Member Info for Pianista

18.7p trade at 13.31, there's no stopping it ATM.

The headline sounds good, hence today’s initial jump, but when you read the detail, the bookings only relate to a single day, and for only part of the group. Furthermore, the comparison is with a low point, so they’re not comparing apples with apples.

So not bad news, but not as good as they are ramping it to be, and the jury is still out on the long term trajectory of the SP.

No one really knows what will happen over the next year or two. We’re still in the pent-up demand phase, and it’s difficult to assess where demand will settle once that works through. But, in addition, recession is looming: CCL have not been immune before, eg in 2009, and I’m not sure it’ll be any different this time round. With all the uncertainties, it’s not surprising the SP is not yet racing ahead. Expect continued SP volatility.

At precisely the same time as Trak's SP has come alive (up 20%+ over the week), so has Microlise's (up 15%). Coincidence? Or significant?

"3m guests since July 2021"...but in 2019 there were 13m guests, so still a long way to go...

The US market already has already reacted - it actually dropped on Friday when the announcement was made. Presumably because it's still not a free-for-all, eg even the fully vaccinated still have to test before cruises of more than 5 days.

The Outlook statement does mention "potential acquisitions", and that "we are focused on delivering our acquisition strategy and developing and expanding our product portfolio". A takeover of Trak would still be the most obvious choice, and would be in the interests of both companies, but there could be any number of obstacles, not least price. However, surely Trak’s recent 20th birthday celebration will bring it home to them that it’s high time something radical needs to happen to unlock the business's value for long-suffering shareholders. It wouldn’t surprise me if major shareholders (including Microlise!) are privately agitating for this.

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/amsterdams-schiphol-airport-to-combat-climate-change-by-capping-flights.html

"Last month, The Netherlands’ transportation officials announced that, starting in 2023, Schiphol would cap the number of aircraft permitted movement through the airport at 440,000 per year, down from the roughly 500,000 it sees now. According to Adventure.com, that represents a 12-percent reduction from 2019’s air traffic."

If the climate change zealots have their way, it doesn't bode well for the long-term future of the aviation industry.....

I can see why, when Mulligan was given the role of co secretary, that title would have been removed from Deards on the website. But as for Deards still being shown as head of legal till a day or two ago, perhaps he was just working his notice; alternatively, they were slow to fully update the website - which hasn’t been very reliable in the past year or so.
Whatever has happened, we still don’t know if it is connected with the CG issue, or if there is more fallout to come.

Sister - the Deards resignation has already been noted here, when it happened about a month ago.

Deep - no need for “educated guesses”: the NED appointments are essential to bolstering corporate governance, so they’re certainly not for show. The fact the appointees have high level logistics experience is merely icing on the cake.

Following a worrying year (nearly) for PIs, it’s excellent and reassuring news. In contrast, if they’d FAILED to appoint anyone, that WOULD be very worrying!

Ports - I think we can take some comfort from the fact that Meidar, with "his" 20% to protect, and finnCap, with its responsibility to monitor corporate governance, would have had a say in the appointments.

But I will not be completely relaxed till I see PKF's signature on the accounts...

I agree it's "jobs for the boys" Ports, but we've come a long way since, back around May, there was widespread concern, without knowing the ins and outs of the CG issue, that no prospective NED would touch DX with a barge pole.

Ports - he was only with Sports Direct for a couple of, no doubt, very "interesting" years, what with the takeover of House of Fraser, but I'm not aware that there were any "financial irregularities" as such, in which he was personally involved. And since leaving them, he has landed a number of other NED appointments.

Excellent news.

Suggests that the CG issue is almost behind us, and should not delay the audit of the accounts.

More hopeful therefore that the share suspension will finally be lifted September/October.

It also means though that a whole section of the population can't go on cruises, i.e. reduces demand.

And it's not just the unvaccinated who are affected, it's their vaccinated family members too who would otherwise accompany them.

This restriction doesn't apply to flying, so it's one advantage flying has over cruising.

Ports - "we probably won't get the 22 accounts until next year anyway". Yes, the deadline is 2 January 2023, so it's very tight. It would be ironic - and nerve-jangling! - if we missed that deadline and suffered yet another share suspension just 2 or 3 months after the current one had been lifted.

Ports - I had in mind the end of 2023 when I said "eventually", but a lot can happen before then obviously.

The main thing for me is that based on the trading update and the Liberum report, I don't see the SP crashing on resumption of trading (but there could be some wild swings initially).

With EPS of 3.4p forecast for the current year, a PER of 15 - 20 implies an SP of 45p - 60p.

Of course, there are a few hurdles to get over before the SP reaches anything like those levels, including: the small matter (!) of filing audited accounts; there being no further fallout from the CG investigation; the restoration of management credibility; and macroeconomic factors, i.e. principally the risk of a severe UK recession.

But I'm cautiously optimistic that holders will eventually be amply rewarded for their patience.

Ports - I agree about the £1m exceptional costs - it does seem an awful lot for a CG investigation.

Without knowing much about the specific issue, it is difficult to comment, but apart from legal/professional fees, I suppose it could include salaries of staff working on the investigation, termination payments to the NEDs/HR director/others, and a large part of GT’s abortive audit fee.