Blue Star Mobile Share Discussion Threads

[philjeans] 12/10/2007 14:44

Just topped up with another 35k - excellent value whilst they're still on the floor.

[rivaldo] 12/10/2007 14:30

Nice one! Thx Tole. BTR has advanced nicely, but the pace of progress has been slower than I'd have liked. As this article makes clear once BTR gets going there's big potential. Hopefully these results will show at worst continued progress in the core buisiness, though it'll be interesting to see if the World Cup effect makes a difference. If BTR even show similar results to last year's H1 then that might be considered an excellent result.

Here's the article:

"Blue Star Mobile has existed for less than three years but it is already a
profitable mobile phone content and services business with potential to grow in
the UK as well as in the US and China. It has good prospects either as an independent business or as a potential target for a larger marketing services company.

Blue Star Mobile provides mobile content and marketing services to publishers
and brands. Customers include 20th Century Fox, where Blue Star produces
campaigns for new film releases, SKY, British Airways and Bacardi. Blue Star can design and deliver mobile promotions for customers. Revenues come from developing the service plus ongoing maintenance revenues. It can also manage mobile content businesses for clients. It developed The Sun's mobile portal offering downloads, competitions and promotions and it shares revenues
with the newspaper.

Blue Star has a sport sponsorship business focused on mobile brands whose customers include T-Mobile. This did particularly well during the World Cup in 2006. The sport sponsorship side of the business has been involved in contract negotiations between David Beckham and Motorola and created content and campaigns involving the footballer.

Blue Star Mobile swung from a loss of £65,000 to a profit of £101,000 in the year to March 2007 as its turnover moved ahead from £3.06m to £4.43m. The first half of the financial year benefited from the 2006 football World Cup. Most of the annual growth came from the mobile branding and promotions operations and that should continue this year. Demand for services should
grow as the capabilities of handsets increases. Blue Star is also becoming involved in producing mobile applications that train people to use handsets.

Management believes music is a potential promotional product that can be used by mobile and the company has developed a mobile radio service for Bacardi. Acquiring rights from record companies isn't economic so Blue Star has commissioned 10 music tracks that are offered to buyers of certain Motorola phones. The costs of this have been capitalised. No other development
costs are capitalised.

International sales account for more than one-quarter of turnover and Blue Star is expanding overseas. A US subsidiary has
started trading in Chicago. The company is also setting up a business in China, which will be run by a Chinese person who has worked for Blue Star in the UK. Blue Star is well aware of the problems encountered by the likes of MonsterMob so it is being cautious about its Chinese expansion.

Chief executive Steve Clarke believes that mobile promotions are something that
the big agencies do not do well. There is a shortage of talent in the area as well, which means that a larger marketing group looking to boost its expertise could consider a bid for Blue Star.

The liquidity of the shares isn't great as there can sometimes be days between trades. There are days though, when there are a number of trades and the bid/offer spread is currently 9p - 10.5p.

The shares are trading on 46 times last year's earnings - that rating should fall rapidly though. House broker Seymour Pierce forecasts a profit of £210,000 on revenues of £5.1m in the year to March 2008. That reduces the prospective multiple to just below 20. The shares have drifted lower in
the past six months but there has been no bad news. The potential rate of profit growth over the next few years makes the shares attractive in our opinion. Consider as a speculative buy."

[tole] 12/10/2007 12:39

Hi Rivaldo - mail your way.
Noticed thsi one was tipped in Sept issue of Hargreaves - AIM Insight.

[rivaldo] 12/10/2007 12:23

What a busy thread this is :o))

The 30 September period end is now gone, and I notice some nosy buying coming through for no apparent reason - 117.500 shares traded in 6 transactions over the last 4 days, all buys. The price has edged up accordingly.

Given the usual lack of activity here this counts as a frenzy of interest for BTR followers. And with results coming up it's interesting to see.

[rivaldo] 15/7/2007 09:35

BTR must be busily working away on promotion for the Simpsons movie at present as it's just about to open...



"The company, which yesterday reported a swing into profit for the first half, after its turnover nearly doubled, has created mobile phone content for both Eragon, the dragon fantasy film starring Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich to be released for Christmas, and Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Both films were produced by 20th Century Fox, one of London-based Blue Star's key clients. Next year Blue Star will produce content for the film version of cult cartoon The Simpsons and, should it actually make it to the big screen, the film adaptation of 1980s TV serial Dallas."

