Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
For what it’s worth, I’d like to see investment into THG to facilitate strategic M&A (vertical integration is a favourite of mine) and/or expansion into fast growing and increasingly affluent geographies.
I seem to remember an analyst question on the H1 results Q&A on whether THG would be considering selected M&A in the not too distant future. Can’t for the life of me find it in the saved webcast. Can anyone else remember this / give me the timestamp?
One_Frankel over at “that other BB” questioned why THG need further investment the other day:
“ This thread has so much more objectivity than LSE and DPSW500, tell me why does he need external funding for his various markets, two have pretty much matured and are stagnating now and Ingenuity is ready for business, well in a roundabout way…”
He then suggested in one of his posts this morning:
“… Nutrition whilst interesting is fast becoming saturated and competition is just too fierce for it to be competitive in future and THG certainly isn't in a great financial position to be able to continually innovate so ask yourself where does any future value remain!”
Funding for continued innovation to stay ahead of the market, retain and ideally grow market share. It’s a great insight, thanks Frankel!
Manc39, I’d be surprised if they don’t see 69p as value given the are presumably all aware of the terms of previous (undisclosed to the wider market) bids which have apparently been at significant premiums to the current SP…
MM is committed to his company, his staff, his family and friends, his charities, his business associates, his investors, and many of the good people of Manchester - all of whom have shares in THG.
First of all, he’d royally screw most/all of the above mentioned with a lowball offer.
Secondly, how could he continue to grow the company if he takes private with a lowball offer. Who would provide him further capital? He could fund out of retained earnings / working capital / undrawn facilities (especially once the company starts throwing off cash), but it would be slow going. Easier to do the right thing, attract new investment, and grow at pace.
The best deals by far are those where everyone comes away feeling happy.
GLA
Yes lol, I’m invested in my own money to about half my annual gross salary. Not mega bucks compared to some on this board but not insignificant to me. I’m not an employee either, too cold up north. I’ve been through the mill with this investment like we all have, but the more I’ve learnt about the business along the way, the more I’m convinced my money’s in the right place for the long-term. If I’m wrong I’m wrong and that’s fine too, all part of life’s rich tapestry. ATB to you by the way, you’re a knowledgable poster and I’ve learnt a lot from you even if you don’t currently share my optimism ;)
Premium listing? (No point whilst the listing rules review is underway, this has been communicated to us)
Spin off, listing elsewhere? (Mentioned on call, legal separation completed to allow optionality on this regard, if anything is formalised it will be announced via RNS)
MBO? (Hates LSE, will be announced via RNS if it happens, won’t be discussed as a strategy (as it’s not))
Growth? (Were a growth company, now negative, however there’s a war on, inflation is high, recession is on the cards, unprofitable revenue streams have been deprioritised, margins have been prioritised, etc.)
Whales? (Mentioned, not yet materialised, however harpooning whales is their stated strategy. Understandably these things take time - difficult to onboard, difficult to leave)
Sorry to be slightly flippant with my reply, and I do agree that strategies have been communicated only to come to naught (beauty spin-off). However, I disagree that strategies aren’t communicated. Problem is with a business made of 3x vertically integrated divisions ready for separation, there are many ways this could go and many options under review (as per MM).
Unfortunately you were invested in a company where the CEO and his inner circle had a significant shareholding and, for the majority of time post-IPO, his Golden Share (now hanging up in Jodie’s bathroom). In this case the company and CEO (founder) are much more intertwined than would be in a boring FTSE100.
Take a look at the “Demonstrable progress 3 years post-IPO” slide in the presentation of you are worried about growth. Unfortunately there’s a war on and the macroeconomic pressures are real - flat (with improved margins) is more than enough for the time being.
Adjusted items, it’s £5m cash in H1, significantly down from £23m cash in the comparative period. MM’s comments suggest these will continue to decrease into the FY. If you don’t like adjusted results then the RNS presented quite clearly the statutory metrics.
You guys are a load of Moaning Myrtles. Might be you’d all be happier in some other share?
MM had >95% of the vote at the last AGM so unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon. Fine by me - he’s built a multi-billion pound company, is a natural entrepreneur and a proven dealmaker. He’s also got a set of morals behind him which I admire (even if it does mean that he makes some decisions which favour stakeholders over shareholders…) I’m all for ethical business, what’s the point of being rich if you’re poor in spirit and soul?
Happy with Matt, thought the results were fine (and broadly in line with guidance), looking forward to the Q3 update.
GLA
I just don’t think he particularly liked the analyst Matty, he was fairly obnoxious and basically refused to take the answer he was given multiple times. If he wanted to challenge Matt on the numbers he should at least have started from a consensus number that was recognised rather than waffling on about “annualising and adding a bit for Christmas”
Was it the “whilst I’m driving it” comment at c. 53:30 Yorek?
Regarding SP movements, we can’t have it both ways chaps and chapesses… Annoyed that the SP has tanked today but self-congratulatory when we were “skilled” enough to buy in the 30s/40s doesn’t make any sense to me. The SP is the SP, all that is different is sentiment and time-horizon.
You either trade the heck out of this (and good luck to you) or you get on-board with Matt’s vision and strap in for the ride.
GLA
Could the “2x” 5.32m trades in fact just be both sides of a single 5.32m trade?
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/81/idiots-guide-to-the-london-stock-exchanges-setsmm-0379.html