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SPRP Sprue Aegis

77.00
0.00 (0.00%)
03 May 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Sprue Aegis Investors - SPRP

Sprue Aegis Investors - SPRP

Share Name Share Symbol Market Stock Type
Sprue Aegis SPRP London Ordinary Share
  Price Change Price Change % Share Price Last Trade
0.00 0.00% 77.00 01:00:00
Open Price Low Price High Price Close Price Previous Close
77.00 77.00
more quote information »

Top Investor Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 01/6/2018 07:49 by the big fella
New FD and Graham taking a back seat. I appreciate things are challenging for them at the moment but I would like to express my thanks to Graham over the years. In his words I was the first private investor to ever phone him when Sprue were a showdown of the company today well over a decade ago. Despite the troubles over the last few years Sprue are still my most profitable share I have ever held. I may have been fortunate with the timing of some of my sales but that’s life. Well done Graham and all the best for the future.
Posted at 10/5/2018 20:28 by james188
It is currently a hold for me too, but the last few years have seen an alarming number of missteps, which have justifiably called the competence ofmanagement into question. I remember being present at the Liverpool Street investor presentation just over one year ago when management were extremely confident that they could return all the unsold stock to BRK and be fully paid out. At best, they were naive.

There is much to admire about the company, but they have a lot to do to regain trust. A degree of openness as to what has been going on is required. I totally agree with the previous comment that they need to bring on board a respected FD ASAP. I am concerned that this has not yet happened - and that we have been left to draw our own conclusions as to the departure of the previous highly influential FD. They need to significantly raise their game.
Posted at 10/5/2018 18:23 by glasshalfull
Good evening everyone.

Relieved for holders that SPRP can now draw a line under this latest BRK/ Newall episode & wash their hands of them. In retrospect the extension entered into March 2014 to extend the DA with BRK was a mistake, especially in light of BRK’s failed bid for SPRP in 2013. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

The important point about today’s release was for Sprue to break free from BRK rather than ramp up a legal fight over any alleged infringements. Also to be remembered that when SPRP were selling BRK goods they were doing so with the blessing of the BRK appointed NED Ashley Silverton on the board of SPRP (appointed 01.03.2011 - see RNS). Therefore despite SPRP taking a £3.8m hit, they are now free from the considerable distractions that the BRK action would have made.

I thought the RNS poorly worded & the plethora of emails and messages I’ve received from investors today has also seen them question the £11m outstanding balance of payments. The company have clarified the position with me & confirmed this was simply a wrap up of all outstanding monies due to BRK under the previous DA. You may recall that SPRP received goods on 90 day landed credit terms, so this was monies owed for stock in Q1 & final instalment payment of the DA...so not an £11m hit to SPRP as many PI’s feared and saw the shareprice marked down at the open as a result of this woolly RNS.

On the £11m payables to Newall, this compares to £7.7m at the end of FY16 & £11.2m at the end of FY15 to give some context.

Also important to note that Sprue DID NOT require the £3m which was drawn down & pleased to see this repaid in full.

All said I was delighted that mention was made that both businesses can now move on, “without the risk of legal claims” & with this firmly behind them I bought back in this morning. Almost 40% wiped off the share price since John Gahan left & BRK terminated the DA 8 days early.

Hopefully the company will be able to press the “reset” button on the announcement of results Tuesday & I think the current price a compelling entry point.

So essentially SPRP is an 11-year hold for me...with a 3-week sabbatical.

:-)

Kind regards,
GHF

EDIT : Edited post to include this - On the £11m payables to Newall, this compares to £7.7m at the end of FY16 & £11.2m at the end of FY15.
Posted at 23/3/2018 09:42 by pyemckay
the fact there is no guidance on the potential damage shows the company hasnt a clue how it impacts the figures. A quick check of inventories could have gave a range for investors to work with. thats an area of concern for me.
Posted at 30/1/2018 14:13 by masurenguy
Paul Scott's view:"The shares look expensive based on the 2017 figures - a £90m market cap seems a lot for just £4.5m operating profit. So clearly the market expects profits to rise in future, and is paying up-front for that profit growth. Note that the company has a strong balance sheet and a good track record of dividend payments.

I've held this share in the past, so am reasonably familiar with it. The downside is that it's been rather accident-prone, with lumpy sales (e.g. French legislation driving a spike in sales), product faults (e.g. issues with batteries), and strange supply arrangements with connected parties on licence (or something like that). Although it sounds as if the company is sorting out its supply arrangements.

