Brown (n) Share Discussion Threads

[onjohn] 20/2/2018 07:17

£20,000 director buy

[citytrader66] 19/2/2018 09:35

09:33:50 188.9444 226,500 O 192.3000 193.0000 Sell

big trade. someone selling 226K shares at the 52 week low.

up today. market seems to like the RNS?

[rathean] 16/2/2018 11:58

Good post #hyden, very much my thoughts. They've got some strong niche brands as well although ability of management not clear. On my watchlist but not ready to dip my wick even at these prices... restructuring may like you said curtail the dividend so more downside here before it looks like good value.

[hyden] 23/1/2018 23:51

For what it's worth, I think that today's fall is over done. That is not to say that the price won't fall any further of course but it is now on my watch list.

The bull points: It is predominantly an online retailer with a very limited high street presence (a total of 18 stores which generate just ~2% of revenue). Development of the modern IT platform is well advanced and on track - both time and budget. It has an advantage over some other retailers in that it is an authorised provider of credit which may help insulate the business in the event of a downturn / recession. Cost pressures are likely to ease over the summer as the double running costs of the IT estate ease (all brands to move onto the new platform by the end of the summer), and as the company benefits from FX tailwinds. The pension scheme is in surplus!

The bear points: a £40m customer redress scheme will hamper free cash flow over the short term and may limit dividend progression (the HY18 results have given no indication that the dividend will be cut / axed). Margin erosion through the company's stated target to absorb cost increases in order to grow market share (but this actually appears to be a winning formula so far). Consumers are increasingly shifting discretionary spend away from clothing and footwear. Deterioration in the quality of the loan book (but this does not appear to be an issue so far).

I am not yet a holder and I will watch with interest before possibly stepping a toe in. :-)

[rathean] 23/1/2018 11:37

Reinforced a strong downward trend but quite a wide trading range. I like some of the up size brands but what are management like here?

[danieldruff2] 23/1/2018 09:20

MRF, the separate brands are not really different businesses. Same IT system pulling goods from same warehouse, most likely. Just different marketing per customer segment.

[citytrader66] 23/1/2018 09:03

full-year profit expectations remained unchanged. whats not to like?

234p must hold else going lower.

[colin12345678] 23/1/2018 08:25

Yep short on

[nw99] 23/1/2018 07:19

Numbers arent good

[pottsypotts] 22/1/2018 09:32

Good rise today are we expecting good q3 results tomorrow?

[albanyvillas] 04/1/2018 08:39

if this warns it coul go under 200p

[meijiman] 03/1/2018 09:19

Yes following NXT. N Brown online is growing nicely.

[mortimer7] 03/1/2018 08:50

Up 6% this morning. Following Nexts lead perhaps?

[ggbarabajagal] 02/1/2018 09:55

Nice. Am liking the tv adverts

[stevie blunder] 02/1/2018 09:51

23 January 2018 Q3 trading statement

[ggbarabajagal] 02/1/2018 08:19

Bowl north to 400p

[strutt12] 06/12/2017 14:11

looks like they have already warned someone!!

[middlesboroughfc] 25/10/2017 06:29

Will warn on profits soon

[harebridge] 16/10/2017 08:40

Koovs announces move into UK with capsule collection for Simply BeKoovs plc (AIM: KOOV) announces a new partnership with one of the UK's leading online retail groups, N Brown Group plc ("N Brown"), to add the exclusive Koovs Private Label young fashion brand to N Brown's high profile Simply Be offer.The partnership will see a capsule Koovs collection available from Simply Be in exclusive larger sizes from December 2017, followed by a more extensive range for Spring / Summer 2018, rolling out in March 2018.This announcement, and the planned distribution in the UAE through Souq.com which is well advanced and is expected to go live within the next 3 weeks, further accelerates Koovs' international ambitions for its Private Label collection.Mary Turner, CEO of Koovs says: "We are absolutely delighted to be working with N Brown and to bring the Koovs young fashion brand to the UK with Simply Be, a brand that celebrates and empowers all women whatever their size, through fun and exciting fashion."

[stavros28] 13/10/2017 08:52

Final thoughts , what I stated above back down to £ 3.00 !
Took mine off the table after BOO.com problems.

Its all about the US Web site with Brown.

[walbrock82] 12/10/2017 13:42

Here are some interesting facts from this company.

FIRST HALF RESULTS

Group revenue grew by 5.6%, helped by 7.5% increase in their product revenue division. Their financial services division grew by 1.1% but was able to increase gross margin by 56.5%. Meanwhile, their product division will see margin fall 1.9% to 54%.

Financial statements

Despite higher revenues, N Brown saw adjusted net profit fell to £21m from £25.1m. The company reported higher exceptional items of £54.9m, up from £10m last year. This was due to a £40m writedown on their financing division because of an investigation from the FCA. It involves selling certain insurance products which were provided by a third-party insurance between 2006 and 2014.
Meanwhile, store closures resulted in costs of £13.8m.
Balance sheet

One item looks out of place trades debtors. This is because debtors’ days is over 200 and the product isn’t overly expensive. In fact, N Brown merged their finance division and their product division together meaning loans lent to customers to pay for their products takes a while to pay off.

Here is N brown receivables:


Meanwhile, net borrowing has risen to £305m from £290.9m.





Guidance for FY 2018

Here is the good news:
- Financial Services gross margin +100bps to +200bps, compared to flat to +100bps previously.

Here is the bad news:
- Product gross margin -120bps to -70bps, compared to -120bps to -20bps previously.
- Group operating costs up 4.5% to 5.5%, compared to 3.5% to 5.5% previously.
- Net debt £325m to £335m, compared to £300m to £320m previously, reflecting the increased cash flow impacts of exceptional costs, together with the growth of our customer loan book
-Exceptional costs of an additional c.£2m in the second half, as a result of our ongoing tax disputes with HMRC.

Market Valuation

Shares in N Brown has battled back from below £2 to £3.50. When it came to their valuation PE is trading close to their historical average of 13 times. Dividend is yield at 4% with growth in payout dropping to 5%. The dividend payout ratio is around 50% of earnings.
Earnings yield is around 7%.

Final Thoughts

It looks like N Brown is experiencing rising costs from their product division. Also, the shares recovered from their lows and the half-year results and guidance won’t inspire further appreciation. At best, the share price would consolidate at around £3.


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