Hargreaves Services Share Discussion Threads

[castleford tiger] 21/3/2015 13:41

still on its way down

[meijiman] 19/3/2015 12:54

I think its time for the company to do something -no good sitting looking out of the window and thinking if only. climbing into bed with old king coal clearly not a smart move.

[meijiman] 12/3/2015 11:27

Maybe they need to think of what to do to get out of this dire situation.What rabbits may be plucked out of the hat. The share buy back doesn't seem to be doing the trick.

[castleford tiger] 06/3/2015 18:30

forecast for next year is less than HALF what we may earn this year.

Much lower to go in my opinion.
tiger

[meijiman] 23/2/2015 10:41

Schroders are no mugs. They must be confident as to future cash flows to secure the sort of yield they require.

[pugugly] 18/2/2015 17:08

I would put it more bluntly

- WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL THE BOARD AND ESPECIALLY THE FD TO STOP BEHAVING LIKE A PACK OF IDIOTS. STOP WASTING SHAREHOLDERS FUNDS TO KEEP THEIR CITY FRIENDS HAPPY BY BUYING BACK THE STOCK THEY CANNOT SELL IN THE MARKET WITHOUT TAKING A BIGGER LOSS.

[rohkap] 17/2/2015 15:09

its bizarre bamboo2. Could think of it as a tremendous vote of confidence from management re the company's future but radio shack in the US is a good recent example of a company that undertook a significant buyback only to go bust a few years later! Hopefully they'll do as you suggest but wouldnt be surprised if they don't change tack given that they were buying back earlier this month

[bamboo2] 17/2/2015 14:39

Whilst the buyback does save a small amount of divi payments on the shares in treasury and helps the eps, I totally agree with you Rohkap, buying back at this level is stupid.

Far better to let the share price find its natural market price level, then buyback into a rising market

[rohkap] 17/2/2015 14:32

Although its better than buying back shares when the price is high, I'm not sure the current buyback strategy in this brutal falling share price environment is the best use of cash. If I was senior management, I would hold on to the cash and make sure there is enough to cover the dividend and bring down debt and if there are surplus funds maybe then dip into the market to buy back shares

[meijiman] 17/2/2015 14:30

Yes its all doom and gloom. Management resemble rabbit caught in the headlights. Be interested to see what the forecasts are -not an easy job doing the numbers on this company.

[bamboo2] 17/2/2015 11:05

simon, I agree, it's not looking too good. That big H&S target draws closer at approx 285.

[simon gordon] 17/2/2015 10:13

It's like a living nightmare for poor HSP. Fraud, Monkton, shale revolution, oil price collapse and coal prices sinking whilst they'd invested heavily in open cast mines.

[suetballs] 17/2/2015 07:55

I suppose they are managing the downside as best they can - but I agree it's hard to see anything really positive at the moment.
Suet

[tjbird] 17/2/2015 07:22

Update on Recent Market Developments

Since we last updated the market in early December, coal prices have seen further significant falls prompted by depressed global demand and the falling oil price. Current price levels represent a drop of approximately £5 per tonne since our trading update on 12 December 2014 and £14 per tonne since we acquired our Scottish surface mining assets in April and May 2013. The thermal coal price fell to a nine year low of approximately £39 per tonne in January 2015 and at the moment it is unclear where prices will settle. At current price levels, thermal coal produced in our surface mining operations is loss making and therefore our strategy will be to focus on mining projects at those sites that produce significant yields of higher value speciality coals. By targeting these higher value sites, the Group will be able to continue to supply its key speciality markets whilst protecting the viability and long-term potential of our Scottish operations.

The recent collapse in the oil price has also depressed gas prices which is leading to a significant and unexpected reduction in coal burn by UK power stations. As a result we are seeing signs that these stations may significantly reduce their near term coal purchases in order to rebalance stocks. In the absence of a significant increase in forecast coal burn, we would expect a number of our customers to slow contract offtake and reduce coal purchases when current contracts expire. It is even possible in current market conditions that a number of stations will purchase no additional coal during the remainder of this calendar year and instead consume existing stocks. Whilst this reduction in coal burn and coal purchases may only be temporary, it is likely to have impacts on both our port and production operations from May to the end of this calendar year.

In addition to thermal markets, we are also now starting to see margin pressure in the speciality markets. UK Coal has recently reduced prices to stimulate demand, which has been soft after a second successive mild winter. This has been coupled with increased supply from UK Coal's deep mines. This is only likely to be a short-term market feature and excess stocks should work through the system in due course with UK Coal's two deep mines due to close in the near future.





couldn't get any worse, could it

[meijiman] 12/2/2015 08:36

Always liked this company though clearly it operates in some tricky markets. hopefully the growth days are not over for ever. Think there is more to this than a yield play. Need some evidence though.

[scobak] 08/1/2015 15:13

well looks like hsp is beginning to reinvent itself. Land development, exporting of its mining skills to India and the sensible use of its capital to buy in shares whilst share price is low. The latter will increase eps automatically.

I am sure that there will be other news to come and further opportunities.

