Hill Station Share Discussion Threads

[mrwoo] 10/7/2007 13:47

Might prove even more interesting that the huge redemption premium on last year's loan stock has somehow been negotiated away - and that the loan stock interest rate has also been cut from 15 to 10%.

[giardap] 10/7/2007 13:27

Interesting purchase announced today

[mrphil] 09/7/2007 08:56

They do seem to muck about with the prices on this one, but it's encouraging to see a bit of upward momentum over the past week or so. Maybe they managed to take advantage of the couple of days of sunshine!

[hupgomwat] 05/7/2007 18:28

Maybe it's just because the ice-cream is gorgeous whatever the weather!! Bought one at the theatre last night, cost the same as 150 shares!!

[giardap] 05/7/2007 17:14

Some movement up today - anyone got any ideas? Its not the hot summer anyway!

[cerrito] 08/6/2007 19:09

we do not know if the new management is poor..the issues of last year were under the regime of Hall and Totte..at least Mapstone has put his money where his mouth is..he may well be exaggarating the problems but I can understand that customers were skittish last year with the financial problems. In the AGM he did mention that this was a consolidating industry and the need to get critical mass so am not surprised by the acquisition talk.
Interstingly one of the reasons that the New Zealand central Bank raised its interest rates yesterday was because of the bouyancy in the NZ economy caused by inter alia high diary prices.
Not buying not selling

[jonc] 06/6/2007 20:10

Yeah but why gamble on poor management??

[ponty] 06/6/2007 18:16

This is going to be a long haul,they might get there in the end with luck

[jonc] 06/6/2007 17:24

LOL. They want to buy yet another compnay.

Sales at negative margins have been identified!!!!!

Do they have any management????

[cyberpost] 06/6/2007 17:23

Date : 06/06/2007 @ 17:21
Source : UK Regulatory (RNS and others)
Stock : Hill Station Plc (HLL)


Hill Station Trading and Financing Update


Hill Station plc (the "Company") Trading and financing update

The Board of Hill Station announces that it is in discussions with its key
shareholders with a view to a fundraising to provide additional working capital
for the existing group and also to provide acquisition funding.

Since the fundraising in November 2006 and the appointment of new management at
the end of January 2007, a number of new factors have arisen requiring
additional working capital in the business. In the first quarter of 2007, raw
material prices increased significantly in particular milk products which are
clearly key components in ice cream manufacture. Furthermore, publicity
associated with funding problems in the second half of 2006 gave rise to
important customer losses and, in addition, low/negative margin sales have been
identified and eliminated and the number of product lines reduced, creating
additional working capital needs.

As well as increasing efficiency in the existing business, the Board's strategy
is to increase throughput and contribution to fixed costs at its Cwmbran
production facility. To this end a possible acquisition has been identified and
negotiations are in train with a view to the business being purchased. Funding
for this acquisition is also being discussed, but has not yet been agreed, with
the Company's key shareholders.

Pending the outcome of funding discussions and knowing whether the acquisition
will be completed or not the Company is managing its trade relationships
carefully. The Board is optimistic that discussions will lead to a successful
outcome.
Further announcements will be made as and when these matters are resolved.
Enquiries:Hill Station plc
Bill Mapstone
Chairman
01633 833 000END

[cerrito] 28/5/2007 18:32

Morrisons...they won a prize -details of which are in the Grocer's magazine- for the best ice cream like own brand product
but the question was not asked for whom else they are working

[giardap] 25/5/2007 22:19

Do we know what own labels HS produce ? I do my bit buying Hill Station at my local Tesco - though product seems to stay on shelf awhile, it could do with a bit of promotion, 2 for 1, tesco vouchers etc..

[ponty] 25/5/2007 09:35

Thanks Cerrito,it looks like a long way to go before we are making a profit

[cerrito] 25/5/2007 08:15

I was at the AGM, which was good with well informed shareholders.
Cash Position
Described as tight but viable. The £600K tranche of the £900k financing package has not been drawn down yet as it is to but used only for capex and they have no immediate needs for Capex or to be more precise were told that plant is adequate for current budget requirements..
No questions asked about discussions with banks and Loan Stock Holders referred to in the 30.4.07 Chairman's statement.
They have no further obligations with the plants that have been vacated/closed in Cheadle, Tattenhall and Wiltshire.
There is a provision that they could get a cut of any planning gain with a nursing home that may or may not be built on the site, but that if it materializes is some way off.
They are investigating possibility of claiming under the warranties they were given from the vendors of the plant ref efficacy of the machinery but that is all some way off.
On going Operations
The big thing is the increase in raw material costs which he described as a trend rather than something cyclical. And the battle to get his costs passed on to his customers in a tight competitive market.

