Education Development Share Discussion Threads

[stegrego] 12/7/2010 22:06

How low is this going to go?

Got to look attractive at some point, if not already.

I guess fear of the unknown (ie government cuts) is the issue.

[bookworm1] 25/6/2010 09:28

Essential I mentioned Health and beauty as an example of a sector that EDI is NOT involved in. The accrediting organisation in that sector is called Habia and is a not for profit organisation although they are still stuggling to get government approval for their diplomas.

They are citing a recent baker Tilly report which indicated that Sector Skills Councils show a return of 100m and 130m from government spending of only 5m. Which stressed the benefit and value of vocational training to the economy. However the point that I was making is that there seems to be over provision in this sector and many do not go on to work in the industry.

This contrasts with EDI's position and qualifications.

[dnfa1975] 23/6/2010 12:11

03/06/2010 17:15 UKREG Holding(s) in Company
27/05/2010 09:16 UKREG Holding(s) in Company

These two announcements are interesting - who sold and to whom on what date

[dnfa1975] 22/6/2010 22:01

Education spending in England could be cut by as much as 25% over the next four years, the Chancellor has said.

[essentialinvestor] 27/5/2010 09:32

My understanding was that The Beauty Industry already had numerous qualifications
and courses, perhaps I am wrong.

On EDI, I maintain a cautious stance as previously posted in April.

Jim selling has just reconfirmed this view.

[m.t.glass] 27/5/2010 09:23

Education Development International plc (the "Company") was notified on 26 May
2010 that, following a disposal of shares in the Company, Mr J D Slater and
Family no longer have a notifiable interest in the Company.

[courant] 26/5/2010 00:21

I'm watching these with interest. My feeling is that the fall has been overdone, because there look to be stable long-term growth prospects. And did anyone else see Vince Cable on Newsnight on Monday, claiming something like 25% growth in apprentice places next year, and this being a key government focus, despite all the cuts? However, clearly they are threats - for me, these aren't cheap enough to be a firm buy yet. Maybe I'll miss an opportunity to get in at a good price, but there are risks and uncertainties, and these need s valuation buffer.

[thebigsheep2] 25/5/2010 21:22

Jon, Quite right. Good international exposure. Management that have shown they value shareholders through the share buy back.Quality will always win through, we just need patience through difficult times.

[jon l] 25/5/2010 12:41

Half-year report now out. IMO they have done well to maintain revenue and margins more or less constant after the stellar rise the year before, meanwhile investing in their processes. But what next? The share price is not in freefall but is drifting steadily down for lack of buyers. Who will buy until the new government shows its hand? In normal times this quality operation would do well, but these are not normal times.

[m.t.glass] 25/5/2010 09:27

IG Index not allowing online bets on EDD at the moment.. telephoned deals only.

[rockraven] 24/5/2010 14:36

Share price down 32.5% since the start of the year and still sliding.
That means a 48% rise is needed to get back to where it ended 2009.

Despite what directors might have said about the company's ability to survive the imminent government expenditure cuts, the market is surely going to think negatively. So far the new govt has announced only a few cuts in a few areas, but it sounds like ther will be huge cuts to follow.

[essentialinvestor] 19/5/2010 22:47

Turnning into a nasty de-rating now.

Will be interesting to see if Directors buy this dip after results.

The Market will want to see the Outlook atatement with the November
Full Year results imv.

[strollingmolby] 19/5/2010 09:37

I see MLO has been the subject of a bid by Pearson, at a premium of ~35-40% on the share price before the bid was announced.

[essentialinvestor] 13/5/2010 13:16

Its some uncertainity re future funding imv.

I posted here a few weeks back and not suprised to see the drift in the share price

This may be misplaced and EDI may continue to prosper.

However, the Market may want to see the Full year results later this year,
before this is re-rated.

And MLO still looks cheaper.

Interesting to see if Directors will buy on this dip following results.

[stegrego] 13/5/2010 13:04

I wouldnt bet on anything being wrong.

[jon l] 13/5/2010 11:43

Something going wrong here if we are to believe the chart. But no news anywhere to explain it. Yet. After its great run of the past couple of years the price has now dropped through a clear support at about 125 to complete a classic head-and-shoulders. It completed an earlier head-and shoulders in February at about 135 but I was not trigger-happy enough to sell then. Results later this month. I have sold with huge regret, and not knowing what is wrong, having enjoyed the ride until recently.

[bookworm1] 03/5/2010 11:16

"Government funding of Apprenticeship and adult training programmes has been tightly managed over the past six months but we expect to see an increase in the level of activity from 1 April when new funding contracts come into effect."

Interim Results due 25th May 10.

[essentialinvestor] 01/4/2010 14:28

Thanks for the reply, and good luck with your holding.

[bookworm1] 01/4/2010 13:23

Essential your welcome. I think we all share the same concerns that you have which is why I went to the AGM on the 21st Jan. I really do encourage other shareholders to go cos it is agreat opportunity to meet the team and you get a good feel for how the company is progressing in so many different ways.

As there were just two shareholders present we were able to grill the board for information.

I specifically asked about the imminent public sector cuts and got a very long answer from Nigel which to sum up suggested that they felt they were well placed to survive it better than most. Take a look at slide 17 (I think) of their presentation which shows the pyramid and I think you will get an idea why. They dont get the full force of cut backs.

You also have to consider which sectors they are addressing. For example the do not do hairdresing diploma training and that has been cut back quite significantly recently. But that sector is training 100,000 people for an industry an only has 37,000 vacancies.

Not all of the training that EDI do is Public sector either quite a lot is private sector and then there is the overseas section. I can see a strategy that runs through everything that they are doing and it makes a lot of sense.

As far as the volums and margins are concerned this is a very profit leveraged company. So the forecasts IMO have significant padding already built in to allow for any shortfall.

There may be some ups and downs as we go through the election but the long term outlook for EDI is still IMO looking good.

[essentialinvestor] 01/4/2010 12:27

Apologies in that case, always admit if I am in the wrong.

I thought the TS update was solid.

However, I stand by my view that there may be weakness in the run
up to the GE.

There are huge Public sector cuts to come, whatever the outcome of
the Election.

I would have thought "Training Budgets" would be generally ok.

However, there may be tighter management of these budgets,
so some impact cannot be ruled out.


This may impact on volume or margins, or possibly both.


All imv view as always and I would like to hear an alternative view.

[bookworm1] 01/4/2010 12:12

Essential I posted my comment the same week as the IC article. JS sold about 1m 11th Jan 2010. But in the words of the CEO "JS remains a long term shareholder and supporter of EDI". If you check you will see that he and his family still retains a substantial holding. The IC article was reviewing his tips which were made in the previous article March 2009.

[essentialinvestor] 01/4/2010 12:06

I meant Jim, not Mark as per the IC article.

[strollingmolby] 01/4/2010 12:04

EDD was still the largest holding in the Slater Recovery Fund at the end of February, whilst in the end-Feb Slater Pension Fund factsheet, Mark Slater had this to say:

"RSM Tenon and Education Development fell 7% and 5% respectively. Both shares look attractive at these levels."

[essentialinvestor] 01/4/2010 11:57

The share price may come under pressure in the run up to the GE imv,
weather justified or not.

Also Slater has sold from memory, the IC article in post 728
is well out of date.