For those reasons, I find it slightly perplexing as to why this company has retained such a supportive & loyal cohort of private investors. I'm not convinced that such loyalty has been justified by the company's performance, hence why I decline to own this share. The price looks up with events for now, but if it out-performs against forecasts, then it could rise further maybe?"
Posted at 30/1/2018 09:59 by davidosh
Just a reminder that Sprue will have a stand and be presenting at our huge Mello2018 event in Derby on 26/27th April and all shareholders and potential investors are welcome to attend

Sprue attended and presented at our Mello2014 & Mello2015 events and the management are always happy to engage with individual investors.

Do come and join us at this quality two day event.
Posted at 12/12/2017 10:45 by glasshalfull
2 months since any posts on this thread. In that time the shares have retraced -10% on the absence of any news.

Courtesy to inform that Stockdale have released an update this morning reaffirming Sprue as a BUY with 250p t/p.

The indicate currency movement will create a favorable tailwind - we’ve all observed the £ strengthening vs the $ while remaining weak vs the €.

You may have also observed an RNS concerning a site visits by Institutional investors recently...& I don’t imagine that the company would go to the trouble of arranging such if there was any issues concerning trading.

The share price currently offers a 5% div yield with earnings growth est. in FY17 of 65%.

FY18 est. is for 32% growth & FY19 for 52%

I added 25k yesterday as irrespective of any short term noise, I believe that we will observe the forecast earnings growth materialise over the next few years & removal of the previous Distribution Agreement will also add a fillip to the bottom line.

Kind regards
GHF
Posted at 23/4/2017 09:02 by glasshalfull
SPRP

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Sprue suffered a tumultuous 2016. They were impacted at the beginning of 2016 when Newall altered their supply terms and the subsequent sterling depreciation impact of moving from a fixed supply of products priced at $1.62 to a different metric that resulted in an significant increase in product costs.

Then came the triple-whammy profit warning that included an update on a premature low-battery signal in a number of their smoke alarms which resulted in Sprue making a £6.8m warranty provision & adopting Panasonic batteries. We also had a dramatic fall in French sales that followed on from the one-off legislative benefit & spike in sales in 2015. As well as French weakness, H1 2016 was also impacted by Germany sales due to product certification delays as they moved over to the Panasonic batteries.

Background to my investment

This was a far cry from their excellent track record of revenue and profit growth in previous year. Between 2006-2012 revenues grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) rate of 49%, with PBT growing at a CAGR of 33% between 2007-2012.

Sure, investors experienced a bumpy ride in 2012 as the company were hit with a few issues (currency impact and legacy warranty claim) which resulted in Jarden (now known as Newall) making an opportunistic bid of 90p for the company that I and many other investors helped the company rebuff. Jarden /Newall only received 1.26% acceptance in the end! Yes, 1% ... the decimal point is not in the wrong place.

Sprue moved to AIM in the wake of this & then came the significant share price appreciation during 2014/15 as the company delivered 60% EPS growth in both 2013 & 2014, & the market finally woke up to the massive opportunity in France which many of us had known for years & which the company duly delivered on.

The share price rose from 15p to 355p in a period of 8 years.

Shares fall back to earth....

After these highs & then 2015's "ahead of profit" announcements on 3 occasions, 2016 proved to be a massive disappointment as previously documented with over 65% wiped off its value from high point in 2015 to low of 2016.

I've reiterated my belief in the company for over a decade now & a search of this bulletin board at the top of the investment thread will provide details of my posts & rationale on an investment here. Goodness knows I've written enough on the company through the years!

I'd like to think that I don't suffer confirmation bias in relation to Sprue...although that's open to interpretation (I can hear a few of you chuckle ;-)
I mentioned yesterday that ALL considered posts are welcome, irrespective of whether it's a holder, lurker or knocker of a company. Helps evaluation of an investment case. Sure most investors would agree.

Notwithstanding the share price falling considerably last year, I and many other investors have been richly rewarded with our original investments appreciating significantly. In my case from an initial c.20p purchase price and where we have enjoyed the impressive dividend payments that ramped up significantly over the years.

An investor always requires to reassess ones investments. A year ago, on 18th April 2016, £100m or 54% was wiped off the share price. I like many others took a significant hit. At the time I had a fairly concentrated portfolio & as Sprue was my largest holding this was quite a setback...on paper.

