Spg Media Share Discussion Threads

[kuqi] 01/4/2005 20:56

Glad I'm keeping you lol-ing, qut. As a manic depressive, there's not too many people who find me that amusing. Well, not since I went down the local high street without noticing that my flies were.......ahem!

As it's the weekend, does anyone fancy a wager on next week's SPG strategy? I'll take website and forums growth, and you can have surge in India operations and regeneration of print business. :-)

I've just realised something that spiritbear said.

"Relocation - Interesting one....some operational functions would have to remain in the UK. So I take that as, out of London and up north somewhere for the Print sales as it's a tele-sales based busness model and wages are cheaper up north."

If they relocate in Sheffied, I could then apply for a job and see just how badly organised they really are. :-) And what's all this about lower wages? I reckon I earn more than most of the staff in that company.

[kuqi] 01/4/2005 06:31

Interesting, Spiritbear, and obviously very much an inside view of what's going on. Maybe we should allow the regime time to put plans in place and see them through, although how much time investors will allow is another matter. I can't see this Utilico lot standing around for too long watching their investment diminish with every new trading statement.

Whether you're right or not on all these plans remains to be seen, but when is the company just going to get on and settle down into a defined business structure they're happy with. I know all businesses need to develop, reassess certain activities etc., but there never seems to be an end with SPG. It's never just minor tweaking either, but constant radical change, which leads me to believe that the current management still haven't formulated their blueprint for returning to any sort of profit, let alone sustained profit.

[spiritbear] 31/3/2005 17:34

Yes, I'm glad others see that I wasn't telling porky pies.......I love the idea of keeping the SPM shares for comedy value, what a great reframe.

It would seem many senior staff have had to take the Steve Nicholson silver bullet...or resignation as it's officially put.

With so many leaving, it would seem Steve Nicholson comes across as what is called an Alpha male, controling, won't listen, difficult to work with, my way or the highway type of attitude etc. An attitude that probably works in Change Management but not as a CEO. This would seem is a learning curve for him in that department.

India - They can sell in India to Australia/Asia businesses when the London office is closed. That would help build int. presence. Intially India, then where? I think odds on USA next! Or, how about a small office in SA?

The data centre sounds like a database. This potentially could be very valuable business information of global companies. When that data is eventually collected, SPM can then sell that information to other companies. That could be more profitable than Print/Forums/Web and therefore, possibly SPM's future!

Relocation - Interesting one....some operational functions would have to remain in the UK. So I take that as, out of London and up north somewhere for the Print sales as it's a tele-sales based busness model and wages are cheaper up north.

These would seem to be the 'Plan'. Steve must have a 3/4 year plan. Unfortunately, the city is impatient and wants to see results certainly by year 2. I don't imagine year end results being that great when released. They need to 'sell' big time now though, and there is a problem. Old busines model selling to make the bucks or new business model with less staff but not make as much! Or, do they do both? I.e. Hammer some of the print products with no real focus for content but will at least bring in the much needed cash while brining out new better content print products that the audience actually want.

All this would tie in the generalization of 'laying the foundations for substantial growth'.

Question: Will it work?

He's held off selling so far, I imagine he feels that the company is potentially worth much much more than the offers he's had so he will want to make sure his plans work. He won't be able to resist his Alpha ego. Though I imagine at times he must wonder why he took this role on!

[qut] 29/3/2005 23:47

125TS - whatever you're having is more than Mr. Bartender can offer, legally that is! Glad to see you've loosened up however.

[125ts] 29/3/2005 20:53

Glad you cleared that one up for me. Mr. Bartender, I'll have what qut's having. 0) I suppose you really mean that despite SPM you've got many other investments which are keeping you cheerful? I can therefore deduce that you are Utilico Investment Trust and I claim my five pounds.

bluey, what a fantistic and oh so apt quote. Excellent!

Oh OK, I'll give it a go:

I must try to be as cheerful as qut despite owning a load of shares in SPM
I must try to be as cheerful as qut despite owning a load of shares in SPM
I must try to be as cheerful as qut despite owning a load of shares in SPM
I must try to be as cheerful as qut despite owning a load of shares in SPM
I must try to be as cheerful as qut .........

[qut] 29/3/2005 18:30

125TS - I'm just cheerful. Until I came across all you doom-mongers!

[bluey3] 29/3/2005 12:46

WE TEND to meet any new situation in life by reorganising," Petronius Arbiter, a 1st-century Roman satirist, is supposed to have remarked. "And what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation." Sounds perfect for what SPM are doing

[125ts] 28/3/2005 22:35

That company is Utilico Investment Trust who own 29.4%. In terms of their overall portfolio, their stake in SPG is very small, just 1.8% of their total investments and ranked equal 14th in their last annual report. They describe their objectives as "providing long term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in utility and related businesses including other investment companies investing in these businesses." The question is, how long term are they prepared to wait for some capital appreciation and what happens if/when they decide to cut and run elsewhere if their investment continues to depreciate.

qut

You've lost me a bit. Are you cheerful because there's growth in the Indian operation which is going to radically change the fortunes of the company, or because you're hoping for a takeover, or because one may lead to the other?

[qut] 28/3/2005 13:51

There you are diku - reason for cheer: my bet is they are taken over. Some company already owns nearly 30% of shares.

