National Grid Share Discussion Threads

[skinny] 21/9/2013 10:55

General market apart, the chart looks rather bullish.

[miata] 21/9/2013 10:47

More than a third of NG's business is in the US, the return on equity in the US was 9.2%. In the UK it was 13.6%.

National Grid ordinary shares are listed in the US as OTN: NGGTF ($12.29).

American Depositary Shares (5 ordinary shares) are quoted on the NYSE: NGG ($60.38).

[utyinv] 21/9/2013 10:36

Arja,

Go to WWW.NYSE.com or you can also get the figure on

Don't forget the ADR is equal to 5 NG (LSE) shares plus factor in the current exchange rate.

ie ADR / 5 / exchange rate

[arja] 20/9/2013 22:23

lord knome - is NG listed in USA ? I did not realise that and what are the terms please as presumably it is a ADR stock ?

[yf23_1] 19/9/2013 01:13

Yes, bond yields dropped a lot on the news so income stocks should gain.

[lord gnome] 18/9/2013 19:54

Looking at the action across the pond, we could be in a for a very strong start tomorrow morning. I make that rise (to $60.5+) worth about 10p on our share price.

[haughtonhoney] 16/9/2013 07:24

Anyway........back to National Grid

[utyinv] 15/9/2013 13:00

I Thought Severance was a security / backstop for those that have legitimately lost jobs due to a change in business, downsize reorganisation?

If payments are made to those about to retire as a Golden Goodbye or to those who are close to the Senior Management making the decisions then there is an issue to be addressed. What would be even more scandalous is if there were legitimate people losing their jobs and not given the security what the Severance system was intended for.

Companies do from time to time give Golden Goodbyes but when they do it should be transparent and stated as such.

[aussiedonnie] 15/9/2013 12:31

off topic, I know most of you don't give a stuff but George Galloway is making a documentary for the big screen and needs your help to expose the war criminal Tony Blair. Please consider donating etc, your name will even appear in the credits if you wish.

[utyinv] 15/9/2013 12:30

Could it be a waste of money? National Grid have been accused (and proven) in the past of inappropriately paying out expenses ie, relocation expenses to the USA, ie, paying for the transfer of horses etc.

Snoppity, It is usually a quiet board but I too am concerned with what other posters have posed ie, M100 and Expinv etc

Like the expenses scandal this could be another issue waiting to bite shareholders value? What will happen if the Regulator decides to penalise National Grid at the next mini review?

[snoppity] 15/9/2013 02:48

Flurry of activity on a normally quiet board. Reasons? Motives? ...

[expinv] 13/9/2013 17:13

M100
P.S. Only 30k of any redundancy payment is tax free, the pension lump sum, governed by the scheme rules, is always tax free.

No so my friend!

There is a rule that allows the excess above £30k in this case £90K to be put in to the pension fund (if you haven't used all the £50K per annum allowed for the past three years). Then you can take 25% of the fund tax free. If the pension lump sum and the remaining £90k is below 25% you can take both tax free without eroding your annual pension.
In the example for the 63 year old and based on 43/80th tax free lump sum on the pension = £105K

Lump sum then becomes £30K (Tax free Severance) + £195K ( £90K and £105K)= £225k
Instead of the £105K he would have got if he didn't retract his notice to retire normally.

[gj2] 13/9/2013 14:26

m100 :
Agreed in general. However, on the ongoing costs side of the equation, rather than employing someone for another 10 years, in reality people only months or 1 to 2 years away from natural retirement are the main recipients (voluntary) redundancy, normally involving a multiple of the 50k you mention. It is the closeness to normal retirement age that both ExpINV and myself find remarkable.

[gj2] 13/9/2013 13:33

ExpINV : Re post 2822 :

I have daily experience of NG. in the UK and concur with the statements & sentiments you expressed in the middle of your post. I can only think that the company is keen to be able to say at the next annual results (May'14) that their ongoing overhead costs have been reduced by x%, even if this comes at a high initial cost (& probably higher overall cost than letting it happen naturally over a few more years). Reluctant to say anymore.

GJ2

[expinv] 13/9/2013 13:22

Pierre,


My sources are very reliable as I may have a similar background to yourself.