I speculated at the time (on this investment thread) that an EV of £34m appeared low given their track record &, while acknowledging that they had a number of hurdles to overcome, I felt confident in the ability of management & staff to turn this round. So while I may have "cut 'n run" in many other circumstance, my respect & belief in management & the investment case actually found me adding considerably to my holding. What did I say about confirmation bias???!!!

As mentioned, I continually reassess all my investments, and Sprue is no different. I have spoken with the company on numerous occasions following the 2016 triple profit-warning. While acknowledging that a number of events were outwith their control, mistakes were made. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. There are plenty of armchair CEO's on the bulletin boards!!!

Looking back, I believe that events have galvanised management & staff and sense that they are out to prove the doubters wrong.

Time of course will tell if this proves to be the case, but their H2 2016 performance and solid start to 2017 augur well. They have developed an "underpromise, overdeliver" mentality and I believe that Sprue's move to a product & service offering will ultimately find them increasing both turnover & margin...and this will translate into growing earnings while the market may afford it a higher multiple at the same time.

If they can deliver recurring revenues via the Home Connected rollout then I'm sure they will eventually command a higher valuation metric.

Essentially over the next 12/36 months I'm hoping for a double whammy of,

Higher multiple (High PER) x (Growing) EPS = Materially higher share price

Fears & Assumptions

Now onto Leadings fears & assumptions that were articulated well in post 1521 & reason for my latest update on the company.

I've reproduced each point in turn with my own comment/view below. Remember these are my own views, nothing more....and please.... DYOR!

Here goes.

- - - -
The company doesn't seem to be in charge of its own destiny. It relies on increasing government regulation to drive sales, rather than the merits of its own products, which is a weak position to be in.
- - - -

Yes, there are many legislative drivers in play across the UK & Europe and the undoubted increased legislative requirements have driven sales for the company through the years. Look at France in 2015.

This is only partly true though.

Unfortunately the other drivers of sales are when the media reports on lives lost through fires or CO poisoning that ultimately could have been saved through the purchase & installation of a smoke or CO alarm.

I think Sprue would argue that they are involved in numerous promotional activities & campaigns to drive awareness of the benefits of smoke & CO alarms. Project Shout is a case in point, as they drove increased sales of CO alarms from a very low base through raising awareness of the dangers. The success of this campaign in the U.K. has led them to support similar style campaigns in other European markets with further planned this year.

Worth reminding that Sprue enjoy being the largest supplier in 4 markets (EMEA / U.K. Retail / U.K. Fire & Rescue and U.K. Utilities & Leisure) & are attempting to increase their share of the U.K. Trade through development of their SONA range over last few years.

Recent results also reported that they had launched their products into Poland.

I'd say they enjoy a recurring revenue of sort, where their installed base require to replace their smoke and CO alarms at end of battery life (10 year replacement cycle) & also the retrofit opportunities in the large German market that I've mentioned on numerous occasions (see post 1318).

Extract:-

"North Rhine is required to ensure mandatory retrofitting of smoke alarms in all residences by 31.12.2016. This is the largest German State with 22% of the entire population (18m) & the difference here in comparison to France is the requirement for an alarm in EACH bedroom of a property alongside an alarm in all children's rooms. Also a requirement to install an alarm in the hallway of each property. Whereas, in France the requirement is only for 1 alarm per floor (think this translates to 1.6 alarms per property).

Alongside the legislative requirement for North Rhine, we have Bavaria (12m residents) with a legislative requirement in similar terms by 31.12.2017. So, 30 million residents (37% of the German population) encompassing 10 million homes...with the 10m homes estimated to require 3/4 alarms per household over the next couple of years.

Therefore, this provides an expectation for double or triple the amount of smoke alarms per property in comparison to that experienced in France.

So, I don't think they are in a weak position although legislative drivers clearly help. I also don't think the legislation in place is going to disappear anytime soon for relatively inexpensive products that save lives.

- - - -
The internet of things obviously offers opportunities, which it is trying to address, but there are others with deep pockets playing here.
- - - -

Can't argue with that!

Sprue have been developing products and software for a couple of years now with sales of connected home products underway in the UK and Germany.

They have however now made first sales & as the 2016 result announcement mentioned, this enables customers to remotely monitor their connected devices from a smartphone, tablet or inter-operate with other products/devices. This extends Sprue's core offering and opens up the potential for them to sell both products AND services which they hope will deliver recurring revenues in the future.

