Member Info for Mulder

Disclosed positions in PETS AT HOME GROUP PLC Tip: Click a number in the % short column to see history for that position. Notice: We no longer track disclosures after they drop below 0.5%. It is possible that the manager still holds a short position even if we are showing it as zero. Fund manager % short Change Date changed/created Bodenholm Capital AB 0.85% ↑ 0.08% 2017-05-19 Coltrane Asset Management, L.P 1.30% ↑ 0.10% 2017-05-08 Foxhaven Asset Management, LP 1.40% ↑ 0.10% 2017-05-19 Immersion Capital LLP 1.40% ↑ 0.12% 2017-04-13 Marshall Wace LLP 0.51% 2017-05-16 Pelham Long/Short Small Cap Master Fund Ltd 1.24% ↑ 0.06% 2017-01-19 Polar Capital LLP 0.93% ↑ 0.04% 2017-05-12 Total 7.63%

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(ShareCast News) - Pets at Home posted a jump in sales for the year to 30 March, helped in part by a solid contribution from its vet practices and new openings. Group revenue was up 7.2% from the comparable period a year ago to £834.2m, with like-for-like sales up 1.5% and total income from the joint venture vet practices up 24.6% to £47.1m. Statutory pre-tax profit was up 5.8% to £95.4m, while profit before tax and exceptional items related to acquisitions and disposals edged up 1.1% to £96.4m. Merchandise like-for-like sales were up 0.8%, while sales in Services grew 7.9%. Meanwhile, the company delivered on its rollout targets for the year, opening 15 new superstores, 50 vet practices and 50 grooming salons. Numis said pre-tax profit of £96.4m is slightly ahead of its estimate of £96.2m and consensus of £95.9m. "Despite the near-term challenges facing the business, we see the moves to address its price position as significant, enabling the business to get back on the front foot. We believe the scale, quality and visibility of Pets at Home's long term growth opportunity should support a higher valuation, and move our recommendation from add to buy," Numis said. At 0938 BST, the shares were up 2.7% to 164.90p. http://www.lse.co.uk/sharecast-news-article.asp?ArticleCode=25982458&ArticleHeadline=Pets_at_Home_FY_sales_lifted_by_vet_practices

No bone to pick here? Pets at Home sales boosted by vet services as it rolls out further expansion Pets at Home has said it's in pretty good health in its full-year results, after reporting a 1.5 per cent rise in like-for-like sales growth, driven by its expanding vet services business. It said profits were in line with expectations, and shares rebounded from an early dip to be up 2.24 per cent at the time of writing at 164.20p. The figures Like-for-like revenue growth rose 1.5 per cent, with group revenue up 7.2 per cent to £834.2m, in with analysts' expectations. Services was a bright spot, sporting like-for-like growth of 7.9 per cent. Profit before tax and exceptional items relating to acquisitions and disposals edged up 1.1 per cent to £96.4m. Income from its joint venture vet practices was a boost for the firm, rising 24.6 per cent to £47.1m. Expansion plans also remain on track, as Pets at Home opened 15 superstores, 50 vet practices and 50 grooming salons. It has announced a total dividend of 7.5p per share. Why it's interesting In January's update, the firm's shares took a hit when it announced "softer than anticipated" merchandise sales, and there was some good news on that front, with merchandise returning to growth in the fourth quarter. As sales in stores have been a headache for the firm, it has been dishing up price reductions "across a number of everyday pet essentials" and said it was also starting to "reposition prices" in branded foods to tackle this. Pets at Home said it was operating in a "resilient market", forecast to grow around 4.5 per cent over the next five years. Already proving a draw for the business, Pets at Home thinks its joint venture vet practices also have the potential to generate "more than £80m" when fully mature. For next year, the FTSE 250 firm has eyes on rolling out another 10 superstores, 40-50 vet practices and 40-50 grooming salons. So, the nation's love of primping their pooches is still going strong, you'll be relieved to know. Pets at Home also reported "strong sales of dog accessories", so owners are clearly keen to keep man's best friend looking its best. http://www.cityam.com/265391/no-bone-pick-pets-home-sales-rise-rolls-out-further-vet-and

Yes oldbadger the analysts at the big banks and the FT were wrong! No profit warning. Even like for like sales were up.

The growing vets business also helps M&A prospects - see Mars $7.7Bn buy out article yesterday. A group of us will be calling the FCA about what has gone on here and with other shares such as CLLN. A share price can not be artificially held down even when results smash expectations and revenue + profits actually grow. It should not and cannot be allowed. That is tampering is it not and blatant manipulation! Can't believe some people still argue it does not exist.

Well this morning just proves how manipulation does in fact take place. If there weren't 7% shorts holding it back here this would be up 5-10%. A cracking update but the shorts are holding it down. How is that fair? UNregulated market. They will be funding my dividend though and great buying opportunity.

