William Sinclair Share Discussion Threads

[yump] 31/1/2011 08:25

RNS today.

Now supplying Sainsburys with all their compost (presumably that means Homebase!) - that's quite a significant contract.

[yump] 07/1/2011 22:56

Just keeps going - anyone would think it was an internet stock ! Mind you it hasn't 2 bagged in a week.

[yump] 07/1/2011 12:38

Just for 'fun' I got a chart up that goes back to the early 90's.
It certainly shows that the rise in the last year is extremely significant in breaking out from a very long period of nothingness.

[yump] 06/1/2011 13:39

That gives a nice round target 15 x 13.4p comes to around 200p.

As a growth stock its not exactly flying, but on the other hand it looks very reliable for the foreseeable future and the forecast is not exactly demanding, given the likely contributions of acquisitions. That security could justify a p/e of 15 imo, especially if they gobble up some more businesses. I don't really like acquisition driven growth, but if its accompanied by consolidation in a sector, that's a bit different to one of those technology, ego driven companies that have never really controlled their market and just embark on acquisitions to look like they're expanding.

[rockafella2] 06/1/2011 12:19

New update -

[yump] 06/1/2011 11:55

Welcome from the IGP thread !
I'm having difficulty putting a value on this at the moment. It could well be on a p/e of around 10 for this year, but haven't got the forecasts here. Given some institutional interest, a lack of pi's and the good dividend and its growth path, I reckon a p/e of 15 would be fair and quite possible, but not sure what eps to use !

[wjccghcc] 05/1/2011 13:26

Agreed. Bought some this morning.

[yump] 05/1/2011 13:03

Pretty much off the radar. I guess gardening products are not as attractive as an internet company investment, although its now turned itself into a growth company with some technology and environmental credentials..

Investment return since last year's been good though and looks like more to come and rerating:


5 January 2011

WILLIAM SINCLAIR HOLDINGS PLC

("William Sinclair", the "Company" or the "Group")

Audited Preliminary Results for the 12 months ended 30 September 2010

William Sinclair Holdings PLC is one of the UK's leading producers of commercial horticulture and branded garden products. William Sinclair's well established brands include J Arthur Bower's, Silvaperl and New Horizon - the leading brand in the fast growing peat free garden compost and organic plant foods sector. William Sinclair's customers include national accounts such as The Garden Centre Group (formerly Wyevale), Wilkinson, Homebase and B&Q as well as an extensive range of independent garden centres.

Highlights

-- Pre-exceptional profit before tax doubles to GBP2.52 million (2009: GBP1.24 million)

-- Profit before tax up 66% to GBP2.06 million (2009: GBP1.24 million)

-- Net debt eliminated leaving net cash of GBP1.81 million (2009 net debt of GBP7.04 million)

-- Recommending a final dividend of 3.5p per share making a total for the year of 5.0p (2009: 3.5p)

-- GBP9 million advance payment received from Natural England

-- Step change in company performance achieved

-- Market share improved

-- Technological breakthrough and industry first with "SuperFyba" peat alternative

-- High stock levels built for the season ahead

Bernard Burns, Chief Executive said:

"The doubling of our profits demonstrates the successful execution of our growth strategy. Our focus on customer service and product innovation and our extensive reserves of raw material have allowed us to win exciting new contracts and we are proud to supply premium brands to some of the most prestigious customers in the country.

"The recession has benefited William Sinclair with customers spending more time in their gardens as a more economical pastime than overseas holidays. We anticipate this trend will continue.

"The Group made a step change during 2010. Having built the necessary financial platform we were able to accelerate our growth strategy and, with our strong balance sheet and ambitious management team, we see further scope for expansion, both organically and by acquisition. We expect the Group to continue to perform strongly."

[rockafella2] 23/12/2010 12:54

New note -

[yump] 03/12/2010 15:19

Another acquisition, this time decorative aggregates. Looks like the move away from pure peat and growing media is well underway.

I don't actually know much about the horticulture wholesale market - wondering if its very fragmented and ripe for consolidation ?

[yespmedc] 26/11/2010 18:02

New SNCL note here-

[meadow50] 22/11/2010 16:45

takeover earnings enhancing but no price given and no details of assets taken over.Nevertheless may be OK.SP up 3p.

