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I've actually sat still here and was always going to go with Bob Holts own cash share purchases as the barometer for how things were shaping up. I think he bought 1 Million shares at 26p and a further 500k at 31.6p at the end of June and after the relisting, so probably had a good idea as to how things were shaping up. Those being purchased prior of course to the BOO debacle and them then buying some of his shares off him including his relisting incentive ones when he departed. But Matthew Eatough also bought over 500k shares around 31/32p about the same time.

A nice picture of present and Festive orders that will have already been shipped to retailers and e-tailers wouldn't go amiss and the CEO knows the number she needs to pass to get her options. Options first - statement second, of course...

The share price is too low

And the market makers have killed the very trade that creates volume and their very own profits.

That's not the case. Read those results highlights I posted below. They are excellent and they are raising guidance.

Always remember that the City has to get its fill first...

Indeed. Was getting bored waiting.

Putting a giant King Kong statue in reception at HQ actually neither adds nor takes away from the daily business of selling products and generating revenues. It did however as some suggest present the Market Makers with yet another opportunity or excuse to knock the share price - on trivia and for imvho a non-valid reason.

But I will say in MM's favour that the actual fact the announcement was also accompanied by holiday snaps with one kitted out in the Stars and Stripes and his veiled comments re the LSE I definitely think were done for a reason. (Seperate listing coming)

By all means dress it up in Myprotein attire or plaster it with Lookfantastic / Cult Beauty or THG Ingenuity badging all over it (as can and has been done with the Stars and Stripes photo) and in that way it may becomes Promotional and palatable. It's hard to sell such "Executive" exuberances to a work force if on the other hand, as some are suggesting, wages are being frozen and bonuses chopped.

Just bear one thing in mind though, and that when it comes to any post Festive season trading update that this years numbers will be compared to last years when the Post Office industrial action went into overdrive, packages were being stored outside due to no storage space left inside and competitor delivery services were also overwhelmed and the general message being conveyed to all was to buy instore rather than online.

That previous Royal mail industrial action has since been fully resolved and its a clear runway for this year - and this years numbers will be compared against what should be softer comparatives from last year.

Here's the link I posted last night and as with any business anything can happen in between times.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11541869/Packages-pictured-piling-outside-Royal-Mail-sorting-office-workers-continue-strike-action.html

Nice rise again.

I don't know everything moniman, nobody does but two things.

1. I do some basic research and then I think before I post and

2. Therefore I don't post rubbish on bulletin boards. The latter point only applies to the times you post on the THG bulletin board (without having any shares)

I wish you well with your investments and hopefully you saw value in WRKS this morning and Kelso at 2p to 2.1p

Moniman with that last remark re @WRKS you come across as completely clueless. Probably started today or Kelso buying more imvho

@KLSO. Volume and prices paid thus far today says we have a buyer.

dyor.

Moniman, they had the green light for buybacks after the dividend resolution wasn't passed at the AGM and with II's urging them to buy back their own shares instead.

It may well have started today and they have the £1M dividend monies to spend on any such buy back.

Trickery would be my guess

But I have to say I could probably have conveyed all the gist of the same update written differently and with far less of a hit to the share price.

In actual fact they have more than the 6 weeks to Xmas as they also have the Festive sales period thereafter and through to Jan 18th. Not totally unredeemable imo.

I do wonder however if it was written that way to maximise the number of shares they get to buy back for the £1 Million that was being substituted for the dividend.

Possibly having started this a.m. Somebody looks as if they are buying from 27p.

Lets just remind ourselves of the keypoints in this mornings RNS. Then ask yourself if the share price should have gone up or down. Imvho many listed companies would be doing somersaults if they delivered this and it reads that they are raising guidance.

"FY24 Interim Results Announcement

Disciplined profitable growth momentum

B&M European Value Retail S.A. ("the Group"), the UK's leading variety goods value retailer, today announces its interim results for the 26 weeks to 23 September 2023.

Highlights

Group revenues increased by 10.4% on prior year to £2,549m (+10.3% constant currency1)

Group adjusted EBITDA4 (pre-IFRS 16) of £269m and margin of 10.5% (H1 FY23: 10.0%) represents 16.1% growth vs. last half year (H1 FY23: £232m)

Group adjusted operating profit4 increased 19.1% to £263m (H1 FY23: £221m), with statutory operating profit of £275m (H1 FY23: £248m) and statutory profit before tax of £222m (H1 FY23: £201m)

Group inventory in a clean exit position of £856m (H1 FY23: £837m)

Group cash generated from operations was £352m (H1 FY23: £370m), reflecting a normalised working capital movement with strong stock availability ahead of the Golden Quarter across the three fascias

All fascias trading well with positive transaction numbers and new space growth

Now expect to reach not less than 1,200 B&M UK stores in total, vs. previous guidance of 950

Opened 28 gross new stores across the Group (13 in B&M UK, 10 in Heron Foods and 5 in B&M France). Total average selling area increase continues to outpace the increase in number of stores

Net debt7 to adjusted EBITDA4 (pre-IFRS 16) leverage ratio of 1.1x (H1 FY23: 1.3x)

An interim dividend6 of 5.1p per Ordinary Share will be paid on 15 December 2023 (H1 FY23: 5.0p)

FY24 Group adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) guidance, increased to be in the range of £620m - £630m, materially higher than FY23 (£573m)"

Have to agree with you that point and if you go by M+S's example yesterday then it should have gone up on opening and decently so given what's been delivered. But definitely not complaining at the opportunity and I personally think Heron Foods has got legs.

