Amberley Grp. Share Discussion Threads

[azalea] 26/6/2002 20:51

No wonder AMB is holding firm in a sea of red, with the news that J O Hambro upped its stake on Monday - buying 150,000, taking its stake to 18.2%. Old Mutual forecasts a return to profit by 2003 with a mouth watering div of 9%. With disposals nearing an end, the situation looks bright; I'm holding tight.

[azalea] 30/5/2002 19:48

J O Hambro Capital Management upped its stake again - buying 100,000 yesterday, now holds 17.01% There was an additional buy of 50,000. I think that most ordinary punters (like mysef) are sitting on their hands waiting to see the deal unfold. Nevertheless, its good to see that J O H believes there is much to go for above the current price.

[hv] 29/5/2002 19:49

Have the management resigned then?

[fhmktg] 29/5/2002 19:01

Sorry for tardy reply.
Hemscot has July 5th in for results, could be we will get some indication then. Presumably they are in purdah right now.
Useful indicator will be some large movement in shares as we go into June,as any rumours leak out!
Watch the trades

[farmsted] 20/5/2002 09:26

I am surprised that your request for views on cash value on the 17 April didn't raise a reply. Anybody know when the reporting date will be now that they have changed the year end to 30 April.

[fhmktg] 17/4/2002 18:21

Lets hope the board aren't wanting to be too adventurous with our cash!
Gyllenhammer may keep their noses to the grindstone of paying the cash back to shareholders.
Any views on what the disposals all add up to in cash per share?
Maybe the plc label might be worth something, but I would like the option to have my cash back!

[azalea] 15/4/2002 22:40

Fair comment Punk Panther.

Nevertheless, apart from the fact that the seller could find a buyer and at a good price too (26p), the very significant build up by Oryx & Hambro from an original notifiable stake of just over 3%, to most recently 14.56% over a period of what - less that 9/12 months(even less), cannot be ignored. Unless they are making a big mistake - their investment is significant; there has to be something worthwhile at the end of it. The mid price has settled at 25p. I am very tempted to buy more.

[the punk panther] 14/4/2002 20:14

A friend of mine (Sorry - I know it's a friend and I can't substantiate his full workings of this), but he calculated the minimum the NAV to be 28p. However he feels that the board have other ideas for this cash shell. He certainly feels that they may be a return to shareholders, but there could be more in store as he (like me) is holding a reasonable amount I feel inclined to go along him.

One other comment if there is a 2.6m buy then someone has sold those shares and was not so confident. Just a thought...

As always DYOR

PP (Hold/Weak buy)

[azalea] 14/4/2002 17:10

Since my last posting, J O Hambro and Orys International have inceased their stake to 14.56%. This makes me more confident than ever about the outcome. DYOR

[azalea] 03/4/2002 20:49

I agree that it would be unwise to put one's faith in just a NAV. IMHO, what is perhaps more relevent is the 2.6m buy @ 26p worth £676,000; which I suspect is a purchase by a Fund Manager/Institution/Entrepreneur. Whoever it might be, it suggests to me that even if they are looking for a quick 10% profit, we are looking at a near term price of 30p. There is so much unknown to the average punter such as myself: however, that kind of money has to be very well informed. My conclusion is that events are coming to a head and whatever is decided (by the big stake holders) will be profitable to all shareholders.

[pfmaguire] 02/4/2002 20:14

Does any one know the present nav of this co ? It appears to have sold all its subsidiaries and now is stuffed with proceeds however how much will be left for shareholders after directors have paid themseves a juicy amount ? ACCORDING TO THIS BULLETINE BOARD NAV WAS 0.41P however this figure appears to be well out of date and I believe far too optimistic .It is encouraging however to see the large buy today they must know something and surely would not have bought at this level unless there was some good news. I will be watching carefully.

[azalea] 02/4/2002 19:54

A whopping 2.6m 'buy' @ 26p (up 1p) today. Still not too late to get on board IMHO. DYOR.

[azalea] 29/3/2002 07:51

Citywire reported 28/3, that Oryx Int Grth Fd along with J O Hambro have upped their stake from 3.4% to a very significant 8.1%. It also said that Gyllenhammer is likely to have his eye on the discrepancy between the current price of 24.75p (up 1p) and the last disclosed net assets of 41p. In AMB most recent statement it reiterated the plan to return cash to shareholders. The end of the disposal programme is in sight with lots of goodies in the bag; namely returning to profits next year, a cleaned up company and a cash hand back to shareholders. There are some significant stake holders in here both by reputation and size of holdings. The latest large buy convinces me that there is some way to go in the price.