Happy with his labour force and was doing work on strengthening middle management.
They are in the consolidation phase and then will need to move on to the growth phase
Work has to be done on developing brands and the market place; made a comment that they need to be 20% bigger to gain critical mass; that they would address this by growing organically and perhaps via acquisition given that the industry is consolidating. Whole market of organic ice cream, Fair Trade has to be addressed.

Sales are 7% Hill Station 46% Loseley and 46% Granelli; decisions have to be made as to which brands to build up. They will be hoping to increase sales into Catering market but given long lead times that will not be overnight.
Assessment
It was all pretty downbeat. This no doubt partially reflects the reality and the fact that Mapstone has kitchen sinked a good deal. Mapstone came across well. Will be a long haul. In the meantime we will have the interims presumably by the end of July at the latest.

[ponty] 01/5/2007 09:36

Hill Station and Losely Ice Cream are sold in Theatres all year round

[emergin] 01/5/2007 09:19

Mr. Mapstone has made his Preliminary results report for a period of time for which in the main he was not responsible, his package of funds were only made available over this last few months, he must now be given the time to complete the turn round of the Company into profits. The Preliminary results full text can be found at shareclubuk.co.uk.

[cerrito] 30/4/2007 19:20

Does seem to have a curse on it and not buying more certainly until the AGM
Interested in use of the term dairy powder which appears to be an internationally traded commodity..did not think that the original Hill Station used powder.
also the original Hill Staion said they were so upmarket that their sales were not seasonal but I guess Granelli's are seasonal.

[jonc] 30/4/2007 19:14

How long can this splutter on for.

For the knackers yard IMO.

[ponty] 30/4/2007 19:12

Here they are,still a long way to go



Preliminary Results

Hill Station plc, the manufacturer of Hill Station, Loseley, Granelli and
private-label ice creams, has today released consolidated financial results for
the 12 months to 28 October 2006. This is the first full year results for the
enlarged group and covers a period of major change and intergration which was
finalised on 31 December 2006.

The highlights of the results are as follows:

Financial Results - 12 months ended 28 October 2006

* Turnover of £13.8 million

* Gross profit of £1.45 million

* Post-tax loss of £5.1 million

Operational Highlights for the year were as follows

* Closure of the Tattenhall and Calne factories as planned

* Closure of the Cheadle factory in December 2006

* Installation of a new Gram choc ice / stick line at the Cwmbran factory

* Resolution of a significant waste and effluent treatment problems

Annual General Meeting

* The Company's Annual General Meeting of shareholders will be held at 2.00pm
on 24 May 2007 at the offices of Joelson Wilson & Co, 30 Portland Place,
London W1B 1LZ.

Commenting on the financial results, Bill Mapstone, Chairman of Hill Station
plc, said:

"Hill Station plc is quite capable of producing the returns that were envisaged
when the acquisitions took place in November 2005. The integration stalled
badly during the period under review for reasons that are well documented, but
now production is in one location it is our task to bring efficiency to the
production processes, weed out unprofitable business, increase sales and build
on the valuable brands we have."

Notes to Editors:

* Hill Station's strategy is to position itself as an efficient manufacturer
of a broad range of ice cream products capable of responding to
private-label customer demand across the product quality and price spectrum
as well as in branded sales.

* The Hill Station Group manufactures and markets super-premium ice cream
under the Hill Station brand, premium ice cream under the Loseley,
Yorkshire Dales, Thayers and Louis Granelli brands, and standard ice cream
under the Granelli's and More from Granelli brands, as well as a broad
range of ice cream products under supermarket and other customer brands.

CHAIRMANS STATEMENT

This is my first report as Executive Chairman of Hill Station plc having taken
up the position on 31 January 2007.

The report covers the 52 weeks to 28 October 2006, a period of significant
change for the Group, commencing with the acquisitions of Loseley Dairy Ice
Cream Ltd ("Loseley") and Granelli McDermott Ltd ("Granelli") in November 2005,
and ending with an urgent need for additional funding as the integration of the
Granelli business into the Loseley facility in Cwmbran faltered and trading
losses accelerated. Not as successful a period as had been anticipated at the
outset.

Financial Result and Operational Review

The financial results for the 52 weeks to 28 October 2006 reflect the severe,
unforeseen operational difficulties incurred during the second half of the year
as the process of integrating production into Cwmbran could not be completed as
originally planned and the facility itself proved to be less than capable of
efficient manufacturing.

Financial Highlights:

* Turnover £13.8 million

* Gross Profit £1.45 million

* Selling and Distribution costs £2.4 million

* Overheads £5.52 million

* Exceptional Costs £500,000

* EBIT loss £4.57 million

Comparative figures are not available due to acquisitions in the year.

