Quarto Share Discussion Threads

[tomrob] 21/2/2012 20:03

Perhaps the low rating the market places on these has something to do with the perception that these kind of things:
"Both countries' businesses were slightly affected by the collapse of the RED Group, owner of the biggest bookstore chains in Australia and New Zealand, as this led to a lot of dumping of books onto the market...........
.........the US number highlights the hesitation of co-edition licensees in the aftermath of the collapse of the Borders book chain. "

....are likely, sooner or later, to be repeated in other markets and affect the long term viability of the business model.

Although its covered at length I'm still unclear from the statement, do they have a strategy or even a desire to address the gradual/eventual(?) replacement of the traditional book market?

I haven't been back through the numbers but how much of that £10m increase in revenue comes from organic growth and how much is derived from the acquisitions?

A little over ten years ago I persuaded my family to sell out from one of the largest remaining independent book manufacturing plants in the UK and I don't regret it. It's still going strong after a couple of re-financing packages for the group that bought us out but it addresses the mass market monochrome market rather than Quarto's kind of stuff however the doors of the factory the acquiring group sent me to post acquisition which was closer to Quarto's market have long been closed now.

I bought Quarto for the dividend and continue to hold cautiously for that reason but I wouldn't be expecting a re-rating to give me much on the way of capital gain.

[battlebus2] 21/2/2012 18:22

According to advfn the multiple is only 3.88 which is ridiculously cheap even if you take into account the debt. These should be trading at £2 atleast imv.

[huttonr] 21/2/2012 08:46

On my arithmetic that looks like a PE of 5.4 - and the share price has shot up today by 5p

[battlebus2] 21/2/2012 07:44

Well they met expectations of 12 million and the divi went up 10% over the year. Also a mention of new blood on the board, Profit before tax up 5.2% at $12.1 million (2101: $11.5 million)
-- Revenues ahead 5.5% at $186.1 million (2010: $176.4 million)
-- Earnings per share grew 7.8% to 45.6 cents (2010: 42.3 cents)
-- Digital revenues up 500% at $2.1 million (2010: $0.42 million)

[deswalker] 20/2/2012 09:32

Don't hold this one bb but it's in my ADVFN favourites because of OIG :o)

Which others in OIG do you hold ?

[battlebus2] 20/2/2012 09:19

Could quarto be involved in more corporate activity?
Oryx which hold 5% are expecting it will happen within their portfolio but which shares.

[battlebus2] 17/2/2012 15:41

Bit of buying coming in now time to top up.

[battlebus2] 17/2/2012 12:13

Looks like great results to come on Tuesday with the new aquisition adding quite a bit to the profits. We may even see the divi rise.

[geko5trade] 06/12/2011 19:12

Ah I see. Yes quite! Particularly when the head of the group does not share the ethos of the companies taken over. Quarto is a very different animal. In the short term they will have the list and may well benefit from market share in the future. But I don't share the doctor's view that this doesn't affect the quality of books and the publishing industry. This type of acquisition really does change the face of publishing to an entirely market led model.

[battlebus2] 06/12/2011 18:57

Yeah not so easy being part of a group.

[geko5trade] 06/12/2011 18:48

battlebus,
don't follow?
Nichol will be gone so no sour grapes there. Do you mean with David Graham? That's a distinct possibility. His buddies will be at Aurum and yes probably won't like FL being called the flagship co.

[battlebus2] 06/12/2011 18:34

Sour grapes then.

[geko5trade] 06/12/2011 17:53

The doctor,
He's had enough because he would never sell out to a packager given the choice. And that, if you like is the sadness of it, QRT is a packager and not a publisher. Yes they've got the list but the talent in the company is being stripped out. Nichol is much of that talent and effectively the main commissioning editor. So no one is left to buy the kind of books that made FL the company it was, there is no commissioning editor left, or there won't be in a few months. Francis Lincoln should be the 'flagship company' but look where the new MD comes from, Aurum.

[ddahj] 06/12/2011 17:29

I have been comparing Quarto with other businesses and am quite concerned about the debt levels.

