The Character Share Discussion Threads

[runthejoules] 24/1/2018 13:56

Two Toy of the Year Awards for Character



London: Wednesday 24 January 2018: The Character Group plc (AIM: CCT) is delighted to announce that its principal trading subsidiary, Character Options Limited ("Character Options"), is celebrating not one, but two, successes at the annual Toy Industry Awards held last night (Tuesday 23 January 2018) at The London Toy Fair.



Each year the Toy Retailers Association comes together to announce which toys were most successful in the previous 12 months, with several awards being granted within their own categories. Character Options was announced the winner of two: Best Electronic Toy for the Laser X Dual Pack, manufactured by NSI International Inc., and Best Action Toy for The Original Stretch Armstrong manufactured under licence from Hasbro. Each of these toys were also awarded the status of Dream Toys in November 2017.

Jerry Healy, Group Marketing Director, said;

"The Toy Industry Awards night is a very important occasion as it gives credit to the 'best in class' toys of the previous year. Everyone at Character is therefore delighted to once again be awarded two of these important accolades."

Jon Diver, Joint MD at Character, added;

"The success also signifies the prospects for the year ahead of these two brands. Laser X was successful from the moment it launched last July and, this year we will be extending the brand with two further toy lines, the Laser X Battling Tower and the Laser X Long Range Blaster. Stretch Armstrong has now developed into a full product range of characters, including iconic figures from the past, Vac Man and the Stretch Monster and is one of Characters' fastest growing brands."

Kiran Shah, Joint MD at Character, also commented:



"The London Toy Fair this week is proving to be another great expo for us -we are currently exhibiting our full range of 2018 products and the feedback we are receiving from customers and trade visitors to the London Toy Fair is very encouraging. We are confident that the performance of our core ranges and these new introductions will result in further growth in demand for our products, in the calendar year ahead."

[runthejoules] 19/1/2018 08:32

Pretty much what they'd said before, though as ever it'd be nice if they stated what the expectations actually were. Market expectations, board expectations? The price has probably been mostly marked down due to their releasing the RNS at 7.55am, christ...

[mip55] 19/1/2018 08:08

As reported in the 2017 Annual Report and Accounts, whist the Group's performance for the half year to 28 February 2018 will reflect the overall lower trading compared to 2017, the Board remains confident that, absent any major external factors, the Group will return to its previous growth pattern during the second half of this calendar year and this will be fully reflected in the strength of the trading for the financial year to 31 August 2019.

[mip55] 19/1/2018 08:07

Following on from our trading statement of 11 October, and the publication of the 2017 Annual Report and Accounts on 21 December 2017, we are pleased to confirm that trading for the first four months of the current financial year, which includes the all-important 2017 Christmas retail sales, were in line with expectations.

[runthejoules] 19/1/2018 01:16

OMG that's today. Good luck folks, decision time!

[tkamp] 16/1/2018 17:18

This comment is just plain stupid on every level.

[orange1] 11/1/2018 08:48

Ex-10p dividend today, so the bid is actually 5p up.

Trading statement next week on AGM day (Friday 19 Jan).

[sketchley] 06/1/2018 12:17

Sorry didn't mean earnings per share more the amount to pay in dividends

[sketchley] 06/1/2018 12:11

Sadly it will not even increase earnings per share as there are now approx. 100,000 more shares out of treasury and back in circulation compared to the last buyback statement. Staff incentive schemes I would guess

[fido] 06/1/2018 10:06

Character buying back their own shares fractionally increases earnings per share. What Character need to do is increase earnings and that is what they are now failing to do and as such buying back their own shares is a waste of capital.

[orange1] 06/1/2018 09:19

Meanwhile the company continues to buy its own shares which has to be a bullish signal. The latest purchase was yesterday at 455p (10000 shares).

[runthejoules] 05/1/2018 23:29

I'm guessing Toys R Us are failing because everyone buys online. It doesn't mean people aren't buying toys any more. Though the tendency to just give kids an ipad to play with rather than actual physical objects might eventually do for all toy manufacturers eventually, I'm gambling Peppa & co will keep them afloat. Of course, I may find something more exciting, or Pokemon popularity may die down and make that franchise less worthwhile.

[fido] 21/12/2017 15:23

As I said, Toys R Us are the drop that caused the ripple.
That ripple does not stop with Toys R Us but will travel outward through the whole sector.
CCT is primed for more disappointment.

[runthejoules] 21/12/2017 14:44

BBC news: Toys R Us has staved off collapse after creditors backed a rescue plan for the UK retailer.

