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I also don't see a near term recovery in SYNT's end markets, howe ver the key question is how much of that is priced into the SP? a circa 30% fall from YE 2023 says that a good deal is priced in. There is a possibility of a further sell-off should the update be very dire and going concerns issues are flagged, but do we really see that in tomorrow's update? The optimist in me says NOT, but then I'm not clairvoyant.

After having sold pre-rights, I've brought back in at these levels and can wait till the end-markets turn back up.

"IMHO not a case of IF but WHEN will the RNS drop that unleashes the SOTP valuation :)"

This is what Mouldy's PR department has been saying for a while, and we know that the Messiah means business when he says it as he's done by delivering outstanding shareholder value through trusted relationships with the city who know a bargain when they see one. And we wait, and wait, for a sign of walking the talk.

Layoffs are a fact of corporate life to take out excess costs in the system - As a shareholder, I have no issues with layoffs. When growth is not forthcoming and profitability is an issue, costs are a way to show the market that underlying causes are being looked at.

I agree with what you write, TrainTracks. But, I don't think there will be any issues with bringing Whales on board at Ingenuity. Mouldy said so and the Whales are on their way - I can feel this in my bones.

On a slightly serious note, companies like Holcim are no spinning off and listing their North American division in the US. https://www.holcim.com/media/media-releases/holcim-north-america

Maybe Mad Moudly can actually do something like this as a clearly laid down corporate strategy, instead of putting feelers out there in the market about first a US listing of Beauty a few years ago when sales growth there was better, and then last year shifted to Nutrition listing speculation when Beauty fell off the growth trajectory and Nutrition started doing better on the back of lower raw materials costs?

It wouldn't be a great surprise if this playbook is repeated at Capita? She's a chartered accountant and will be a good replacement for Tim Weller if he can't deliver the financial results that the shareholders need!!

https://www.rws.com/about/news/2018/appointment-of-cfo/

Cheers, Peterr. I didn't notice that and there was no big announcement even on the Capita website about Xenia joining us the Chief Transformation Officer. I noted that Kathy Quashie was fired as the Chief Growth Officer in December, probably because there was nothing to note that was happening with Capita being on the right trajectory, and I can't help but think that Adolfo had some, maybe a lot of, say in that move. Xenia's profile below on the Capita website.

"Xenia is responsible for driving the corporate strategy for Capita which includes where we invest, where we prioritise growth and having the right strategies to ensure our services best meet clients' current and future needs. In addition, Xenia provides leadership and oversight for the portfolio of business change activity required to deliver our strategic business objectives."

If Adolfo follows through on more cuts in the business, that's most welcome. There's probably much more fat that can trimmed, chopped even, in the coming months. I really hope he means business and sets Capita on the right trajectory to deliver us shareholders great returns. That's my hope. ;-)

"Judging by his record he has pretty good timing of when to move to a company which, with a bit of help" - @Culley01, you have an interesting point there. I always assumed that Adolfo had no part to play in the layoff last quarter, but what if he did JL and co that extra push that they need to start this right away before he formally comes on board, as the market wouldn't be happy with more feet dragging and postponing cost cuts? We'll never know the answer unless you were a fly in the wall the board room, but that's a good thought. ;-)

And the layoff were followed by the 'Employee Director' resigning from the board - goodness me, we need shareholder focused directors on the board, and cleaning up such vestiges will only make for better shareholder oriented governance.

"For me the new giving his thoughts might be the next spark" - Agree. Whether Adolfo gives this early March with the FY23 results release OR if it happens in the interim is a complete unknown to us.

Whilst I'd agree that no share is ever safe and there are risks here too, the keys for me is the fact that there's 1. A new CEO on board 2. Cost cuts finally being implemented and with more to come in 2024 3. UK economy to recover from the doldrums of 2023 with rate cuts to kick-in soon enough.

Of course, none of these would matter if Adolfo can't deliver consistently better operational/financial performance in 2024, but that's what I'm betting on. Do I think it's a shoe-in that CPI doubles from these levels in 2024 - not until we see clear financial progress and/OR if more cost cuts are announced with the FY23 results. I don't think the market will be in a rush to re-rate until it sees more progress with profitability and FCF generation. Till then I'd think a trading range between 17p and 23p is likely - IMO. However, we've had too many years of disappointment from 2020 to finally say with conviction that we're on the way to 50p plus in 2024.

@Pearls - SFOR is as oversold as THG was in late 2022 when we hit all-time lows. There's a sector and geography difference to consider there though with SFOR being US centric for revenues with their tech sector as key customers. If a US recession is not in sight, Ad spend there will bounce and so will their SP very quickly.

THG is more UK centric and in the retail sector, and will need the UK economy to really ramp upwards on back of rate cuts, whenever it is that No clue Bailey's BOE starts to cut - you'd think that they will follow the Fed, but come on Bailey, can't you be a trend-setter? I still think that this will be a growth year for THG, just how about is an unknown and a key driver is rate cuts, IMO. Could they enact share buybacks? I hope they do. However, Mad Mouldy is nowhere close to the standard of a PLC CEO that Martin Sorrell is and Mouldy's hubris will never allow him to make amends with the wider market players. We can hope though!!!

