Amstrad Share Discussion Threads

[darrin1471] 29/4/2006 08:18

hufhaus: 19/02/06 ?????????

[yotter] 28/4/2006 17:06

Looks like patience could be rewarded by this one. I'm happy to be holding and reckon that at £2.50, these are a bargain.

[hufhaus] 28/4/2006 16:29

from Daily Telegraph
19/02/06

Market miscellany
Edited by Edward Simpkins

Amstrad (AMT)
Sir Alan Sugar, the chairman and chief executive of Amstrad, does not like surprises, according to his TV adverts for National Savings. But he must have enjoyed presenting a nice surprise for Amstrad shareholders last month when he said the company would beat analysts' profit forecasts for the year.
The electronic consumer goods group will report full-year results on Wednesday and analysts expect pre-tax profits to top £20m. Amstrad is doing particularly well supplying Sky+ digital video recorders to British Sky Broadcasting. It is also enjoying rapid growth in its business supplying Sky Italia.
Pace Micro, an arch-rival to Amstrad in the set-top box market, is struggling and analysts believe that Amstrad is the main beneficiary.
Sugar's company is trading on a p/e ratio of 11.68, compared with a market average of 14.29. Shares in the company have risen strongly from 150p at the end of December to 203p at close on Friday. But we think they still have some way to go.

Buy.

[cockneyrebel] 28/4/2006 14:40

About to breakout imo.

Next week should be good fun.

CR

[hufhaus] 27/4/2006 20:09

From HDTV UK
12th April 2006

World cup to boost HDTV sales, says analyst

Retailers can expect to see approximately a £113 million boost in sales of HDTV equipment in the run up to Germany's World Cup 2006. Market research company GfK has done the maths on this, calculating that an extra 230,000 "Colour TV sets" will be sold – we're going take a guess that they mean HD ones but heck, if you haven't even got a telly yet, it's probably a very good time to join in.
Many previous sporting events have been used to show off new kit including the introduction of the first colour TV sets. The fact that the BBC has confirmed that we'll be able to watch the games in HD is definitely a big incentive to make the leap to HD, but, unless you happen to get on the London Freeview HD trial, you will need to invest in an HD set top box to see it. Either that or you could go for Telewest or Sky's HD packages.

[hufhaus] 27/4/2006 19:55

From Trusted Reviews

By Gordon Kelly
Published 5th August 2005.

Sky Unveils New High Definition Box
There are devices in IT that are cool because they add in new features, or cool because they look good, but then there are devices that are cool simply because of what they are designed to do and the Sky HD Box is one of them.
Released next year, this little beauty is the gadget that will propel Sky's viewers into the world of high definition broadcasts. It is roughly the same size as the existing Sky box and will process signals into both the excellent 720p and uber-fantastic 1080i formats. Thomson is the company which won the contract to build the boxes, though I wouldn't be surprised to see offerings from the likes of Pace (which currently makes the majority of Sky + boxes) and Amstrad soon afterwards.
Whetting the appetite further is the news that the new HD box will also be a personal video recorder (PVR) a la Sky+, but just what capacity hard drive it will have in order to store the data heavy broadcasts is still unknown.
Even cooler is the news which Sky personally confirmed to me today that the box will come with an Ethernet connection. Details of its functionality remain a closely guarded secret, but a well educated guess would suggest it will tie in with the company's recently launched broadband service.
What else do we know? Well, surprisingly connections will not be restricted to the HDCP-enabled DVI and HDMI outputs with analogue connectors added to ensure maximum compatibility. It also means customers can be tempted into buying a box, despite not owning a high definition TV, which should then tempt them to make the switch. This is clever marketing, right out of the which came first: the chicken or the egg theorem!
Naturally, at this stage pricing is very much under wraps, and while recent history tells us Rupert Murdock's empire likes to launch products in the £299 to £399 range, that is not a sure-fire way of predicting the future.
Now, if like me you're getting unbearably excited and are close to jumping around like you were six years old again then you should head on over Sky's new HD website. It'll tease you though, as it has less information up than I managed to dig up here.
I predict 2006 will be the Year of The Square Eyes

