Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[nurdin] 08/7/2004 16:55

Worth reading the AGM statement again to see what to expect at the interims:

''Turnover (unaudited) for the first quarter of 2004 was more than 20% higher
than for the same period last year. Trading has been in line with the
expectations of sustained growth of the Company in both turnover and
profitability.

We have continued to enjoy strong market conditions in philatelic trading and
retail operations which have benefited both from the increased momentum and
interest in stamps as an alternative investment proposition, and the strength of
our stockholding built up towards the end of last year....''

Roll on 30July :o)

[xdavid] 08/7/2004 16:53

At close of play (online), 84.75p bid, 87p offer, 85p 'mid'. Thats puts the 'real' mid close to 86p.
I expect it to open tomorrow up another 0.5p at least.
One of the usual patterns for SGI is that Market Makers sometimes drop it a couple of pence (especially if morning starts with a couple of sells), just to try and panic a few people after a 'big' gain. Once they have flushed out a few, the price ticks back up quickly.
Should be interesting tomorrow!

[ukhawk] 08/7/2004 16:45

I actually like the wording of the RNS, throws the spotlight on the interims at the end of the month. Time for FT, Share mag, IC to say something, and next week the T20 brigade are in range.
The next month "looks interesting" as they say !!!

[kael] 08/7/2004 16:30

Well Ukhawk, SGI being a small stock often gets overlooked. Then people see that its up 8% and then wonder why - a move like that gets peoples attention. Strip out cash and SGI looks very cheap going foward. The amount of cash they actually have is, by my calculations, 12p+.

[ukhawk] 08/7/2004 16:25

Seems a little strange to see everbody buying after the RNS when this info was already in the public domain. I suppose it just highlights the fact that if you strip out the 10p (ish) special dividend the stock still looks cheap.

[kael] 08/7/2004 16:13

Excellent news for shareholders and a very positive response to albeit already known information by those in the know :)

Here's to a cracking set of interims. Well done SGI on your investment, a true 10 bagger!

[cambium] 08/7/2004 15:57

yiippppppeeeeeeeeeeee

[xdavid] 08/7/2004 15:55

Aaaah... SGI in full flight - I'd almost forgotten what it was like. Glorious! And still the interims to come...

[nurdin] 08/7/2004 15:11

State of the general market plus it was sold by way of secondary offering.That probably necessitated discount to the market price.Shame..as you say, but 9-10p is not to be sniffed at :o)

[shanklin] 08/7/2004 15:02

It is a shame they only got $18.50 per PRVD share NET of costs.

[xdavid] 08/7/2004 15:01

[EDIT] Well what you know! RNS issue crossed with my post! Whoopee!

[nurdin] 08/7/2004 14:58

Thats equal to about 9p a share...may get extra divi from the current operations and perhaps the cash reserves too.Anyway I can see atleast 10p being returned to share holders

[ukhawk] 08/7/2004 14:53

Well there's the RNS, nice mark-up even though we have to wait 'til the interims to find out how they'll return the money to shareholders.

[tom.muir] 08/7/2004 14:53

RNS out/ all PRVD sold - raised £2.2m
Tom

[kael] 08/7/2004 13:47

Curiously, no RNS from PRVD sale.

The drop down this morning was half expected and I thought we would see it turn blue later. Popped out to see a film, come back and it's blue :)

All about creating a market :)

You'd have to conclude that given the selling pressure that has been experienced recently (at 78.5p mid), the price is looking strong, even more so when factoring in general market conditions of late. Onwards!

[xdavid] 08/7/2004 11:48

Online MMs have dropped offer NMS. You can only buy max 3.75K @ 81p against selling max 25K @ 78.85p. 5 minutes ago I could not even get an online quote to buy at all. Looks good...

[EDIT] Looks like that little blip down was only to allow the mopper-upper to pick up the 18K@78p. Maybe that's the last and the price will be allowed to move up without being constained by the buy orders?

[don carter] 08/7/2004 11:34

First tick up for a while today....the anticipation begins.

[kael] 07/7/2004 13:30

Some news to pass the time for you all. I've highlighted some interesting parts, in particular the new pension legislation:

Feature
Market Watch - Aug 2004
August 2004

Adrian Roose, of Stanley Gibbons' Investment Department, writes

The release of the Great Britain Rarities Index, in GSM last month, highlights the consistent returns that investment in rare stamps can offer over a medium term period. The Index contains price histories of 30 of the rarest Great Britain stamps. The stamps in the index have shown a minimum of 33 per cent growth in less than five years. One of the top performing stamps is the mint 1882 £1 wmk Anchor on blued paper (SG 132), which has risen from £32,000 in 1999 to £65,000 in 2004. These price increases are based purely on scarcity and an increase in demand, without any influence from the investment market. Such solid market prices are driven by an estimated 30,000,000 stamp collectors worldwide and few alternative investments have this type of pedigree and such a low volatility market.