I've mentioned previously on this thread some of the instances where I foresee this developing ...go back to Nov 2014 and post 947 for the section I wrote on "Home Connected Trial" with my initial thoughts.

Extract: -

Sprue's Wi-Safe 2 wireless technology enables two-way communication between alarms and other wireless devices. Potential applications for Wi-Safe 2 are likely to increase due to the requirement to provide solutions to the assisted care segment of the market which is ever increasing. It's far more cost effective providing technology to monitor a persons wellbeing than provide increased provision through home visits. I would also envisage the opportunity where their technology could also act as a barometer in cases where persons suffering from a particular healthcare issue may start to show signs of degeneration or regression e.g. Dementia sufferers could significantly benefit through improved reporting of alarm/sensor activation of a "near miss" incident, such as burning toast leading to an alarm activation & developing trend or regression becoming apparent at an early stage.

Sprue's Wi-Safe 2 technology allows up to 50 alarms to be inter-linked in a single meshed wireless network meaning that, if any alarm in this network is triggered, all other linked alarms will sound. This would therefore provide an earlier & wider warning of a fire. It can also be linked to other compatible devices such as Sprue's strobe & vibrating pads.

I'd imagine that now Sprue have launched "FireAngel Wi-Safe Connect" in Germany & the U.K. we'll learn further about market opportunities/customers as this develops, such as the snippet below highlighting Sprue's recent engagement with Fire & Rescue over assisted living technology for fire safety.



- - - -
The change in distribution appears to have been driven by Newell/BRK rather than by Sprue.
- - - -

I've posted a detailed update on this fairly recently (post 1512).

In summary, I don't believe this to be the case following discussion with the company, but rather a mutual decision. A number of investors have highlighted the fact that Newall terminated rather than Sprue. Again, I have spoken with Sprue at length on this, and they presented to a number of investors during recent weeks, highlighting this as a non-issue. The fact that Sprue announced a partnership with Flex on the same day as the termination RNS should confirm this to be the case, as both Flex and Sprue would have undertaken considerable due diligence prior to signing any agreement.

Remember, after deducting Newall's DA distribution fee, this resulted in NIL gross profit to Sprue in 2016 versus £4.6m gross profit the previous year. In other words, Newall's lack of investment in the BRK brands mean that the DA was no longer profitable to Sprue & had run its course. All IMHO.

- - - -
The change in distribution arrangements is probably positive for the company in the very long term, but in the short to medium term gives rise to various problems. The first is what to do about Newell stock. A provision will no doubt be required, but how large will it be? Stock levels are anyway too high by the company's own admission.
- - - -

Again, having spoken at length with the company, I understand that no provisioning is required. I'd envisage that any of Newall's stock will simply cede to Newall on 31.03.2018. It's not as if Sprue can sell any BFK, First Alert or Dicon products after this date, although I'm sure this will be discussed between both companies amongst many other aspects to ensure an orderly transition.

In my discussion with Sprue, they mentioned that they are comfortable that stock levels will return to historic levels. Again, it should be remembered that the Newall / CICAM move precipitated the significant increase in stock levels & that this further impacted Sprue as French demand dropped off significantly around the same time as they were preparing the buffer stock.

Yes, stock levels are too high, but I'm hopeful that future announcements by the company will confirm that stock levels are returning to normal.

- - - -
Secondly, there are operational risks in bedding in the new manufacturing arrangements.
- - - -

Agreed....but they have announced the move 12 months prior to it occurring. Remember that Flex are the 2nd largest global electronic manufacturer & I'm sure experienced in managing transitions such as this. The Sprue team are very comfortable with the 12 month timescale for the transition of manufacturing and supply & I'm sure both teams will be working productively to ensure its success.

The Flex plant in Tczew, Poland already has the requisite accreditation. It's closer to Sprues end-market and especially their large customer base in Germany. Also, now far easier for Sprue's team to visit than travelling all the way to China.

The agreement with Flex also open up opportunities for Sprue, "to expand its addressable market".

- - - -
Thirdly, what will Newell do about their shareholding? They are the largest shareholder with 23.4% and have just lost their Board representation. Presumably they wish to divest their holding, so there is a massive overhang.
- - - -

This is out of Sprue's hands although I'm sure that its in the interests of both Newall and Sprue to place this with institutional investors (II's).

