Triad Share Discussion Threads

[cjohn] 15/6/2020 20:31

Hi danger, yes, you're right If you discount receivables by a quarter and inventories by a half, then WYN is nowhere near a net-net in trad Ben Graham terms. Thanks for the correction.

Memory is playing me false. At its recent low - but intraday of 185 - WYN was close to two-thirds of net current assets minus all other liabilities. I happily picked up a few close to that price.

I personally prefer using that metric, unless the share is in a wind up position, in which case it makes sense to revert to the most conservative BG.

[dangersimpson2] 15/6/2020 12:59

Interesting that you mention WYN CJohn & Netcurtains mentions WGB, since I talk about ZYT in my Net Net talk - and all three are currently being sold down by Brown Shipley it appears. It is price-insensitive selling such as this that allows stocks to get cheap enough to be a net net.

WYN almost certainly wasn't a net net by Graham's definition at 200p though, it may be at a discount to NWC but these are not the same thing. Graham discounts the assets and takes off ALL liabilities. The Graham net net for WYN is 31p/share so quite a way below current price - doesn't mean it isn't cheap though.

[netcurtains] 15/6/2020 11:29

Is there a website that lists boards of directors /chairmen in order of success / ability? That would be great if you knew your company was being run by someone who is high up on the list....

[netcurtains] 15/6/2020 11:02

thanks - all and any help required as I want to be millionaire and obviously ground zero is buying shares that go up....

[dangersimpson2] 15/6/2020 10:31

'Choose Stocks Wisely' by Paul W. Allen is a good book for NTAV investing IMO. It covers the need for short-term liquidity as well asset discounts which not every value investing text does.

I cover the history of value investing on my channel here:

And one of the most extreme forms of value investing 'Ben Graham Net Nets' here:

You might find those interesting too.

[netcurtains] 15/6/2020 10:04

PS - CJohn, I just bought into Walter Greenback. It seemed to me a good "Value Investment" and I like the idea of buying into the "Arts and Crafts movement" (William Morris - its a subsidiary of theirs). Would Walter Greenback (WGB.L) come up on your value investment radar or have I made a rookie error? I do need that book as it was a bit of a guess on my part.

[netcurtains] 15/6/2020 09:00

Thanks CJohn. I'm getting loads of data and can do all sorts of lists based on: NAV, profit, spread (important for short run investing), number of trades per day, big changes in volume, INDUSTRY SECTOR, dividends, director buys, company news, technical Analysis (British Bulls source for that but also for "over sold" (RSI) I use Market Screener)), yield, PEG, PE but its not always easy to see the wood from the trees.

I think UK companies with positive NAV, with profits, with dividends, not in a "dodgy sector" are a sort of "ground zero". Director buys, "oversold" (RSI) etc are icing on top.

I would like the book as I must admit I did not differentiate between NAV and NTAV but I have the ability to do so (websites do provide that info for me to download in a database) so I have loads of gaps to sort out. Japan does sound good....

I would like that book

[cjohn] 15/6/2020 08:08

"Is it usual for a share price to be BELOW the NAV?"

Firstly, in general it's worth distinguishing between net asset value (NAV) and net tangible asset value (NTAV).

NAV includes intangibles - most often goodwill.

Nearly all asset-based value investors like myself prefer to use NTAV, except in a very few cases of certain types of asset-light companies, where the goodwill has clear backing from the company's capacity to create economic value.

In the case of TRD, NTAV and NAV are nearly identical; there's only 15k intangibles on the balance sheet.

TRD is the sort of asset-light company that rarely trade at discounts to NTAV; so it's not common to come across such a company. It is a sign of cheapness.


In general a fair percentage of companies trade at discounts to NTAV: property companies and investment trusts, for example, very often trade at a discount to NTAV.

Also certain national markets tend to trade at lower multiples. If you take a look at Japanese stocks, a much higher percentage than of UK stocks trade at a discount to NTAV. (There are some sensational bargains in Japan currently; profitable companies with solid businesses trading at a deep discount to TNAV and net cash.)


