Member Info for SW16

Roy Greenslade writing in today's Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2018/oct/14/johnston-press-finance-break-up-for-sale

"sadly, this EXCELLENT article on the options for JPR is for "premium" users -- BUT -- if you can access it, do ..." Given that JPR publishes newspapers - people might like to pop out to a newsagent/supermarket - even WHS - and BUY a copy of the Daily Telegraph: £1.80

Earnings (EBITDA)** of £40.1m in year ending 31/12/17 according to JPR website http://www.johnstonpress.co.uk/investors/highlights.

Also on the JPR site, further down that same piece, THEY say that THEY made a statutory loss of £95m before tax. That's equal to a loss of 74p a share.

** A useful piece on EBITDA https://money.howstuffworks.com/ebitda1.htm

2017 figures here - a loss of £78.5m in year ending 31/12/17 https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/j/johnston-press-plc-ordinary-1p/financial-statements-and-reports

https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/investor-drops-alex-salmond-as-potential-johnston-press-chairman/

Yes, just over 3bn shares issued http://www.lse.co.uk/share-regulatory-news.asp?shareprice=GGP&ArticleCode=z6jsgeh1&ArticleHeadline=Exercise_of_Options

Former CEO Ashley Highfield has joined the board of a luxury yacht maker https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/highfield-joins-luxury-yacht-firms-board-with-ex-formula-one-boss/

If anyone uses Stockopedia, for a while now GFM is the only share to score the maximum overall score of 100 on its Quality-Value-Momentum ranking

What's gone on is that every share in BGS has been divided into five new ones. The chart on here is still misleading in that it a suggests a massive drop in the share price, whereas the original price (before the share split) should have been adjusted so that the correct comparison can be made. Hargreaves Lansdown have made this adjustment and you can see that the real price of BGS has hardly changed this week http://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/b/baillie-gifford-shin-nippon-ord-2p-shares/share-charts

"Central to its hopes is the online version of the Independent, known as the �i� � " This isn't totally correct. The Independent (now online-only) is not owned by JPR. It's part of the same group as the London Evening Standard. It's website is www.independent.co.uk. The i newspaper, previously owned by the same people as the Independent, owned by JPR and its website is www.inews.co.uk

https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/jp-boardroom-coup-plan-ditched-as-investor-adopts-wait-and-see-strategy/

A positive review of some recent reporting developments by JPR by Hold The Front Page blogger (and former editor of the Birmingham Evening Mail): https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/dyson-at-large-celebrating-quality-editorial-at-johnston-press/

"I figured no company that was in any kind of imminent financial peril would be planning a big recruitment drive over the coming months" - are you talking about the local democracy reporters that JPR is recruiting? If so, I wouldn't take that as a sign of health: it's the BBC which is covering the cost

JPR won more contracts than any other newspaper group under a BBC initiative to fund "local democracy" reporters. The jobs are now being advertised -with 30 going to JPR newspapers https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/jobsboard/view/local-democracy-reporters-x-30-various-locations-various-locations/

The spread is now 18.28% , meaning you'd now need a 22% rise just too break even. I don't think JPR closed above 31p last year. When have News International (now known as News UK) shown any interest in JPR? They don't own any UK local papers, and I don't know that they ever have

I've been out of this for a while now, and keep an eye on it in case there is any sign of improvement. With a spread of 13.83%, there's no reason to get in here - immediately you need a 16% rise just to get your money back; when have we seen a rise like that? The poison pill must be a deterrent for anyone looking to make a bid for the company. It's shocking how this has been set up in a way which allows the board to carry on collecting their fees (for what?) and with no real way of their being deposed.

I can only see back to last August on Hargreaves, and Liberum having been saying buy, with 80p target, since then. I can't see much substance behind that

Been in GFM for a while, and it currently makes up the second-largest holding in my ISA and SIPP. For a while it's been rated 99/100 on the Stockopedia Quality/Value/Momentum scale (currently only 10 UK companies are at that level - and nothing is on 100/100). Waiting for something else to pay off; if that comes good, then I'll probably add here

JPR has managed to get some money from Google for "mooding". No, that's not a typo: JPR is not planning to bare its backside (Board is too good at keeping that well-protected), but not sure what it has to do with news though https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2017/news/regional-and-hyperlocal-publishers-win-cash-to-develop-news-projects/

I think that this gives the best explanation of why the EGM isn't happening http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/10/21/poison-pill-stops-presses-boardroom-coup-attempt-johnston-press/ - a change of control means that various chunks of debt would become repayable. It looks as if the Board have managed to get themselves a job for life - or until their remuneration has stripped every penny out of the company, whichever comes first. Leaving aside anything to do with investment (I've got out of JPR twice, at a loss each time), it's worrying from the point of view of newspaper readers that they own such a large proportion of the UK's local newspapers