When you said: I worked for them for several years and my impression is the staff are treated very well indeed. They pay very well (for an engineering company) and, imo, get the best staff - loads of PhDs and a fair proportion of Cambridge graduates. Almost all the staff from the cegb research labs were transfered to NGC - I'd be very surprised if any of the professional staff were complaining about anything. I also got the impression the heros who maintain the lines, sometimes in terrible and dangerous conditions in winter, were also excetptionally well rewarded............

You were right, but times change and they have changed since the review, RIIO. The staff I mentioned are highly professional, highly qualified Professional Engineers/Managers; a few still left from the CEGB days (those from Power Stns, GSM, District. OH Lines, Guilford SSD and all the labs etc), but many are newer professionals brought in, very good experienced Professionals from other companies including those home grown from the top universities as well as the technician intakes. The current morale is very poor despite what the Company would portray. The staff you may have known didn't have to complain about much in the past but from what I hear now, they do, including accounts from all those mentioned above.
It is sad to say, but times have changed just in this year alone, with the accounts of wasted money through irresponsible use, under the auspice of severance, is very real indeed. Call it favouritism, looking after mates or whatever, but a vast amount of money has been wasted unnecessarily. Ask for yourself what is currently going on.
Just wait till the Company force through the closure of the DB Pension Scheme, a benefit I assume you enjoy too? Wait until the regulator sees how much money has been wasted and watch for the allowed revenue to be clawed back at midterm review.
The Company can make amends before it gets to be a problem, but let's just see.
As one who used to work in the Industry, I too was very surprised.

[septimus quaid] 13/9/2013 12:47

Pierre,

Pre gas merger I would have agreed with your comments but the merger led, in my opinion, to significant dilution in talent. The Oxbridge graduates you refer to are now long gone.

[miata] 13/9/2013 12:19

"The share price is poor compared with the Market generally."

If this is true, why might it be?

Could it be that NG's massive debt is off-putting investors in the face of tapering of QE and the eventual rise in interest rates?

National Grid has about £28 billion in debt, interest payments are covered only four times over by current earnings, which means around 25% of the company's earnings are being used to pay the interest on its colossal debts.

[pierre oreilly] 13/9/2013 11:51

Not sure where you get all that from - do you have a source?

I worked for them for several years and my impression is the staff are treated very well indeed. They pay very well (for an engineering company) and, imo, get the best staff - loads of PhDs and a fair proportion of Cambridge graduates. Almost all the staff from the cegb research labs were transfered to NGC - I'd be very surprised if any of the professional staff were complaining about anything. I also got the impression the heros who maintain the lines, sometimes in terrible and dangerous conditions in winter, were also excetptionally well rewarded.

I don't know about the gas division they bought, or the american side of things. Is that where the problems are?

[expinv] 13/9/2013 11:28

The share price is poor compared with the Market generally. What is more of an Issue are reports from inside the Company of what amounts to a flagrant waste of money.
Due to the recent price review, imposed on NG by the regulator,the company have decided to restructure and downsize to make it more efficient. Nothing wrong with that many will say! Until you hear accounts from many that work in the Company.
Normally through natural attrition, staff reaching normal retirement age and about to leave on good pension terms and those leaving the Company for new positions elsewhere (career moves), would account for a percentage of the reduction of numbers needed at no cost to the Company. However, when you hear accounts from what is going on in NG where hundreds of managers and staff who have reached Retirement age are being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds in severance payments, when they were due to retire naturally at no cost to the Company, is indefensible. This is a contemptible waste of money, money the Company holds on behalf of its Company Owners (shareholders). In addition, there are many Employees reportedly being treated so shabbily that it is easy to see additional unnecessary costs being incurred through potential future Industrial disputes and court costs.
When this comes to the attention of the regulator it is easy to see what might happen at the next review.

[expinv] 13/9/2013 11:18

Share price is still very low.

[arja] 10/9/2013 18:27

yes , useless raelly and best to do the opposite of what they recommend.
Ringer12 - I get the same feeling but will try to sell my remaining holding on any intra day rally as it never holds .