I have previously spoken with II's concerning Sprue (at company presentations) and know that the size of Newall's holding had previously put some off, while in some other cases II's couldn't gain a material stake in Sprue given the lack of available stock. Funnily enough, I discussed this very subject with Lord John Lee at Mello Derby in 2014.

Anyway, I'm hopeful on an orderly transition of the holding. There simply isn't the liquidity in the stock for them to dump volume into the market, especially a holding of 23%.

- - - -
The dividend is uncovered by earnings (2016 EPS 4.0p, DPS 8.0p). Forecast EPS for 2017 is 9p so the dividend is barely covered and I suspect that you won't see 9p anyway for the reasons set out above.
- - - -

Indeed, it is currently uncovered.

Sprue's executive team took the decision to maintain the dividend in light of the prospects of the company moving forward from 2016 issues.

Personally I took it as a positive & managements confidence in the future. Investors had suffered significantly with the share price drop so I found it reassuring that they felt confidence in maintaining the dividend which suggested that the issues encountered were surmountable and would be relatively short lived.

While its true that the dividend is currently uncovered, Stockdale have indicated that the dividend will rise to 9p this year and 10p in 2018. Against this they have forecast EPS of 9.1p EPS for this year and 12.0p for next. So only just covered in the current year if forecasts prove correct.

With net cash of £14.3m they can certainly afford to maintain the dividend as much of the investment has been made via last years software acquisition alongside the considerable product development they've undertaken in recent years. If stock levels normalise then this should also prove a boost to cashflow & net cash.

I would be absolutely astonished (and disappointed) if they were to cancel the 9p dividend for 2017. The company will have consulted with their brokers before this figure was issued, but again it's different opinions that make a market.

- - - -
You can also question the capitalisation policies for R&D spend and particularly the amortisation periods the company is adopting which look rather long to me.
- - - -

Yes, but in Note 6 of 2016 results they explain the multiple investments made in recent years, although I agree this is open to interpretation & ones own views on capitalisation.

They have been developing the next generation of products & iP over recent years and I'm certain will have taken guidance from auditors on amortilisation timeframe in light of regulatory guidance.

For example, they have only scratched the surface with their SONA trade range that has underwent considerable investment while the NANO had £1.4m spent on its development. Their result announcement indicated they had invested £5.4m in product development during the last 2 years.

Phew! Made it to the end.

Conclusion

Sprue announced during recent presentations that they are rationalising their product range. With the BRK brands returning to Newall it makes sense to ensure that they focus on the well regarded FireAngel brand...it should also assist them with inventory, marketing & of course has the added potential of improving cash management.

The recent result announcement listed their brands as FireAngel, FireAngel Pro, FireAngel Spec, AngelEye and FireAngel Connect.

So, in conclusion I still believe that Sprue's growth ambitions are achievable. They have a fantastic brand in FireAngel & are the market leaders in a number of sectors. I also believe that Stockdales guidance will prove to be conservative & hopeful that Sprue will continue to win a considerable share of the German retrofit & replacement market that is now available to them as their first smoke alarms were sold into Germany in 2006/07.

Hopefully they will also begin to make traction in the U.K.Trade market. I had hoped to see an uplift in their revenues given their investment in SONA last year, especially as its at higher margin to the likes of retail, but 2016 results revealed that revenue was static at £7m...and they've a potential £50m market to aim for in the U.K.

I'm also positive on them delivering new revenue streams from their Home Connected product during the next 12/18 months.

It is important that Sprue have products that cater for the various market segment & pleasingly a number of the current opportunities in the replacement cycle are for higher margin products & this plays into Sprues core strength of product innovation and development of iP for years now.

While there are a number of uncertainties as Leading indicated, Sprue have already dealt with quite a few over recent years & I'm sure will be presented with more in the future.

Investor Chronicle agree (kiss of death ;-) & gave the company a main buy recommendation in the 14th April issue.

IC conclude,

"We think the dark clouds that settled over Sprue in 2016 are already moving on and see plenty of reason for optimism. Discounting cash equivalent to 31p, the shares trade at just 14 times forecast earnings. The dividend is attractive, and while presently not supported by earnings, it is forecast to be 1.7 times covered by 2019 based on an 11p payout. BUY for the recovery and long-term growth prospects."

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
(or so it goes ;-)

After 2016, I certainly hope so in the case of Sprue.

