Huntsworth Share Discussion Threads

[spooky] 31/1/2006 21:00

Oh gosh i never realised that i will sell mine as soon as the market opens :-o)

[markie7] 31/1/2006 20:50

Anyone else noticed the lack of a trading statement here? Its a December year end, and all quiet. Thats not good. Companies always rush to give good news, and delay / work out how to phrase - bad news.....

[whealan] 31/1/2006 16:52

There are some quite big slugs of shares still moving around at about mid-price.Unusual for this share until recently. I wonder who, why and whether.

[whealan] 26/1/2006 18:56

Jimcar
I haven't followed Chime but having looked at it just now it seems to be benefiting from transparency of results and a bullish trading statement coupled with the sale of a less profitable bit to WPP and using the money to buy back their own shares, enhancing eps. All good for sentiment and helped by positive broker comment at a time of soaring markets.

Two major institutional investors, Aegon & Lloyd's TSB, reduced their stakes below 3%. One doesn't know why, just before the shares took off, but one could read something into it if one wanted to, either way if one is a Machiavellian thinker.

If, but not before, HNT can sort out their transparency of results, as I have said, I would expect a similar rerating, always assuming they show their major reorganisations are going to bear fruit. That may not be this time round, though, with everything that went on in 2005.

[jimcar] 25/1/2006 15:48

Whealan

I just did a comparison between the share prices of HNT and chime (CHW). They seem to track each other quite well except for a period in march and also since November when CHW has rocketed whilst HNT has flat lined. Any ideas why this might be so or is this a buying opportunity?

[whealan] 19/1/2006 14:40

Another 600000 gone through

[whealan] 18/1/2006 19:45

The last of the three 150000 trades which went through today was a C trade, which I understand means that there was a condition (unspecified) attached to the trade agreed between the buyer and seller. This could be for example to agree to deal at an average price during a specified period and would give rise to an adjustment on the last trade if it is split, as perhaps we are seeing here. It tends to give weight perhaps to my earlier comment that these larger trades are agreed put throughs rather than arms length deals in the open market.

[jimcar] 17/1/2006 22:09

Thanks for that.

I agree about the old exceptioanl/extraordinary split.

[whealan] 17/1/2006 18:14

JIMCAR

A lot of mid-price deals, and the 850000 which has come through in the end is slightly closer to the buy than the sell at the time of dealing.It smacks more to me of repositioning by agreement than of arms length transactions. But it could be transfers to SIPPS or PEPs and ISAs or whatever.

I am really not sure what the results will show. I am afraid that on the surface they will be an awful muddle what with the Incepta deal and the Mediasquare sell-off and all the reorganisation that comes with them. In fact I would fully expect to have to do a lot of digging to find out what the continuing business is likely to do in 2006, which is what really matters. The trouble is that P&L items which are "extraordinary because of their nature" or "exceptional because of their size" no longer get shown separately as they did in my young day. With luck however the new FD (if they have found one ,which I hope they have) will make sure that enough information is provided for an intelligent analysis to come up with the goods. Having dug, I would be very surprised if we didn't see the whole thing finally coming together. They have sold off the bits that were less profitable and have added substantially to what they know how to do, PR. I doubt whether any other major acquisitions/mergers are in the offing barring the one we discussed earlier which I see as the end game, or something like it and 2006 consequently could be the one which shows the group in full cry, the economy permitting.

I await the detail with bated breath!

As I have said before, I think the shares drift due to lack of real buying or selling volume and nobody takes much notice. It only matters if there is a big deal to be done with shares as the currency. The share price depends on profits, dividends and speculation. The end game, whenever that is, will be done more on turnover than profit.

[jimcar] 17/1/2006 17:19

Whealan

The 850K is showing on the an ADVFN competitor screen as a sell but with no time associated with it. It does look as though something is going on, possibly a seller being cleared out?

I believe HNT had a trading update about this time last year. Do you think we will get one soon and can you see any reason why it should not be v good? M&A activity seems to be on a roll with everyone forecasting more to come. I think this one might have been unfairly dragged down by general media sector gloom.

[whealan] 17/1/2006 16:15

A lot of funny (to me) trades going through today. An 850000 deleted (?delayed) trade followed by lots of 10000 trades. It looks to my untutored eye as though there is some repositioning going on. But who knows what it means.

[whealan] 12/1/2006 23:15

JIMCAR

Not ramping, really I'm not! It would just be nice to have some company in my thoughts which I have been trying to get over on this board for a year or more.

I am a confirmed long term holder (about 5 years so far) and don't think the share price is likely to, or would move on short term considerations, if only because I don't think there will be any. This has been a long game but even long games come to fruition in the end and I personally sense that that is not too far off now - a year or two, possibly less. The recent share purchases I find particularly encouraging in this connection as institutions are usually better informed on the City grapevine than I now am in my retired state! Better early than never in these circumstances.

[jimcar] 12/1/2006 17:20

Whealan

Interesting.

I remember during the Incepta/Chime merger discussions someone suggesting that the ultimate plan behind the deal was to create a PR entity sufficiently big to make it worth while for WPP to take it over.

