Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[hugepants] 21/6/2016 15:05

Still buying.
I doubt this is a Brexit inspired fall but this shower have only till end of month to release the results.

[clocktower] 21/6/2016 14:47

Roll on better news on Friday I expect and at long last the share price should move into positive territory in a split second or two if worries are put aside as shorters have to close positions regardless of the Brexit outcome.

[ltcm1] 20/6/2016 14:03

No position here. I was thinking about buying at this level but what with it being AIM and the management track record plus the change of auditors there are too many risks currently for me. I think administration is a real possibility in the next year if they don't take radical action though.

It will be interesting to see what is said on results day.

[clocktower] 20/6/2016 13:42

So is it correct that most of the posters that are very negative are short? If not why not? If short, then it can only be assumed that it is your interest to see the share price slide further but over the last couple of weeks this seems to be having an uphill struggle to slide further, as there seems to be a considerable amount of buying at or around these levels,which suggests that the pendulum might soon swing regardless of the views expressed here, rightly or wrongly.
Throw the dice.

[ltcm1] 20/6/2016 13:23

With respect guys, the way I see it is not much to do with the stamp market but everything to do with the spectacular mis-management and incompetence by the board.

Have they ever heard of a concept called ROCE - return on capital employed???

You can't run a company if you have a buying disease. When you have a load of stock yourself the very last thing you should buy is another company ie Mallets, with a load of old stock they haven't been able to shift for years.

[2magpies] 20/6/2016 12:54

Stamps and oil?

Perhaps stamps are to be considered as 'fuel' too?

Might explain the lack of bids on e-bay.

[ltcm1] 20/6/2016 12:50

But the SG collection is valued at cost not catalogue value. They are in the books at the lower of cost and net realisable value. However if they are buying them back under the guarantee scheme and then booking at cost that could be a problem.

[brando69] 20/6/2016 12:44

clocktower

i appreciate you're talking your own book - we all struggle not to do that - but don't blind yourself to realities.

stamps might come back into fashion, but i'd say based on the problems the hobby has attracting young collectors, that's not a given.

[clocktower] 20/6/2016 12:43

Not comparing them at all brando69 but many consider stamps to be a very good long term investment, which currently is just out of fashion but like anything that is rare will always be valued and a prize worth either holding or acquiring.

It is good to hear that Graham1TY has got the latest catalogue and they are using their failures as a springboard to attract fresh business, and I am sure many of their regular customers will take advantage of the sale they have put together.

[brando69] 20/6/2016 12:32

you're comparing stamps and oil?

oil is an essential commodity

stamps are something collected by hobbyists.

err...

[clocktower] 20/6/2016 12:27

brando69, So have the prices of a lot of things and currencies, and it is not just over the past six months but like Oil stamp prices will rebound as fancy takes it I guess.

[graham1ty] 20/6/2016 12:25

Just got the latest SG Postbid catalogue. I quote" Let me start by saying sorry for the fact that over the last couple of months the service we have offered has ( for some) not been as good as it should be........Another ( and hopefully final problem) is that the company has changed to a completely new auction describing system which has led to considerable delays in putting this sale together and the reason why the catalogue contains just GB and Foreign"

Disaster in the auction department as well then.....

[brando69] 20/6/2016 11:49

i always made a point of not paying more than 10% of SG cat value for any stamp.

looking at prices on ebay for QV mint stamps, i'd say they have fallen in last six months

[11_percent] 20/6/2016 11:12

"uncertainty"

I am guessing it would be the valuation put on the stock "stamps", but don't know.

I have been collecting stamps for 45 years, and it is hard to explain to people that the "book" value in the SG catalouges is not the ammmmount of money you can go out and sell a stamp for.

I use about a tenth.

[ltcm1] 20/6/2016 09:35

Lol Mags - just a bit!

Remember this was before the emergency RI though. Seems it would have been game over had they not raised that cash.

Other worries have to be the stock valuation naturally and maybe the now infamous SG buyback guarantee they were doing with the stamps.

[2magpies] 20/6/2016 09:10

Tks Orange

"the risks and uncertainties associated with the audit" ??

What does that mean? I'm not sure if I've ever seen that before.

What could possibly be the 'risks' associated with an audit?

And what could be the 'uncertainties', associated with an audit?

Sounds, to me,like a serious/worrying indication of something. What do they know? What have they seen?

[orange1] 20/6/2016 08:55

Announced amongst other things on 23 February 2016:

"The Group is also announcing today the appointment of BDO Limited as auditors following the resignation of the current auditors because they consider the risks and uncertainties associated with the audit to exceed the level that they are willing to accept".

[2magpies] 20/6/2016 08:42

Itcm1

I seem to have missed that bit about the Auditors.

When was that announced?

If it's true, it would be a very serious matter.

[ltcm1] 18/6/2016 10:06

The last two posters are correct in that the SG model is a busted flush, with the profits and dividends being at the expense of a huge stock loss that will have to be quantified sometime soon. Ofcourse in a strongly rising market it looks like genius but its a case of the emporaor's new clothes now a correction has come.

While they have got some good assets IMO, there is no indication as yet they are going to take action. And if there was a Brexit these businesses would suddenly become a lot harder to sell.

The auditors resigning shows how serious the situation is.

[2magpies] 17/6/2016 21:11

Postage stamps: yawn!

[2magpies] 17/6/2016 18:49

"brando69
17 Jun'16 - 14:25 - 2427 of 2433 0 0

... after all they produce the catalogue that says, in theory, what a stamp is worth."

Not so, the SG Catalogue price is the price at which SG will sell a particular specimen. They will NOT buy at the stated price. No Sir!!

In reality (i.e. @ auction)the vast majority of the listings in the SG catalogue prove to be virtually worthless.


Their stock is worth something, but it is worth less and less with every passing month, IMO.

The share price has fallen from 380p to 12.75p: what do you think that's telling us??

It's over?

The market place, the share price, the price of stamps have all crashed.

[prop_joe] 17/6/2016 18:25

Itcm1,
Thanks for your insight. I often think it would make sense for them to reposition the business as an auction house making money from commissions and also steadily reduce their inventory of stamps etc without killing the market. Seems to me that they would be able to do that on a much reduced overhead base and should be able to generate a lot of cash from the inventory reduction that would result.

With the share price so far below net asset value this could result in a good cash return for shareholders.

If someone offered a reasonable price for any of the individual auction house brands - fantastic.
Regards