Kind regards,
GHF
Posted at 02/4/2017 21:18 by glasshalfull
SPRP

I've received communication from a few investors concerned in respect of Fridays announcement, and had an opportunity to speak with the company to clarify my initial assumption on Friday morning that this was indeed good news.

Sprue are releasing results on Tuesday and have a meeting scheduled with PI's on Wednesday, so plenty opportunity for investors to question the team and determine future prospects for themselves.

On Friday morning (post 1504) I speculated that this was potentially very good news. My rationale, simply that the termination of the Distribution Agreement (DA) & Supply agreement with Newell (formerly Jarden Corp) was something a few of us hoped the company would consider following Jarden's unsuccessful bid for Sprue in 2013.

If one looks back, an extension to the original DA was announced in March 2014 on improved terms. In 2014 SPRP paid a fee of £4.2m which under the terms of the agreement was to reduce to £2.9m in 2017. Do the ever decreasing fees each year potentially highlight the decreasing value SPRP were obtaining from the deal?

The RNS in 2014 also spoke of the the right for Sprue to source products at $1.62 under a 2-year price fix.

Since this time Jarden/Newall have indirectly caused disruption to SPRP through the relocation of CICAM (2015) which resulted in SPRP building up excess buffer stock. Then came the amended terms a year ago (March 2016) when they initiated product price increases to Sprue. Granted, the $ dollar strengthened, & $1.62 fix was renegotiated with both parties sharing the pain of this $ dollar strength through a rebate mechanism.

The following month came the v disappointing news concerning the battery issue with a 3rd party supplier. I'm unaware where DTL (a Jarden/Newall company) that manufactured all of Sprue's own-branded smoke alarms sits in respect of this issue, but suffice to say that following the hostile bid, increasing manufacturing costs and the battery issue that saw a halving of the shareprice & potential for reputational damage for the company - all issues considered - I'm delighted that Sprue are cutting ties with Jarden/Newall.

As I mentioned on Friday, Newell do not appear to have invested in BRK Brand range, while Sprue have have invested considerably in their fireAngel range; Home Connected technology (Intamac software acquisition); SONA (trade range) & NANO (CO sensor miniaturisation) in the intervening years. It therefore came as no surprise that the supply agreement was to be terminated as I would question the value Sprue would derive from the sale of old products. Was it a diminishing return not worthy of the annual fee? As mentioned above, I believe the distribution fee reduction year on year provides a clue.

Hopefully we will receive an update with Tuesday's results or Wednesday's meeting that provides clarification on whether the demand for these older products was diminishing or perhaps the returns (or lack of?) was not worthy of a fixed fee?

Onto the new agreements. Looks like an excellent partnership with Flex at first glance and the company confirmed a great deal of thought had gone into this partnership. They are very comfortable with the 12 month timescale for the transition of the manufacturing and supply agreement to Flex, & also the additional Far Eastern manufacturer.

Flextronics International have a $9 billion market cap & $25 billion annual revenue. They are the 2nd largest global electronics manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue.

From an initial glance at their blue chip customer base & web site, they appear to be a highly innovative company & excellent partner. Especially important as Sprue upscales into selling internet enabled products in relation to their Connected Home development of next generation products & services



In conclusion, I believe that the change from Newall to Flex is in the best interests of the company. I'd envisage that both Flex and Sprue have conducted considerable due diligence in the eventuality that Sprue and Newall were unable to agree an acceptable deal for both parties moving forward.

The fact that both Newall's termination (providing required 12 months notice) & Sprue's announcement of a deal with a global giant ( & also a Far East supply deal) occurred in the SAME RNS should mitigate fears. One might conclude - as announcement of termination & new agreements occurred at the same time - that this RNS was something of a formality & I'd imagine that both Sprue and Newall knew their partnership was coming to an end long before.

House broker Stockdale also released a brief update to confirm they viewed the news positively on the basis that it ended Sprue's obligation to pay the annual distribution fee of £2.9m & opened up more sales opportunities for the company. They retained their 250p target price.

Hopefully, Sprue's management team will be in a position to add further clarity surrounding the transition and opportunities via the result announcement & investor meetings in the coming week.

Kind regards,
GHF
Posted at 31/3/2017 08:37 by james188
The company needs to provide investors with a much more detailed analysis of the operational and financial impact of these steps, both during the transitional period (which could be tricky) and afterwards. The investor presentation next week should be interesting. Standing room only.

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