Thanks, NigeCo - for sharing the details from the Bloomberg terminal. With a fast recovering US economy and PCE today to confirm that inflation is heading down lower, quickly, rate cuts should be back in play in March, and no later than May. Spending confidence in the tech world should be coming back this year, as many tech companies have started to beat quarterly earnings estimates and that trend should only get better this year. Is the US market overstretched? Probably a bit, but if rates come down quickly with falling inflations, earnings estimates for 2024 will start to climb too, even with spending normalising. All to play for here, IMO.

Yep, last chance. :-) I'm overstretched in CPI and don't want to go beyond my current holdings level which is circa 20% of my portfolio, but after so many false starts over the past 4 years, I'm hoping and optimistic that AH finally turns this beast around. Low volume days like today/yesterday - the price action could easily be discounted. I'm waiting for the inevitable turnaround, IMO.

Qube has not exited their short - they're at 0.48% as of 23/01, just under the 0.5% reporting threshold on this site.

I hear from my sources that some Autostore clients in Japan are seeing some early signs of Godzilla emerging and after hearing about Kong's presence at THG offices, have dropped by with their big guns to assess the feasibility of shipping him over to Japan. That supposed £200k investment may fetch us a few million, deal size is being negotiated That's one hell of an ROI for something that practically everyone on here was trashing recently.

If you look at the US economy, which is by far S4's largest client base, Manufacturing PMIs have finally turned above 50 after circa 14 months in contraction territory below 50, and Services PMI has come in at 52.9 above a circa 51 consensus. And the kicker is that the Tech sector is back to growing again and, IMO, it's only a matter of time before they open up digital ad spend purses. Martin S is playing down a recovery in the Ad sector and I think that as 2024 progresses, we'll all be pleasantly surprised how that's come back much better than expected. All to play for here and very undervalued, IMO.

Good luck, GMHK. I'll be happy to buy more if SYNT drops from here ahead of next Tuesday's update/

Yep, I'm a buyer here. Once interest rates start going down, as they should by May at the latest, you'll see business confidence returning to the manufacturing sector as a whole, and Synthomer is undervalued, IMO.

"WELL, respond to your shareholders then!" - that lack of shareholder focus and branding us retail investors broadly fast money is part of the problem.

SBB - " negativity on here very self-motivated" - there may be an easy explanation than it being a sinister attempt to knock down the SP by people who sound negative on here about Mouldy and his non-existent PLC leadership - it's just that he's so hubristic that he can't see what is right for shareholders broadly. This is my second largest holding and I only reason I'm holding out is because a bid may emerge if the macro turns up in the coming months - it's not because I believe or trust Mouldy's PLC management skills.

He's burnt all bridges with the press and the market participants, and they'll look to find ways of bringing his hubris down and he certainly keeps delivering that on a platter, mostly to the market. Take the last update, it was a first good report after a series of misses over the past 24 months - but, there was nothing exceptional about it. And the numpty goes on a chest-thumping mission with that video production which he no doubt would have spent days overseeing - isn't his time better spent dealing with how he can enhance shareholder value? King kong towering over the 'City' and chest thumping - good lord, build bridges with them, not keep burning them. And of course, his brown-nosers were fawning all over that video on Linked-in and that makes him feels worthy?

I've given up hope on Moudly getting on the good side of the city or even being truly being investor friendly. And that could be the perfect recipe for continuous SP underperformance, even if the macro turns. That's a concern.

"MM is a significant reason why the SP is so depressed…" Don't spread blasphemies much to the chagrin of Mouldy's acolytes like Anacott, Crafty (from Mouldy's PR department and seems to have disappeared) - you may just interrupt their brown-nosing. This is all down to LSE, fast money, and THG hunters. Never you mind there's no revenue growth in the past 2 years and don't worry about the fact that Mouldy didn't even put out (yet) revenue/FCF forecasts for 2024.

And he wants to go list on NYSE - that is truly delusional. They don't have the discipline to put out proper 6-monthly forecasts, let alone the quarterly ones that US listings require.

Yep, Broomtree. Although I sense tiny movements today in some of my other smaller beaten down holdings - SFOR/SYNT. US markets hitting all-time highs, but the UK market's depth and valuation gaps are a major concern. But, I still believe that value will eventually win out. A 1p dividend in 2025 is more than a 5% yield at the current share price, acknowledging the fact that it could be a slow, slow grind as CPI shows better operational execution over the next few quarters!!

How's Brexit working for you, Soletrader1? Shiite economy, shallow stock market with shiite outcomes, difficult for businesses to trade with EU - their largest trading partner and revenue/profit warnings seemingly everywhere. A flipping needless self-goal, if there ever was one. THG - one of the many casualties!!

Is it any wonder that the easiest route to make money in the stock market is via the US?