The buzz
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! RNS now out:.Spread 126-128p. Volume 502k. A bit of bargain hunting now. WGB seem to be playing down the consequences of the fire claiming that profit loss <0.5m (now that does not sound like a small fire to me!). WGB now seems to be accident prone and that is a bit worrying, plus apparently firing the brands director (so my industry source believes) due to losing their way. Now 127-128p. All the best for those holding on."Update re Anstey Wallpaper Company Walker Greenbank PLC (AIM: WGB), the luxury interior furnishings group, announces that a minor fire at approximately 22.00hrs last night at the Company's Loughborough wallpaper factory, Anstey Wallpaper Company, has damaged one of the factory's printing machines. Whilst the fire was minor, it is too early to know when the damaged printing machine will be back in production and if there is any potential impact on the Company's performance for the current financial year ending 31 January 2018. Dependent on the timing of repair, some of the orders planned to be printed on the machine might be delayed into the new financial year. The maximum potential impact on profitability in the current financial year is expected to be less than £0.5m. The repair to the printing machine, and damage to a small amount of stock, are covered by the Company's comprehensive insurance policy. The Company will issue a further announcement as soon as possible."
Blanketstacker
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! Trying again:[link]
Blanketstacker
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! [link] impact IN THIS YEAR to be £0.5m, but no mention of ongoing effect. Maybe not a disaster, but certainly a setback.
leperky
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! Ask dropping off now....currently 128 (from 135)It stayed at 135 for a lot longer than i expected this morning despite a lot of sells, so thanks for the prompt posts. Shame cos think we might have had a good little rally on here if not for the fire.Must be an RNS soon and see what happens to SP afterwards, and then maybe i'll re-group....
The buzz
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! [link] the face of it it may not be too disastrous, but having 6 appliances on scene and taking to 10:48pm to sort the fire out, lots of smoke damage does not sound good. WGB's insurance premiums must surely be going through the roof now?Looking at today's market, still shows spread of 128-135p, trades of 154k, mostly sales. It cannot be long before an RNS is issued - as the fire took place last night it might take WGB a little while to assess the impact of the fire.The B
leperky
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! Well spotted! See what emerges tho no share price movement yet....
The buzz
06 Dec 2017
Re: FACTORY ON FIRE! Thanks. Just sold my 5k for 130p a share. Checked on Google and yes Beeches Road is where the factory is:-[link] may do well from insurance again - but it sounds a significant fire/ smoke damage that will further disrupt business - that was already facing a downturn in volume.I just felt safer taking a quick profit of £300 in 5 days! - rather than the prospect of making more money on insurance.The Buzz.
Blanketstacker
06 Dec 2017
FACTORY ON FIRE! [link] on fire (but not the one that got flooded!!)
TX2
05 Dec 2017
Re: New brands director Perhaps the new brands director had a few cans of Carabao Energy Drink left from his previous job to give things a quick boost!
The buzz
05 Dec 2017
Re: New brands director End of overhang? Shortly after I bought a few I saw some large sells going through. I wondered if this might be the end of a line of sells - and if so a bounce would be in order. The share movement today seems to give that concept some credence.Alternatively the departure of the previous brands director might be something to do with the reported sudden change in outlook/ the new brands director is highly regarded. Supposition I know. Either way I have a bit more confidence to top up should the price fall back again - specially as I have just made a quick killing with Tesco, so I now have some cash at the ready.The B
leperky
05 Dec 2017
New brands director ...announced yesterday and the ask has crept up to 129p today. Dummy sell at 124p so happy to buy few more and wait...
