Member Info for f1nesse

Had my credit via HL. Are you holding certificated stock? Rarity these days.

A so-so report, not as optimistic as some here would have liked, so no upward pressure on the share price. But what I hate about the report is the liberal use of weasly management speak. Say it in plain English. It's not a technology roadmap; it's a change from physical stores to fulfilling customer order online. The ordinary builders and tradesmen who are the customers do not have a 'user journey' ; they are able to use the app more easily and more conveniently. And so on. To best inform customers why not do what the press does? Ditch the involved relative clauses. One idea per sentence and no sentence more than 11 words. In the days of the National Service Centre, mangement speak was used to cover a ginormous failure. After that debacle, the changed management paid off the debt and there was a period of clearer reporting. Now it's back to full on management speak. It makes me nervous that they want to hide underperformance going forward. Say it in clear for the benefit of both shareholders and customers.

PIs are busted out everywhere and there is no new money coming in for AIM stocks. No short term boost in sight...

Shadypants - you don't seem to understand what a P/E ratio is. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amorisation. All of those have to be deducted before you arriive at earnings attributable to shareholders which is the E in P/E. They haven't made a second half profit for the last three years so they are likely on a forward P/E of 10 at the present price.

From latest annual report:
Exponent 33.43%; Ravenscroft 26.71%; Hestia 5.53%; Merchant Capital 3.97%; Lombard Odier 3.51%

That's 73.17% so free float is 26% plus or about £30m.

In your world planet X, the elves work for you for nothing and give you all the money.

Does this company make a profit or not? Operating profit yes but what is the profit figure, net of financing and tax that is attributable to shareholders? They keenly held their hat out via Primary Bid and now its " Alternative Performance Measures are described in our defined terms and conventions".

Surely this is normal. The end of year accounts have to be audited. It's been the same pattern for a number of years. No concern there. Extract from interim report issed in September:

· Current trading and outlook
o Revenue, EBITDA7 and EBITA7 all above management expectations in Q3 2021 to date.
o Management now expect full year EBITDA, on a non-IFRS16, continuing operations basis, to be ahead of market expectations and EBITA7 to be materially ahead
o Sale of All Seasons Hire completed 29 September 2021 for gross consideration of £55m, with proceeds to be used to further reduce debt. Leverage7 as at 3 July 2021 on a LTM pro-forma basis will reduce to c1.0x post this transaction, delivering on one of the three strategic objectives announced in 2017 - "Delever the Group".
o Group revised target is for leverage7 to remain between 1.0x and 1.5x
o Refinancing process underway, well placed for material reduction in Group interest cost
o Strategy delivering, well positioned to capitalise on market opportunities
o HSS will host a series of events, starting later in the year, to demonstrate the Group's technology platforms and provide an update on the Group's financial performance framework

Re the last bullet point have any of these events taken place? Were they for shareholders - which they sound like - or just customers, or did they get overwhelmed by Omicron?

Speedy gives notification that its wholly owned subsidiary Prospects Training International Limited (formerly trading as Geason Training) which wound down its operations in 2021 was today placed into creditors voluntary liquidation.

Didn't take too long for a multi million pound acquisition to go south...
https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/SDY/acquisition-a2ftthayzn7pxx3.html

This company is a long way from profit. From the interim report: " The Group recognised a loss before tax of £1.2m for the first half of 2021 compared with £542k for the earlier period, which primarily reflects the greater administrative expenses. Loss per ordinary share on a basic and diluted basis was 6.49 pence (H1 2020: 4.03 pence), due to the increased loss. " This is a huge gulf to cross. You can buy acquisitions for more turnover but you have to beat your your admin costs and your financing. Positive EBITDA is all very well but Pre-tax Profit is better... I don't see the investment case yet...

