Currys Share Discussion Threads

[mikepompeyfan] 15/9/2014 08:20

Multiply dc. share price by 0.155

[maximillian1] 15/9/2014 08:20

New price times 0.155

[v11slr] 15/9/2014 08:20

Multiply the current price by .155 (no calculator allowed).

[maximillian1] 15/9/2014 08:18

Think we wil see at least 66..before a pull back imo..no worries holding this baby...my target has always been 72

[justwondering] 15/9/2014 08:17

What is the equation for bringing the current price into the old price equivalent?

[mikepompeyfan] 15/9/2014 08:15

About 59p for dxns atm in old money according to my calculations ;-)

[tim 3] 15/9/2014 08:08

Feel for the phones 4U staff. As usual they are the innocent party in this that suffer.

[undervaluedassets] 15/9/2014 08:03

Winner takes it all.

DC.

[maximillian1] 15/9/2014 07:37

Get ready for a whoosh on this imo..

[cumnor] 15/9/2014 07:25

I wonder how much UK tax these Private Equity guys paid on taking £200 million from a UK business with thousands of employees using 'Irish' bonds. Any individual would pay £80 million (short term gain and not fully reinvested in business) but I wonder if they paid anything near what one would expect here in the UK where David Cameron refuses to tax speculators (EE FTT) even when they screw taxpayers and dump employees on the streets. Anyone know how much UK tax was paid on the profit from the issuance of these bonds? Imo

[mikepompeyfan] 15/9/2014 06:26

The benefits of the dxns/cpw merger are becoming increasingly clear now.
They have such a high street presence, the mobile network operators cannot afford to ignore them. I bet the cpw in Dixons stores programme will be ramped up even more now.

[cumnor] 15/9/2014 06:15

"If mobile network operators decline to supply us, we do not have a business," said Phones 4U boss David Kassler.

Sad for employees-feel they have been caught up here with debt being loaded onto business (not for investment in business) so greedy owners could milk it. Now thousands likely to lose jobs.

Well done David Cameron for allowing this type of thing to happen.

As a PI I wouldn't touch a penny share if owners decided to take two hundred million to pocket it without them putting a huge whack back into the business, especially if it had only a few fickle customers (the networks) and no assets. Are these bondholders stupid, or were they (mis)sold a pup? imo dyor

[cumnor] 15/9/2014 06:01

Reckon the PE screwed the bondholders Amazed they bought these Irish bonds-who did their DD? Can see some writs flying here. imo

[anony mous] 14/9/2014 23:21

From engadget news.....I like this bit....What the future has in store for Phones4u is now anyone's guess, but we expect Dixons Carphone will be rubbing its hands at the prospect of having one less rival on the High Street.

[rkjones] 14/9/2014 22:30

Reminds me of the Glazers/Man Utd business model. Acquire the asset, load it with debt and milk it!

[mikepompeyfan] 14/9/2014 22:10

Anyway, just think of all that iphone6 business that will now probably be coming Carphone Warehouse's way :-)

[mikepompeyfan] 14/9/2014 22:01

Yes, that news is just breaking.
Happy as a dc. shareholder but sickened by the greedy private equity firm that has bled that company dry.
Their greed could cost 5,500 people their jobs.
Bloody cheek. Just noticed they're totally blaming the network partners rather than the massive debt they've saddled the company with and left themselves no room to manoeuvre.

[hmrc inspector] 14/9/2014 22:00

Phones 4U collapses into administration as EE is final operator to hang up.

[rkjones] 14/9/2014 21:14

Phones4U gone. Stores closed tomorrow. PWC to act as administrators.

[mikepompeyfan] 14/9/2014 07:52

THE future of more than 6,000 Phones 4u workers has been thrown into doubt after the heavily indebted high street chain prepared for talks with its creditors.

The mobile phone seller has hired advisers to restructure its colossal debts. The process could see its private equity owner handing control of Phones 4u to its bondholders.

Earlier this month, the 700-strong chain said it was “blind-sided” when Vodafone, which accounts for one in three of its new mobile connections, unexpectedly dumped it as a supplier.

The decision came almost exactly a year after BC Partners, which bought the company in 2011, saddled it with a £205m high- interest loan that it used to pay itself a huge £223m dividend. Within hours of Vodafone’s move, the value of that bond crashed to just 13p in the pound amid fears that the bondholders will be wiped out.

Chief executive David Kassler told lenders that the company was looking at “all options”, including deep cost-cuts or a merger.

