Severfield Share Discussion Threads

[owenski] 02/12/2015 15:35

Looking a bit encouraging here, long term trend ceiling is in the 74p area

[steelwatch100] 02/12/2015 12:14

jadeticl3 - lol if only!!

[roddiemac2] 02/12/2015 09:55

steelwatch,

Yes,---the Indian JV is a long bet for the future .

[jadeticl3] 02/12/2015 09:50

Well done steelwatch. You appear to have sparked off a new enthusiasm and a leap in share price. Keep on posting!

[steelwatch100] 02/12/2015 09:34

Further to the above, regarding the cash generation of 10.9m, this presumably will have taken account of a spend on the bolt remedial work, which could have been between 1 - 3m (?)in the period Apr-Sept (part of the 6m).

So effectively could be a trading cash gain of 12 -14m in the 6mth period.

Whilst cash is not everything, it is even more encouraging for the future results!!

[steelwatch100] 01/12/2015 07:05

Positive interims - cash collection @ 10.9m in 6mths!, looks good for year end.

India JV seems like a very long bet for the future & a bit of a side show at the moment. Uk & new ventures look more promising for a better return.

[roddiemac2] 28/11/2015 12:07

jadeticl3,

The Indian JV has been a slow burner, but this is likely to change at some point when the country moves away from relatively primitive construction methods.

[jadeticl3] 25/11/2015 11:11

Well done hybrasil. I have not bought again but have loads of these, more than I intended due to accepting all on offer at thebRights Issue! I am also sitting back until March (but I have been sitting back for some time now). I had expected more from the Indian JV, but UK business looks on the road to recovery. I am awaiting a break-out above 75p.

[wipo1] 24/11/2015 18:55

Wow Hybrasil you're brave buying that amount, I picked up a small amount for bottom drawer.

[hybrasil] 24/11/2015 09:11

got another 10000 at 60p. So now I will sit back till March

[itchycrack] 24/11/2015 08:23

Good results, and a dividend being paid.
This is an excellent recovery play IMHO.

[hybrasil] 24/11/2015 08:23

I suspect that with the dividend news the prudent and almost optimistic statement that we will see 80-90p within two months.

[hybrasil] 24/11/2015 08:15

bought this morning first thing but had to pay 62 almost for 26000 shares. I'll keep watching

[the grumpy old men] 23/9/2015 14:28

Swiss economy minister says SNB working to weaken franc
ZURICH, Sept 23

The Swiss government sees the country's central bank working towards bringing the Swiss franc to purchasing power parity, which is well above 1.20 francs per euro, Switzerland's economy minister told parliament on Wednesday.

"The government acknowledges that the Swiss National Bank is working hard to resolve the purchasing power relationship with respect to main markets in the European Union, and with them the euro, so that the we travel in the direction of purchasing power parity," Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said. "This journey is not yet finished, as purchasing power remains significantly above 1.20 Swiss francs per euro."

Schneider-Ammann said the government remained confident in the independent SNB, which last week signalled it will keep interest rates negative for the foreseeable future and was not targeting a specific exchange rate for the "significantly overvalued" franc against the euro.
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The euro now trades at around 1.0850 francs. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin and John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)

[waldron] 20/9/2015 13:43

Forex Expos

EUR/CHF Weekly Outlook Print E-mail
EURCHF Outlook | Written by ActionForex.com | Sep 19 15 12:00 GMT
EUR/CHF Weekly Outlook

EUR/CHF was bounded in sideway consolidation below 1.1049 last week. Initial bias stays neutral this week for some more consolidations. But further rally is expected as long as 1.0877 minor support holds. Above 1.1049 will target 100% projection of 0.9771 to 1.0807 from 1.0233 at 1.1269. Meanwhile, below 1.0877 minor support will indicate short term topping and turn focus back to 1.0732 support instead.

In the bigger picture, medium term rebound from January's spike low is still in progress. Sustained break of 1.0807 resistance should now open up the case for further rise back to prior key support level of 1.2. Meanwhile, break of 1.0732 support will indicate that recent rise might be over and turn .focus back to 1.0233 support.

[jadeticl3] 14/9/2015 09:57

Generally good market this morning, but big drop for SFR with lots of small sellers but no announcement.
What is going on?

[cc2014] 24/8/2015 20:50

yeah - but drop isn't on large volume. Expect it will come back fairly quickly.

[jadeticl3] 24/8/2015 19:56

Big drop together with lots of others

[jadeticl3] 01/8/2015 15:17

Back up to its best Share Price level, but still not a breakout. I am expecting this to reach 80p by end of year.

[bloomberg2] 14/7/2015 22:05

Bolt issue at American embassy !! Severs didn't supply bolts?

[waldron] 14/7/2015 09:34

The Swiss National Bank is faced with an overheating currency and slumping economy following the decision to abandon the currency exchange rate cap on the Euro. Uncertainty in the EU is leading to a rush on the franc and severely hampering the export and tourism-dependent Swiss economy.

From high unemployment in southern Europe to sluggish economic growth and Grexit fears, the EU and the euro have recently taken a beating. All this uncertainty is leading some investors to seek safe havens, such as Switzerland.