The link was live in the original London Stock Exchange RNS but didn't come over when posted to adv*fn or to here. The video is at https://www.sharesmagazine.co.uk/video/brave-bison-group-bbsn-oli-green-executive-chairman-theo-green-chief-growth-officer and is well worth watching. The guys talk fluently and well, are fully engaged in the business [which they have moved on significantly in the two years they have been in charge], and have a mastery of social media channels probably beyond the comprehension of most of the posters here including me. They make a strong investment case so I would not expect too many sellers to be relinquishing their shares. Why do shares go up? More buyers than sellers. DYOR

Ex Div (3p) Tomorrow 3rd Feb

Why is this down the pan with a trading update due on Thursday? Part of their partners' remuneration is in shares so maybe it's just cashing these in before the closed period. Share price had strong run up to the results announcement last year (April ish) and the it fell back. Looks ok on fundamentals unless something has left the track...

Looks like AP transferred the 1.498m shares for the announcement at 11am and did indeed op up with a further 888k shares (worth £149k) for the 3pm announcement.... Vote of confidence anyway....

Exponent held 235,681,708 shares as at 20/12/20 - 33.8% at the time - but using current denominater of 704,987,954 this is now 33.4%. HPS Investment Partners got 8.5m when the expensive loan was paid off and have possibly dumped them. The board have around 3.5m (ca 0.5%). Market makers have done well to job out all this Tosca stock; let's hope the remaining holders including new buyers will get the benefit.

Robina; The divi has been and gone as far as the market is concerned. the market adjustment for ex-div took place in November as described in the Half-Year Report: "The interim dividend per share is 4.5 eurocents (FY21 H1: 4.5 eurocents). The ex-dividend date for the interim dividend is 25 November 2021 for ordinary shareholders, the record date is 26 November 2021 and the dividend is payable on 4 February 2022." The dividend will be paid to holders as at the ex-div date and there will no further dividend related adjustment in February.

So Toscafund have sold down from 22.4% in October to 11.84% now. Latest announcement is for a disposal of 12,628,254 shares, or 0.95% of the capital from 12.79 to 11.84% Recent disposals seem to have been dispersed into the market, hence the pressure on the share price. Tosca are in the money having picked up shares in the 10p rights issue but once they have sold it may that the PIs who are picking up these ex-Tosca shares will have the last laugh. If it is PIs picking uo the shares then another benefir is that the free float is increasing as Tosca sells. Not totally out of the woods yet: Tosca may want to get rid of the rest of their holding so will be selling into any rise but there is some light at the end of tunnel and it will be nice when the selling pressure has finally gone.

Thanks Scarlet. I just called it how I saw it, including having to pay a fee to escape the old arrangements. £4.5m is probably cheap at the price. This frees off the share price to find a more natural level, but of course there is plenty of redistribution of the stock to happen with old holders keen to exit. Thus I still think it will be a while before any rise is significant. However the announcement is certainly good news and it does bring a general upward pressure to bear on the medium term share price. SONIA is the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate and obviously is a replacement in these matters for LIBOR. Current 5-year SONIA is 0.88% so do your own maths. Board have done well.

This was from the RNS at the time of the capital raise (at 10p) in December last year.

o Firm Placing of c.£18.6 million with Toscafund Asset Management LLP ("Toscafund") and Ravenscroft (CI) Limited ("Ravenscroft")
o Open Offer of up to c.£35.5 million
§ Exponent Private Equity LLP ("Exponent") has committed to subscribe for £15 million of shares under the Open Offer
§ Toscafund has committed to subscribe for their pro-rata entitlement under the Open Offer
§ Ravenscroft has committed to subscribe for their pro-rata entitlement under the Open Offer
§ The commitments to subscribe for shares in the Open Offer are subject to certain conditions, as described below
§ The Open Offer will not be underwritten, save as described above

I presume Ravenscroft and Rvensworth are associated. Just looks they have taken a lump of stock off someone else's hands to protect their investment. Just like you guys really - buying more to protect what they have got. So presumably they are positive about it. They are an investment company though so I doubt there'll be an offer. Might be through the worst of the selling now though.

Yes I emailed them too, and that was the prompt reply I got. They are obviously constrained not to release price sensitive information, nor would you expect thm to comment about commercial matters. So that would be as good as it gets.
So sell up or sit this one out. But it ain't going to 65p or other such far-fetched figures that some posters wished after the results.