As you say, all uninformed conjecture etc but I've certainly come across worse bases for a ramp on the ADVFN boards! ;-)

[whealan] 12/1/2006 16:23

Its The Oxman

Thanks, I will

JIMCAR

They play their cards very close to their chest and make virtually no announcements between half yearly results except for acquisitions. The stated goal however is to have about 18 international PR operations in the group and be a major PR presence in the world. They must be about there now, once they have got a new FD and finished off the reorganisation resulting from the merger with (purchase of) Incepta and the disposals to MediaSquare.

What happens next is conjecture but when Lord C did the same with Shandwick 15 or so years ago the share price sank to about 2p due to overextending themselves on acquisitions and within 6 months they had sold out to the Americans for 80p+ I think. They are now Weber Shandwick, one of the biggest PR groups in the world.

I note that shortly before the deal with Incepta, Incepta announced that they had broken off talks with Chime, Lord Bell's company in which Martin Sorrell's WPP have a 20% share or thereabouts, to whom they had been talking for 6 months. On doing the deal with Incepta, HNT said they had been talking to them for a year. Given the fact they have all known each other for donkey's years it seems to me wholly possible therefore, not to put it any higher than that, that what is happening is part of a larger plan to put some or all of them together. Given that Lord C has undertaken to stay until some time in 2007(?)and invested a substantial slug of his own pension fund in it at the beginning when it was Holmes and Marchant, who knows what might happen?

This would perhaps explain why they appear not to actually give a fig for a realistic share price in the meantime.

All uninformed conjecture of course,just a thought, no inside track, imho, adyor etc etc.

[dk37] 12/1/2006 15:27

Hear are the links to the broker research in Oct, last year

[jimcar] 12/1/2006 13:56

I came into this stock via Incepta where the problems had been the downturn in M&A activity for the financial PR side, the performance of certain of the specialist marketing businesses and the indifferent management.

As dk37 says the M&A acitivity must be benefiting the financial PR profits, the specialist marketing busineeses are gone and the the HNT management seem quite well regarded. So is there something on the old HNT side of the business that is not doing well?

[its the oxman] 12/1/2006 11:43

yep - thanks for your contributions whealan - I continue to hold/add in belief these are substantially undervalued and am always interested in any news/comment.

[dk37] 12/1/2006 11:24

I am a follower of this stock and am rather bemused that it has failed to participate in the markets rise, especially so given the new focus on PR and the degree to which they must be beneficiaries of the current, and ongoing, level of corporate activity. I view this stock as a good exposure to the corporate finance departments of the leading banks given their participation in the event of corporate activity. Just look at their exposure to FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies.

Interestingly in October 05 there were 3 broker recommendations for the stock with price objectives of up to 140p, since then however the stock has continued to drift despite the rise in the market.

An interesting stock that may bounce sharply if the optimism expressed in October is still intact.

[whealan] 12/1/2006 11:08

Welsheagle

By miles in my view. And one or more people following it are buying steadily without moving the price.? an arranged stake? Another 500000 this morning.

But for every buyer there is a seller of course, perhaps an old Incepta stakeholder?

[welsheagle] 11/1/2006 20:23

Keep posting, Whealan - there are probably more people following this stock than you think - undervalued.

[whealan] 11/1/2006 17:09

It's quite fun talking to myself as I don't answer back. Someone picked up 1m shares today. No doubt there is stakebuilding going on at these prices and I am not surprised.

[whealan] 22/12/2005 20:54

If I am right, interesting to see Aberforth seem to have added another 12m HNT for their own a/c in the last week (and that is possibly without the 8m changing hands yesterday) giving them 19m or over 10% in all (? in their smaller companies fund?). Good to see some real confidence in this stock.Some of the trades shown as sells must have been buys at a fine margin, achieved with the size of the order. Clever not to move the price in the process.
Happily I also have a stake in that excellent fund!

[samg99] 30/11/2005 14:11

Well HNT is going on to the SETSMM trading platform next week so even tho the spreads will often be wider and dealing sizes will be smaller, it'll move more often ;-)

[its the oxman] 30/11/2005 08:40

shares look forgotten at present toward bottom of trading range - really should bounce from here. frustrating.

[welsheagle] 18/10/2005 08:12

Huntsworth H1 pretax from continuing ops 1.52 mln stg vs 953,000

LONDON (AFX) - Huntsworth PLC reported a rise in pretax profit from
continuing operations to 1.52 mln stg in the first half from 953,000 stg a year
earlier and is paying an interim dividend of 0.5 pence a share.
The results for the six months to end-June 2005 include two months'
contribution from Incepta, which was acquired in April.
Operating profits before merger and restructuring costs were up at 7.1 mln
stg against 2 mln previously.
Turnover excluding acquisitions rose to 28.46 mln stg from 23.08, and
including acquisitions, was up at 70.8 mln stg.
Since the end of June, the group's Public Relations businesses have
continued to perform well, with good growth and margins. The board has every
expectation that this performance will be sustained, Huntsworth said.
The Marketing Services and Specialist Advertising businesses had a difficult
start to the year, despite some recovery following the merger, and have seen
their operating income fall well below the previous year.
"While the profits of Marketing Services and Advertising businesses for the
period up to their disposal will be below expectations, the Public Relations
businesses should have a strong finish to the year. Overall the board has
increasing confidence for the development of the group's businesses in 2006 and
beyond," the company said.