[diku] 27/3/2005 23:56

qut

No, I am not kuqi's brother... and I would like to think I am not bearish but it is this bloody Print section which is a drag on the company...the last three months of 2004 should have been a busy seasonal period for the Print but it never materialised...what are the chances of it making the targets during the off seasonal periods...more below from the last results...the writing was on the wall despite the nice rise in the share price we had during the mid Nov 2004 to mid Jan 2005...

Revenues were marginally behind plan at #9.2 million with growth in both the
Internet and Events businesses in line with market expectation; the Internet
business contributed #3.0 million (2003: #2.6 million) and the Events business
#1.9 million (2003: #1.3 million).

The rationalised portfolio of print products contributed #4.2 million (2003:
#7.1 million) with performance marginally behind plan. The print business is
stabilising and we remain confident that through continuing the migration
towards requested and subscription based publications, the business will return
to growth in future years


As you must know they are operating in a very competative environment thus the comments from the previous poster...It is going to be a hard slog for recovery or as I have said before they should be looking to buy smaller companies to increase their scale or get taken over...would prefer the latter...

[qut] 27/3/2005 22:36

How come you've gonebearish all of a sudden diku? Are you Kuqi's brother?!

[diku] 27/3/2005 22:04

I echo the points made by kuqi...

qut

This below is from the last results...

Investments in building a strong international presence, initially in Asia,
progress to plan with increased office space in Hyderbad, India, where we are
building a Group wide data centre with plans to relocate various related
operational functions.

What exactly do they do in India...or intend to do in India...or are they relocating everything to India due to costs... notice the word "plans" has been used...plans can go pear shaped or have they missed the train...with the well flagged growth in China and India...that has been going on in the last few years...

[qut] 27/3/2005 21:27

Growth in India Kuqi.

[kuqi] 27/3/2005 13:06

Well I hope you're right, qut. After all, I don't hold shares for the fun of it, and we all want to make a profit. Having held these things for many years now, I still can't see the prospect of future profit.

May I ask what makes you believe that there are brighter times ahead? Do you know something that I don't? From my perspective, all I ever see with spm is reorganisation, rationalisation and strategy changes without the share price ever reaping any long term tangible benefits. We've had management changes galore, senior staff leaving all over the place, with yet another one (more senior than most) disappearing from the scene in the next couple of weeks, and we've had a major name change, incorporating all the seperate subsidiaries into one trading unit. All for the good of the company, we've been told, yet here we are with the print sector being wound down, and the forums and web business described as achievivng modest growth at best, or merely stable.

Have a look at the turnover figures for the past four years. 2001 £37.6m; 2002 £32.9m; 2003 £24.7m; 2004 £23.9m; this half year £9.2m which looks like another projected drop on the previous year. Then we're told in a previous message that most of the senior experienced sales staff have gone too, so where exactly am I supposed to get this optimism from?

SPG is in a very competitive global market, and they seem to be losing out big time, with no sustained period of internal stability amongst management and senior staff. Please let me know what info you have for the resurgence in turnover, profits and future sweetness and light for this company, because try as I might, I really don't see it myself.

[kuqi] 26/3/2005 21:47

qut, I hope that's irony, because I have great difficulty in recognising ironic comments on messageboards.

All I can say is, if they're laying the foundations, it's taking longer than the Ground Zero project! I must remember to go back through my stockpile of annual reports and see the last time "laying the foundations" wasn't mentioned. At a guess I'd say 2000 or 2001.

[diku] 26/3/2005 20:49

I hope so...

[qut] 26/3/2005 20:31

You're a hard Kuqi! SPG are laying the foundations for substantial growth.

[kuqi] 26/3/2005 17:41

I know that chart showing the share price plummeting from 10p to zero is just an Easter weekend thing, but is anyone else getting this worrying feeling that in the case of SPG, it may also be a premonition?????

[kuqi] 23/3/2005 19:24

I'm not surprised either Spiritbear. I reckon your earlier message about the Financial Controller resigning at the time of the trading statement was correct, as some doubted on here. There must be a lot of internal dissatisfaction with the state of the finance function for such a long standing Finance director to be 'standing down' and replaced by an interim appointment.

As I said in my rant back then, I didn't believe the figures produced at the half year stage (small profit on just £9m turnover - yeah right) and the more that's happened since with trading statements, FC resignations and FD departures seems to back it up. This company's finance function must be in quite a mess. I await the year end results with baited breath. I've just about given up the idea of ever making a profit on my shares with this lot, so I may as well just keep them for the comedy value - in the words of qut, 'lol'.

[spiritbear] 23/3/2005 16:50

I have to say, I'm not surprised at todays director change announcement.

Best thing for them to do is simply reduce their number of Print products as they're not that great. Lacks direction, jumps from one topic to another with no real flow when reading. Content should alsways be king, frankly the editorial is prety poor standard. If thick enough, might make great office door stoppers!

If they can keep the good Print products along with their Forums and Web products, they have a good chance of turning things around. Time will tell.

[125ts] 23/3/2005 09:05

qut, you can't leave it at that. Is that lol @ the previous message or a really big lol @ the day's director change news?????

"Mr. Watson has played a significant role in the group"

He certainly has, but lets just hope Mr. Brocklebank and whoever takes over the role full time can reverse it quickly.