avago
22 Feb 2017
Re: what is happening to these shares ? Company taken over by Al Robin Ltd for cash offer of 165p/share. Shares cancelled on 7th Feb.
celerydays
17 Feb 2017
what is happening to these shares ? I am somewhat confused -is there a take over in place or what?
lorri789
30 Jul 2016
I jumped out at 98p and was happy in short term. It is still flying and I think there is much more to come, just not so fast. Hold!
mantrova
26 Jul 2016
Re: BRAM - hot today...and again And again today - 87p paid ....I see 95p as the highest ask showing on Level 2, with total bid/ask at57k v 39k.With best bid/ask at a huge 10k v 4km
The Argyle
26 Jul 2016
The future's bright Looks like the rerate has started! This is going to double in the next few months as it climbs back to a sensible level, from then on it will depend on performance but the business is holding its own right now and should have a strong 2017.
mantrova
25 Jul 2016
BRAM - hot today +9% and still rising... 78.375p paid, just now.m
The Argyle
29 Jun 2016
Re: The Argyle Re: Over Reaction Yes I can see there may be a need to raise cash with a rights issue in the near future but I was in this share back in 2009 when the price dropped to similar levels, I bought a good chunk then and there was a rights issue, I doubled my holding for a similar investment and sold a few years later at a multiple of 5. I have known this company for a long time and I understand how it works. It is going through the mill right now but the fundamentals of the business have not changed, it is better than its competitors, who are also suffering, so it will do will when there is a recovery. The difficulties of the last couple of years are now in the past, the over stock situation is being rectified, which will produce more cash and work on improving the profitability will improve the quality of the business. It may drop a little more but not by much, if at all, and when it does start to move up it moves quickly. I know many people who work for the company and they have all bought shares today, as have I, I am confident but this is all IMHO.
beans777
29 Jun 2016
When to buy... I like risk, but I think these guy could go a little lower still yet would be interesting to see what happens over the next week...
idontwanttolose
29 Jun 2016
The Argyle Re: Over Reaction I am not so sure, they admit that they are close to breaching a banking covenant which could in theory stop the company in its tracks! However I think TX2 has (once again) got it right with a possible share offering to raise the amount of money needed to continue business.As always DYOR but I would not be buying this companies shares at this time,I will however continue to watch them!
TX2
29 Jun 2016
Re: Shocked Your info re AGM does not appear to match published reports.The majority of sales are not to UK.The UK is merely the biggest market with circa 40%.The rest of sales are mainly to Europe.However it now appears that that as well as 6% drop in UK reported earlier;sales in rest of Europe have declined albeit by a smaller amount.The company appears highly operationally geared(ie high fixed overheads) in that a smallish fall in turnover leads to a big fall in profits.I suppose it costs the company virtually the same to deliver a slightly smaller number of products to each customer as the larger amount and maintain the inventory of parts/products for each company which they manage.In theory the shares are cheap BUT it looks as if the company is up close against its borrowing limits & earnings cover for loans.It has a poor balance sheet with almost no net tangible assets.Cutting stock & hence borrowings may help providing it does not lead to stock non availability.The dividend will almost certainly go which will help cash flow;but there could be a need for more cash.In other words more shares issued for cash providing these are issued to shareholders first then shareholders will suffer no dilution in the long term,( other than having to dip into their pockets which is never a happy matter! ).I reckon if the stock cutting does not work and the down turn continues,both likely.BRAM will have to raise around £50m new cash perhaps a bit less if business stabilises.This makes it risky to buy the shares at the moment.Basically it seems a decent business and I am sure it will survive but its capital base is too thin at the moment.
The Argyle
29 Jun 2016
Over Reaction Hold on, it will bounce back, things are not that bad but all the bad stuff has come out in one day at a time when the markets are over reacting. I have just bought a load and I expect to doubler my money by year end if not sooner.
Contrariwise
29 Jun 2016
Shocked I went to the AGM just 6 weeks ago and was assured that the UK business was back to growth. Now it appears to be declining rapidly. I am shocked and all my trust in the management has evaporated. The shares are down two thirds in two weeks costing me a substantial amount of money. In two minds whether to take my losses or hold on.
Contrariwise
13 May 2016
AGM Report Brammer AGM 13/05/16Key points:1. The majority of the company’s sales are to the UK, where the business has been suffering recently. According to the CEO these problems were in part an “own goal” caused by poor execution, and in part due to the difficulties of a few key customers (including the steel industry). The management of the UK business has been over-hauled, and “is getting back on track”.2. Net debt has ballooned in recent years to £104.3m, which the company stated was 2.4x EBITDA. I calculated it to be 6x free cashflow from operations (£17.1m), and hence worrying. The company have stated that they aim to reduce the debt this year via inventory reduction. Today’s update states that stock levels have fallen by £16m so far this year, and are on track to meet the £30m target for the year. 3. The company has reported exceptional items of £12.6m in 2014 and £11.1m in 2015, which were substantial compared to profits before tax of £17.7m and £13.5m respectively. I made the point that investors did not like to see exceptional items every year, as they were then not exceptional. The company stated that the exceptional items reported over the past couple of years related to restructuring charges, and there was no intention to report an exceptional item this year (unless the new managing director of the UK business decided a drastic overhaul of that business segment was required). I was reassured. 4. The company is heavily exposed to the UK manufacturing sector, which seems to be in long term decline. I therefore asked whether the company was mainly seeking to expand in Continental Europe. Ian Fraser stated that the company had a tiny market share, around 1%, of the market, and that there were substantial growth opportunities in both the UK and Europe. In addition, the UK business has suffered from the recent difficulties of the Steel industry, and he has hopes that the worst is now past there and in another of their key manufacturing accounts. He stated that the “UK regional” business was back in growth. 5. The company has been diversifying its Nordic businesses away from the Oil & Gas sector. This is now bearing fruits. In retrospect the acquisition of Swedish business when the oil price was above $100 was ill-timed. The company is well placed to benefit from any recovery in the oil sector, though the oil sector is a relatively small part of their business.6. The company pension deficit declined by £11.4m to £27.2m in 2015, in part because of a £9.7m gain on actuarial revaluation. I was concerned that the change in the assumed growth rate was due to a change in interest rate assumptions that would be reversed this year with the further decline in long term interest rates. The company stated that the change in the assumed growth rate was due to the asset mix of the pension fund assets, and not linked to interest rates. Hence the gain from the revaluation is unlikely to be reversed. General impressionsThe AGM was held at the company’s offices above a shop in Teddington south London. The offices were very functional and unglamorous, indicating a company that is in control of costs (the main business is based in Wolverhamption). The AGM itself was held in a very small meeting room with management lined up on one side, and a total of 3 private shareholders lined up on the other. There was no management presentation, so we went straight to questions. Both the Chairman, Bill Whiteley, and the CEO, Ian Fraser, answered questions. It seemed a solid/stolid industrial company where costs are under control. Management do not seem to be dynamic go-getters, but competent. It is not going to “shoot the lights out”, but it could provide investors with stable long term returns.Investor relations For a company with a market cap of £250m I was surprised by the low key AGM without even a presentation, but management were very happy to answer questions and gave some good insights into the business which distr
dokp
09 Mar 2016
Re: Anyone know why the share price is s... Sold out yesterday, seems they are paying dividends by increasing borrowing. I was hoping for a more positive outlook but good luck to those with a longer time horizon.
dokp
02 Mar 2016
Re: Anyone know why the share price is so st... Maybe positioning or leaks ahead of next Mondays results.
