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By David Press on
4/8/2013 9:58 PM
Since leaving the bustling world of banking in London, I have settled into a new role as Operations/Project manager at our family owned and run women's clothing stores (boutiques), Blooms of East Fremantle and One White Orchid. It's been an amazing change and something I have thoroughly enjoyed...all the more because the changes we are making within our businesses are coming off with alarming success.
Whilst still small businesses, the growth we have experienced since moving to a multi channel business model, embracing social media marketing, SEM and SEO, has been nothing short of amazing. More importantly, and perhaps the strongest evidence of this success, is the increased engagement and satisfaction our customers are experiencing. In a world where consumers who don't require service are moving to online purchases, and those who do require service are not finding it at the department stores, our focus on customer service and engagement has been pivotal to our success to date. ...
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By David Press on
10/22/2012 5:07 PM
As the title suggests, after years of hope, a global financial crisis and a change in management, Strike Energy ( ASX-STX) is finally on the verge of realising the potential in its assets. Long term holders have lasted the challenges presented in recent years and will finally have the opportunity to participate in what could be, company changing developments.
Having sold off it's producing Rayburn and Mesquite fields for just under $100m late last year, and raising circa $40m from shareholders this last financial year, Strike are attempting to develop two company making unconventional oil and gas plays. They currently use revenue from their Louise Field and Clearfork wells production, in the Permian Basin (Texas), to fund day to day operations, while actively putting the proceeds...
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By David Press on
3/8/2012 8:04 AM
Some say change is like a holiday, however given my last 18 months or so, I can comfortably say a good long holiday will bring about just as much change. Having spent 6 months backpacking and skiing the alps of Western and Eastern Europe, then settling back into life in London and a job in one of the worlds largest and most infamous investment banks, I'm now back to sunny old Australia and a very different life/career indeed.
Thankfully my passion for investment hasn't changed in any way, meaning it was only a matter of time until I started sharing my views on this site again. An awful lot has happened in the time I was away, with the companies I follow having their up's and down's, as we have come to expect post the GFC. Highlights include some very strong profits on Maverick Drilling (MAD) which we have held for some time now (although we have now exited), strong performance from Hansen Technologies (HSN) and the continued strong operational performance of the Nick Scali Group...
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By David Press on
6/2/2011 9:38 PM
Hansen Technologies Ltd's ( HSN-ASX) management team announced significant profit upgrades for the 2011 financial year earlier this week, which has prompted me to update my analysis of the company which should make for some interesting reading.
Hansen this week revealed internal expectations for full year EBITDA of approximately $19.5m on revenues of around $57m, and an EBIT of approximately $17m. Based on an estimated tax rate of around 22% (a little conservative and may come in slightly lower), I'm anticipating a NPAT somewhere in the $13m region, a very impressive 20% increase on last years results.
As I wrote in my last blog on Hansen Technologies, the company's revenues have been hit by the persistently high value of the Australian dollar, mostly...
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By David Press on
5/20/2011 8:12 PM
Having eagerly followed LinkedIn's IPO and first trading day, I can't seem to shake that strange feeling of deja vu. LinkedIn shares traded as high as $122.70, closing at $94.25, a whopping 109% premium to the company's listing price of $45 per share on the NYSE. It's certainly not the first time a company's first trading day has created a frenzy and pushed shares significantly higher...but the thing that worries me are the all too familiar parallels to the late 1990's early 2000's dotcom boom and bust.
According to Bloomberg, at the close, LinkedIn was valued at $8.91 billion dollars, some 24 times 2011 revenue (annualised from first quarter revenue figures). Should common sense prevail, I feel there may very well be some punters walking away from LinkedIn a little lighter...
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By David Press on
4/5/2011 8:26 PM
Having read QBE's ( QBE-ASX) AGM presentation today, I have to say that I feel pretty comfortable with my decision to hold and buy more of this stock in the last 12 months or so. Despite the fact the share price has underperformed significantly compared to the overall market, the underlying performance of the insurance business has been quite strong, giving me the feeling that at current share prices, this company ticks the boxes of a quality value investment.
To understand why I think QBE offers good value, you need to understand the business and how they derive a profit. To put it simply, QBE derives income from two main sources. The first is the insurance profit they make on writing insurance, that is, the difference between insurance premiums received and insurance claims...
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By David Press on
3/31/2011 5:27 PM
It would appear that for the second time in recent years, institutional investors are looking to make board changes at RHG (previously Rams Home Loans-pre GFC). Steve Johnson and members of the Intelligent Investor group failed in a similar attempt 18 months ago, only to have a group of institutional investors (holding 8.4% of the company) led by Karl Siegling and Geoff Wilson make a second attempt as announced today.
Today's announcement (attached to a substantial holding disclosure) stated that the group intends to requisition the removal of two existing directors (Greg Jones and John McGuigan) and replace them with three new directors (Malcolm McComas, Gabriel Radzyminski and Paul Jensen). Additionally, the announcement details the group's intent to ensure the company remains a listed entity and to distribute surplus cash as dividends (franked wherever possible). The existing share buy-back proposal...
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By David Press on
3/28/2011 10:18 PM
Nido Petroleum ( NDO-ASX) today announced the approval from the Philippines DOE for their upcoming drilling target, Gindara-1. I've noted Gindara as a possible company making prospect a number of times and I now feel that at current prices, Nido may be offering traders and opportunity for a buy early, sell before spud play, and for longer term speculators, an opportunity for serious share price gains on the back of a successful oil find.
Nido and JV partners, Shell and Kairiki are targeting a possible 1 billion barrels of oil at Gindara, with the drill date around May 2011. Having attained approval for the well, as well as securing the “Atwood Falcon” rig, Nido are finalising the required third party logistics and planning and suggest the rig should arrive on site around mid...
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By David Press on
3/22/2011 4:21 PM
Strike Energy ( STX-ASX) announced late last week that they have increased the company's interest in the Louise gas/condensate field and the Eaglewood JV. Strike have spent US$3.75m on increasing their interest in the Louise fields to 40% (from 30%), increasing net production for Strike to 2MMcfe/day (revenue of approximately $350 000 per month at current prices). The deal also increases the interest in the Eaglewood JV, giving strike a 40% interest in future discoveries.
Having recently sold it's Rayburn and Mesquite assets ( blog here), STX are flush with cash (around $20m before the deal) and are embarking...
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By David Press on
3/16/2011 12:25 PM
Australia's dividend imputation system is in place to prevent double taxation of company earnings and has been applauded by Australian investors since it's implementation in the 1980's. However it does mean that investor's need to perform a simple calculation in order to obtain the real return of their dividends when considering the franking credits applied. My recent blog on BHP's share buy back has resulted in a number of questions from fellow investors on how to calculate the real return from dividend payments, so I thought I'd post up a quick blog explaining it in simple terms.
The reasoning behind calculating the 'grossed' or 'franked' up returns (I actually prefer these terms given 'real return' actually requires inflation to be...
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These blogs provide general information only and should not be considered advice. Before making any financial or investment decisions we strongly recommend you seek the advice of a trained professional to take into account your personal situation, individual needs and financial objectives. Although every effort is made to ensure the information provided is accurate, YourWealthWatch.com.au and its representatives/employees will not be held liable for any errors or ommissions of information supplied in these blogs. For a list of authorized financial planners please click here.
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