T/O EBITA CASh Profit DEBT Intangibles £units
Vodaph 45 20? 6? 10 40 70 BN
Quarto 120 25 5 5 80 50 M



These are my own figures. Debt is very high at Quarto but it seems justified.
The above businesses are different with different competitive risks.
Both these businesses are profitable.
For Quarto it may be possible to negotiate cheaper financial charges in future.

[battlebus2] 21/10/2011 07:26

A decent update this morning with management expecting to see forcasts.

[battlebus2] 23/8/2011 16:34

Moving north again now the market realises this is a good deal for Quarto.

[the_doctor] 16/8/2011 16:21

How do you know 'he's had enough'

You say it's a sad day - I disagree that the FL content will have to change much
Quarto's imprints are still niche or have the feel of independents.
It's unlikely to affect authors or books in general negatively.
How is it 'bad for publishing'?

Some staff may ultimately have to go to save costs, as is usual in most mergers, but what's actually sad about it? I'm intrigued.

Another could be Nicholl realising a great profit, which for his family could mean the FL story finishing on a real high.
Sure, FL could have gone on and grown further, but if the owners didnt want to, then so what?

[geko5trade] 16/8/2011 15:53

Sorry not the case. FL died several years ago but had a passion for books and loyalty to her staff. Unfortunately a great eye for books and not enough business acumen. Well lacked the ability to be rutheless and take tough decisions.. Quite true Nicholl saved the company after her death probably for sentimental reasons as much as anything. He shared a rare ability to manage an independent publisher and also had great eye. He returned the business to profit with Wainwright etc. He's had enough and sadly they are being thrown to the wolves.
Good for QRT? Probably. Good for publishing? I don't think so. Head of QRT is a right piece of work. Off now, regards

[the_doctor] 16/8/2011 14:12

Her husband seems happy with it. I'm sure he'd have reconsidered if his wife was that against it. Do you know it wasnt always her aim to sell it off?

[geko5trade] 16/8/2011 14:08

What a sad day for one of the few independent publishers. Frances Lincoln will be turning in her grave.

[battlebus2] 16/8/2011 08:34

Another solid increase in revenue and profit with these results and this Quarto Acquires Award-Winning British Book Publisher

Quarto (Full List: QRT.L), one of the largest international co-edition book publishers, has acquired British book publisher Frances Lincoln Limited ("FLL") for GBP4.5 million in cash.

FLL is well known for its award-winning children's list and its authoritative horticultural titles. FLL has a backlist of over 1500 titles and published 150 books last year.

This acquisition more than doubles the size of Quarto's UK-based book publishing revenues. FLL reported audited profit before tax of GBP619,000, net assets of GBP3.8 million and gross assets of GBP5.9 million for the year ended 31 March 2011.

FLL has a distribution business handling sales and fulfilment for a number of third party publishers and management anticipate merging this with Quarto's existing sales and distribution activities handling titles from US imprints in the UK and continental Europe.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chairman and CEO, Laurence Orbach, said:

"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Frances Lincoln Limited. FLL is a highly respected publishing business particularly well known as the publisher of Alfred Wainwright, Julia Bradbury, Christopher Lloyd and many other well regarded authors. It complements Quarto's existing UK publishing business, several imprints trading under the Aurum name, and more than doubles the scale of our presence in the UK. The acquisition is in keeping with our strategy to further expand our already broad offering of niche content."

-

[battlebus2] 15/8/2011 16:50

Lets hope so letsgetbizzay.

[ddahj] 15/8/2011 14:06

Sentiment is dreadful here. I try to find a comparison. Is it like painters becoming redundant when the camera was invented? If we were only able to read an electronic screen someone would invent the book.
I won't tempt fate but hope results tomorrow are unsurprising.

[letsgetbizzay] 15/8/2011 12:31

Should be a good run on the back of numbers tomorrow...Expecting a return to 140 levels at least.

[huttonr] 04/4/2011 16:27

Battlebus - unfortunately you seem to be right on your last