AGA Rangemaster Share Discussion Threads

[wad collector] 16/4/2007 20:44

Certainly gone off the boil.Still , not one I am going to worry about .Long and slow now I think.

[maiseymouse] 21/3/2007 07:26

brokers don't like this one....has been roundly panned since bidding for enodis (remember poxy nil premium deal) anyway credit suisse has weighed in

[waldron] 17/3/2007 08:38

Aga ovens group goes green and returns £60m to shareholders
By Karen Attwood
Published: 17 March 2007
The cast-iron oven maker Aga Foodservice revealed plans to hand back almost £60m to shareholders yesterday as it sought to position itself as a "green" manufacturer.

Posting an 8 per cent increase in profits to £46m on the back of healthy sales, Aga said its strong finances enabled it to pay a special dividend of 43p a share.

Aga, which failed in a £1.3bn bid to buy the rival firm Enodis last year, reported a 15 per cent rise in revenues to £528.9m during the year to 31 December. This was boosted by a strong performance across its key brands, Aga, Rangemaster and Marvel.

Steve Davies, an analyst at Numis, said the figures highlighted the "strength of Aga's consumer and foodservice business both in the UK and the US".

"The special dividend of 43p equates to 10.5% of the current market cap and marks a move away from acquisitive growth to focus more on organic growth," he said. But Oliver Wynne-James, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said Aga's strategy, "rather than returning cash and value to shareholders, looks more like borrowing funds to appease shareholders".

William McGrath, the chief executive, said the company had been investing in more efficient technology for several years, with an annual research and development spend of around £5m a year. This was now focused on making environmentally friendly technology, he said. Recent acquisitions, such as the German company Aloma, which makes efficient combi-ovens and steamers, reflected this trend, he said.

Mr McGrath said UK restaurants wasted around £3bn a year in energy costs. "The commercial kitchen is one of the world's most inefficient places," he said. Without meaningful regulatory guidelines, the industry will continue to ignore energy issues, he added. Aga, which generates half its turnover in sales to commercial clients, yesterday published a draft environmental code for the foodservice industry.

Around 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be saved if catering kitchens used newer technology and energy saving methods, according to Aga.

[wad collector] 16/3/2007 21:05

The market certainly seems to be adjusting to both above points ; unusual steady downwards drift all day.

[amla] 16/3/2007 14:45

How soon after the special dividend will we see the share consolidation?
The dismissal of Domain in the results statement,that implied soft furnishings were down in USA by about 7%( which seemed to be the downturn at Domain too),seemed too casual.Also they gave no idea of their selling price but hoped it would'nt be too low !There is no reason given why they could'nt wait for a market improvement/image makeover but just want out.
And we have the debt situation,which was'nt a problem before.
They have upped the dividend and are buying back shares and giving us a special div.before a share consolidation.Why when they need to keep cash in reserve for expansion?
The new contracts in catering services,i.e. the prison service business plus all the kitchen equipment sales and implied warranties plus servicing arrangements means that AGA has expanded away from being a simple one make cooker seller and maybe is taking on too much at this time.
Receiving so much income in dollars does'nt help much.
Are we going to see the 400p to 420p sideways trading repeat itself as the year goes on?Until the market knows Domain is sold for a decent price we will not see the hike in share price that all of us want!
LOL to all holders.

[bigbertie] 16/3/2007 10:10

is this good news? the shares will be consolidated after the special dividend, so in my view they are just buying back your shares. And doing it through a dividend (instead of a market buy-back) they are giving us a tax bill! I do not see this as a gain at all.

I also think the results are misreported. Domain should not be treated as a discontinued operation. This allows management to claim improvements in profit and earnings per share which exclude their failures! Domain is not yet discontinued, so there are likely to be further exceptional costs in 2007 unless they are very lucky with the sale price.

all just imho of course, at least the ovens are selling well

[mctmct] 16/3/2007 09:13

Dividend of 50p to be paid in June - so the shares, ex dividend, are currently priced at £3.70. That looks good value, given the upbeat statement on current trading.

mct

[baht] 16/3/2007 08:36

Wad Seems good news. When will the special Divi actually be paid do you know?