[yump] 20/7/2010 09:20

Wrong sort of jumping I'm afraid ;-)

[yump] 19/7/2010 16:58

I'm going to try jumping up and down and see if I can dislodge the share price in one direction or another.

[yump] 08/7/2010 10:30

Must be getting close to a move now...

[yump] 28/6/2010 10:46

Surprised this hasn't attracted more bb attention.
I guess its because peat isn't strictly a commodity, unless we find oil, and how many investors would want to be seen posting on a gardening forum ;-)

Mind you, if the price jumps from here then someone must be watching. Perhaps mention of the divi will do it.

Last year approx. 3%, this year ?
That's without any 'specials.'

Looks like both capital growth and divi growth to me.

[the troll] 25/6/2010 16:44

meadow;

per Note 15, 2009 Stat A/c's;

......'No value is attributed to unharvested peat deposits contained within the relevant freehold & leasehold properties'

suggests; ( £9m - [part only] of the MV attributed to BF peat bog @ 30.9.2009, on 'alternative use' basis, probably agricultural ? ) = profit/loss on sale to report next time ( 2010 finals ? ). we know it can't be a loss.

implies MV of part disposal could be immaterial in context = substantial ( reported ) profit & ( hopefully ) a special divi ?

[yump] 25/6/2010 13:46

Anyone fancy putting a few grand in to see if it moves the price ?

[yump] 25/6/2010 12:04

True.
Thought I'd post this for interest.
Theoretically, it looks like this level is a resistance, but interesting that the good news has arrived at this point after its already risen, so quite optimistic imo.

[meadow50] 25/6/2010 10:52

Ther's also further unquantified compensation to come over and above the £9m.The £9m equates to 54p/share but we have no idea of the diminution of the land asset held in the balance sheet ,if it is no longer available for peat extraction.

[yump] 25/6/2010 09:48

OK, some round figures as I'm having trouble finding forecasts...

6.8p earnings to Sept 09
which was net after a 1p loss in the first half.

This year a 0.7p profit in first half

So on static full year growth, that's 8.5p to Sept 2010.
But its no way going to be static, there is obvious growth in there for this year.

At 115p its on a p/e of around 13.
I reckon that will easily drop below 10, while at the same time the growth rises, making them suddenly very cheap.

I'll be buying a few more - plenty of time before an expected trading statement after the summer.

Plus you've got the new technology angle as well.
Plus possible acquisitions as a result of the £9m compensation.

Normally I don't like acquisitions, but this is a relatively straightforward business and its not run by acquisition greedy ego maniacs.

DYOR etc.

[yump] 21/6/2010 17:42

I never thought peat would be exciting when I bought into these years ago - or rather, lack of peat. Could prove very interesting this - cheap waste input materials and an essential output material.

Now all we need is for someone to turn spam emails into an efficient heat source and we're made. Alchemy is alive and well ;-)

I really hope this generates lots of good press, if not for the share price, at least for good old industrial innovation that isn't hooked up to a PC.

[balcony] 21/6/2010 08:06

Heading to years high,Lots more to come in my opinion,This good summer weather will also help

[chipss] 31/3/2010 14:56

no you are correct.They are also carrying a further site for sale worth £2m bringing potential cash in flow of north £11m before cash flow from on going business which we are led to believe from the previous statement is progressing well as they have not had to purchase any peat from eire which caused so much damage to their p and l last yr. A trading statement usually comes out over the next few weeks and suspect we should see a strong preformance which suggest this is a very cheap business with marketcap of £17m and turnover pushing £50M with a labile debt dependent on the business cycle of between £3m and £14m before the latest proceeds.The pension deficit is managed and should start reducing with real opportunities to consolidate the market and strip out costs.
Those are my thoughts

[the troll] 30/3/2010 19:26

interim compensation payment for Bolton Fell peat bog = £9m ( ie c 50% of current MV, payable April 12 ) + ultimate settlement could be 'significantly greater' ( ie than £9m, per advisors ); that's potentially transformational, IMHO, for a company of this size, particularly since they're already generating good profits from their existing operations ( eg; their peat substitute business ) & paying c 3% divi, or have I missed something ? they own other peat bogs too ( see A/c s ). ?