by Lucyd, Reebok® Powered by Lucyd, and the Lucyd Armor smart safety glasses line - all of which we are bullish about as they are expected to present additional revenue generating opportunities for us in 2024. In addition, the Company plans to launch new features for the Lucyd app in 2024, including a paid "Pro" version of the app, which will provide another potential incremental revenue stream for the Company from glasses customers.
1st quarter results
https://twitter.com/tekcapital/status/1790368160320811389
RNS 27 February 2024 - SkinBioTherapeutics plc (AIM: SBTX), a life science company focused on skin health, announces that interim data from the AxisBiotix Acne food supplement consumer participant study with the lead formulation are very positive. The Company will continue the study to completion. The analysis and read-out of the final results is anticipated to occur before the end of Q1 2024.
So 5 week update shared end of February, don't know how long it took them to put the results together, let's say 1 week. Trial was for 8 weeks which suggests completion during March. Then we are told they are doing more tranches and will be completed end of April. How difficult is it to add up a few numbers and share the initial results irrespective of what the next plans for it are. If they were brilliant you would expect the board to be falling over themselves to share the news with their shareholders but this pair can't bother to tell us anything. Does this mean the results are not brilliant and they need more work or more time, who knows. The longer it takes for them to share these results the more doubt exists in their performance IMHO.
I know that the Acne trial is not the main pillar of activity but this example of lack of information is indicative of how they operate and the attitude they have to their shareholders IMHO.
Both in & under as I guess most are but the point is that Ashman has not delivered on any timeline that he has shared and the sooner he goes and we get a fresh approach the better the chances are for a recovery IMHO.
Acne is late again as I said before 5 weeks in and news shared in February and 2 1/2 months later and nothing. New funding to sort out his screw up is non existent. Second transformational acquisition by end of Q1, a pipe dream. Sales information, Croda, the list goes on and on and we hear absolutely nothing, a disgrace. He gets played always as he is so weak, we need a stronger CEO who shares meaningful timelines and sticks to them. The CFO is just as bad, neither have a clue how to make this a success. Still both overpaid in spite of taking their back dated pay decrease.
I hope I'm proved wrong and the company is a roaring success but the likelihood of that happening seems to reduce day by day.
It’s worth noting that Mission’s directors are open to proposals that would enhance shareholder value and deliver benefits to its own shareholders. It leaves the door open as Brave Bison engages in talks with Mission’s board and major institutional shareholders, both of whom would have to be on board for any deal to be agreed. There is also the possibility that Brave Bison’s approach could flush out interest from other bidders attracted by Mission’s recovery potential and low rating.
So, having placed buy recommendations on both companies when I recently covered their respective annual results, I continue to feel that their shares are undervalued are worth buying at the current level. Even though Mission’s earnings are expected to recover this year and the board is looking to pay down debt, the company is priced on an enterprise valuation to cash profit multiple of 3.6 times and prospective price/earnings (PE) ratio of 3.9 for the 2024 financial year.
Brave Bison’s track record is more impressive in recent years, hence why its shares enjoy a higher enterprise valuation to cash profit multiple of 5.9 times, and trade on a cash-adjusted PE ratio of 7. Buy.
IC view, a good opportunity for bottom price fishers.
https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2024/05/13/jersey-oil-gas-still-has-multi-bagger-potential/
True, the negative sentiment towards the UK oil and gas industry has driven Jersey's share price down from 365p when the first farm-out was announced in April 2023 to well below the 205p entry level in my 2019 Bargain Shares portfolio. However, priced on a 76 per cent discount to the average risked net asset values of Zeus (616p), WH Ireland (705p) and Cavendish (534p), bottom fishers should be well rewarded from this deep value play. Buy.