Yet we believe that prices are still relatively low for Great Britain classic material when compared to prices for other countries. The SG 132 illustrated is thought to be one of only five fine mint examples known. A stamp with a similar known quantity from a country such as the USA or France would likely realise far more than the £65,000 being asked for this stamp.

Pension legislation

The British market is growing all the time; Stanley Gibbons have recruited more than 5000 new customers per annum for the last three years. In 2006 a change in pension legislation will lead to the inclusion of postage stamps as a permitted addition to personal pension funds. We have already received a significant amount of interest from Independent Financial Advisors and other Investment Institutions looking for alternative investments.

Investing in stamps is by no means a recent phenomenon. It has a proven track record backed by respected financial institutions. A Salomon Brothers study of commodities, currencies and bonds from 1907 to 1990 gave stamps the fourth highest rate of return at 10 per cent per year, ahead of both bonds at 9.6 per cent and Foreign Exchange at 4.4 per cent. In 2002 Merrill Lynch, the Investment Bank, commented that the average high-net worth individual invested approximately 10 per cent of their assets in alternative investments.

As the number of collectors continues to grow, prices will continue to increase. Consider the following:

-By 2020 there will be a further 6,000,000 over 50s in Great Britain who have historically proven to invest their disposable income in resuming childhood hobbies.

-Stanley Gibbons have recruited 5,000 new customers per annum for the last three years.

-Stamps are now the third most popular category on eBay.

-Philately is the second most popular pastime in the UK after fishing.

-The Universal Postal Union suggests a $10billion per annum industry.

Stanley Gibbons' own retail activity in 2004 confirms the strength of the GB market, with sales of Penny Black plates up 363.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2003. Other examples include, surface-printed sales +142.5 per cent, colour trials +879.6 per cent, specimens +1087.3 per cent, officials +316.3 per cent, imprimaturs +928.6 per cent.

A favourite

So what should you do if you are interested in stamps as an investment? The trick is to purchase material of the highest quality as the finer quality items continue to outperform material of lower grades. Stanley Gibbons portfolios only include classic items of the finest quality. By being highly selective, we only sell material that we ultimately expect to repurchase. We have a number of portfolios available priced from £5000+. A favourite at the moment contains six Commonwealth items that are the first of their kind we have handled in over 20 years, costing £6900. That is absolute testimony to how rare these items are, when you consider the number of stamps that have passed through the SG doors in that time.

[xdavid] 06/7/2004 14:51

Also, since the sale of PRVD will be after the interim period, there should not be a problem with the results announcement being so close. I too reckon that they would be duty bound to make an announcement as soon as events are confirmed. Hopefully, their PR department is ready to make as much noise as they can from it - a double whammy with the interims!

Regarding an ex-divi date, I would guess this to be a future date. If, as I presume, the MMs mark down the price on ex-div day by the amount of the divi then there is no net gain to people just buying for the divi and selling right after. However, this mark down will have the effect of showing just how cheap SGI is for the growth (which will be confirmed in the interims :-).

Nice couple of 10,000 buys yesterday and today - the mopper-upper still seems to be active... I'm actually starting to get quite excited...

[kael] 06/7/2004 12:47

Thanks for clearing that up ukhawk, along the lines I was thinking - they have to have a seperate RNS.

[ukhawk] 06/7/2004 12:45

I think they are duty bound to make an announcement regarding the sale of the PRVD holding. I'm guessing it'll be on thursday. Should generate some publicity.

[kael] 06/7/2004 11:47

Given this(from

"The underwriters expect to deliver the shares in New York, New York on July 7, 2004."

Are we due an announcement on or after the 7th from SGI regarding their PRVD holding? SGI do seem to have given the impression that they will announce the sale of their holding (in June I believe it was), question is as to whether this will be seperate from the Interim Report. :/

Also upon the announcement of the sale - if they do plan to return the cash to shareholders through a special divi, is it likely that the ex date be upon the announcement or will they set a future date?

edit: Just made a quick calculation: SGI total cash (including PRVD and buybacks taken into account) at interims should be worth around 12 - 13p per share!

8.7p from PRVD + 3.2p from 2003 (after buybacks)

This effectively puts SGI on a PE of 12.2 for 2004.