The turnover of the Group was 23% below plan at the year end, having been 16%
below at the half year stage. Gross profit and EBIT deteriorated significantly
during the second half of the year as the Cwmbran facility failed to cope with
the additional production transferred from Cheadle, as highlighted and
explained in the Board's Interim Report of 27 July 2006 and the announcement on
20 October 2006.

The accounts to 28 October 2006 include accruals for all exceptional costs
relating to the Cheadle factory which closed on 31 December 2006.

The movement in the balance sheet has been considerable during this period of
major change as the increase in share capital of £7.8m has been used to
purchase the additional Loseley and Granelli business which are reflected in
the additional fixed assets of £8.6m. Stock and debtors have also increased
dramatically by £3.5m reflecting the new levels of business activity.

The fundraising that took place post the year end has now corrected the
excessive creditor position and has effectively moved £2m of short term
liabilities to a more manageable repayment in 5 years time.

Events since Year End

Key events since the year end have been:

* £2 million loan stock issued on 28 November 2006

* Closure of Cheadle on 31 December 2006

* Resignation of Charles Hall as Group Managing Director and Gina Hall as
Group Marketing Director on 16 January 2007.

* EGM 31 January 2007 - Pieter Totte resigns as Non Executive Chairman; Bill
Mapstone appointed Executive Chairman investing £210,000 in new equity and
providing up to £900,000 of asset finance.

* Christopher Woodley resigns as Non Executive Director on 31 January 2007.

* Mike Etherington appointed Group Operations Director on 19 December 2006,
not confirmed in position and left on 6 February 2007.

The closure of Cheadle and transfer of all production to Cwmbran has allowed
management to concentrate on improvement of the manufacturing processes there.
Gwyn Jones, Commercial Director, has taken on responsibility for the General
Management of the operations.

The restructuring of the Board has significantly reduced head office costs and
streamlined the decision making and operating process under my guidance as
Executive Chairman.

Current Trading

The refinancing and Board changes culminating in the EGM on 31 January 2007
were a difficult and distracting period for the Group. The closure of Cheadle
on 31 December 2006 completed the integration process but the assimilation of
production into Cwmbran has not been an easy process. However, significant
one-off costs have been managed out of the business.

Middle tier management has been strengthened with the appointments of
production, technical and logistics Managers.

The customer/product base is being carefully reviewed to ensure that we are
selling all key lines at prices which produce a positive margin. The range of
products will also be further reviewed over coming months to concentrate on
better performing markets.

Sales in the first quarter of the new financial year were behind forecast, but
have now moved up to an acceptable level per week as we move into our busy time
of the year. Production is keeping pace, but raw material prices have moved
sharply against us, notably in dairy powders where global demand has
outstripped supply, as a result many prices have at least doubled since January
and appropriate action is underway. This is inevitably having an adverse impact
on costs and has significantly added to our working capital needs as we build
stock for the summer.

Our financial position continues to be a constrained. The additional banking
support that we required mentioned in the January 2007 EGM Notice is still
subject to negotiations. As an alternative source of finance and to meet the
additional requirement arising from increased raw material costs we are in
discussions with our Loan Stock holders who supported us previously.

Looking Ahead

Hill Station plc is quite capable of producing the returns that were envisaged
when the acquisitions took place in November 2005. The integration stalled
badly during the period under review for reasons that are well documented, but
now production is in one location it is our task to bring efficiency to the
production processes, weed out unprofitable business, increase sales and build
on the valuable brands we have.

I believe that my next report will be more positive than this.

Bill Mapstone

Executive Chairman

30 April 2007

[ponty] 30/4/2007 19:04

The Final results are out to day

[jonc] 30/4/2007 16:42

How long can this splutter on for.

For the knackers yard IMO.

[cerrito] 25/4/2007 21:58

Down today
Probably people are concerned by the fact that the shares will be suspended if the prelims are not announced by the close of play on monday-ie they have to be released within 180 days after fiscal year end.
I understand that there is no guarantee that the company will be able to meet this deadline.
I guess as these will be the first audited accounts since the amalgamations there are a lot of issues which were probably not focused upon when the company was having its serious cash flow problems.
I take comfort that Mr Mapstone has more at stake than me to make this work

[emergin] 03/4/2007 14:11

Mr Mapstone is a director of Welcome Food Ingredients Limited, Stiletto Foods
(UK) Limited, Nandi Proteins Limited, MICAP Plc and Pilgrim Foods (Trustees)
Limited and is also a member of Tillymint Yacht Charters LLP and in the past
five years has been a director of Pilgrim Food Holdings Limited and each of its UK subsidiary companies: Pilgrim Food Group Limited; Chaucer Foods Limited; and Pilgrim Employee Benefit Trust (Trustees) Limited. Mr mapstone has the contacts in the trade, he place the money on the desk.. He alone will make HLL work...

At shareclubuk.co.uk we have also placed money on this one we are looking at the spring to place the spring into the HLL's S.P.