Phoenix Share Discussion Threads

[chairman2] 15/9/2011 20:25

# drat what went wrong??

[chairman2] 15/9/2011 20:25

phoenix must hav another acquisition on the boil

that way they can tie up all the investment bank
insurance analysts as insiders. with this trick you are
never sure what the ral objective is: buy another company














or tie up the analysts!

[robsy2] 15/9/2011 18:34

Chairman 2
In a word it would seem that no-one has any broker updates ........
The silence is deafening.
I cling to the idea that whatever the worries are about where the money is invested etc this is 99% the policyholders problem. I am a seller of with profits bonds etc yielding 1% and a buyer of PHNX yielding 8%!

[chairman2] 31/8/2011 10:48

anyone got any brokers analysis following the Interim?

The way the results were presented in terms of cash flow
and gearing/capital was/is highly confusing and selective
- and the media seem to have just been lazy and foillowed
the company PR line almost to the letter.

[jonwig] 30/8/2011 16:39

Mr M - thanks, an auto-search of the RNS didn't throw up that divi information.

[mrmuggins] 30/8/2011 15:38

jonwig .. just in case you have found it yet .. divi details taken from interim results:

2011 Interim Dividend

Scrip mandate forms issued 5 September 2011

Ex-dividend date 7 September 2011

Record date 9 September 2011

Scrip calculation period 7-13 September 2011

Scrip election date 26 September 2011

Interim 2011 dividend payment date 7 October 2011

[jonwig] 27/8/2011 08:51

yupa - thanks for lifting that. IC went through a bad patch a few years ago - maybe it's worth trying a subs again.

PHNX have a way of consistently exceeding their management targets: they set them very finely in the first place, of course!

One thing might be a hitch - they speak of 'Proposed Dividend', (and I can't find an ex-date) which is unusual at the interim stage. And: "The proposed interim dividend of 21 pence per share is subject to compliance with the processes set out in the Group's main credit facilities." So they have to run it past the bondholders. The fact that they are paying down debt faster than they need is a help, but they aren't altogether out of the woods.

I suppose holders will just have to live with a volatile share price typical of life companies, where the assets are stuffed full of bonds. Or be brave and add on the plunges!

[yupawiese2010] 26/8/2011 19:13

Closed-life fund specialist Phoenix is well on the way to achieving an ambitious set of targets for the full year, and in some cases has already reached these objectives. Gearing, for example, was down to 48 per cent at the half year, already below a full-year target of 50 per cent, and a full 8 percentage points less than at this stage in 2010.
Cash generation remains impressive, too, with £496m delivered in the first half against a full-year target of £750m-£850m, and the group has delivered £69m of targeted embedded value growth of £100m. And while IFRS operating profits were down from £176m to £136m, this was mainly as a result of further investment in the asset management division, Ignis, to expand distribution and infrastructure, and was not a repeat of the one-off positive adjustments in 2010. So, while Ignis's operating profits were down from £22m to £18m, a greater performance fee element introduced last year between Phoenix Life and Ignis will boost second-half profits.
Overall, funds under management fell slightly from £69.6bn to £68.5bn, reflecting the natural run-off of life assets, although the decline would have been more without investment growth of £1.6bn and net third-party sales of £0.8bn.
Group finances remain in good shape, with the excess over minimum reserve requirements rising from £1bn to £1.1bn. And, adding in combined shareholder and policyholder capital, pushed excess capital up from £2.8bn to £2.9bn. Phoenix also made progress merging funds, completing the transfer of Phoenix & London to Phoenix Life, which is a key driver in freeing up capital.
Moreover, the reduction in total borrowings (down from £4.1bn to £3.2bn year on year) is set to continue as the group moves to eliminate the restrictive covenants tied to some of its loans. Restructuring remains an option and discussions are ongoing with lenders on the best structure and timing for this.
Analyst Kevin Ryan at Investec Securities is forecasting full-year operating profits of £391m, up from £373m last year, and expects the full-year dividend to be maintained at 42p a share.
PHOENIX (PHNX)
ORD PRICE: 553p MARKET VALUE: £ 954m
TOUCH: 552-554p 12-MONTH HIGH: 770p LOW: 430p
DIVIDEND YIELD: 7.6% PE RATIO: NA
NET ASSET VALUE: 968p EMBEDDED VALUE: 1,277p*
Half-year to 30 Jun Net premiums (£m) Pre-tax profit (£m) Earnings per share (p) Dividend per share (p)
2010 764 196 136 21.0
2011 668 94 52 21.0
% change -13 -52 -62 -
*Calculated on a market consistent embedded value basis
TIP UPDATE:
Buy
Market malaise means that shares in Phoenix are down 16 per cent from our buy recommendation (659p, 7 June 2011). However, the group is generating a lot of cash, and remains on target to meet key objectives by the end of the year. Trading at less than half embedded value and offering a yield of over 7.5 per cent, the shares remain a buy.

[topvest] 25/8/2011 21:14

Yes, strong results indeed and phenominal cash flow. Dividend policy is still constrained I think, but dividend yield is high anyway and debt reduction still the best use of surplus funds imho. Have this on my watch list to add more if we get a market crash (again!) in September.

[hyden] 25/8/2011 13:21

Strong interims, I think. I've topped up today and hopefully it will prove the right move. Can't grumble at a sustainable 8%+ yield.

[chairman2] 06/8/2011 23:12

all the retail brokers appear to have switched to Plus Markets

they dont like the Prime brokerage terms from the big 6 clearly

[liquidkid] 05/8/2011 15:01

I'm now on bestinvest - set up as competition to Hargreves Lansdown without the addded costs

[liquidkid] 05/8/2011 11:14

Yield on this has hit 9% - must be dem bonds dey av

[topvest] 14/7/2011 21:12

Yes, and the balance sheet is strong with a good capital surplus so just seems to be negative sentiment.

[envirovision] 14/7/2011 20:45

Forward yield is 8% you mean, I'm expecting 44p next year

[topvest] 14/7/2011 20:39

I've added some more as looks a good opportunity on a 7% yield. Time will tell!