15th June ex-dividend 5p/share which alone is >3% Has been brought forward from August last year

Bought some more this morning. 225p = P/E of 15 which is about fair for a low growth share

You are missing the point. Growth shares have a P/E of 20+ This has a P/E of 10 and was priced for a profit warning.

GROWTH IN ALL AREAS I was overly pessimistic with my predictions. THE BROKERS AND SHORTERS WERE WRONG! They have been shorting this for no reason. NO PROFIT WARNING GOES EX-DIVIDEND 15 JUNE AT 5p per share Total dividend maintained at 8p so 5% yield

I predict total group revenue will be broadly flat. Like for like merchandise sales will be down 1-2% whilst the other services (vets/groomers) will show strong growth of 30-40%. There will be the usual bull and spiel about it being a 'challenging' time and 'high uncertainty' with Brexit etc. FY Profit will be down 1-2% but this will still give a P/E of only 10-11 and a dividend yield of >5%. The dividend will be raised further also.

In terms of manipulation here by shorters have a look at the charts, closely, especially April 12-13 and tell me what you think. Large swings of 5-10% in a day up and down [down mostly] on low volume, against the market trend that day and on the back of no new news or broker updates.

Online competition is in almost every sector now and up until the Q3 update only 3 months ago the like-for-like merchandise sales were only down 0.5%. If online competition is killing the company as you suggest why was total revenue UP by 4.4%? See my earlier post and figures. Are you saying that a growing revenue stream and stable profits forecast warranted a 40% fall in SP from the 52 week high? Anyway let us see what tomorrow brings.

This is my point - PETS is no AIM listed dodgy oil&gas company such as GKP, Xcite energy, RKH etc. This should be a relatively defensive and boring share but the SP is not behaving as such! PS. I also got out of PHTM as I saw too much downside risk + the delays in update are not usually a good sign. I think Vectura +/- Hikma could rebound strongly and seem over-sold at the moment.

Mars Expands in Pet Care With $7.7 Billion Purchase of VCA Jan 2017 Candy giant Mars Inc., facing a slowdown in packaged food, is making a bigger bet on a booming industry: pet care. The maker of M&Ms and Snickers agreed to buy the animal-hospital chain VCA Inc. for about $7.7 billion on Monday -- not including debt -- expanding on its existing veterinary-care business. Mars will pay $93 a share in cash, a 31 percent premium to VCA’s closing price of $70.77 on Friday. The acquisition turns Mars into a dominant company in corporate-owned pet hospitals, an area that’s exploded in recent years -- helped by Americans treating their pets more like family members. It also could help bolster Mars’s current pet brands, including Pedigree and Whiskas. At a time when human food isn’t growing as quickly, the deal may make more sense for Mars than buying another snack business, said Ken Shea, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “They see growth and they see diversity,” he said. “Why double down on food when it’s not growing that fast?” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-09/mars-expands-in-pet-care-with-9-1-billion-deal-for-vca ************************************************************************************************************************** Shares in VCA were trading on a P/E of 23 so double that of Pets. Pets has a small but growing vets business also. Mars is such a huge company that they could gobble this up no problem (250p-300p/share) and they are obviously interested in this sector.

No doubt shares is a form of gambling unless you sit on the board and have inside knowledge - which I suspect shorting companies do have access to as well as brokers - how else do they get 'inklings' for results weeks in advance of the public release of results? Is that not odd? Truth is little leaks are happening all the time. What is harder to refute are the technicals/RSI/oversold nature of a stock which this certainly is. At rock bottom prices (all time low), substantial assets and a solid balance sheet M&A is also more likely.

AIM stocks are certainly a nightmare and heavily manipulated and toyed with. It is a highly UNregulated market. PETS still has a market cap of £800M and as I posted yesterday the big holders have been increasing their stakes. A further drop in SP will only increase the dividend yield here until sense returns. The 'spotty kids' tried toying with Centrica, SSE and other utilities a few weeks ago. Most are now up 10-15%.

A 40% fall in SP based on a drop in LFL merchandise sales of 0.5% is not justified whatsoever and this is where the shorting business is just wrong. This is not some miner or oil&gas firm with masses of debt - I have had the misfortune of being a shareholder in some of these companies over the years - Afren, Gulf Keystone anyone?! Yes sales may well slow here but at the end of the day people are not just going to dump their pets. The demand will always remain. Assets of >£1.2Bn with net debt only £140m. The shorters have behaved as if those figures were the other way round aka. Gulf Keystone. I will also add that I have seen good results met with another drop in SP when short positions have been high so hold firm tomorrow as this is normally followed by a steep rise. It is just another example of the illogical, schizophrenic market. What was that saying - 'Be greedy when others are fearful?'