Mediasurface Share Discussion Threads

[eggbird] 04/10/2007 10:35

Ticking up gradually.
yump. Do you think the directors will add more following on from yesterdays purchase?? I have seen it a number of times, where they buy a number of times over the course of a few weeks, most recently with MDC

[yump] 04/10/2007 10:06

grq

Oddly enough, the chairman buying has made b....r all difference to my 50%ish paper loss. Sorry for moaning, but I don't count that as support for my shareholding. Surprising really !

Support for my shareholding would be if he took it private at 17p, but I don't believe in miracles.

[get rich quick] 04/10/2007 09:42

The chairman buys and some are still moaning, go and put your money in nrk, their chairman hasn't shown much support for his shareholders. This is still a good company with excellent prospects imho I'll be topping up as and when the funds allow

[eggbird] 04/10/2007 09:35

Im in for a speculative 11.5k

I tend to follow director buys, and more often than not it pays off nicely. Shame I wasnt up earlier to get in cheaper, must start setting the alarm!!

[yump] 04/10/2007 08:36

Well, could view it as a vote of confidence, but I would have preferred better handling of the situation instead or perhaps a purchase of the same number of shares at 25p before the closed period. Having an average of around 17p I'm not really sure if I'm pleased about a director buying at 8p or not.

With these director purchases, its always interesting to remember that usually they are topping up on a profit when the share is cheap, because of having a pile of earlier cheap purchases, rather than averaging down on a loss. So my hands firmly in pocket. Didn't sell out because still believe in the business but now has to be ltbh & h & h & h unfortunately.

I suppose you could take the view that the scale of purchase means that the director has enough confidence that they are not going to regret it in future. After all they didn't get to where they are today throwing money away.

[bloodhound] 04/10/2007 08:21

Yes Garth.....

Mediasurface plc received notification on 3 October 2007 that on that same day
Mr Michael Jackson, Chairman of the Company, purchased 1,675,000 ordinary shares
of 1p each ('Ordinary Shares') at 8 pence per share. Following the above
transaction, Mr Jackson holds 5,918,232 Ordinary Shares representing 5.94 per
cent. of the issued share capital.

[latifs100] 04/10/2007 08:12

can buy 500,000 on elftrade.

wots their cash and debt lelevs..tia

[garth] 04/10/2007 07:32

Well, you got your director purchase....

[get rich quick] 03/10/2007 21:35

Well, I personally am delighted with the drop in share Price. I wanted to get in last year before the price shot up from 11p but didn't have the funds available. I nearly got in last week at 18p but glad I hung on.. I got twice as many for my money yesterday.Even if I had, I would be topping up. These are still a good company with great prospects, they have just had a slight hic-up due to circumstances not entirely their fault.A few more contracts like Astra Zenica this/next year and they will be back up and motoring. Still a good long turn play IMHO

[markinthepark] 03/10/2007 10:46

Yump,

You've got as much as there was in print.....

[wjccghcc] 03/10/2007 10:09

Agree with yump, MSR contract slippage is understandable and maybe they still hoped to close some deals before the end of the FY. However, Pepperio is a large number of small contracts - 20+ per month they said at the interims. They would have had good visibility that this wasn't delivering on schedule at least 2 months ago and should have informed the market accordingly IMHO.

[yump] 03/10/2007 10:05

markinthepark

Is there a longer bit in print - this as-usual-slightly-off-target bit is all I could find online ?

Mediasurface, the maker of content management software, fell 56 per cent to 8p after it gave warning that one of its key businesses had been harmed by the launch of Microsoft Office Share-point Server.

[markinthepark] 03/10/2007 10:00

From The Times

October 3, 2007

Small caps

Mediasurface, the maker of content management software, fell 56 per cent to 8p after it gave warning that one of its key businesses had been harmed by the launch of Microsoft Office Share-point Server.

[markinthepark] 03/10/2007 09:57

Did anyone read today's Times piece on these? That might enlighten some on here....

[yump] 03/10/2007 09:57

M et C
Agree with you about the gutter though - looks well overdone and might attract recovery players especially when you look at market cap vs. turnover and the likely results from taking the launch costs back out of the business in 08.

Especially if t/o keeps growing.

[mercier et camier] 03/10/2007 09:49

Its difficult to see how they could have made an announement earlier and furthermore what difference would it have made. A 56% shareprice drop is a 56% shareprice drop whether it comes in July or October.

However I am not convinced things are as bad as they look. Clearly the credit crisis has caused firms to look at their spending but invariable the more precarious a firms position becomes the more they need to save on labour costs my moving operations online.

I am not aware MSR have heavy debt to service and the recent contract signed with AstraZeneca should boost revenues in the new year. The normal market size is 2000 but online they'll take 250K for 7.75p so somebody is accumulating at these levels. It may be wise to follow suit whilst the shares are in the gutter.

