Eurodis Elect. Share Discussion Threads

[ed winchester] 21/1/2005 11:05

klwt finally caves in

[crossfirecssf] 21/1/2005 10:57

In the longer term (if my calcs are correct), the magic figure as far as we're concerned, if running costs are reduced to 63m Euro, is approx 195m Euros (£137m Sterling) for a six month period to breakeven. The previous two six month periods showed £125m and £100m Sterling respectively. ELH explained that the £225m for the year (25% down on the previous years £288m, was due to liquidity constraints on the business prior to the two cash calls. These liquidity constraints no longer exist apparently, or if they do we're none the wiser, so these sales figures look to be well within reach if the ATeG partnership bears fruit and some sort of recovery of market share is achieved. Market conditions are the final piece in the jigsaw obviously.

Anyone care to hazzard a guess as to sales for this 6 month period.
I'll start the ball rolling with £120m Sterling (169m Euros).

[boiiinngg] 21/1/2005 10:20

Can't agree more costs are known and all negatives are in the share price apart from further dumpin by institutions and/or very negative comment in the results....

Can't see either as the institutions will see a clear recovery before there eyes and very neg comment is not really on the cards....

Share price after 27jan either same or higher......

[ed winchester] 21/1/2005 09:38

and its a known factor, so can hardly be a surprise.

[crossfirecssf] 21/1/2005 09:36

You may be right Dusseldorf, but I'd suggest that restructuring costs will be broadly overlooked if at the top level the figures are heading in the right direction. Restructuring costs are a necessary evil in this situation. Cost reductions are probably the most important factor in restoring ELH to profitability. If the market can't forgive that, then more fool them, and more opportunity for savvy investors to make a killing 12 months down the line.

[dusseldorf] 21/1/2005 09:16

with extra costs due to restructuring, I can't see the next results pleasing anyone. The rolling over of financial results will impact sentiment for a further 12 months IMO, one to watch though

[boiiinngg] 21/1/2005 09:05

Nice 300k buy....

[ed winchester] 21/1/2005 08:24

cheers momentos for the compliment, also you will be surprised to know the last time i talked to eurodis, they stated 80% of their shareholders are institutions. (remember shareholders less than 3% dont have to declare their holdings).

[momentos] 20/1/2005 23:36

Ed, you really are a star, digging out every relevant article.

That article actually says more by its omissions. Do you think the journalist deliberately omitted Eurodis, or got blanked by them? Surely he rang them & all other leading UK suppliers.

You get the vibes from that Doug Rogers is a man of few words. Why bother commenting when it gains you nothing?

Im glad to say I bought these in early december @ 1.75 and have little doubt that I will exit with at least a little profit.

The 50% PLUS institutional holders understand what NAV means. They understand that a europe-wide distribution network for electronics which currently sells 220m with potential for double that is worth more than SIXTEEN MILLION POUNDS. A MAJOR European (yes EUROPEAN NOT ELECTRONICS) award winning network too.

OK, Whoooooppee, net debt 60m Euros. Why doesnt't anyone buy them? Well most other electronics distibutors are equally highly geared so possibly cant raise the cash. And conglomerate style "I'm a distributor so I can distribute anything" is only just coming back in fashion after all the huge cos were slaughtered for the sake of being a specialist.
Is the market about to disappear? Er, no not yet. Is it all heading east? Erm, a little bit.

Personally if they do go bust and there is a fire sale, I think we should get together & buy that operation in Holland!

[ed winchester] 20/1/2005 18:08

by Richard Wilson

Wednesday 19 January 2005

Market gains lead to growth

Distributors' share of the components market is as large as it has been at any time for as long as we can remember.

The 2001 downturn in the electronics market took its toll in the distribution market, but one positive outcome has been an increase in distribution's share of the total market.

With market growth predicted, the passives and electromechanical segment is likely to see an interesting contest for valuable market share. Leading the charge right now is TTI which saw its European business grow by 40 per cent in 2004, a figure which includes market gains from its rivals.

In the UK the gains were further helped by some strong business from the military and aerospace sectors. "We have expanded our business in the middle tier and we have put the resource and infrastructure in place to expand this business further," says Ros Kruger, general manager for TTI in the UK and Ireland.