Possibly the difference might be down to FTSE250 tracker funds versus FTSE100 tracker funds. Maybe Premium Listing also but I'll need to check the status of both companies on that.

It's a well managed company, the Golden quarter ahead and the dividend will be an added bonus for me and whoever else is working themselves a position.

Todays numbers would please many a company with improved growth EBITDA and a dividend so it will no doubt be somebody trying to work themselves into an advantageous position on the cheap with the Golden Quarter ahead. It won't be the first time. Nor the last. Just pleased for the opportunity.

Well I've just read the results and they look are a very strong set of results and with a dividend also being paid as a bonus and with estate growth also planned so will look to onboard here in stages. I actually thought it might open up and I'd miss my chance, but you can never guess markets and I am not going to say no to the opportunity.

And just to add and this has already been hinted at by the likes of 1pencil and others patiently invested with a next year timeframe as a minimum.

Last year and during the key months of November and December the pictures in this newspaper article summarise quite concisely in my view the situation that prevailed in the UK last year in Q4 and it was these that ultimately shaped key buyer behaviour on the run up to Xmas. Would my presents arrive in time for Xmas? and people reverting to the High Street and to pay higher prices just for the certainty of having presents "in hand". Don't forget also that competitor courier and delivery services also got overrun with demand and were unable to fully cope. Huge impact would be an understatement. You'll remember the scenes.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11541869/Packages-pictured-piling-outside-Royal-Mail-sorting-office-workers-continue-strike-action.html

Fast Forward 1 whole year: Dispute over and its a NOT THIS YEAR.

Probably made 6 posts more today than I intended so I'll pass you back to the Wild Kong debate.

There were only 599,456 shares traded between opening and market close today.

That is the lowest volume I have ever known. And significantly so.

Virtually nobody is selling because of numerous previous bids (2 for the whole of THG and 2 for THG nutrition) and 68p is an absolute joke compared to the Sum of Parts valuations and all the 3 Recent Buy recommendations off Liberum, Bank of America and HSBC.

On the other side of the coin you have to question whether the supposed just over 50% or the 65% non fast cash that are supposedly supportive of Moulding are in fact as supportive as he would like everyone to believe. They certainly aren't supporting him with any notifiable large purchases when the share is where it is. Last II RNS please anyone?

Then you have the 4th dimension - that of the Market Maker. The law of volume - and what ultimately would be their profit (i.e. the no. of transactions x the spread) is absoltely speaking volumes to them also. Daily trades about a year to 18 months back trended at about 4 Mill per day. Now its usually half that on a good day and on many days it is labouring and struggling to get there with pitiful trading. Imvho a combination of both the MM's and Fugazi markets have not only #ucked the share price but have been self defeating as they have also #ucked their own milk and honey.

THG is a sitting duck for a next Capital event, MBO `or relisting elsewhere parts or the whole of the business. Of course I hold and am willing the share price to rise to nearer a full sum of parts but the last couple of months have in my view made it abundantly clear to even the Market Makers that whereas the old rigmarole of Fugazy markets worked nicely in the past by fleecing the PI, today is a different story and dropping the share price has virtually a negligible effect on volume. It is a problem of their own creation and one for them to sort otherwise it gets sorted by other means and they lose the full previous revenue stream.

Definitely somebody collecting these and has been all the way down from about 80p and probably the market makers themselves at a guess. Little known fact, but they have an exemption to the ability to naked short shares which is under the guise of creating liquidity in the market (and of course profit for themselves). An ability preserved by none other than the present government and despite all that is wrong with the City and under review.

Silly priced atm for the amount of cash on the balance sheet and the going concern of the business.

Just been out and grabbed myself one of these btw. Struggled to make my mind up between the Positivity set and the Regenerating set but elected to go with the former. Really pleased with the purchase as its a substantial boxed gift set, robust elegantly packaged and speaks quality.

That's the first ticked off the Xmas list and when they open it on Xmas morning they see £75 or £65 worth of ESPA product and I paid £35. A bit of GMV for THG and custom for Sainsburys (Argos) also.

Or was it a Q2 update? (Been so long I seem to have forgotten).

Think I'l stick with just saying "update overdue"