Electrocomponents Share Discussion Threads

[eithin] 28/5/2008 07:20

Divi OK.. Happy Holding .......

[rochdale] 23/5/2008 11:45

drifting down pre results - not a good sign perhaps

hoping for signs of green shoots of recovery

[rochdale] 21/5/2008 16:08

would expect the divi to be maintained otherwise i would expect a significant exit from this stock if results are not good

there again whether they can cover the divi is a different matter

the resutls on 28th are a tipping point one way or the other I think

[evox] 12/5/2008 22:30

Divi date will be announced with trading statement on 28th May. Last year went xd on 27th June so should be around 25/6 this year. Big question is will the divi be maintained? Currently yielding 10% which may be unsustainable. The Board announced in 2005 that it would maintain the dividend for the 3 years to 31 March 2008, assuming no substantial deterioration in economic conditions.

[needs_to_be_perservd] 05/5/2008 13:31

anyone know date for ex divi

[stuart14] 05/5/2008 08:22

Looks like its trying to get out of this downtrend

[evox] 02/4/2008 17:07

Even so, it's about 28% each for the share price in the last month.
Glad I hold this one.

[studhaves] 22/3/2008 11:24

Although PFL are clearly better than ECM :)

18% rise in profit.

[studhaves] 22/3/2008 11:23

The big rise was as a result of the excellent results from PFL, their competitor who have exactly the same business model & supply to exactly the same markets.

[bryan2] 19/3/2008 16:38

Big rise today in falling market- a bid situation developing?

[highlander2] 17/3/2008 14:59

Beware of another Dow Bear trap!!

[rochdale] 16/3/2008 18:29

been topping up on these and gthe yeild of minatained will bring invrestment

happy to sit on these for a ouple of yeards

[highlander2] 15/3/2008 11:45

Looking forward to next meeks 1% fed interest cut.

Hopefully the BOE will follow suit.

Both good news for ECM!!!

Julian Cater, analyst at Collins Stewart said that the £80m cost of a full-year dividend should almost be covered in the current year by free cash flow, which he forecast at £76.5m, and with a relatively low level of debt he had confidence that the dividend would be held. A maintained dividend would put the shares on a near 10 per cent yield.

[rochdale] 06/3/2008 10:18

hold is better than sell - not that I pay attention to brokers much

[prokartace] 06/3/2008 09:39

Heres the latest broker update:

DJ MARKET TALK: Investec Upgrades Electrocomponents To Hold

0933 GMT [Dow Jones] Investec upgrades Electrocomponents (ECM.LN) to hold from sell, saying its valuation seems reasonable, despite the high level of uncertainty on future news flow and forecasts. Adds newsflow from the sector has not yet deteriorated substantially. "If a downturn is short-lived, it is possible the management will decide to maintain the current, held dividend," it adds. Says its low levels of debt mean the already uncovered dividend could continue to be paid out of debt. Maintains 168p target price. Shares -0.4% at 172.5p

[rochdale] 05/3/2008 18:01

will do my best - lost you for a minute there though

[prokartace] 05/3/2008 17:30

Have to go fast to keep up with me.

[rochdale] 05/3/2008 16:32

following you around

[prokartace] 05/3/2008 16:21

wow!, where did you come from?

[rochdale] 05/3/2008 16:19

i certainly have! thinking of topping up too

[prokartace] 05/3/2008 16:17

Has anyone noticed that assuming unchanged dividend, we are indeed now yielding over 10%

[evo8] 14/2/2008 22:47

Thanks for those Tole.
Usual great advice from brokers (not)
Dividend will do me!

[tole] 14/2/2008 16:08

Poss divi cut and slowing sales growth.

Though gotta laugh at broker inderference - BUY, HOLD and SELL.. lol

14-Feb-08 Electrocomponents ECM Evolution Securities Buy 184.50p 270.00p - Reiteration
14-Feb-08 Electrocomponents ECM Seymour Pierce Hold 184.50p 210.00p - Upgrade
14-Feb-08 Electrocomponents ECM Panmure Gordon Sell 184.50p 160.00p - Reiteration



Electrocomponents Falls Most in Two Years as Sales Growth Slows

By Scott Hamilton

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Electrocomponents Plc, the U.K. supplier of 350,000 products ranging from cables to calculators, fell the most in two years in London trading after saying four month sales growth in Britain and Europe slowed.

