Thomson Intermedia Share Discussion Threads

[green sand] 20/10/2005 13:12

Now there you go rubbing it in :-), well done, I have no complaints in a year ago at around 110p.

[wjccghcc] 20/10/2005 13:05

Agreed GS. I still have a (smaller) holding. Can't really complain having bought them in the 55-85p range :-)

[green sand] 20/10/2005 12:30

Morning WJ, always nice to hear of somebody taking a profit, enjoy. I agree organic growth lower than expected at 9% H1 this on H2 last, I know they claim a slight leaning to the second half but I do think more was expected/forecast in the first half. However not sure how much the Billets deal has taken out of day to day management. Provided Billets bring the £1m ebitda then forecasts should be well met, even with the dilution. I still think the business model is good and full of potential, so holding and watching.

[wjccghcc] 20/10/2005 11:29

Well I took the opportunity of the results to sell some at 230p. Everything seems on track and the longer-term future looks very appealing. My only concern was that the organic growth was not quite as good as I hoped for. Having said that, Billets should mean they easily meet forecasts for this year. At some point though, they're going to start paying tax and that will stall EPS growth for a year. IMHO they're a short-term hold and a long-term buy but I wanted the cash for other better stuff. Still got a stake to keep an eye on them.

[green sand] 17/10/2005 15:54

Somebody thinks tomorrow's interims should be interesting, they have just picked up 5k. Should get some news on the Billets integration.

[diogenesj] 08/9/2005 13:50

Oh dear, apologies everyone. One nice thing about ADVFN is that when you mess it up you can go back and delete the offending posts. :-)

[wjccghcc] 08/9/2005 13:29

Um, that's not referring to THN Diogenes. Their interims aren't due out until next month, they have nothing to do with set-top boxes and no interest in TCL.

Suspect they got the wrong header :o)

[diogenesj] 08/9/2005 13:24

Thanks, guys. I'm not planning to sell. It's always looked fully valued, but keeps surprising on the upside. Just wish I'd bought a lot earlier.

Here's the report I saw (quoted in Investorease from AFX).

Obviously (to anyone but me) it was nothing to do with THN, so I have deleted it.

[wjccghcc] 08/9/2005 13:10

Nope. Still holding mine (4 bagger so far) and will for some time. The German jv should kick in this year which is a bigger media market than the UK. I think the Billetts acquisition will provide a step-change in the business both in the UK and internationally. Suddenly they have an open door to 42% of the top 500 TV advertisers plus 3 of the US top ten advertisers, providing immense cross-selling opportunities for the original business (and it's all fixed cost so very operationally geared).

Further out, I think the US is very exciting - multiple times the size of the UK market. The THN products would go down a storm there and Billetts provides them with a good starting point. See below:

"Billetts America is Billetts' majority owned subsidiary based in New York. The
subsidiary, which was recently incorporated, was set-up to introduce media
performance management to US advertisers, which is a relatively new concept in
the US. Billetts America has seen its services well received by clients and has
built up a revenue stream from a number of US advertisers.

The Directors believe that there is significant growth potential in Europe and
North America and Billetts' international relationships make it attractive to
global brand names, with several large, worldwide mandates having recently been
won."


THN is a pretty unique company now with only one major competitor in Europe and high barriers to entry. I agree the valuation is not cheap but the PE drops to 23 next year which is not excessive and that's without any Billetts upgrades. It's also a tough share to trade short-term even with the expanded liquidity.

[green sand] 08/9/2005 13:08

DJ - No!

Always had this as a long term I expect to do a WJCC and take full advantage of taper relief.

Don't think anybody outside the co fully understands the potential value following the Billetts move.

Interims due shortly, could be a case for sell and buy back but not my style, not on this one.

Quiet cos still on steam machine in CI

Have Fun

GS

[jeff c] 08/9/2005 12:37

Diogenes, I'm interested in what R W Baird are saying about THN being fully valued. Is the info you've got freely available somewhere?

I was considering taking a position ahead of results, mainly on Quentin Lumsden's recommendation. His latest Quantum Leap (published today) gives them a "Strong Hold / Buy more" (at 231p).

[diogenesj] 08/9/2005 11:27

Quiet here. I see the brokers feel that it is fully valued now, with perhaps 10% to go. It's making inroads in that 10%. Have you all sold?

[green sand] 31/8/2005 18:49

Hark, The Herald is amongst us!

GS

[green sand] 12/8/2005 16:58

And a nice chunky T trade at 245 to finish the week

[green sand] 07/8/2005 14:01

Nice little line or two in the Sunday Telegraph "the Billetts deal should mean the shares have further to go"



All good awareness stuff, should help to keep the profile high.

Good Luck

GS

[wjccghcc] 03/8/2005 11:11

Thanks GS. Looks like large potential in the US over the next few years.

[green sand] 03/8/2005 11:03

Yup, I had left some in and then topped up, quite a happy little GS!

[diogenesj] 03/8/2005 10:57

Thanks, GS. Looks interesting. Hope you got back into ACE too. :-)

[green sand] 03/8/2005 10:46

Calm down, its only something new, a placing at a premium, ONLY!!

I have had a quick look at MPMA, the Billetts New York arm and it looks as though they have been gaining the attention of the US advertising press, following link is from the MPMA web site, makes interesting reading saying how far UK and Europe are ahead of stateside.



Good Luck

GS

[diogenesj] 03/8/2005 10:25

Yippee. Can't recall seeing a placing at an 8% premium before.

[green sand] 03/8/2005 08:39

Morning WJ, thats set the floor at 210 whilst we absorb.

I agree 10% premium for a placing is a unusual, but nice to wake upto!

A couple of statements took my eye on the first scan thro:-

"We are particularly delighted by the response from fund managers to the acquisition and our growth strategy and are pleased to have a number of new institutional investors supporting the Placing."

"The Directors believe that there is significant growth potential in Europe and
North America and Billetts' international relationships make it attractive to global brand names, with several large, worldwide mandates having recently been won."

Stateside is a big flywheel, get it going and the momentum could be staggering.

Good Luck

GS

[wjccghcc] 03/8/2005 08:30

Impressive deal today. It's not often you see a placing at a 10% premium to the shareprice which even then has such high demand that the directors are asked to supply shares as well.

The move into the US, where media monitoring is way behind Europe looks good for future growth too.

The AGM statement was that trading remains in line with expectations, giving them a PE of 32 dropping to 18. Of course, that will change with this earnings enhancing acquisition.

THN really seems to be shaping up as a potential global leader in this niche. Think I'll be holding mine for the 2 year taper relief at least :o)

[green sand] 29/6/2005 11:34

Only that its the AGM next Tuesday, might include a trading type statement? did last year.

GS

[the_basil_of_yentup] 23/6/2005 23:49

Hang on! Does someone know something?