Plus500 Share Discussion Threads

[aleman] 24/8/2023 08:35

Thanks. I'd forgotten that for the moment. I checked and it was 20% on my previous dividends. Factor in the 0.8 difference and either the exchange rate used was a steepish $1.3154 or there has been a fee charged on top. (Though the £ had a small spike to $1.315 a few days after the payment date of July 11th.) This will be relevant to all holders here in future since the money will be getting converted into Sterling at Link in future and not at your broker. Although I have belatedly received the cash in Sterling, I have not got the dividend tax voucher with the calculations to confirm the details.

And given I've been told a different at every phone call, how can I know the story will not change again next time?

[pck76] 23/8/2023 19:35

There is an Israeli withholding tax that is applied before paying the dividend. I think it's 15% for individuals or 20% for companies (but I'm not sure). That might explain why you didn't get the amount you were expecting.

[aleman] 23/8/2023 16:16

I had a 7th call and a subsequent letter. I finally received my July 11th dividend payment by bank transfer in Sterling today. This should be the way everybody gets dividend payments from Link in future. Only one problem, though. I received about 20%+ less than I expected, with an implied exchange rate of 1.6443. I can't even guess how they might have got that amount.

8th call coming up!

[apollocreed1] 16/8/2023 13:57

If you cancel shares, doesn't that reduce their liquidity?

[oi_oi_savaloy] 16/8/2023 08:33

Yes I do (sadly).

[scepticalinvestor] 16/8/2023 07:53

You are thinking that the BOD will award themselves shares no doubt?

[oi_oi_savaloy] 16/8/2023 07:04

If Pus wanted to raise some finance (they're debt-free at the moment of course) could they use the bought-back shares as a way of doing so? Perhaps that's why they've not been cancelled?

I have my thoughts on why they've not been cancelled but all I seem to do is write v negatively about Plus so I'll keep my opinion to myself for the moment. I sincerely want Plus to do well.

[scepticalinvestor] 16/8/2023 06:45

Wonder why the treasury shares ate not cancelled

[aleman] 15/8/2023 14:31

My 6th call with Link was a manager ringing me. He says PLUS500 are moving to paperless dividend payments and the escrow account and foreign currency dividends situation with PLUS is unique for them and the change has been causing a few problems. They will be seeking bank details to pay to direct holders in Sterling in future. It seems I am now the first person to see the change after he took my bank details and promised the last dividend will be paid to me in Sterling within 5 days. All my future dividends should now come by bank transfer in Sterling, though it sounds like the exchange rate might be the prevailing rate from Link at the time of payment rather than one at a rate declared by PLUS?

It's a bit disappointing to find out this in a problematic way after the fact rather than by prior communication seeking bank details from the company and registrar but it should be better for everyone in future provided there is no rip-off on exchange rates

[oi_oi_savaloy] 15/8/2023 08:09

I don't think they'll move (unless the US takes off for them as a market/profit centre). Reason being the scrutiny is that much greater on the Nasdaq than the LSE (in my opinion).

Plus has never had the same multiple as it's peers because of it's Israeli domicility, it's early history of delivering nasty surprises, of it's opaque communications (look at yesterday and using H2 to compare to this year's H1 performance), the lack of hedging (which has good and bad to it of course as we all know) and the feeling that it's run as a bit of fiefdom rather than acknowledging it's a public company. I'm overweight in Plus (for my portfolio) which you might be surprised to hear (when you see the tone of my messages on here!); I just feel that the numbers continue to deliver but I don't like the way the company is run (.......but the numbers continue to deliver!).

[oi_oi_savaloy] 15/8/2023 07:47

I'm not sure how much is left of the existing buyback budget before they start on the new $60mill scheme..........but at £14 a share they'll take another 4million off the table bringing us down to roughly 75mill in circulation (give or take).

The trouble is the shares haven't been cancelled - so I'm assuming that that is one of the contributing reasons why the share price is falling/the buybacks have had pretty much no effect on the share price. They're effectively still live, it's just they can't be bought in the open market.

Watch the share price properly tank when they issue some of those shares to the directors in a couple of years when they think we've all forgotten. Cynic? Moi? ......Oh, yes.

[scepticalinvestor] 15/8/2023 07:28

Not sure these buybacks are working...

[sl71] 14/8/2023 14:33

If anyone is finding the claim documents confusing Barry did a really comprehensive step by step guide to the process (search posts from ‘barryharmer’) that should answer any questions

[aleman] 14/8/2023 13:20

Now told I'll get a $ dividend cheque by tracked post on this occasion. The supervisor was a little evasive over exactly what happened previously but seemed to suggest they'd only issued one cheque previously? (I don't know what to believe.) He is checking if $ cheques can be issued in future and ringing me back . If not, I can fill out an IPS (international payments) form to have the registrar convert into sterling to transfer direct to my bank account, as I do with most other sterling dividends. I asked in a previous call if anything like this could be done and was told no!

[planelondon] 14/8/2023 12:53

Full details and documentation of how to reclaim the WHT is available on the Plus500 investor relations website under the section Shareholder Returns.

[scepticalinvestor] 14/8/2023 12:22

Ye pls advise on the w/tax

[pck76] 14/8/2023 12:01

Does anyone know how to request the Israeli withholding tax to be avoided?

[aleman] 14/8/2023 11:54

Link registrars:

Dividend cheque was due 11th July. (Previous ones turned up ok.)

Phoned up on 17th to see where it was and told it takes a few days to print and post so wait longer.

Rang a week later and told conflictingly that it had been issued in late June (really!?) and told that an instruction to cancel and reissue was entered.

Rang a week later told a technical fault held up the reissue but it had been posted the day before this call.

Back from holiday and another two weeks with no cheque and I'm told even more conflictingly that PLUS have stopped issuing cheques so can we pay it direct into your account. I told them my sterling account will not accept $ transfers directly and I've had to send previous cheques to my bank's forex processing to convert. After leaving me on hold a while, they now say they are issuing a $ cheque urgently but it might take two weeks!

How many cheques have actually been issued and cancelled? Will the alleged 3rd be issued and arrive and, if so, when?

I've lost confidence in them due to the contradictions. They could not provide me with a supervisor or manager to complain but somebody will ring me back "within 24 hours". I'll be emailing the company secretary.

[oi_oi_savaloy] 14/8/2023 10:12

any news on the US mkt?

[mbdx7em21] 14/8/2023 08:36

presentation and Q&As make for very good listening.

not a holding, yet.

[coxsmn] 14/8/2023 08:02

Crazy cheap and results are decent

[base7] 14/8/2023 06:59

Cash is down due to our buying back Odeys holding of over 8%.
Healthier results than I expected & US & UAE growing is positive .

[grahamg8] 14/8/2023 06:21

Revenue down 28%, margin down 13%. Cash down $146m. Now we know why the share price is struggling.

[scepticalinvestor] 14/8/2023 06:14

Decent but note that they are comparing to H2 2022. Not great compared to H1 2022