[rivaldo] 09/7/2007 22:27

Interesting stuff here from June - BTR must be busy with all this. The picture of Beckham alongside the article is the very same one as on the BTR web site as part of their campaign...this is in Canada:



And more in Korea - note it's the same picture:



Beckham will also be appearing in Motorola commercials in the USA this month per this from 3 days ago:

[rivaldo] 05/7/2007 18:59

An article in today's Times to make BTR holders rather happy - so which company manages the global agreement between Motorola and David Beckham and has the mobile marketing expertise needed here then I wonder....



"An advertising campaign featuring the former England captain begins on ESPN, the American sports channel, next week. He is also believed to be in talks with a US car manufacturer and a financial services firm about new sponsorship deals. Motorola, one of his global corporate backers alongside adidas, Pepsi and Coty, the fragrance manufacturer, is set to bring out a David Beckham handset."

[philjeans] 11/6/2007 16:03

OK but they need to learn to look forward, not back.

[tole] 11/6/2007 15:54

Pennysleuth write up earlier....

Beckham and Blue Stars
Monday, 11th June 2007


I don't know whether you're interested in football or not. I'm not a massive fan, but who could fail to have noticed Beckham's fabulous performance this week against in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia.

Beckham was instrumental in setting up Crouch and Owen for their second half strikes that saw England take a 3-0 lead.

A little story caught my eye this week, which also has links to Beckham – Blue Star Mobile has won the contract to manage Motorola's global agreement with David Beckham. After his performance this week the value of this agreement must have soared!

Blue Star Mobile also saw a 73% profit increase this which delivers mobile marketing solutions for large blue chip organisations. The company creates compelling propositions and delivers a complete end-to-end technical solution. Clients include: Motorola, News Group Newspapers, Sky, Bacardi and Zenith.

Blue Star Sport Ltd specialises in providing sports marketing services to mobile
brands. Its role is to negotiate, manage and activate sponsorship contracts in
both the UK and overseas for its clients. Blue Star Sport's main clients are
T-Mobile UK, acting as their exclusive football sponsorship agency and Motorola
Inc.

Blue Star Mobile Inc is the North American subsidiary set up to develop mobile
marketing and promotional activity in the US market. Its initial customers are
Motorola and 20th Century Fox.

Blue Star says: "The mobile phone is the device that nobody leaves at home and it is becoming increasingly important for brands to have a mobile strategy. Blue Star believes that the mobile content and mobile solutions industry is however extremely confusing to both consumers and corporates.

"The majority of consumers do not know how to download content or activate WAP settings. Corporates do not have the capability or resources to handle content rights, handset compatibility, content formatting and the ability to develop innovative marketing solutions using mobile. With its knowledge of the industry and its creative talents, Blue Star addresses these issues and delivers solutions to its customers."

So the contract deal looks good, but the main question is of valuation. Fully diluted earnings per share in the year to 31 March 2007 came in at 0.21p. With the shares at 14.25p, this means the stock is currently trading on a pretty hefty historic price earnings multiple of 68 times.

There is still much to prove.

[still waiting] 11/6/2007 08:19

NPT looking good as well.

[philjeans] 11/6/2007 08:18

Showing minor signs of life; will jump on a tip.

[still waiting] 11/6/2007 08:14

One mm just moved up, we may get a small rise in the share price today!!

[still waiting] 10/6/2007 20:49

Barcadi Global Brands are one of the speakers here at the end of the month:-



BTR input should be a bit clearer then.


Future Focus Panel

4.20 Take Advantage Of The Next Digital Era: How Will New Technological Developments And Consumer Buying Trends Affect Your Marketing Strategy?
• Where should you be investing? What new opportunities could mobile and 3G offer your brand? Learn how to predict the trends that will stick and those that won't
• Do consumers view SMS and MMS contact from brands as intrusive? Should you be using WAP as a pull medium?
• Specialism versus integration: How are agencies adapting and how does your relationship with them need to change?
• With customers increasingly wise to opt-out options, how will new legislation affect how you can maintain contact with your consumer database?
• What can we learn from the explosion of video downloaded content and rich media: Does it offer new opportunities for your marketing?

