Hardboy
12 Apr 2016
Re: Director dealings Good post, M - a lot of good points.I had not noticed Tracsis had dropped awards to NEDS - very good thing in my view, in fact they should not have been there in the first place. I know it's common practice; but I do believe that the NED role is to be independent, and therefore any share holding can lead to a conflict of interest. Thanks for pointing that out.
Muzzletoff
12 Apr 2016
Director dealings Hi HardboyI tend to the half pint empty, rather than full mentality which is a bit of miserable git role to play.I can imagine that pretty well the non-exec has made his money on his total stake (whether obtained by option awards or early share purchases) so probably feels he is in the money whether he gets any return on his remaining stake or not. If that's the case he is acting like a good private investor probably should with their own investments, if they are lucky enough to get in low.That said there will rarely be a good time for any Director to sell and not invoke investor disquiet. I note that in the accounts Tracsis have dropped awarding options to non-execs because of potential conflicts of interest. So that's at least a positive.Tracsis has multiple strong features: Profits (hopefully significantly boosted by acquisitions)Dividend policy ( a reward to shareholders - so its not just a one way bet for management option holders) and a decent policy on criteria for acquisitions. So in the AIM universe this is a quality share.However, Director dealings can be contagious, so it must be a temptation for others to bank some of their profits at these prices.
Hardboy
12 Apr 2016
Re: Director dealings Agreed it is never good to see a director selling, but for any director of an AIM company to have half a million's pounds worth of shares (which he still has after the sale) is still reassuring.
Muzzletoff
12 Apr 2016
Director dealings A wise man once said to me there is no good time for a Director to sell. that he meant, it always had a negative element to it, to the outside observer.I note that a non-exec has sold 130,000 shares at 500p, which appears to represent about half of his holding.
Muzzletoff
24 Mar 2016
Re: Interim results Thanks for your comments Hardboy.I agree about trusting the management's instincts. I am happy to see how this runs.I have been involved with a company that was acquisitive, and you do need a bit of luck, and also need to exercise a bit of cynicism as a purchaser. I am hoping that the On Trac acquisition in particular shows that the Tracsis management have bought at the right time. K3 is a company I have followed for a long time who were highly acquisitive, and went the route of diluting shareholders, and borrowing money to expand, and in my view has believed the hype of acquired turnover, at the expense of their cash generation. So it is a beguiling temptation. Now they have paused that (mostly) and are trying to pay down debt. Also when management are rewarded by options alone, and don't personally buy shares the risk is left mainly on the shareholders for the acquisition strategy. Young managers tend to believe their own publicity about their abilities. The City punishes profit warnings, and so management rather than lose face tend distort by adjustments the presentation of relatively poor figures. Cash generation is always a good marker of underlying health, in my view.Sorry about the ramble. I am sincerely hoping Tracsis reward our trust!
