Sports Direct Share Discussion Threads

[fenners66] 27/7/2019 12:51

fenners66 - 26 Jul 2019 - 09:13:38 - 6218 of 6410
Sports Direct (with charts) - SPD

"If you were working on the results of a small company, were late , then said they would be ready by this morning, then were late again , you would expect the sack , let alone such a massive company as this - shambles"


lo and behold

26 July 2019

SPORTS DIRECT INTERNATIONAL PLC

("Sports Direct" or the "Company")

Resignation of CFO and Board Changes

Sports Direct announces that Jon Kempster has decided not to stand for re-election at the next Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of the Company and will therefore step down from his role as Chief Financial Officer of the Company and as an executive director from the board of directors with effect from end of the AGM

[fenners66] 27/7/2019 12:45

To all hypocrites here -

please stop telling others to stop guessing at Monday's share price ... and then having a guess yourself...


As for waiting to be told how bad things are by the Sunday press... anyone whom has read the DEBS board for the last 2 years will know that some of the posters on there were far more adept at predicting the potential outcomes than the market and the Sunday press and they are now posting here too...

[topvest] 27/7/2019 12:39

Just read the preliminary announcement...what a read..very entertaining. He's like Perloff on steroids!

Mike Ashley is critical of almost everyone and everything. Not the way to make friends. HoF is probably losing £10m a month, given that the £6m a month loss included Christmas and New Year.

What comes through loud and clear is that whilst Ashley is a shrewd cookie when it comes to 'stack it high, sell it cheap retailing'...he is still at heart a gambler. He has purchased lots of businesses, without doing proper due diligence. Turnarounds seldom turn and so buying HoF before you actually knew what you were taking on was a big bet...that looks like it was a losing punt. HoF is in terminal decline.

[effortless cool] 27/7/2019 12:20

Of course they won't be delisted - just ignore him.

[useless23] 27/7/2019 12:16

Why would they be delisted for a couple of weeks?

[ignoble] 27/7/2019 12:14

Tks Effortless.. Appreciated

[effortless cool] 27/7/2019 11:23

ignoble,

Treasury shares are valued at cost on the balance sheet. Only if they are subsequently sold will any gain or loss be booked, although that would not go through the income statement.

[ignoble] 27/7/2019 11:09

Out of naivety, where might MA get the money to take it private?
Not sure how taking it Private works?

[debsdowner] 27/7/2019 10:57

Terrible state of affairs and the whole group in trouble due in part to HOF the tax bill a cliff edge:

"The hefty tax bill was the biggest upset in the figures as it is the equivalent of several years of annual profits. The tax shock came as the group said it could not put a figure on its future profitability because of the disastrous buyout of the House of Fraser chain, which lost £1m a week in the year to the end of April. Profits for the overall group were up 5% at £142.3m for the year to April, but that was at the bottom end of expectations."

I wouldn't like to guess what will happen to the share price Monday it will be down and all over the place.

The tax bill amounts to years of profits if it has to be paid (Guardian).

Some think Ashley isn't bothered how grim the results are so he go take it private, who knows.

Even if he took it private it is in a mess I any event and the future uncertain.

[festario] 27/7/2019 10:48

Wapper, that's only correct if you don't have a bonded warehouse.Most big importers, like SPD have bonded status, as do all their suppliers.That means that VAT and import duty is only payable when the item is physically sold.It's great for cash flow, but leaves a heavy tax liability for unsold stock.

[ignoble] 27/7/2019 10:14

All the shares that SPD buys back and hold in Treasury, I assume that as the SPD price weakens over the last months, the value has to be written down to the market price.
This cannot help the Balance Sheet.

Think I read somewhere they have over 100 million shares.

Just my thoughts...

[wapper] 27/7/2019 10:05

They have a big presence in Belgium with orders presumably being placed from Shirebrook split for shipment to UK and Belgium /Austria etc . There will be stock transfers between countries no doubt and there may be transfer pricing issues. But if there is no deliberate wrongdoing or suggestion of neglect for example (no fine) then tax-wise it should all come out in the wash as it's currently EU and therefore without a nett tax consequence. Tat's my take for what it's worth.VAT is paid at point of entry for goods imported into EU as is Import Duty. The VAT rates differ across EU (Belgium is 21% )


Just wondering also : if GT did the financial due diligence on the HoF acquisition they may turn to GT for compensation ?

[ltcm1] 27/7/2019 09:46

So Sports Direct has received a €674m tax bill from the Belgian authorities that relates to products that had been routed internally via Belgium.


What do people think is going on here??? By 'tax' could this be VAT, or would SPD have to state it was VAT???

Why would they be routing goods internally via Belguim? Could it be something to do with online sales???

If they are liable for this bill ironically it will push SPD into a Debenhams situation, diminishing profits, high debt, no ability to invest into the business.

[wapper] 27/7/2019 09:40

Now we know why the delay : to receive a potential tax bill of such magnitude less than 24 hours before Final Results day would have involved lot of "meeting time" with BOD and Auditors as to how to present this contingent. Delay explained.

Company need to get this anomaly dealt with very quickly (although EU tax authorities can be difficult and inflexible in their approach).A relatively small team can put this to bed as the likelihood is that it is either a procedural or document issue.The mention of a fine is more worrisome as any proven tax liability in Belgium will almost certainly have an equal and opposite impact credit in UK.Could be a cashflow timing problem too.


HoF however seems to be a different matter. The old adage of first loss being best loss applies here IMHO. Again , swift action and take medicine will go down better than propping up a lame duck. BOD know this and should know what's required (you can't win 'em all Mike). There are positives within the results : not many retailers increasing turnover and gross margin like this recently.Core business model sound and should provide decent free cashflow until some of the more off the wall acquisitions can be bedded in. Karen Byers may well have been the brains behind the business and 28 years is a long time to survive in an environment of this nature but her students will have listened and learned and the longer a business has been established such key player losses are less impactive .Am not a holder here and will watch carefully as this plays out. The worse thing that BOD can do is to stay quiet. The markets and stakeholders will be wanting regular updates on the key issues.

[snoopy12] 27/7/2019 09:27

Basically, before the fall comes the pride.

[buywell2] 27/7/2019 08:05

Mike:

Get her back mate , whatever it takes, and get back to basics

The next 2 to 3 years are going to be rough for all

Good Luck



KAREN BYERS

Karen Byers has been an invaluable member of the Sports Direct team for over 28 years, however as the focus of the Group moves to an elevated offering, including shop fits, this meant that Karen was no longer able to do the things she loved and was good at for so many years. Many elements at which Karen excelled now fall under the remit of third-party brands as we create the elevated stores they and our customers now demand.
We wish her well for the future and consider the door to always be open if she wants to re-engage with the Group in a consultant role.








buywell2 15 Jul '19 - 09:09 - 6120 of 6389 Edit


The departure of Karen Buyers seems to have caused a major loss of confidence in many investors, MA is reported to have said she was ''the real brains behind Sports Direct''.

Now she is not there , I wonder if the BOD can persuade MA likewise ?

P/E is still showing 50 , which could IMO get halved after 200p , 100p could chartwise happen



Recent forays into high st acquisitions in the face of increased on-line selling does not add up

dyor

[qazwsxedc69] 27/7/2019 06:39

What an absolute car crash. The fact that none of the big four want to touch the audit with a barge pole tells you everything you want to know.

[smcni1968] 27/7/2019 01:38

Ashley allegedly held regular senior management meetings during "lock-ins" at the Green Dragon pub in Alfreton near Sports Direct's warehouse. ... "Mr Ashley then vomited into the fireplace located in the centre of the bar, to huge applause from his senior management team.".