[masurenguy] 03/10/2007 08:02

Like PP - this one has been on my Watchlist for a while. However after such a reversal of fortune, especially with no earlier indication or guidance from management that there was likely to be some deviation from existing projections, it is now firmly delisted. This kind of opaque management style turns me off and really undermines management credibility in my eyes.

Sympathise with existing holders and wish you better luck in the future !

[stemis] 03/10/2007 07:52

The problem is that if EBITDA loss is 1.3mm for the year, that means they went from making a profit of .4mm in H1 to losing 1.7mm in H2 which is a big turnaround.

Not only that. The market expectation before the announcement was a profit before tax of £1.16M. Now they are saying it will be a loss of about £1.4M. That's a difference of £2.56M. Yet it took them until 2 days after the year end to realise/reveal such a huge change.

[mercier et camier] 02/10/2007 22:46

Well they said £2.25M of sales for Morello had been delayed....and haven't they just one a global contract with AstraZeneca.

[wjccghcc] 02/10/2007 22:19

The problem is that if EBITDA loss is 1.3mm for the year, that means they went from making a profit of .4mm in H1 to losing 1.7mm in H2 which is a big turnaround.

[bloodhound] 02/10/2007 18:52

I know it's bad but is it that bad?

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Mediasurface PLC warned that its full-year results will be below market expectations, but said the outlook for 2008 is positive given the prospects for strong revenue growth in its Immediacy operation, and an encouraging sales pipeline for its Morello product.

The software company said Morello experienced a difficult second half, and it estimates at least 2.25 mln stg prospective Morello licence deals not closing in the period.

The hype generated around the launch of Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 (MOSS) confused the market and resulted in a number of Morello sales opportunities being postponed, the company said.

An extremely challenging market in the financial services sector, one of the key verticals for Morello, has resulted in a number of deals being delayed, Mediasurface added.

'The underlying pipeline for Morello however, remains strong and newer geographies including the Nordics and the US are starting to deliver incremental Morello related growth,' it said.

It said the prospects for the Immediacy operation remain positive with no signs of a slow-down, and the cost base is slightly below budget helping generate a modest EBITDA improvement versus expectations.

The company sees an estimated EBITDA loss of about 1.3 mln stg for year ended Sept, compared with a profit of 1.0 mln stg last year. It also expects revenues of no less than 11.3 mln stg, versus 9.67 mln stg reported last year.

'Despite these disappointing results, the board believes that the underlying business remains strong,' the company said.

The effect of changes to the cost base and growing recurring revenues valued at 4.5 mln stg a year is expected to help return the group to profitability, Mediasurface said.

[donaferentes] 02/10/2007 18:35

Yump - "At the moment I just feel like changing one letter"

What, Stocking Buy - an early Xmas present?

Lost a bundle today - happening too often just lately.

[wjccghcc] 02/10/2007 15:24

MSR is a bit like SVR in that both were very reliant on large lumpy contracts with uncertain timing. However SVR seems to have got a good takeup of their SAAS offering which was the idea here with Pepperio but that seems not to be happening. Like SVR, IGP should build up a recurring revenue stream as they get an annual maintenance fee of approx 20% of the cost of a license plus of course card turnover at existing projects, but that will take a couple of years to become significant.

Let me know when you consider adding DYS. I sold out in the 240s so looking to get back in as well.

[garth] 02/10/2007 14:41

Thanks Yump, WJ et al for some thought-provoking reflections.

Have to say that my own strategy has been ltbh core holdings with an additional element that I trade. DYS, SVR, CAR, PIC, CRPR, TFC are all stocks that this has worked quite well for. SMRT I approached differently - consistently adding until it accounted for 30% of my portfolio, until they sold out (too cheap IMO). GHH I used to LTBH with trading but for a long time have just held.

I feel this strategy helps me to leverage my existing knowledge base. I'm only in the stocks because I believe that they offer good (if not spectacular) long term growth - hence keeping the core holdings. The leveraging comes by growing more attuned to the small collection of stocks and the way they tend to move. DYS has been a great example. Its been up and down. I've maintained a comfortable holding all the way but reduced and added frequently. I reduced some weeks ago and I'm now waiting for an opportunity to add again.

I used to try to chase hot stocks and catch a quick margin by hawkishly following the newswires - but it got too tiring, was unreliable and didn't fit with the rest of my life choices. Family is central and they deserve to have me relaxed and focussed - on them. Rapid wealth building is not for me.

To play I'm trading the DOW. I moved a pre-determined ammount into my account for the month and if I lost it that was it. Got down to my last £30 in no time! Traded it back up though and now 10% ahead. It helps to stop me trading stocks too much.

I carry a few 'punt' stocks with smaller holdings. GNG, SFT, lED et al These are 'buy and keep an eye'. They account for about 20-30% of my portfolio.

Several stocks like IGP & CDE fall between the two. They may develop into ltbh.

All the best. GHH hit £5 this week :0)

G.