So to summarize: TRD is cheap on asset grounds; PTBV (price to tangible book value) of less than 1 is often, but not always, a sign of value; PTBV of less than 1 is common in some sectors, but rare in others.


If you're getting interested in asset value as a marker of value, could I suggest you find a standard text on value investing? I can recommend you one, if you'd like.


(PS Tangible book value is another of saying tangible asset value.)

[netcurtains] 15/6/2020 08:04

Well does not appear to be this monday.....

[netcurtains] 14/6/2020 11:55

I've been automating account information into a database.
One of the things I'm measuring is:

Net Asset Value per Share....

In Triads last account s(2019) the NAV was 36.01p - thats more than the current share price.

Is it usual for a share price to be BELOW the NAV?

(a normal company like Tesco has a NAV per share between 1/2 or 1/3 of the share price - so I'm guessing on any reasonable news its possible TRIAD could rise fast - using NAV per share as key and Tescos , Triad should be trading at about £1 a share)

Cheers Net

[netcurtains] 12/6/2020 16:00

lol - alas I doubt the results will set the world on fire - as long as they are not dire I will be more relaxed.....

[owenski] 12/6/2020 15:53

And now it's the last 36 mins, I cant cope with the excitement.

[netcurtains] 12/6/2020 15:37

Last hour before possible results on MONDAY....

[owenski] 11/6/2020 10:36

Interesting that the MACD is turning up

[netcurtains] 11/6/2020 10:32

Another buy £100 - ..... I'm not complaining..

[netcurtains] 11/6/2020 09:52

owenski - An IT consultant spending £1k possible two working days before results is a possibility. I would have thought even a £500 buy just before results is note worthy as a clue. Obviously I'm guessing. But a small buy before results is better than a sell. Its like 1-2% extra chance that the results are OK.

[owenski] 11/6/2020 09:12

"Pre results buy"......... 1k's worth, get real.

[netcurtains] 11/6/2020 08:07

Another pre-results buy just popped up....

[netcurtains] 10/6/2020 19:55

Since 20th May Market has been about £23,000 buy and £12,000 sell.
Results probably next week.
The buy trades (by individual sizes) are significantly larger.

[netcurtains] 10/6/2020 13:41

Oh and another buy pops up...

[netcurtains] 10/6/2020 11:55

Nice to see a buy before results (I'm guessing on Monday)

[cjohn] 08/6/2020 11:03

Netcurtains: "I take it you're here for the dividend and the hope that the share will not fall further after ex-dividend…"


The Company valuation is very cheap. And there's a decent underpinning of net cash and overall tangible asset value. Provided they don't make a painful loss, the share price isn't going to go down very far. If they surprise on the upside, there's likely to be considerable share price appreciation.

The likelihood is that trading, if not now, will improve at some point. Meanwhile I'm happy to wait.

From experience, I believe it's best to buy companies when they are unprofitable and therefore cheap. Anyone looking at Triad knows that trading is choppy.

[netcurtains] 08/6/2020 10:31

If you look at the results of SOFTCAT it is possible that TRIAD might do a bit better than we think (not sure though)... But with ball park £4m in bank and market cap of about £5m then you get to see that this could DOUBLE in price if Triad get anywhere near breaking even...

From softcat's Trading Update on 26th May:

Softcat plc
Q3 2020 trading update

Softcat plc ("Softcat", or the "Company"), a leading UK provider of IT infrastructure products and services, today releases a trading update for the quarter ended 30 April 2020 ("the Period").

The Company has traded satisfactorily during the period and delivered growth in revenue, gross profit and operating profit. Cash receipts from customers have remained broadly in line with normal trends.

There remains a high degree of uncertainty in the coming months and Softcat is not immune to the challenges faced by the wider economy. However, we have moved seamlessly to a remote working model and the Board is encouraged by the resilience of the business thus far.