Internet Business Share Discussion Threads

[omlaysause] 21/6/2007 17:33

Well when I said the next announcement IBG/Maz makes will probably be one of the most important, I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be like this.

I've read all the posts and tend to agree with Stemis and also the possibility of a MBO. Many people are dumping these shares which is obviously going to hurt the price added to yet another poorly presented RNS.
I think Maz is up to something, which isn't necessarily a bad thing and only time will tell what that is.

The strategic review seems to have been a bit of a smoke screen, it seems now Maz never had any intention of selling up and has today left me bewildered and disappointed in the handling of this situation.

I've always praised Maz for his honesty and not overstating the company's position but I think the past 2 months have seriously damaged his and IBG credibility, certainly in my eyes but this is still a good company managed by people who want only the best for it and therefore I'll continue to hold for at least another 12 months at which time it should be clear which way Maz is taking IBG and it shareholders.

[masurenguy] 21/6/2007 17:02

Ah............cheers Stegrego !

[stemis] 21/6/2007 17:00

The RNS was from 18 months ago.

[kenatbabken] 21/6/2007 16:59

As I own close to 4 million shares and it drops 10.5p my portfolio is obviously down £ 400k

[masurenguy] 21/6/2007 16:48

Steg - Like you I first bought in during January and added several times. Fortunately I sold around half my stake at around break even last month. Today I dumped about two thirds of my remaining stock at around a 40% loss too and am now left with the rump (about 17%) which I will put in a draw and leave for a couple of years.

Very disappointing company. They have a good businees in quite a hot sector and clearly have some very good techies on board. However my brief experience here gave me no real confidence in the business acumen of the management, which is why I started to sell out earlier and then dumped most of my residual after todays debacle.

Better to deploy the reduced capital elsewhere than to sit and watch it sink lower and maybe stagnate for another year or so.

[stegrego] 21/6/2007 16:44

Liars - thanks

Best of luck anyway Ken and the rest of the holders here.

[stegrego] 21/6/2007 16:39

I think you will get lots of people who didnt see the RNS at all today selling out in the morning...

11.46am is not a time that generally catches the eye..

Certainly caught me out - otherwise id of sold at 11.47!!

[yump] 21/6/2007 16:34

On the face of it the share is cheap, but imo there are now 2 nasty factors which will be at work:

1. A year of being patient, followed by a disappointment will probably bump out quite a few investors who would normally be holding longer term, patiently, in a company that just had a temporary blip. Sitting on profits from 4-8p was OK. Sitting on (now) reduced profits for 2-3 years to see what happens is not such an attractive proposition. If you're a pretty good stock selector, thats 2 years in which to move some of the profits elsewhere where there hasn't been any sort of problem, as and when a decent opportunity presents itself.

2. The market may not be at a top, but its toppy, because by definition it is miles away from any sort of bottom. I'm still cashing in here and the cash is going to sit and wait for the next serious market dip.

[james 2] 21/6/2007 16:33

Steg - If I remember Ken bought a serious wadge back when these were low single figures. Commiserations to LT IBG'ers.

[stegrego] 21/6/2007 16:29

You got me - no idea who he is... Just glad im not him!

[liarspoker] 21/6/2007 16:26

Stegrego - if you don't know who Ken is then you haven't done your IBG homework.

[lord buffett] 21/6/2007 16:20

SteMiS

I don't know why you are making a distinction between market expectations/forecasts and those of management, as they should be one and the same thing, or certainly in terms of RNSs; else management could be accused of misleading the market, as nobody would have a clue what expectations they were referring to!

[jwe] 21/6/2007 16:15

SteMiS-Agree regarding the debt of ATCG(i don`t know PUG).
The trouble is with expressing concerns over the `Boards expectations`regarding profit is that it COULD mean any figure,both above or below that forecast.Personally i will sit on the sidelines here until at least the results and further guidance.The prospect of flat profits or maybe worse for 2 years could well mean that once the share price settles it could go nowhere for a long time.Good luck anyway.

[stemis] 21/6/2007 15:46

jwe,

Compare the previous 2007 broker forecast vs 2006 actual (this is based on my spreadsheet records as the research notes have been removed from the IBG site). 2006A 2007F
Sales 13,405 20,000

PBT 1 116 1,870

EPS 1.5p 1.9pManagement's expectations will have been higher than this. I don't take from the announcement today that we are looking at a significant shortfall in 2007.

PS - I also hold ATCG as you will know. Another AIM stock on a P/E of 6-7 is PUG. What both ATCG and PUG have in common is high debt. Not true of IBG.

[clocktower] 21/6/2007 15:24

As Maz has lost more than a few quid today he could always push up his wage packet to make up for the loss. On the other hand, it could be the reason that they said there would be a short fall in profits for at least 2 years. Maybe already agreed a new wage deal with those responsible.

[jwe] 21/6/2007 15:22

SteMIS-why do you think profits will grow by 50% this year.The announcement says they will be below expectations?
Agree re ATCG

[grevis] 21/6/2007 14:54

SteMiS: Couldn't agree more!

[muffinhead] 21/6/2007 14:54

21p with take it back to Jan 06

[stemis] 21/6/2007 14:50

Always hard to call the bottom. Sometime you just have to take value when its presented.

[dahl] 21/6/2007 14:49

Must say I am having much the same toughts as tonyr - that Maz is bringing the price down for an MBO. It is just that the statement is very strange. He talks of profits 'potentially' being lower - why issue a profits warning when you are not sure it is completely justified. Also, the 2 year time frme for profits being held back - that is too long - they cannot be sure of anything on a timescale like that, so why spook the market. Also, the share buyback - the effect of this would be to automatically increase the percentage held by the directors, without them actually having to buy any new shares. I cannot make any other sense out of the last six months. First, announce a completely unnecessary 'strategic review' to get shareholders used to the idea that the company may be sold, then this statement. Most shareholders would now probably jump at an approach of 30p a share, MBO or not.

[upthetic] 21/6/2007 14:48

dead cat bounce?