Swiss stability is envied by many in the EU, with citizens in Sardinia even setting up a campaign to secede to Switzerland. Even the gallows humour permeating Greece has taken note: caught between having to choose between the Euro or drachma, some Greeks have half-jokingly opted for the franc.

Abandonment of exchange rate cap

Switzerland has long been accustomed to such trends, but the duration and proximity of the euro crisis has led to a massive overvaluation of the franc (CHF). Ever since the global financial and euro crises, the franc has steadily appreciated, leading the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to implement an exchange rate cap of 1.20CHF to the euro in September 2011. This cap had long been a core element of SNB fiscal policy, so it came as a shock when it was unceremoniously dumped in January 2015.

This was especially shocking as only days earlier the SNB assured that it would maintain the cap with unlimited forex purchases to boost competing exchange rates. SNB head Thomas Jordan even managed to catch the IMF off-guard, with Christine Lagarde stating that “Jordan did not contact me beforehand. I find this somewhat ponderous.”

Within minutes of the cap’s removal, the franc appreciated an unprecedented 30% against G10 currencies, at one point breaking parity with the euro, before stabilizing at a new norm of around 1.05CHF. This jump has led the franc to become, by far, the world’s best performing currency against the dollar for 2015.
franc vs. euro

credit: Bloomberg

Limited room to maneuver for SNB

The extent of the franc’s appreciation has surprised even the SNB, which had assumed that the exchange rate would stabilize around the 1.10–1.15CHF mark. This has not occurred, and the SNB is forced to hope for a strengthening dollar or turnaround in the Eurozone to cool demand.

The problem for the SNB is that is has limited options to curtail demand for the franc, given that much of the pressure is coming from overseas. Uncertainty, however, has also impacted Swiss investors, with many wary of investing in the EU. To counteract this trend, the SNB has already instituted negative interest rates, raising them several times to the current -0.75%.

One option touted by Daniel Kalt, chief economist at UBS, is the imposition of capital controls such as withdrawal limits like those seen in Greece. Such measures could see individuals restricted to 100 or 500 CHF per day. Kalt states he can only envision this option being implemented if the euro reaches 0.90-0.95CHF; but given the upcoming Greek referendum, such a scenario is not out of the question.

Such a measure is a last ditch resort, as withdrawal limits would damage the reputation of Switzerland as a safe financial haven: foreign investors need to remain assured that they can access their money at any time. Another option which Kalt prefers to negative interest rates is the imposition of a potential fee – say 2% – on each cash withdrawal. This idea is not new, as in the 1970s, non-residents had to pay a fee of up to 10% per half year on withdrawals.

Swiss economy faces recession

The impact of the cap removal has had significant repercussions for the Swiss economy. For a country dependent on exports and tourism, a strong franc is deadly. Swiss GDP already shrunk 0.2% in Q12015 – the worst performance in six years – with Q2 likely to see the country slide into recession due to a further 0.2% decline. Exports in Q1 were also down 2.3%, another six year low.

Further complicating matters for the Swiss is the progress of the Trans-Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and the EU. According to the World Trade Institute, a US-EU free trade agreement that focuses on reducing tariffs without an accompanying European Free Trade Area (EFTA) FTA deal could shave 0.5% from Swiss GDP.

The luxury watch industry, the poster boy of the Swiss economy which comprises over 10% of exports, reported an 8.9% decrease, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry — the worst performance since the height of the global financial crisis in November, 2009.

Manufacturing and tourism hit hard

Other important sectors of the Swiss economy, such as the machine-tool industry, are also suffering. Rolf Muster, CEO of Schaublin Machines SA, has seen a 60% drop in orders since the cap removal. Muster embodies the widespread industry anger with the SNB’s decision to remove the franc cap:

The machine-tool industry is used to weathering cyclical crises, but today the situation is really serious…the Germans, our main competitors from one day to the next became 15% cheaper without so much as having to replace a single bolt.

Cheaper EU competitors pose a serious threat to the Swiss machine-electro-metal industry, which exports 80% of national production (60% to the EU). Swissmem, the umbrella organization representing 330,000 machine, electrical, metal industry workers, notes that “a majority of companies in the industry are strongly affected by the SNB decision.” The only upside is that raw materials imports — a major expenditure given Switzerland’s lack of natural resources — are now cheaper, thus potentially bolstering Swiss manufacturers.

The Swiss tourism industry is also suffering from the strong franc, as bookings from EU guests (the largest tourist demographic) have declined by 25% since the euro exchange rate has risen to 1.05CHF. Ernst Wyrsch, president of the Grisons Hotel Association, forecasts that the industry will in the next three to four years experience a “rough and tumble phase the likes of which we haven’t seen in 30 years.”

Taking note of the silver lining of cheap imports, the Swiss hotelier industry has floated the idea of importing food for foreign guests duty-free from the EU in order to offset costs. This pragmatic proposal has been vehemently opposed by farmers, who are benefiting from high food prices. Consequently, this issue has become politically toxic as farmers can rely on full support from the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the largest party in parliament.

Switzerland’s rock-like stability has proven too much of a good thing, with the Swiss economy and SNB now stuck between a rock and a hard place.