Personal Share Discussion Threads

[makingheaps] 13/12/2004 17:46

No share price movement on the announcement. Firstly the RNS was very poorly worded in terms of the future plans for the enlarged company and potential synergies. Secondly there has been no press coverage that I have noticed anyway. PGH was already an attractive proposition so long as it held onto its customer base but it seems even more so now if this new business is sustainable in the form it has shown in the last six months. Also good news that they are leveraging up to do it rather than issuing shares.

[topvest] 10/12/2004 14:51

£12m to buy a business that has just announced interims with profits of £1.5m in 6m seems a very good deal. I have shares in both companies - good deal for Personal Group, poor one for Berkeley Morgan shareholders imo. Then again, BM has been through a torrid time over the last 2 years and at one point looked close to going bust. From that perspective Mr Pardoe has delivered. This one must be significantly eps +ve to Personal Group. Mr Pardoe will be a great asset to Personal Group on their board as well.

[makingheaps] 10/12/2004 13:47

Any views on todays acquisition? £12m for a business that made £1.3m last year looks good value but I've only had two minutes to scan the announcement.

[topvest] 27/9/2004 07:37

Interim results out today. Profits relatively flat with a 5% increase in the dividend. New business pipeline working well though which should bode well for the future.

[flc] 22/9/2004 12:01

Steam - you'll find that the claims ratio is far lower than 50%. Problem with Personal Group is that they are becoming a victim of their own success. Any company wanting to use them should see how much money they are making out of staff. I know of a few chunky accounts where their financials have lost them the deal.

[steam belcher] 21/9/2004 16:32

Just can't help thinking that one day this stock will disappoint and be punished accordingly - I held Marlborough Stirling (MAS) and watched that plummet - I suppose there are still plently of lazy HR people that think it is a simple solution to get some glossy booklet put together 'free' in exchange for allowing your staff to get the pleasure of PGH's direct sales force. 50% claims ratio = plenty of fat.

[false dawn] 04/4/2004 10:08

Apologies for sounding negative. I can't dispute the fact that their credentials look impressive and I wish I had bought in to the company when it was floated.

All I'm saying is that they will not find the market as easy as it has been for them in the past and I'm taking a long term view. They also look attractive as a takeover target by one of the banks or large insurers.

Simon - they do make a lot more money than my company but at least we take some pride in what we do as well as moral ethics. But heh... I suppose it's all about making money so good luck to PGH!

Let me know if you need any other info about the company.

FD

[cockneyrebel] 03/4/2004 11:09

False dawn, I respect your views but currently they are delivering and backed by a yield of around 6% the downside risk must be very limited indeed.

They are currently delivering on promises and nothing at the moment leads me to believe they won't continue to from what they say.


Christopher Johnson bought 10K shares at 170p. Not much compared to him holding 50% of the company but I'd have thought if he never believed they could sustain their growth the last thing he'd want is another 10K.

I've held for nearly a year now, I treat them as a background foundation stock that helps balance the volatility and continue to hold for a very decent yield and respectable growth.

CR

[simonevans] 03/4/2004 09:33

False Dawn - you seem to continually knock this company, but it continues to deliver very impressive results. Sounds like they are doing better than the company that you work for!

[false dawn] 03/4/2004 07:01

CR - if you know the market then you'll know their growth is not sustainable at the current level. Too many larger competitors entering the market with better products, a changing market sector and ever increasing criticism over their approach to the market.

I work in this sector and I think it's a disgrace how PGH milk employees. I talk to many of their corporate clients both current and previous and I rarely hear praise. I also know their management team quite well who sell this on the front line.

[cockneyrebel] 31/3/2004 10:09

A well undiscovered, under-rated stock. I've held these in my 'steady-eddy' portfolio for some time, one to sleep on and let it do the business by stealth imo, a bit like WDNY.

Today they announced earnings growth of 13% and divi growth of 25%. For income hunters these are paying a yield of 5.5% and that should growth in the year ahead to at least 6% and it is paid in 3 stages through the year.

A well run business, the executive Chairman holding over 50% and adding more at 170p recently.

Todays results beat concesus expectations and spot on with Rowan Dartington who have PGH down for 15.88p eps the year ahead. I'd expect a bit of an upping from brokers for the year ahead. A PE of 11.4, earnings growth of 13% plus a 6% yield and a pretty solind long term track record of earnings growth too.

CR

[simonevans] 29/2/2004 11:51

False Dawn - you seem to have some very detailed knowledge on this one - had a bad experience with them then?

[steam belcher] 25/2/2004 10:33

They seem to be increasing the emphasis on flex benefits with the recent acquisition. They will lose some clients due to the dubious cost of some of their products, but they seem flexible enough to adapt to the changing market. HR folk are quite easy to sell to, especialy if you are providing benefits with little hassle for them!

[flc] 21/1/2004 15:48

Comments noted SB. The one thing you forget to mention though is that the corporate market is beginning to wake up to the fact that the likes of Personal Group are milking their employees. Employee benefit or exploitation? I know of at least three companies where they were shown the door due to their hard sell approach.

With banks and insurance companies jumping on the employee benefit band wagon and offering their propositions FOC PG will struggle to retain their client base or win new clients.

The current valuation IMHO is about right but how long they can sustain growth is questionable.

[steam belcher] 11/12/2003 12:55

They've signed some big deals with Allied Bakeries and Starbucks - the roll outs have gone very well. New business seminars seem well attended and renewal business from the likes of Compass proves the model works well.

Employees tend to pay by direct debit so even after they leave the customers carry on paying if they want.

The employers pay consultancy fees too! Nice work if you can get it!

[davemuray] 15/10/2003 08:14

After following the share for some time and again looking at the piece in IC have added a small holding to my portfolio. Seems an intresting share with very little news flow.......

[2magpies] 12/10/2003 10:48

both shares mag AND IC say BUY!

[2magpies] 10/10/2003 12:03

is there anybody there?????

[cockneyrebel] 25/7/2003 00:42

Starting to move again.

Seems very cheap - and some very interesting big trades posted on 17th July - take a peep - 290K and 240K buys plus 60K and 50K - rare in this one.

Low PE and big yield.

CR

[eric bristow] 24/7/2003 13:08

Employees are being "advised" to buy more shares by the big-wigs at PGH and business is booming by all accounts. Worth tucking a few away I'd say.

EB

[2magpies] 05/7/2003 00:12

DUC is their broker now.

More coverage? Deals in the wings?

Here's hoping.

[flc] 04/7/2003 17:03

May be an approach in the not too distant future. One of the large insurers would pay good money to get their hands on this company and their distribution channels.

I still think they are a bunch of sharks though!

[flc] 19/5/2003 13:20

Your're right CR, there's no seasonality in earnings and with a claims ratio of circa 7% on the core product it's rock solid with minimum risk. If they closed the door to new business tomorrow the run out is enormous. 350,000 policy holders paying £60 - £100 p/a with an average claim of £50 - not bad!!

Employee benefit or employee exploitation?

[cockneyrebel] 17/5/2003 11:38

Sorry, waffled a bit above, that should have read 13.5p this year eps, up from 8p laste year. Broker estimates for 14p this year. Must have miss-edited that befor posting and never re-read it.


5.9p eps in H1, 7.3p eps in H2,

You'd think 14p looks a safe bet for the year ahead as from what I can see there is little seasonality in the earnings.

CR