Tom Laidlaw, New Media Director, GCap Media Plc
Ian James, Head of Digital, Bacardi Global Brands Ltd
Guy Phillipson, Chief Executive, Internet Advertising Bureau
Ros Lawler, Digital Marketing and Publicity Manager, Random House

[rivaldo] 10/6/2007 20:36

Philjeans, you are a star! I can't believe it - BTR's appointment as the GLOBAL mobile marketing agency completely slipped me by!

I love the way they slipped that in as a one-liner under "Operational highlights"....

Sheesh. As you say, that should be absolutely massive and is a major coup.

Deffo to keep. And maybe add if for some strange reason it should dip.

[philjeans] 08/6/2007 15:46

Beckham is big; almost a global brand - but BACARDI is MASSIVE!

The Bacardi group is truly worldwide, owning such huge iconic brands like Bacardi Rum, Jack Daniels; Martini; Grey Goose; Southern Comfort; Finlandia Vodka; Bombay Sapphire; Asti; Bacardi Breezer ETC ETC.

I would imagine there will be an ad campaign, competition or PR job going on somewhere in the world for Bacardi every second, and so to get the mobile communication contract for that business alone could be worth millions if they get it right.

Absolutely vast potential with this one; tiny at present; slow starter but picking up speed now very rapidly.

One to keep.

[rivaldo] 08/6/2007 15:32

Thx Tole - just got that myself! I like the use of the phrase "propel the company's growth"....and there'll be a huge David Beckham marketing campaign in the USA this year.

[tole] 08/6/2007 14:53

Afternoon all - Dont hold - but thought i'd post the summary I spotted in reference to BTR



Blue Star Mobile "buy"

Friday, June 08, 2007 5:27:39 AM ET
Seymour Pierce

LONDON, June 8 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Seymour Pierce maintain their "buy" rating on Blue Star Mobile (ticker: BTR).

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company has reported its final results essentially in-line with the estimates. Blue Star now manages the global agreement between Motorola and David Beckham, as well as the mobile marketing campaigns for 20th Century Fox and Bacardi, the analysts say. "Brand & Product Marketing" is likely to propel the company's growth and is currently being expanded overseas, Seymour Pierce adds.

[greek islander] 08/6/2007 12:40

lick lick

How do you know I wasn't here first and Rivaldo followed me here?

[mo123] 08/6/2007 12:14

It's just a reiteration.

2008 numbers are

Revenue £5.1M
Pre-tax £0.2M
EPS 0.5p

[rivaldo] 08/6/2007 11:34

:o)) JMB, logically then you must be following me and GI round too!

A bit unkind though JMB. I've asked GI in the past to stop it, but it seems his enthusiasm gets the better of him. Rather enthusiasm though than cynicism and put-downs. I can't remember seeing you before - what are your thoughts on BTR then? Do you have details of the new Seymour Pierce buy note?

[jm barrie100] 08/6/2007 11:23

Where ever Rivaldo goes, Greek Islander is sure to follow.

A question - is Greek Islander Rivaldo's pet Labrador, a Lab that can type?

I ask because GI seems to live for 'bones' (share tips) from his master (Rivaldo), which immediately causes GI to jump up and down, wave his tail, phone up his broker and then write another brown-nosing post on ADVFN.

[rivaldo] 08/6/2007 11:09

Ta mo123. Do you have any details - PBT and EPS forecasts, target prices etc if you don't mind me asking?

Interesting to note that BTR made £215k adjusted PBT, whereas Seymour Pierce's PBT estimate for NEXT year was only £200k...question is, are their forecasts adjusted or basic PBT?

[mo123] 08/6/2007 10:12

I see share price has issued another buy note today which may generate some interest.

[rivaldo] 08/6/2007 09:49

Hi GI, and thanks. I'm not sure BTR is suitable for "advertising"! It'll only take a little bit of press attention to get it noticed, and with such a small free float things should move quickly.

GHF's scenario of takeover interest seems the most likely outcome to me, and it might happen sooner than we think following these results. But in the meantime I'm happy for AIM taper relief to accrue and the price to gently rise.