Avnet Time has refocused its efforts in the passives and e-mech markets which could result in a challenge to TTI's growth plans.

To reverse a period of weakness, Avnet will make an investment of "millions of euros": "We de-emphasised passives and that needs to change," Axel Hartstang, European president of Avnet Electronics Marketing, told Electronics Weekly at the end of last year.

Another e-mech specialist, Deltron is looking for acquisitions to grow its market share in an expanding European component market.

The company added more than £4m to its UK sales when it bought Quiller Electronics in November. Christopher Sawyer, CEO of Deltron, indicates that this is not the end of the company's acquisition plans and the next target may possibly be in mainland Europe.

Two other companies worth watching, but for different reasons, are wireless module supplier TDC and Azzurri Technology.

After last summer's acquisition, TDC has the resource and broadline support of Abacus behind it. Abacus has a good record of getting the best from its acquisitions by ensuring a separate identity, but using the strength of the group to develop and grow the business, as it did with its Trident Displays business.

For Azzurri Technology the main interest lies in how it will capitalise on two recent franchise signings, and whether any more will follow.

In December it took on the prestigious flash and anti-fuse technology-based FPGA lines of Actel to address what it sees as a strong PLD market this year. "Flash is set to take increasing market share from the SRAM-based FPGA vendors and we can't think of a better company to be with at a time when programmable logic is a buoyant business in the UK and throughout the rest of Europe," says Mike Carlucci, CEO at Azzurri.


It was the distributor's second franchise signing in less than a month. In November it took on wireless and mixed signal IC maker Silicon Laboratories.

www.avnettime.com
www.azzurri.com
www.deltron-uk.com
www.tdc.co.uk
www.ttiinc.com

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 16:19

Here's a thought. For every single penny above 5p Doug Rogers achieves he gets 68 grand richer. Now that's what I call incentivisation.

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 14:39

Ta Momentos...I hadn't actually read the RNS and so didn't realise that it had been stated as a fact that he stepped down to concentrate on his other business interests. This is obviously prooving to be a toughy. I can't help wondering if Unicorn "persuaded" him to leave, in view of the share price collapse and their 17% holding.

[momentos] 20/1/2005 14:37

...and let him head off into the sunset a happy man. Or does he want just one more challenge before he retires?!

Note, that DrKW website appears to be updated regularly, so we could keep an eye to see if the over 1% disappears!

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 14:33

Yeah...Doug Rogers said at the time of last cash call that it would take between 9 and 15 months to return the business to profitability, but this was kicked into touch by the loss of market share suffered before they received the cash.

Market permitting, the extra time needed could coincide nicely with November finals this year, providing a nicely timed conclusion to Rogers latest asignment.

[momentos] 20/1/2005 14:29

DR Dowding Exit .

[greenwellsglory] 20/1/2005 14:14

looking at dougs record apart from Newman Tonks he only stays 2-3 years .i make it about 15 months so far therefore everything must happen in the next 12 -15 months.just makes me more nervous of the 27th

[momentos] 20/1/2005 13:57

Cheers Mike, I hadn't seen all that before. Pretty impressive.

Note I think he has left Dowding and Mills and may be more executive than non at Eurodis now!

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 13:54

Nice on Mike...Pretty impressive record, with the vast majority of companies being sold on. Makes it sound more likely than not that he'll restore ELH to profitability and then sell it. Suits me.

No problem Greenwellsglory, I'd seen the info before and knew where to find it. I looked it up a couple of months ago as I was as curious as you to find out what went on. You're right the point worth noting is that he found a 30% gain from a pretty hopeless situation. It looks like they'd have gone under were it not for his willingness to talk to prospective buyers. The previous management were obviously not playing ball.

[greenwellsglory] 20/1/2005 13:48

thank you crossfire i am impressed with the speed at which you came up with the info on oliver group.the abortive talks ,losses ,falling sales,debt and little cash so similar to elh they would be a challenge for anyone.at least Doug got the share price up to 12p from 9p and this was in a situation were his only course of action was to sell it off.

[chiansaw] 20/1/2005 13:48

2005-2007 Takes share price from 1.65p to 39.40p.

LOL!

[mike012321] 20/1/2005 13:42

Good work,Momentos.

