Poor results14 Dec 2012 12:52
I can sympathise with any shareholders, as I have quite a large holding myself. I'm not going to try and ramp up the share, but would like to just put some facts on the table. I emailed the CEO yesterday in a fit of despondency and had, quite rapidly, a personal reply, which I give him credit for. The following comments were noted which I think it right to share with other shareholders as there is nothing sensitive in their nature. I had asked some specific questions, which I'm sure are questions we all wanted to ask:
1. Blaming the economy – the intention was not to do that. We have some self-created issues, and we did not want to hide behind a generic economic statement. Yes, it’s tough in Europe, but it’s tough in the UK too, and in the first half we made significant progress there. We have challenges in Europe that we are dealing with, but as it’s France, its more expensive and time consuming than we would like.
2. Fault of the Board – its actually the Executive team, and me, that take full responsibility for the performance of the Business. We can do better, and we will.
3. Director share dealing – that is a matter for individual members of the board. I can assure you that from a personal perspective, I retain absolute faith in the prospects of the business.
4. Share value loss – we are well aware of the losses incurred by re-admission investors. It’s not helpful to you personally, but I should remind you that the Board have incurred similar % losses, including our Deputy Chairman Peter Jones, who is the largest individual shareholder. I can assure you he, and the rest of us, are working incredibly hard to restore shareholder value and confidence.
FW
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