It follows last-minute negotiations with the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to secure a £9.8m injection into the company's pension fund.

However, the rescue plan entails closing 26 of its 105 UK outlets, putting 800 jobs at risk. The company employs 3,200 staff in total.

Toys R Us's UK staff pension scheme has a deficit of more than £25m.

The retailer's creditors met on Thursday to vote on the rescue plan, which hinged on a resolution of the pension deficit.

The PPF said the new offer from the company was composed of £3.8m in 2018, with a further £6m promised over 2019 and 2020.

The vote saw 98% of Toys R Us creditors backing the arrangement.

Toys R Us will continue to trade under its company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which is a step short of going into administration.

Steve Knights, managing director of Toys R Us UK, said: "The vote in favour of the CVA represents strong support for our Business Plan and provides us with the platform we need to transform our business so that we can better serve our customers today and long into the future.

"All of our stores across the UK will remain open for business as normal until Spring 2018. Customers can continue to shop online and there will be no changes to our returns policies or gift cards across this period."

[runthejoules] 19/12/2017 12:48

I don't know about dead in the water, it seems to be currently slowly doggy-paddling back towards the shore. Looks like, with the dividend, I should get my money back by maybe Feb, barring crashes. Currently just -9.42%. But we'll see how Christmas goes.

No debt is the most important thing in any recovery play (or in my case, hold!) Love them buybacks.

Merry Christmas any dip-buyers or ho-ho-holders.

[rimmy2000] 10/12/2017 12:04

^ I would side with this view.

[fido] 09/12/2017 13:06

Yesterdays rise is only down to MM`s playing around with the spread to give the feeling of movement(both up & down) when there is none.
In effect CCT is currently dead in the water.
CCT tends to move only on news and what you have to ask yourself is, in the current market environment is that news going to be good or bad.
In my opinion anyone looking for an upward move is going to be dissapointed.

[runthejoules] 08/12/2017 13:59

Up 3% today so seem to be doing ok in the market's eyes. Not investing any more but confident I will get the rest of my -15% back and then a bit extra. Eventually. Santa rally seems to have started early this year with the Brexit deal as well anyway (fingers crossed). Ho ho ho y'all

[fido] 06/12/2017 17:53

Managing does not make for a good investment as headwinds are still headwinds at the end of the day.

[deanowls] 06/12/2017 17:27

To be fair, they are managing this quite well. They have good brands, no debt, pay a rising dividend, have secured there major brands for the next three years, where they can manage they are managing. Go and try and get a laser x from Argos, all sold out,

[fido] 06/12/2017 12:51

CCT has left the door open for another profit warning if Christmas sales disappoint. What was just a hiccup then becomes a downturn and that will be reflected in the share price

[fido] 05/12/2017 09:05

Regarding Christmas 2017 sales the company say:

"Inventories at 31 August 2017 were £9.0m (FY 2016 £10.3m); reflecting the prudent view the Directors have taken regarding Christmas 2017 sales"

Prudence does not make profits.

[dan_the_epic] 05/12/2017 08:55

Mixed emotions rtj. Very small miss on last years numbers is acceptable. Outlook seems to be hugging what they said at the last update, which makes me a little uneasy.

It feels like they are waiting to see what comes out of xmas before jumping any guns on providing a new update. That makes me feel that their visibility is a bit limited and there could still be another warning in January if xmas isn't great.

I think they are leaving themselves room to warn on H2 18 as well if this downturn isn't as 'temporary' as they think, which sadly these things rarely are

Will want to speak to the company today

[fido] 05/12/2017 08:34

The results are not that bad but going forward it is the first half of the current year that will be impacted so the damage to sales has yet to be seen in the results.
As well as CCT do, they are still up against strong headwinds that are not going to go away anytime soon with confidence dented and interest rates on the rise.

[thorpematt] 05/12/2017 08:24

Result-wise it's a little shy of the forecast (as expected) but not but by much.

The net cash and divi hike are a surprise to the good. I had considered they might try to talk it down a tad given the preference for share buy backs as opposed to acquisitions. But the outlook indications (sentiments) are strong on both the product range and the general performance. Given the company's track record of delivery I think some confidence in a solid performance for 2018 is worthy. But that's just my opinion.

2018 estimates of 40p per share are pretty modest?

EV of circa £70m

I'd be pleased to see a dip here because it's a nice stock IMV and my holding here is quite small at the moment.

P.S I have been posting on the other thread - just realised this is (a little) more used!