[wad collector] 16/3/2007 08:24

Well the results look good ; especially the bit about the special dividend taking the total divi to 50 pence.Share price up 12 pence at present , seems a surprisingly muted market reaction.Unless of course the dividend was widely leaked and therefore discounted.Which might explain recent rise relative to market.
Presume wil go ex-div at end of April, though can't find the date.

[baht] 09/3/2007 21:53

Nice if your'e right Wad. In which case we should see a new high by end of next week.

[wad collector] 09/3/2007 21:33

Results next week , is the recovery because of a leak?

[wad collector] 08/3/2007 17:58

Seems to be recovering pretty fast this week - something in the offing?

[wad collector] 19/1/2007 14:03

Thanks.
Maybe it is naive of me , but I suspect that most AGA/Rayburn buyers are not buying on credit , so won't be too worried by the small base rate changes.As you say , it won't help the companys debt , but do you really see a return to "high" interest rates?

[edmundshaw] 17/1/2007 19:57

Looks a good decision to me - the results were not sparkling. Nicely done!

A year back I might have joined you. But I have some doubts on the macro-economy, which makes me a bit more cautious... and with rising debt seemingly part of the AGA strategy, interest rate hikes are hardly good news either on the consumer or the debt front (though that aspect should not be over-played - for a start AGA are respectably international).

I shall watch for now.

[wad collector] 17/1/2007 18:02

Closed at 416 - most of the way back up again.I can never work out why , 2 days without news should see a share valued 5% more.Market sentiment, whatever , I am happy to trade on it.

[wad collector] 16/1/2007 13:12

Yes, so far . I usually get nervous at this point and consider taking a very small profit but that would be silly....I hope.

[edmundshaw] 16/1/2007 12:30

Looking like a good call, waddy, at the moment. Good luck.

[edmundshaw] 16/1/2007 08:21

Try Shaun Smith (FD) - he knows a tad more about AGA than Bush IMHO.

[wad collector] 15/1/2007 18:44

I bought in today for a short term punt - the price drop seems like an over-reaction to me and I am betting on a restoration over the next month or so.
I only did this after a chat with Mr Bush.

[edmundshaw] 15/1/2007 13:51

I actually did sell some at exactly 435p (intraday price)! :-).

But I sold the rest at an average of just over 420p. Not really keen on the Enodis saga, and have a feeling that AGA's growth is getting harder, while the PE requires at least some growth just to be fair; in other words, better opportunities elsewhere at this price.

I bought in at under 300p average, when AGA was clearly undervalued, and am quite happy to exit with the re-rating.

If we get back down to 380 or below I shall reconsider... but probably only after a chat with one of the directors.

[wad collector] 15/1/2007 13:10

It does seem an overreaction - I've just bought back in at 394 - tight spread - I bailed in November.
Am I mistaken or did it fall short of your target 435 (by about 2p!)
;-) Wad

[edmundshaw] 15/1/2007 08:56

Looking back, was the Enodis offer a little desperate? That may be a little unfair, but the combination of the failure and the slowed growth makes me wonder.

[edmundshaw] 15/1/2007 08:46

Sold out over Xmas.

Not tempted back in on this update; 11% rise in operating profit before a loss at Domain and the cost of the abortive Enodis venture is not so impressive at the bottom line around 2.5% (around 2.5%); and the current rating has continued growth factored in. OK the Enodis is exceptional, but to discount the losers (Domain) while counting the winners is a bit rich... underlying op advance looks more like 5% to me.

And with a number of acquisitions that should be helping OP - Amana (6 months), Eloma, and full year of Divertimenti and Grange, I'd have expected better. In spite of this, the tone of the update is very positive, so I'm a bit confused...

Any other takes?

[baht] 29/11/2006 09:18

Perhaps they are about to confirm an order from McDonalds for the new deep fat fryer and Edonis, seeing some of their client base going, want to re-open merger talks?

Just a guess

[bigbertie] 28/11/2006 22:45

price jumping - anyone have any insights??