The buzz
01 Dec 2017
Re: EPS Hi BB,Had another look. Seemed to be lots more shares floating around after the last acquisition, with possibly lots more to come. Then I realised that the lowest issue price seems to be about 175p, so its a pay-away deal. Bit careless losing the brands director so soon. A bit concerned that the value of the £ has increased and might reduce margins (especially if material has been bought when the £ was low and now needs to be re-exported) Interested to note the US sales content of the acquisition - and possible synergy here. After a bit of deliberation, for old times sake and spread my portfolio wider I have just bought a token 5k shares at 123.56p. .. but also partly because at this price it meets my 'easy' 20% share price gain possibility. The share spread remained rock solid - long gone are the days when it used to jump whenever I made a trade!The B
Biscuit Barrell
30 Nov 2017
Re: EPS A few months after a positive trading statement the company issued a profit warning flagging dramatic drop in sales and the share price has subsequently halved.It seems to me pretty difficult to understand the scale of the reaction. A few reflections:Management has a track record of sustained delivery and they seem to me to have managed their way through the factory disruption pretty effectively. That being said, I simply don't believe the economy has turn dramatically in 2 months - I was running a consumer business in 2008 when the economy was crashing and the rate of fall off of demand for a premium product was noticeable but not as dramatic as implied in the profits warning which implies either a loss of business controls or an exaggeration of performance at the half year.Also the business has a number of areas of resilience - co-pack manufacture and export all of which should be growing strongly notwithstanding UK economic downturn.So my guess is that what has happened is:1. Exaggeration of performance in half year results update2. A degree of panic around a profits warning - poor wording which communicated uncertainty without doing anything to provide a backstop to trading performance3. The business will show a step down and then recoverOn that basis, the shares appear to be cheap once more - and I have topped up. Back to £2 soon - perhaps not for a couple of years, but that still makes it an interesting investment.
The buzz
30 Nov 2017
Re: EPS Hi BB,I have been away for a little while and just catching up on what has been going on. Wow WGB have really had a bad time recently! I used to be a strong follower of WGB (even visited their New York showroom!) and at times held far to many. However I sold out a year or so ago as I felt that they were getting over valued and my perception that that the management were getting progressively more greedy with their take. The yield was not that great with lots of future good news factored in.That said they have been having a charmed life up to now with some good trading progress. However, the furniture market is now going through hard times eg MultiYork (who offer WGB fabric coverings) have just gone bust. I am not sure how the value of he £ has been affecting things as WGB use to import lots of materials, in particular from Italy. The big opening should be the USA with the low value of the £. I will have to study further but my recollection was that whilst some progress has been made, they are not really as well established as other players such as CFX. Now that is another story - WGB seemed to be getting enough market cap (but now almost halved at £87m) to take on CFX (£50m). Now that seems to be a distant hope, CFX once considered buying WGB but missed the boat - now they are too small and their Chairman is very conservative as his share holding is his pension pot! In a nutshell I do not think there will be a takeover of WGB in the short term, especially with the uncertainties of Brexit negotiations.That said, the share price is back down to a level where I might start to think about building a small stake. Although I am still heavily invested in other shares (such as APF) whom I think are going to do well in the near to medium term, but as their value is achieved I will be looking for new targets.The B
The buzz
30 Nov 2017
Re: EPS Hi BB,I have been away for a little while and just catching up on what has been going on. Wow WGB have really had a bad time recently! I used to be a strong follower of WGB (even visited their New York showroom!) and at times held far to many. However I sold out a year or so ago as I felt that they were getting over valued and my perception that that the management were getting progressively more greedy with their take. The yield was not that great with lots of future good news factored in.That said they have been having a charmed life up to now with some good trading progress. However, the furniture market is now going through hard times eg MultiYork (who offer WGB fabric coverings) have just gone bust. I am not sure how the value of he £ has been affecting things as WGB use to import lots of materials, in particular from Italy. The big opening should be the USA with the low value of the £. I will have to study further but my recollection was that whilst some progress has been made, they are not really as well established as other players such as CFX. Now that is another story - WGB seemed to be getting enough market cap (but now almost halved at £87m) to take on CFX (£50m). Now that seems to be a distant hope, CFX once considered buying WGB but missed the boat - now they are too small and their Chairman is very conservative as his share holding is his pension pot! In a nutshell I do not think there will be a takeover of WGB in the short term, especially with the uncertainties of Brexit negotiations.That said, the share price is back down to a level where I might start to think about building a small stake. Although I am still heavily invested in other shares (such as APF) whom I think are going to do well in the near to medium term, but as their value is achieved I will be looking for new targets.The B