Further info on Doug R from Daily Telegraph article dated 5/03/04 (originally posted by moneypm as a graphic link on BB some time ago)

Above,Ed provides a link to the article:



However,for some very odd reason the article there does not contain the following info,which appeared in the original article and so in money's graphic:

Doug Rogers' plc track record

1978-90 chief executive of Newman Tonks (engineer)

1990-95 chairman Newman Tonks Group (sold for £230m in 1997)

1990-93 Chairman of Savage (home improvements and DIY):share price improved from 15p to 80p.Sold to McKechnie.

1991-94 Deputy chairman of Linread (maker of fasteners for aero and auto industries).Share price 60p to 228p.Sold to McKechnie.

(Both of above 2 sold to McKechnie?)

1993-94 Chairman of James Wilkes (Presto Drills and high-spec wire manufacturer).Share price 44p to 183p.Bought by Suter,a 20pc shareholder.

1994-96: Chairman GBE International (Tobacco),Share price 15p to 60p.

1994-1998: Chairman of Barcom (plant hire).Share price 15p to 72p.Sold to GE capital (USA)

1997-1998: Chairman of Crabtree (maker of metal decorating presses).Bought by Germany's LTH Technologies for 50p a share

1995-99: Chairmain of United Carriers,executive chairman 1998-1999 (transport/distribution).Share price low 7p to 25p.Sold to France's Geodis

1990-2000: (should it be 1999-2001 perhaps? Don't know) Non-executive director of Epwin (PVC doors and windows).Sold shares to management for 202p a share.

1999-2001: Chairman of Oliver Group (300 shoe shops).Sold at 12p a share to private group,Benson Shoes.

2002-present: Non-executive chairman Dowding & Mills (electrical and mechanical repairs )

2003-present: Non-executive chairman of Eurodis Electron (semiconductors).

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 13:24

So we know they have somewhere between ten and thirty million shares (approx).

[momentos] 20/1/2005 13:18

Now here's an obscurity I've dug up for you!



Scroll to Eurodis:

DrKW or an affiliate is broker to Eurodis Electron in the UK. DrKW or an affiliate is financial advisor to Eurodis Electron in the UK. DrKW or an affiliate makes a market in Eurodis Electron. DrKW or an affiliate managed, co-managed or was a syndicate member for a public offering of equity securities for Eurodis Electron in the last 12 months. DrKW or an affiliate managed, co-managed or was a syndicate member for a public offering of debt or equity securities for Eurodis Electron in the last 60 months (but not in the last 12 months). DrKW or an affiliate has received compensation from Eurodis Electron for investment banking services in the past 12 months. DrKW or an affiliate expects to receive or intends to seek compensation from Eurodis Electron for investment banking services in the next three months. DrKW or an affiliate has a beneficial interest in 1% or more of the equity of Eurodis Electron. DrKW or an affiliate regularly holds trading positions in the securities of Eurodis Electron.

(accessed from )

RELEVANT BITS:

DrKW or an affiliate has a beneficial interest in 1% or more of the equity of Eurodis Electron
Created on 17 Jan 2005 (at the bottom)

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 13:16

With reference to the previous post a couple of points are worth mentioning.

Doug Rogers has stated that there are two types of turnaround...one is where you keep the company going long enough to sell it on and the other is where the company has lost its way but has a future as an independent venture.

Oliver Group clearly had to be kept going and sold on, ..."After Mr Rogers became chairman last October, Oliver began a review of its future, concluding
that it could not remain an independent venture."

With ELH Rogers has obviously concluded that they can continue as an independent venture, or he certainly seems to have considering his use of language and predictions of a return to profitability. I think he tells it like it is, and that bodes well for whatever the future may bring. He obviously feels that the situation isn't hopeless as he did with Oliver Group. If it becomes hopeless, he'll sell it on.

[crossfirecssf] 20/1/2005 13:05

Greenwellsglory...this on Oliver Group, makes interesting reading and makes evident Rogers skill in diplomacy and communication, not to mention his adeptness when it comes to realising shareholder value. Also rings very familiar in terms of the language used re. cutting costs, etc.