[tommyboy2] 25/4/2006 23:40

Monty
AS could always take it private. That should be good for £4.
Tom

[3gordon] 21/4/2006 17:10

I am with you lemon,£5+

[hufhaus] 21/4/2006 17:09

wrt to recent posts on price targets. My initial target pre-results is a relatively conservative one - I hope to see 200-210 established as a floor rather than a resistance. Medium term (and I'm referring to post FY reults and to end of next financial year) I think the evidence suggests significant re-rating. Comparitively, AMT is indeed cheap for the sector. Pace. widely viewed to be suffering at the hands of AMT success is whichever way you look at it, valued at almost 3 times current AMT value, whilst Alba is valued in-line with AMT despite effectively issuing a recent profit-warning which has seen its share price tank from 525 to a little over 200. At 525 Alba was also valued at 3x AMT. Comparitvely, therefore, I consider AMT to be fair value at 425p. I anticipate this target becoming feasible end of 2006/07. I hold my hands up to not being an expert in this sector and stand to be corrected on this conclusion.

[bitterlemontart] 21/4/2006 12:11

MB - if AMT don't quite make a fiver they must surely hit at least £3 or £4....

[netcurtains] 21/4/2006 12:05

Perhaps lawyers said sell x shares by such and such date as part of parting deal.
I certainly would not read anything into it.
Ideally we don't want people to have divorces but if they happen its best if everyone stays on relatively good terms.

His job:
"
He is responsible for managing commercial relationships with customers and developing new business opportunities.
"

NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. He is young, you never know, he might hit on something big.

John

[bitterlemontart] 21/4/2006 11:50

Probably the first option!

[darrin1471] 21/4/2006 11:47

So did he sell so low to p@ss her off or was it a poor investment strategy?

[yotter] 21/4/2006 11:35

darrin1471,

I understand Sir Alan's son needed funds for a divorce.

Innocent enough.

[darrin1471] 21/4/2006 11:34

Are these the same relatives who sold shares at recent lows?

[netcurtains] 21/4/2006 11:29

...I'm not sure Sir Alan is still in the driving seat (thank god).

I think other hands (relatives etc) will push this company forward to new heights.

It might have been Mr Sainsburys who started Sainsburys but it was his kids who made it into a FTSE100 stock.

[darrin1471] 21/4/2006 11:12

And AMT have a third share of the UK and Italian satellite stb market.
Can AMT win stb contracts outside News Corp Europe? Does Sir Alan want to?

[monty burns] 21/4/2006 08:55

Found this on one of my ex-holding's (WLF) thread:

Launch of high-definition DVDs begins small, but booming TV sales suggest growth

Financial Post - Canada; Apr 20, 2006

The high-definition DVD era began yesterday with the official launch in the United States of HD-DVD movie players and discs. Don't expect much fanfare -- only two players and four movies are available. And the arrival of a competing format known as Blu-ray is a little over a month away. But there are hopeful signs for electronics makers and movie studios that HD-DVD or Blu-ray could eventually be a hit with consumers. The biggest boost for the new formats will be that sales of high-definition televisions -- a necessity to take full advantage of HD movies -- are booming. The total number of HDTVs sold in the United States is expected to surpass standard television sales this year.


And all these HDTVs need a set top box...

[tommyboy2] 20/4/2006 20:26

Remember when AMT went to £6 on the hype of the
e-mailer, but it was short lived, excuse the pun. Sugar
really over did it then.

£2.50/£3 is a good possibility imho.
Tom

[monty burns] 20/4/2006 19:04

Unlikely. Isn't it?

Mmmm. Half year PAT of £8.7m, full year ahead of expectations, ergo something like £18-20m? Net cash at end of half year of £48m, cash generation per year of £20m, so another £10m+ by year-end (June), so say £60m cash on the balance sheet.

Market cap at 500p would be £410m. Deduct the net cash of £60m, you have £350m. Earnings of £20m per year - so 17.5 times earnings. Future earnings secure for years to come with set-top boxes the way forward.

Unlikely - but not absurd...

[bitterlemontart] 20/4/2006 18:50

Target = 500p +

[bitterlemontart] 20/4/2006 17:37

Looks very much like some serious consolidation is going on here....within weeks....a chart break out?!?!?

[monty burns] 20/4/2006 16:21

Thanks alex - signed up today, installation start of June, just in time for the footie. Always helps to read the instructions, I'm told...

Still holding all of these, thought about closing some of the spreadbet, but just think they're cheap as a very cheap thing, so not bothering.