Electrocomponents dropped as much as 7.9 percent, the biggest daily decline since March 2005. Sales excluding currency effects rose 4.5 percent in the four months through January, the Oxford, England-based company said in a statement today. That compares with a first-half gain of 7.3 percent.

``Given the slowdown in sales growth highlighted today and the uncertain economic backdrop, we believe the risk is on the downside,'' Guy Hewett, a London-based analyst at Investec Securities with a ``sell'' rating on the stock, said today.

Electrocomponents shares decreased as much as 15.25 pence to 178.25 pence on the London Stock Exchange and were trading at 188 pence as of 8:52 a.m. local time. Today's fall takes the stock's losses to 21 percent in the past three months, cutting the company's market value to 820 million pounds ($1.62 billion).

Four-month U.K. sales growth slowed to 0.5 percent from 2 percent in the first half, while revenue growth from Europe dropped to 4 percent from 9.2 percent. Sales from Asia-Pacific declined to 14 percent from 16 percent.

Pretax profit for the fiscal year ending March 31 will meet company expectations, Electrocomponents said today.




Electro's sales growth slows
By Maggie Urry

Published: February 14 2008 11:06 | Last updated: February 14 2008 11:06

Concerns over the outlook for UK and European electronics and manufacturing sectors were raised after Electrocomponents on Thursday said sales growth had slowed in the final months of last year.

The shares fell 9½p or 5 per cent to 184p after the group said that in the four months to the end of January, group sales growth slowed to 4.5 per cent from a rate of 7.3 per cent in the first half.

The group distributes electronic components to a range of industrial companies on a quick response basis.

Ian Mason, chief executive, said that after a good October, trading slowed in November and December. In Europe sales were particularly affected by customers taking longer Christmas holidays and also, he suspected, by companies with calendar year ends deciding to reduce stock. Trade picked up again after people returned to work in January, according to Mr Mason.

He said that so far in the second half, UK sales were up 1 per cent, compared to 2 per cent in the first half of the year. The UK contributes 40 per cent of group sales. North American sales were up 11 per cent, taking the year to date figure to 11.5 per cent, while sales in mainland Europe rose 4 per cent, giving a year to date total of 7 per cent.

The group continues to do well in Asia-Pacific, with sales up 14 per cent so far in the second half, and 15 per cent in the year to date.

Mr Mason said that the group had cut the range of products it carried and rationalised suppliers enabling it to reduce its costs. Simon Boddie, finance director, said the gross margin had edged ahead from the 50.1 per cent reported at the half year stage, and that with the help of better IT systems the group's stock turn was improving. There had been no big changes to the balance sheet since the interim stage he said, and the big capital expenditure projects of recent years were behind it.

Mr Mason stressed that he expected profits for the year to meet expectations, with analysts looking for pre-tax profits of around £95m after headline pre-tax profits rose from £36.3m to £40.4m at the half year.

However, he declined to comment on the board's likely dividend decision until results for the year to end March are reported in May. He said people should not read too much into recent trading figures, although he was "mindful of macro-economic conditions".

In the last financial year the group held the dividend at 18.4p although it was only 70 per cent covered by earnings, and in November the interim dividend was also maintained. In a 2005 strategic review the group had promised to maintain the dividend for the three years to March 31 2008 "assuming no substantial deterioration in economic conditions".

Jaime Brandwood, analyst at UBS, Electrocomponents' house broker, said that the "cloudy outlook for UK manufacturing and the European electronics cycle remain a greater concern for us than future dividend policy decisions". He said that on a "worst-case" economic outlook a dividend cut was likely, but that was not his central forecast.

Julian Cater, analyst at Collins Stewart said that the £80m cost of a full-year dividend should almost be covered in the current year by free cash flow, which he forecast at £76.5m, and with a relatively low level of debt he had confidence that the dividend would be held. A maintained dividend would put the shares on a near 10 per cent yield.

[mrt8] 14/2/2008 15:10

Now what is wrong with that report? Why has the share price dropped so much? m8