MAY 2000

OLIVER GROUP: In a Spiral of Decline Including Increase in Debt
---------------------------------------------------------------
Citywire May 30, 2000

The twist gets tighter for Oliver. At today's annual general
meeting, chairman of Oliver Group, Doug Rogers, told shareholders
that trading conditions are tough and are likely to remain so but
tight control of costs and working capital should help maintain
margins.

Oliver has been in a spiral of decline for a little while now as
the management lost focus during abortive merger talks.

In April the footwear chain operator reported full year pre-tax
losses of o2.9 million, falling sales, increasing debt and little
in the way of cash for its refurbishment plans.

Total sales for the first 16 weeks of the current financial year
overall were 1.9% below the year before, trading from an average
number of 274 stores against 278 stores. Like-for-like sales were
down 3.1%.

So far this year one further store has been converted, bringing
the total number of Olivers Timpson stores to 83 at today's date.
Up to 10 further low-cost conversions will be undertaken in the
remainder of the year.

The board is exploring the benefits of different possible courses
of action for the company, including the possibility of unlocking
the significant imbalance between the relative values of surplus
in Oliver's pension fund (some o10 million) and the market
capitalisation of the company (o4.8 million). The cash cannot be
distributed to shareholders.

Debt stood at o8.3 million at the end of January, some 50% of
shareholders funds. Net assets work out at 36p per share based on
shareholders funds of o18 million, which compares to a share
price of 9p. The ability to realise these assets is a different
issue, not least given the group's weak financial position.

Oliver shares are down 0.5p to 9p. A little miracle, such as an
opportunistic bid, is needed.



OCT 27 2000

OLIVER GROUP: Benson to Buy Struggling Shoe Shops
-------------------------------------------------
Benson Shoe said yesterday it had agreed to pay 6.1m pounds in
cash for Oliver Group and revealed plans to re-brand the
struggling group's shoe shops and take them down market, The
Independent reports. The deal is worth 12p a share and Benson
said it would make the company the UK's third-largest shoe
retailer by turnover, adding Oliver's 270 shops and the Timpsons
brand to its 180 stores.

Benson, which is privately owned and trades under the names
Discount Shoe Zone and Tylers Express, said it would finance the
deal using a loan facility from the Bank of Scotland. Oliver was
in two failed merger bids last year with a buyer thought to be
Stead & Simpson. The new offer already has 60 percent support
from shareholders. Oliver also reported a 2.5m pounds pre-tax
loss in the six months to 29 July, compared with a restated 1.9m
pounds loss last year. An exceptional write-down of assets
brought its first-half loss before tax to 10.9m pounds.


OLIVER GROUP: New Owner Plans to Rename Shoes Chain
---------------------------------------------------
The Times reports that the Oliver Group, the loss-making shoe
retailer, is quitting the stock market, returning to private
ownership after 48 years as a listed company. A 6.1 million
pounds takeover by privately owned Benson Shoe, announced
yesterday, will see the Oliver, Timpsons and Olivers Timpson
brand names disappear from the high street. They will be replaced
by Benson's Discount Shoe Zone brand, under the new owner's plans
to rename the chain over the next few years. Doug Rogers,
chairman of Oliver, said that the offer was "a welcome move in
the overdue consolidation of the UK footwear retail sector".
Oliver, which has incurred a loss in each of the past three
years, has been hit by a declining market, tougher competition
and flat or falling selling prices.

Over the past three years it has shut 58 shops, opened 16 and
refurbished 65. Although the new and upgraded shops had performed
well, they could not compensate for the un-refurbished stores.
Oliver said. Turnover has been little changed at about 70 million
pounds a year for five years. After Mr Rogers became chairman
last October, Oliver began a review of its future, concluding
that it could not remain an independent venture.

The Times said that Benson based in Leicester, has been seeking a
merger with its locally based rival for several years. Anthony
Smith, Benson's chief executive, said: "It has been frustrating
that the previous management have not wanted to speak to us it
was only since Doug Rogers arrived that we could sit down and
talk." The takeover will more than double Benson's outlets. At
present it owns 180 Discount Shoe Zones and Tylers and Tylers
Express in Ireland, while Oliver has 260 outlets. Oliver shares
rose 1p to 12p, in line with Benson's cash offer.