It is understood that BC has hired Rothschild to restructure its £635m debt pile. The talks could lead to the company being taken over by its lenders, who could demand store closures and other cuts in return for forgiving some of its debts.

Last week Moody’s Investors Service pushed the credit rating of Phones 4u’s bonds deeper into “junk” territory.

The loss of Vodafone came on the same day that the mobile giant extended a supply agreement with rival Carphone Warehouse. The move has left the future of Phones 4u firmly in the hands of EE, the only big mobile supplier that has stuck with the company. Its supply contract expires in September 2015.

Phones 4u was dropped by O2 as a supplier in January. The Vodafone agreement expires in February.

Phones 4u has begun crunch talks with EE over extending its deal. On a hastily arranged conference call in the wake of the Vodafone news, one bondholder suggested that EE, which has been opening its own stores to cut the commissions it pays to third-party suppliers, could ultimately buy Phones 4u.

He said: “It seems to me that you guys are now in the laps of EE . . . Is there a potential for them to buy you out, because it seems that O2 and Vodafone have gone, so you are down to one [supplier]. So what’s the incentive for them to engage with you when it might be cheaper to buy you guys?”

Kassler would not comment on that possibility. Yet he admitted that the company must find a way to replace £70m in gross profit that Vodafone accounted for.

BC and Phones 4u declined to comment.

[mikepompeyfan] 13/9/2014 06:43

The merger of these two great brands creates a powerhouse of a retail distribution channel for electronic goods. We have liked both firms for some time now and, to borrow a phrase, we like them ‘better together’. The mobile operators are increasingly dependent on direct distribution and they are consolidating third-party retailers. In our view, Dixons/Carphone Warehouse will be a survivor, with the opportunity to benefit from the greater concentration.

Richard Watts is manager of the Old Mutual UK Midcap Equity fund

[mikepompeyfan] 13/9/2014 06:40

"This is our first solo flight in our merged entity and we look to be in extremely good shape," Sebastian James, chief executive of newly created Dixons Carphone (DC.) said as he announced the group’s first-quarter results.

As Dixons Carphone prepares to join the heavy hitters of the FTSE 100, it’s not hard to see why Mr James is so upbeat about the group's prospects. Not only will the merger lead to cost-savings, but joining up Dixons' electricals expertise with the mobile connectivity provided by Carphone Warehouse, means it can offer customers a complete, seamless end-to-end digital service. That's important because the way we use the internet on our mobile devices is changing. Increasingly, mobile technology is becoming woven into our daily routines: televisions are now connected to the internet, lighting can be controlled through apps, fridges are mobile-ready and even thermostats can be controlled in the palm of our hands. Indeed smart technology is a big focus for the new Dixons Carphone. The category was launched in the last quarter and will be fully rolled out in stores by Christmas.

Shareholders will be pleased to know that integration appears to be going to plan, too. There are already 11 stores-in-store, performing ahead of expectations, and the group is on track to deliver 30 by Christmas. Seven departments have also been combined across the business. As for Dixons, it reported strong growth in the UK and Ireland in the three months to 31 July, with like-for-like sales up 4 per cent. White goods sold particularly well, helped in part by the housing recovery. Mr James said Dixons had sharpened its pricing to match online-only competitors and had gained market share. 'Posher products' sold well too, such as range-style cookers, which were up 64 per cent compared with pre-recession levels. Strong television sales continued over the summer, with consumers opting for bigger, ultra high-definition sets, hoping to future-proof their purchases. Dixons also sold enough wearable devices to "track 6.5m customer steps". Elsewhere, the Nordics delivered a solid performance, against tough comparatives and Mr James said the Greek business would return to profitability "in the near future".

As for Carphone, like-for-like sales fell 6 per cent in the four months to 2 August, but Mr James stressed that this was a good result given last year's extremely tough comparisons, when sales were up 13 per cent, thanks to a massive iPhone promotion. “There is no way on earth we could have beaten those numbers,” he added. Total sales fell 14 per cent as Carphone pulled out of low-margin handset wholesale business in Germany.

IC VIEW:
The shares are trading at a premium to the sector, but we think this is merited given the superior earnings growth forecast, cost savings ahead and compelling consumer offer. Buy.
Last IC view: Dixons Retail: Buy at 48p, 27 Jun 2014 Dixons Carphone: Buy, 317p, 27 Jun 2014

[maximillian1] 12/9/2014 10:47

What a phone that is....