Robinson Share Discussion Threads

[overmars] 23/3/2018 12:48

Agree with your comments, charo.

Very badly managed company.

Challenging market conditions. Loss of two major contracts so they add to operating costs. Hard to believe.

Good management would cut costs by 10%. Huge improvement in profitability and cash flow.

This smells like Victoria Carpets {VCP} before they sacked most of the board.

[charo] 23/3/2018 08:00

What a mess.margins down new investment required to meet business needs but chairman not positive that can earn sufficient margin to merit investment.This planned investment will increase borrowings.!!!Final div will exhaust cash balance.The much heralded sale of surplus properties now stalled.Chairmans statement has much reduced the potential value of this asset ,supposedly circa £ 5miillion. Banks will be seriously worried about level of exposure.
This once fine family company is now in serious trouble.

[steve3sandal] 21/1/2018 17:26

....and now we don’t want plastic packaging either.

[bookbroker] 21/1/2018 16:46

The problem here is their existing businesses require a lot of capital investment to remain competitive, and they are are a small company manufacturing specialised plastic containers for the food industry principally, the derelict properties in Chesterfield look like a bomb site when you pass them, are not that substantial in terms of brownfield, and are in a rundown part of west Chesterfield with low price terraces, the main building is listed, it will require an expensive refurb. to make it habitable, a big undertaking in terms of seeing any real value uplift!

[dozey3] 21/1/2018 16:28

Why haven’t I learned not to trust Scottish companies? Indigovision (IND) has been walking dead for years, and little Edinburgh tankers managed to screw shareholders right royally. Robinson’s seems to have a good niche and often largely family owned businesses align their interests with shareholders: not here I fancy. However, having held long enough to be eligible for IHT relief, and because it is a drab, dour, bleak little holding, I’m with E1982 - surely can’t be much downside from here. Famous last words.

[overmars] 21/1/2018 16:27

Only if they pay 100% proceeds to shareholders.
Company is very badly managed so should not reinvest any of the funds.

[bookbroker] 21/1/2018 15:23

No chance Eastbourne, they have a dinosaur as exec.-chairman who should have been pensioned off with Dalgety, this is more likely to go into receivership than survive irrespective of net assets, which with current loans, non-performing businesses and pension issues is screwed!

[eastbourne1982] 21/1/2018 15:16

I'm still holding and waiting for news on any property deals, given where the share price is I believe any deals should represent most of the current market cap however I have little faith in those running the company so who knows.

Also there appears to be very little investor interest at these lowly levels.

Robinson don't seem to deliver much in the way of good news so hopefully they will surprise us in the near future.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 21/1/2018 15:07

Is anyone still here? Reading though this thread I said 2 years ago that these would be good value at £1 and now they're there. Although I didn't listen to myself and bought in at £1.25 or so so i'm sitting on a loss at the moment.

I am however hopeful of a decent disposal price for the surplus properties this year although the recent trading update was a bit vague on this. I have a figure of £10-12m in mind, hopefully that is not too far off the mark.

Arthur

[steve3sandal] 21/12/2017 17:51

I checked out a few months ago with a modest loss as it seemed unlikely to get back over 140p or distribute anything from the planning gain for some considerable time, and stopped thinking about RBN. I must have left my alert on and had a peek today.
Poor presentation of the trading statement never mind the content which seems to leave the way to disappoint given even 2018 has a medium term outlook.
I was also drawn to the eight figure HSBC loan, which must be min £10m. I suspect they are secured in some way by the Property so a special shareholders distribution looks remote. Nothing here to tempt me back in I am afraid, despite the AGM hospitality.

[overmars] 21/12/2017 17:13

Results in line with "market expectations" but management fails to tell us what market expectations are!
Anybody have an idea?
Great communication!

[overmars] 25/8/2017 16:56

The business was loss making in first six months of 2017.
If Poland is profitable - UK must be a large loss.
Either way - time for a change

[castleford tiger] 25/8/2017 14:23

I smell Victoria carpets all over again
tiger

[bookbroker] 25/8/2017 10:47

Issue here is that the Robinson family know they are sitting on strong fixed assets, Clothier is a useless, old-fashioned, outdated businessman, they need some young buck to shake the packaging business up, Poland was a good place to invest, but they timed it wrong and overpaid, total car crash!

[cockerhoop] 25/8/2017 10:42

Overmars,That's not correct - Poland made £1.1m in 2016, my understanding is that Lodz was loss making so Maddox may have made approximately £1.5m profit which is fairly significant in the context of a £2.1m overall profit.

[gengulphus] 25/8/2017 10:40

I think barely profitable now or loss making.

Thoughts are ten-a-penny.
Reasoned thoughts are rather more valuable!

So: why do you think that?

Gengulphus

[overmars] 24/8/2017 22:57

Maddox performed well initially triggering earnout payment.
Owners/key management departed.
I think barely profitable now or loss making.
Not good

[rhomboid] 24/8/2017 19:47

Good point CH, I'd mentally put both Polish businesses into the same pot, which as you say misses the divergent performances, I think the real issue is likely account mgt & or innovation or the lack therof in the wider group which speaks to leadership quality. Looking at Macf results today they seem to be trucking along just fine , different market but arguably an even tougher more commoditised sectors!

[cockerhoop] 24/8/2017 19:28

I believe the opposite, the Maddox acquisition has performed Ok - hence the maximum earn out. The problems have been with the legacy Polish Lodz based business and the UK operation which both lost large contracts in the last couple of years.

[overmars] 24/8/2017 15:55

CEO and finance director should both be held accountable.
Destroyed 10 million of shareholder value on Poland acquisition
There are more able executives that should run this company

[charo] 24/8/2017 15:46

The acquisitions by the CEO and approved by board have been very poor.Why he still there poss can't afford to pay him off.

[overmars] 24/8/2017 15:34

Poland acquisition disaster
Mangement should have been replaced
Ineffective board

[cockerhoop] 23/8/2017 18:27

Currently on holiday so haven't looked at today's announcement in depth but it was made clear to me at the agm operational improvements wouldn't be visible in H1 numbers so I wasn't at all surprised by today's statement. The key for me is whether they deliver improved results in H2 and 2018 as they have promised whilst monitoring any development on the surplus land.

[rhomboid] 23/8/2017 16:57

I'm happy to be on the sidelines here having made a hefty loss holding out for the property upside, my issue is that when I bought the core business was fairly valued & the property gain was a future windfall. How they managed to pay so much for Madrox(?)and yet produce so little by way of improved financial results is something only mgt can answer. They used to be innovative enough to carve out profitable niches in packaging, it seems they've either lost the knack or the key people involved in design & customer engagement have left.

In short the plot appears lost.

Good luck Castlefield Tiger if you want to create some strategic change, my fear is the property windfall will mainly be used to repay Bank Loans, holders may wish to ask mgt whether any formal or informal pledges in this regard have been made to the Bank in this regard already..in which case external holders may have every right to feel misled.