A month ago there were dark clouds on the horizon. There are still clouds but i am beginning to see some sky blue for this company.

[gargoyle2] 07/1/2015 13:15

Thanks bamboo.

[bamboo2] 07/1/2015 12:58

Gargoyle, from what I could see when I held HSP recently, the focus was on reducing debt and share buybacks rather than a special dividend.
The major problem at the end of this financial year is that the benefit of hedging is removed, so unless coal prices increase, difficult decisions will need to be made regarding existing UK production.

[totally banjo] 07/1/2015 12:39

Moving Mountains Magazine

Hargreaves’ company-wide magazine is distributed to all of our 3,000 colleagues in the UK and Europe - and we also distribute Moving Mountains to a wide range of external stakeholders.

[gargoyle2] 07/1/2015 09:23

Thanks meijiman.

[meijiman] 07/1/2015 09:22

My view is that the existing business is ex growth -but that does not mean the share price will be stagnant. It is arguably cheap given the share buy backs and yield support. But there is certainly re-rating potential from the changing perception of the company as having growth potential from its land bank/property development and maybe as a renewables play.

[totally banjo] 07/1/2015 08:44

Hargreaves Services plc plot development of former Scottish opencast mine into town
Jan 06, 2015 19:15
By Tom Keighley

The Durham-based group hope to turn the Blindwells site in East Lothian into a 1,600 home development with a school, supermarket and work space


An artist's impression of Hargreaves' plans for the Blindwells, East Lothian site



One of the North East’s largest companies is to build a new town in Scotland.

Hargreaves Services, the Durham-based mining and bulk material logistics firm, is hoping to secure planning consent in the coming months for a major development comprising 1,600 homes, a school, community facilities and commercial units on the site of a former open cast mine in East Lothian.

Hargreaves acquired the Blindwells site, near Tranent, in July 2013 from the liquidators of collapsed Scottish Coal, in a portfolio of some 30,000 acres of land.

The 300-acre site, which stands on the north east side of the A1, overlooks the Firth of Forth will likely become a commuter settlement for Edinburgh.

It has been allocated for residential development by East Lothian Council, and Hargreaves submitted an application for the plans in October.

In a move designed to drive maximum value from its old mining assets, Hargreaves will spend an estimated £10m-£12m to prepare the site for building by housing developers.



Iain Slater, the firm’s head of property development, said the project is one of six former mining sites in Scotland that Hargreaves is looking to develop with plans including renewable energy installations, forestry and housing.

He said: “We’ve spent just over 18 months working with the local authority on this project to get the most value from the site.

“Our plans come on the back of sporadic development in the area, which has been positive, but hasn’t been substantial enough to bring much needed infrastructure with it, such as roads and schools.

“At the moment there are plans for 1,600 homes, but we’re also working with a local farmer, and could potentially take another four acres to provide space for more plots.”

Mr Slater confirmed that it was likely Hargreaves would work with housing developers to build the plots.

A supermarket, school and small-scale commercial units are also planned for the town, which is likely to be given a name which references the site’s historic links to Bonnie Prince Charlie – who marched across the boggy land in 1745 with his Jacobite troops ahead of the Battle of Prestonpans.

The scheme will also require substantial landscaping works including development’s own loch. Blindwells has not seen open cast mining for some 15 years, however there are still preparatory works for Hargreaves to negotiate before any building work can take place.

Initial works include compacting of the land, where huge mounds of soil are left for periods to ensure the landscape is fit to support building.

Mr Slater said the project was a substantial one for Hargreaves’ small property team – but one that represented the business’ diversification over recent years.

He added: “This project is a big one for us, and it shows just how much the group has diversified in recent years. For us it’s about realising the maximum value from our existing assets.”

If planning consent is granted the firm expect ground works to commence in January 2016.

[gargoyle2] 07/1/2015 08:13

Thanks for posting these news stories, tb. Any comment/thoughts on where the share price is going? Share buybacks and prospects of return of capital to shareholders aside, where is the business going?

[totally banjo] 07/1/2015 08:03

07 January 2015

Hargreaves Services Plc

Transaction in Own Shares

Hargreaves Services Plc announces that on 6 January 2015, in accordance with prior approvals from shareholders, it purchased through N+1 Singer Capital Markets Limited 40,000 ordinary shares at an average price of 630 pence per share. The purchased shares will be held as treasury shares. Following the above purchase, Hargreaves Services Plc holds 743,072 ordinary shares in treasury, and has 32,395,684 ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares).

Therefore the figure of 32,395,684 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

[totally banjo] 06/1/2015 08:00

06 January 2015

Hargreaves Services Plc

Transaction in Own Shares

Hargreaves Services Plc announces that on 5 January 2015, in accordance with prior approvals from shareholders, it purchased through N+1 Singer Capital Markets Limited 40,000 ordinary shares at an average price of 638.5 pence per share. The purchased shares will be held as treasury shares. Following the above purchase, Hargreaves Services Plc holds 703,072 ordinary shares in treasury, and has 32,435,684 ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares).

Therefore the figure of 32,435,684 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.