The Character Share Discussion Threads

[fido] 09/6/2015 16:00

Stockopedia see these hitting new highs.

[fido] 09/6/2015 15:00

"Character (LSE: CCT) is one of the UK’s leading toymakers and sales are booming.

The company manufactures branded children’s toys including the Peppa Pig, Scooby Doo, Doctor Who, Fireman Sam and Weebles brands.

And sales have really taken off over the past year. For the six months to 28 February 2015, Character reported record revenues and profits. Pre-tax profit jumped 178% year on year while revenue increased by a quarter.

Further growth is predicted for the rest of the year. City analysts believe that Character’s earnings per share are set to jump by 51% for full-year 2015. The company is currently trading at a forward P/E of 10 and a PEG ratio of 0.2"

[fido] 09/6/2015 14:14

As a PS to my last post and in relation to Kings shares.
Clearly the company were in a position to buy back and cancel Kings shares and yet they did not.
The shares could have been placed with institutional investors and yet were not.
The shares were in fact placed on the market where they were taken up by as yet an unknown party or parties.
That could very well suggest a new investor and because we have not had an announcement about who brought those shares, it could be that that investor does not wish to be identified and has spread those shares around.
This could therefore be the very first move towards a takeover of Character.

Pure speculation I know but that was a large volume of shares which are now unnacounted for.

Time will tell but look out for any accumulation if that`s possible in this tight share.

[fido] 09/6/2015 10:27

cfro,
In effect there was no dip at all.
As I said before, there was a degree of manipulation around the £4.15 level.
We now know why as the transfer of Kings shares would have been at an agreed price. The IC tip put a spanner in the works by making the share price spike which subsequently reversed on Kings transfer at the agreed price.
The interesting thing about Kings shares is that they were "placed on the market" as opposed to being "placed". I deem that to be of some importance although we have yet to see what that is or where those shares went to.
Either way the £4.15 can be considered as someones entry point so you can expect upside from here.
Still expecting my next target of £5.80 to be hit in the near term with much excitement surrounding the Clangers and Teletubies to lift the share in the short term.

[cfro] 09/6/2015 10:10

Yes, that dip did not take long to get gobbled back up.

[fido] 09/6/2015 09:53

Judging by todays price action it would seem that sudden demand has caught the MM`s with their pants down and no stock.

What`s it to be this time, another tip sheet?
Tip sheet or not, the word is starting to get around and that is only going to intensify as the Clangers and the Teletubies come on stream.

[orange1] 05/6/2015 14:11

I am not sure he knows himself. On 2 June he said this; "I am thinking of going short if these get much higher in case any of the executive decide to sell chunks."

[coppertrader] 05/6/2015 13:48

A25......Just out of curiosity, what are your reasons for shorting cct?. I am not questioning your judgement, but like to see both sides of an investment argument. For disclosure... i am long.CT

[buffythebuffoon] 05/6/2015 11:04

Yes, they did indeed say placing. I was sufficiently disinterested that I skim read the RNS and missed that.

As I say, it is of no consequence whatsoever.

Buffy

[cfro] 05/6/2015 09:32

Yes, 7% of Mr King's shares plus as you say, mickharkins1, more large volume which is highly likely to be Vanshaps remaining shares.

It is going to be very, very interesting to see who has taken up 10% of the shares...

[a2584728] 05/6/2015 08:41

Shorted again.

[mickharkins1] 05/6/2015 08:39

I assume we can expect a holdings RNS to reveal who the placing was with, since it was 7% of total shares and above the 3% notifiable interest level (unless there were a few parties who bought).

My guess is the remaining large volume yesterday was Vanshap selling their remaining 3% stake.

All in all very positive that such a large percent of the company was transferred into fresh hands at an almost record high share price, which should provide a strong support level to the share price going forwards. Onwards and upwards!

[cfro] 05/6/2015 08:28

It is good that the overhang which was evident here and almost certainly holding back the true value of the shares, has now been nearly entirely eliminated.

Mr King now has less than 3% and i can see him holding on to them a little longer if he has any sense...

The interesting question is - to whom have they been sold?

[stoxx67] 05/6/2015 08:28

agreed Orange1

[orange1] 05/6/2015 08:15

If the company had bought the shares the announcement yesterday would have said so. The transaction would also not have been described as a placing. When a company buys shares they are cancelled (unless put in treasury to satisfy the exercise of options).