[azalea] 19/3/2002 19:52

Ticking up on news of the disposal of the colourants operations of its subsidiary Metacol.

[obarmoth] 15/3/2002 00:59

OK then, what's going on here?

[fhmktg] 07/2/2002 15:50

Time for some announcements; my fingers are getting tired, keeping them crossed all the time!
anybody any hints on when we might hear of the final sales and dishing out of cash?
Finals not due until July- hope we don't have to wait until then

[jhan66] 29/1/2002 17:04

European colour up 25% in 2 days!

I know, I know, - get your own thread!

[fhmktg] 29/1/2002 00:47

The Metacol business is in a difficult sector, but is well managed and has good technology with prospects once the market turns. Serves the food packaging industry which should be of interest as a cash cow at least.
One for the bargain spotters - perhaps even for EUC to sit alongside their TOR coatings business?
I watch with interest!

[jacko 1972] 27/1/2002 10:42

Should have said, the 27p-30p is my best guess at tangible net assets after disposals, dividend and share buy back. I think it's probably nearer to 27p than 30p and depends on them getting paid all the the money they've been promised from the disposal of Lawrence and Bousfield.

Bousfield was sold at a discount to book value but Lawrence was sold at a premium. The two pretty much cancel each other out.

Of the two remaining businesses I think one is profitable and the other is not. I can't see any great value in the shares at this price. If they sell off the other two divisions for a good price then maybe but I think there's better value elsewhere at the moment.

[jacko 1972] 27/1/2002 00:04

I think Amberley's NAV is nearer to 27-30p if they get all the cash in from recent disposals. I think the current price is about right. There's better value elsewhere in my opinion

[jhan66] 26/1/2002 22:04

Incidentally, Amberley figure above suggests 30p net asset value. These are without intangibles, but I'm sure their intangible figures need reducing. I'm nearly certain they were selling assets at a discount to book value.

[jhan66] 26/1/2002 22:01

Starting to investigate Amberley again. (Actually investigating European Colour, but I like to study same sector pairings).

AMB: 22.5p, £13.4M, last quoted net assets £19M, last net current £3.85M
EUC: 16.5p, £7.66M, last quoted net assets £8.7M, last net current £4.5M

I'm slightly biased, but I think EUC is the more likely medium term growth prospect. I know it's just issued another gentle profit warning, but they haven't been selling their best cash cow divisions unlike Amberley. They had a £16K director buy late last year (none at Amberley for 12 months). EUC certainly has much higher gearing, but US recession allowing, they seem more intent on the future.

I need to do plenty more digging but would welcome any opinion on the comparison.

[azalea] 26/1/2002 11:47

Hi PFMAGUIRE
I agree one should not form an opinion on a company's prospects based on its NAV alone. For that very reason, on the 6/1 I gave a number of significant reasons why I think that AMB is a company to look at. At the end of the day we must make our own decisions and take responsibility for them. Sorry to read of your experience with Clubhaus. I suspect most if not all of us have our investment scars!

[pfmaguire] 09/1/2002 23:08

Azalea, I am holding firm but have a stop loss. You quote a net asset value of 40p and I note that Hi Jhan66 , quotes 41p from Investors Chronicle for Amb however how accurate and up to date are these figures ? I have been badly burnt by a share called Clubhaus which I bought about 9 months ago .At the time
of purchase the net asset value of the share as reported in the Investors Chronicle was stated as 80p so I bought at 42p and thought I was onto a certainty
The present share price is £0.0275p yes 0.0275p !and needless to say there are alot of shareholders demanding explanations from management as they are writing down the assets at ever decreasing amountsand debt has increased at unbelievable proportions . So be wary of forming oppinions aloneon nav once bitten twice shy .

[azalea] 07/1/2002 20:01

Hi jhan66

In the 5/11/01 issue of the Inv Chronicle - AMB anual report, the NAV was given as 41p, with debt of 27%. With further sell offs of loss makers since then and debt at zero with a good div continuing to be paid along with the share buy back, I think they are worth looking at again. Claesoon bought his stake mid last year spending over £900,000?