John Lewis Of Hungerford Share Discussion Threads

[georgeghutton] 17/12/2019 16:17

And someone is dropping shares in nice little bundles at the mo. Hmmmmmmm

[georgeghutton] 17/12/2019 16:15

Yes yes. I can read the RNS. My point was simply why the delay ? Why so much later than previous years? I’m guessing because they’re probably a bit, well, underwhelming...
If they were any good they would have straight out. Another guess is the delay is more to do with hoping to find another upbeat message in current trading to deflect.. They’re very good at upbeat messages......

[davidosh] 17/12/2019 14:19

John Lewis of Hungerford Plc (AIM: JLH), the specialist manufacturer and retailer of kitchens, bedrooms and freestanding furniture, announces that, further to the announcement made on 10 October 2019, the Company intends to release its audited final results by the end of December 2019.

[cjohn] 22/10/2019 10:03

Against all expectations, they made a roughly 100k profit in the second half.

[amrishbhim] 21/10/2019 10:06

This company should go private,not worth a PLC. It's wasting shareholders money, maybe should use that money each year on staff and new range.

[horndean eagle] 19/3/2019 14:06

I sat in on a conference call with JLH and have to admit it was the most depressing call I had ever been on. Performance was dire and they sounded like they thought they had done a really good job. It was amazing. So fully understand the comments above.

[graham1ty] 19/3/2019 12:23

My retirement, it is not all gloom and doom. Top line revenue seems to have picked up. They were £1m behind at the interims, but the forward book + sales to March are not that far behind last year and they hope to match last year’s revenue. That means an increase of £1m in 2H.

And, they hope to be able to cover the 1H losses in 2H, which would be a c£300,000 profit in 2H.

I agree the results were not great, but that is reflected in the price.

[cjohn] 06/2/2019 08:59

Ok, let's look forward to the interims.

[davidosh] 04/2/2019 13:25

I have been here for years.....I will keep you posted. I am hoping to get them to Mello2019 in May if things continue to improve as hoped. The interims should give an indication.

[cjohn] 04/2/2019 11:13

Hello, Davidosh,


Yes, that would be very kind of you. I'd like that. Thank you.

I first bought in in December 2017, subsequently sold out nearly all, but then have bought back in the last couple of months. (I've followed the share passively for several years.)

Have you held for long?

[davidosh] 04/2/2019 11:00

Have you been a holder for a long time ? I can include you in any company presentations offered at results if you are interested ?

[cjohn] 04/2/2019 10:06

In view of current economic circumstances, that was a decent update.


I've picked up a few more since at rock bottom prices.

[davidosh] 11/12/2018 09:08

AGM update just out....

Our despatched sales and forward orders (which we normally consider to be the best measure of current trading) currently stands at £4.7m (2017: £5.6m). Orders against which a first stage deposit has been taken, and for which there is a strong conversion into future sales, stood at £2.0m (2017: £1.3m).



We remain cautious in this challenging economic climate and are working hard to ensure the business shows growth for the full year. We are anticipating a loss in the first half year, in line with our expectations, due to the seasonality of the business. However, based on the current order book and assuming economic conditions do not deteriorate, we expect to report a modest operating profit in the full year ending 30 June 2019.

[davidosh] 10/12/2018 17:47

Agm tomorrow...

The AGM will be held at Crowne Plaza London Kensington, 100 Cromwell Road, London, SW7 4ER at 2.00 p.m. on Tuesday 11 December 2018. The AGM will be followed by a shareholder presentation. No new material information will be disclosed and a copy of the presentation will be made available on the Company's website www.john-lewis.co.uk.

[cjohn] 19/11/2018 15:04

I've picked up a few thousand pounds worth of these at below 0.7p. Obvious upside, if trading continues to improve.

At 0.7p, they're trading at book.

[graham1ty] 24/5/2018 07:29

Pretty good results. Slow, incremental gains. As long as they do not try to push ahead too fast, the first green shoots of a recovery are visible.

[simso] 01/2/2018 10:40

How odd that the AGM has been moved back again to 27th Feb. To move the date twice is a little strange.

[simso] 12/1/2018 17:37

Thanks David, I will definitely aim to attend on 6th Feb.

I spent a good part of yesterday reviewing the previous 10 years RNS and summarising the Financial Information therein. I certainly now have a better appreciation of the number of times a promising year of progress was quickly reversed the following year...usually excused in the RNS as being due to "forces beyond our control". The damage which two designer resignations did in 2014 was particularly long lasting and scary. In total over the last decade the Total Loss Before Tax was £750k, with six loss making years out of ten, and having spent £2.8m of Capex over the period. One of the most stark factors is how much the Gross Margin% has declined: In 2007 it was 61.5% and ten years later by 2016 it was 12% points lower at 49.7%. Much though some of the margin% degradation must to due to competitive pressures and the general environment of the last decade, it is nonethless sobering to thing that 12% points of margin lost on an annual sales base of £8.5m is c£1m of annual profit!

On a positive note, the margin did recover by 1% point in 2017, and the EBITDA of £412k was the best since 2007's £414k. Net Cash of £909k in 2017 compared to Net Cash of £501k in 2007..and the share price back then was three times higher at 3.13p on publication of the 2007 Results. Lets hope with a different Team at the helm now, that the promising 2017 numbers convert to a more sustainable improvement and progress.

I note from the last Annual Report that Freeholds (Factory and one showroom) had a cost value of £1.7m, and with 2% depreciation pa on the Buildings, had an NBV of £1.3m in the books. The vast majority of Freehold Value must be in the Factory, as the showroom was acquired for £150k during the last decade. Anybody with a view of fair value of the Factory Freehold?

[davidosh] 10/1/2018 15:31

Simso....the opposite. The directors are always very happy to discuss operations and strategy at length and last year held a meeting for investors at the interim stage too. The RNS is here....



That said only three of us turned up to the interim results meeting but at Agms usually held at the Fulham or Chiswick stores we have had as many as 20 shareholders attend so they do know we are keen owners. Defo worth attending.

[simso] 10/1/2018 14:42

Thanks Graham, fair points...and I am sure there will be a strong Seasonality with the Cash/Debt too, and that year end net Cash of £902k is probably a high point in the year, and indeed was a small net debt number at the half year. An excellent year of generating cash last year, though.
I am sure I heard somewhere that the AGM was traditionally a whistle through of resolutions (like FCCN!) rather than a great opportunity to spend time with Directors and learn more about the business. Have you Graham and David found it worthwhile...in which case I am definitely keen to come down from Yorkshire on 6th Feb!

[davidosh] 10/1/2018 13:53

The next Annual General Meeting of the Company will take place at the Crowne Plaza London Kensington, 100 Cromwell Road, London, SW7 4ER.at 2.00 p.m. on 6 February 2018.

That is going to be a dash for me as I am due at a ShareSoc event in Birmingham at 5pm but will certainly be at the Agm. I think we have a few new shareholders this time so a presentation will be useful.