[bamboo2] 05/6/2015 08:10

buffy, that was also my thinking. If it did buy the shares back for cancellation, it created potential for a winwin situation for all concerned.

[buffythebuffoon] 05/6/2015 07:56

Not a stupid question bamboo2, but in fact a good one. If the company did buy the shares then we would have wanted the biggest discount possible!

As for whether he sold them now or later, I really couldn't care. If people are so worried about how much King sold for and when, they really should question their conviction in buying here.

Unless you are a short term trader, it's the company's operations that matter. Does it matter one jot whether there is a so called overhang? No, of course not.

Buffy

[mcartdon] 05/6/2015 07:53

no the co doest seem to have,
perhaps they need a lot of cash to fund expansion of throughput of toy manufacture for sales to n america and Europe of the teletubies range,
North America, France, Germany, Benelux distribution of Character's "Teletubbies" range:

" HALIFAX: DHX Media has tapped Spin Master to distribute a range of toys inspired by the upcoming Teletubbies reboot, while naming Family Jr. the title’s exclusive linear broadcaster in Canada.

The deal with Spin Master is set to cover the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The toy lineup will be made up of plush, plastics and bath toys from Teletubbies master toy licensee Character Options, with a roll out slated for 2016.

“Significant momentum is building for the global launch of Teletubbies and the addition of Spin Master adds a real catalyst to our partnerships on the brand,” said Peter Byrne, DHX Brands’ executive VP. “With their excellent retail relationships and expertise in understanding the marketing needs of high-profile toy brands, Spin Master is the ideal distributor in these core markets.”

Meanwhile, Canada’s Family Jr. has picked up the exclusive linear English broadcast rights for the 60-episode series, to launch winter 2016. The show will first début on U.K. commissioning channel CBeebies this fall.

“The international strength of the Teletubbies brand is unparalleled in its field, and we’re looking forward to introducing our audience to the contemporary edition of this iconic series via Family Jr., which will enter the market this fall,” said Joe Tedesco, the senior VP and general manger of DHX Television. “The revamped CGI aesthetic, comedic elements and high-tech motifs will certainly appeal to this generation’s tech-savvy preschoolers, as well as their parent

[interceptor2] 05/6/2015 07:48

Agreed darlocst, always best to remove any uncertainty and in this case remove the overhang, 415p is likely to give good support from now on. Once we see the next trading update which imv is likely to be positive, 415p placing will become a distant memory.

Wish I had waited before topping up now, if only my crystal ball had been working.

[bamboo2] 05/6/2015 07:40

Sorry if a stupid question, will the co have bought back some or all of Richard Kings shares?

[darlocst] 04/6/2015 23:11

This is good news. Done at a small discount to recent high, shows strong institutional demand, removes uncertainty of share overhang (as I'm sure he won't be looking to shift his remaining shares in near term).

Also King won't want to stiff fellow directors and new shareholders by doing this placing shortly before bad news. Much more likely that good trading news will follow.

[campbed] 04/6/2015 23:00

Just my luck to decide to add slightly yesterday to various family members’ ISA accounts at around 465p/share just ahead of the placing today of Richard King’s family interest in ca 1.5m shares at around 415p leaving his holding at ca 0.5m shares. Can’t complain too much though as we’ve seen a good rise in the share price recently.

I didn’t expect that ca 75% of his shares would to be sold so soon and expected the disposal would start after full year results in line with the 12-24 months mentioned in the 30th April announcement of interim results.

It’s always unsettling when expectations prove to be wrong and, on the one hand, the size and quickness of the disposal looks worrying. However, on the other hand, the substantial quick sale removes the potential overhang of a known director seller; and getting those shares away at only a discount of ca10% when there are so few notifiable institutional holdings looks quite good. The lack of such holdings has always been a bit of a negative for me as there isn’t much liquidity but that can work both ways if future results show the growth that is expected by fido.

[mcartdon] 04/6/2015 21:42

Looks like a very solid base for some time,
word has spread.

so 1.5m new buys what sold the co to them the potential at £4.15.

up and onward by sep.

[orange1] 04/6/2015 19:49

Highly unlikely. It was a placing. So 1.5m of the 2.79m will be sales and all of the rest of the trades at 415p are most likely buys/placings at 415p.