Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[wilmdav] 12/8/2012 12:06

Hi WCB

Yes, this old-timer still holds and feels reasonably happy about developments.

There is a good Powerpoint presentation of the interim results on SGI's web site:



I was interested to note on page 6 that sales of philatelic investment products reduced by 17%. There is no reference to this in the actual report. Guaranteed return investment products have been the target of a great deal of stick from investors, particularly on TMF. The appearance of Mark Henley as FD (recently moved on) was influential in reining these in and improving protection against the risks. My main complaint was that they were a form of marketing more suited to high street grocery stores and that they detracted from the gold plated brand image. So there is a sense in which I was particulary encouraged by the possibility that the company is now concentrating on selling rare stamps rather than naively marketed and somewhat risky packages.

If the Chairman (ADVFN poster) is still within earshot I would love to get his reactions to the seemingly imminent rare stamp fund.

My usual chart based exercise on the results can be accessed here:

[westcountryboy] 11/8/2012 09:38

I think the old-timers on the board are still holding. The results today were very much steady as she goes. In fact I find the steadiness of the eps rise every six months almost alarming :-)

However there are some curiosities in the results. The greatest is the enormous increase in inventories to £24.46m, and the consequent plunge into net debt for the first time since I started following this company in 2002. They say it is connected with the launch of the investment fund later in the year and that stock levels will reduce and cash levels increase to historic levels. Unfortunately I am not sure what they mean by historic levels of stocks since they were £7.1m in 2007 and £14.8m in 2010.

In general they seem to have to hold more and more in stock in order to generate small eps increases. But then I suppose they are the company valuing the stock in the first place (?), so perhaps we should take the stock figures with a pinch of salt. Also, before this set of results, they had always held a roughly consistent net cash position, so it's not as if their purchases have been a regular drain on resources.

In terms of profit growth it is still only the philatelic trading division which is delivering, but it does seem to do the business. Results in that division are H2 weighted, so I have no particular reason to think that the 19p eps target will need to be revised.

The progressive divi policy also ought to be commended. They have tripled it in seven years and seem to be continuing with good mansize steps up each year.

cheers
WCB

[jeanesy2] 10/8/2012 17:58

Poor reaction to results. Positive broker comments

[gbh2] 10/8/2012 13:02

I've had them on my watch list for over a year but investment interest is very poor so I've not taken any on yet!

[ianms2012] 10/8/2012 12:29

I sold today when I bought in on the last financial results as 233p (think i took around 7% loss). It went down slowly until past week or so, with slow progress recovering again (seemed i bough on it's high). I was hoping for a bigger rise today and into some profitability but has not materialised. They are still a company I feel will grow, and once their new offices open world wide and their online sales increase even more. This should be good to buy into.

There is not much volume trading going on in this aim share, so for now i'll keep it on my watch list and wait till year end financial result.

[philanderer] 10/8/2012 11:13

Morning , got this one on my watchlist....

Peel Hunt reiterating 'buy' and 250p target

[jeanesy2] 10/8/2012 08:04

Steady progress being made, pretty solid results imo. What do others think ?, all very quiet here !

[jeanesy2] 09/8/2012 08:52

heres hoping for a positive update tmw !

[rotors] 06/8/2012 13:06

Interims due Friday 10th. Thanks for link Jeanesy.

[jeanesy2] 06/8/2012 12:44

Nice article about stamps here. The success of the olympics will hopefully be mirrored here in stamp and coin sales. News due soon i think

[casholaa] 27/6/2012 03:10

waiting for the p&d

[jeanesy] 23/6/2012 14:29

Latest auction results now in , a bit disappointing really . Many sold below estimate. I am expecting a bit more of a fall here unless we get some other positive news

[jeanesy] 17/5/2012 20:17

Dont understand the fall today. The auction seemed to go very well - strange

[clocktower] 17/5/2012 13:49

Those generous options seemed to have help pull the share price back, nice bonus if targets are reached in due couse. This could be one of those stocks that could become overvalued if the success continues.

[lucky_punter] 17/5/2012 13:43

Stanley Gibbons - The rare stamps of the Playboy King

King Carol II of Romania was also known as 'The Playboy King'. His private life was scandalous and it outraged even the most loyal partisans of the monarchy.
Talk of illegitimate children and secret marriages were rife until his exile in 1940.

[boros10] 13/5/2012 21:48

Barclays Stockbrokers has written to its customers seeking consent for a change which may have adverse consequences for investors who hold in excess of £85,000 in cash.

In the second half of 2012, Barclays Stockbrokers will cease to offer a broking service. Consenting clients will be transferred to Barclays Bank plc ("the Bank") who will offer the same service as at present.

The big potential problem arises from the change in the way cash balances will be treated. At present, cash balances are held as Client Money in accordance
with the FSA's Client Money rules. This means cash is held with regulated banks completely separated from Barclays Stockbrokers own money and assets. No more than 20% of Client Money can be held with banks within the Barclays Bank Group.

In future, cash balances held in broking accounts will be effectively treated as a deposit with Barclays Bank plc. In the event of Barclays Bank plc becoming insolvent Client cash will no longer be ring-fenced from use leaving Clients fully exposed as non-preferential creditors of the Bank.

I have set up a new thread (BROK) for Barclays Stockbrokers' clients affected by these changes and would also welcome contributions from investors using other brokers.

[dashton42] 09/5/2012 12:56

There's a bullish update on SGI from Simon Thompson in the Investors Chronicle (article dated 8th May).

I popped into the Stanley Gibbons shop in the Strand while I was in London yesterday; an impressive set of CW and GB stamps on display, as always. They also have a downstairs section devoted to supplies, which I don't remember from the last time I visited the shop some years ago.

I think that they need to invest in a bit of RFID technology to stop pilfering from downstairs though, rather than sending a member of staff down to keep an eye on things - which is a bit offputting if you're the only person down there (I mean, do I look like a person who would stuff a pack of Hagners into my backpack and leg it out of the shop?!)

The assistant who was keeping an eye on my shady activities downstairs accepted my suggestion that it might be nice if SGI produced a QV Commonwealth specialist catalogue, but said it would never happen, due to the sheer size of the task... They're missing a trick, in my opinion.

[jeanesy] 07/5/2012 19:01

Just been looking through the Arnhold collection which is up for auction on the 17th May. Looks an impressive collection, let's hope the auction goes well!

[jeanesy] 04/5/2012 20:15

A few more buys today.

[dashton42] 03/5/2012 14:18

I'd never heard of this site b4, but went there earlier via a link on the CSG BB. Useful website to know about.

[js8106455] 03/5/2012 12:44

Found a really interesting interview on Stanley Gibbons, check it out guys.

[battlebus2] 02/5/2012 23:00

Thanks Rotors still plenty of headroom yet.

[rotors] 02/5/2012 22:35

Well, just to put things in perspective: the share price has had quite a steep climb from mid December (164p) to today's 227.5p close (May 2nd). The results were excellent and maybe the market has been just a touch sensitive in their reading of the pre-AGM statement today.

There was nothing from the Board today that indicated progress was not likely to continue onwards and upwards; business-like, short meeting, all resolutions passed without controversy. Progressive dividend policy affirmed. New rare stamp investment fund sounds interesting and could be the fore-runner of other similar funds to follow. Olympics / Diamond Jubilee add interest. Hong Kong and the online service sound like winners to me.

What is not to like about this share?

I can see the 245 - 250p all-time high (June / August 2007) being challenged.

Regards, Rotors