They seem to have gotten their fingers into too many pies which is not unusual. Will be interesting to see if they can stay afloat while tossing the cargo overboard. Their actual current year results look better than the previous. The liquidity issue will the the main concern in the short term I would imagine.
If they do go under or need cash and sell assets, I hope the cataloguing group finds a good home. The question is whether selling stamps or making albums/catalogues is their primary source of income.
Al G.
Here is a snapshot out of their financial statement. I clipped out the "Interiors" segment, which they recently disposed of this year.
They are a shadow of their former glory. Only £2MM in publishing!
£18MM in "Investments" -- shows where their business focus has been -- that's described elsewhere in the statements as the sale of rare philatelic material to high end investors.
£8MM in "philatelic" -- that's barely a middle size auction house.
They are certainly not using the standing that a century and a half in the philatelic market should be giving them.
I wonder if they are spending all their energies on supporting the ridiculously high prices in their catalogues, rather than buying and selling stamps at what they will really sell for?
The market (in terms of sales) is strong, it's just not at the same prices as 20 years ago. If you have decent material at prices the market will pay, it finds buyers.
Roy
Any dealer who made it through the ups and downs of the 80's and early 90's found out the key to survival was turnover. As Kenny Rogers said "You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em".
Smart dealers holding multiple sets of Zepps at the start of the free-fall cut their losses and then bought and sold for a small profit on the way down. Those that held on to their stock until the bottom did not fare so well.
Right now SG seems to be holding. They may have little choice with the way their "Investment" portfolios are set up and marketed. Time will tell but in any event it will not be pretty.
"If they do go under or need cash and sell assets, I hope the cataloguing group finds a good home. The question is whether selling stamps or making albums/catalogues is their primary source of income."
Don, if so what does the revenue / cost under Publishing if it was sold off? Why such high operating cost? If they have overhead they may be spread it across the divisions such as debt payments, etc.
Stanley Gibbons just released its Annual Report. Doesn't look pretty:
http://canadianstampnews.com/stanley-gibbons-releases-2017-annual-report/
here is a chart of their stock price over 3 years:
Last trade: 6.84 pence per share
Roy
re: Stanley Gibbons in more financial difficulty
They seem to have gotten their fingers into too many pies which is not unusual. Will be interesting to see if they can stay afloat while tossing the cargo overboard. Their actual current year results look better than the previous. The liquidity issue will the the main concern in the short term I would imagine.
re: Stanley Gibbons in more financial difficulty
If they do go under or need cash and sell assets, I hope the cataloguing group finds a good home. The question is whether selling stamps or making albums/catalogues is their primary source of income.
Al G.
re: Stanley Gibbons in more financial difficulty
Here is a snapshot out of their financial statement. I clipped out the "Interiors" segment, which they recently disposed of this year.
They are a shadow of their former glory. Only £2MM in publishing!
£18MM in "Investments" -- shows where their business focus has been -- that's described elsewhere in the statements as the sale of rare philatelic material to high end investors.
£8MM in "philatelic" -- that's barely a middle size auction house.
They are certainly not using the standing that a century and a half in the philatelic market should be giving them.
I wonder if they are spending all their energies on supporting the ridiculously high prices in their catalogues, rather than buying and selling stamps at what they will really sell for?
The market (in terms of sales) is strong, it's just not at the same prices as 20 years ago. If you have decent material at prices the market will pay, it finds buyers.
Roy
re: Stanley Gibbons in more financial difficulty
Any dealer who made it through the ups and downs of the 80's and early 90's found out the key to survival was turnover. As Kenny Rogers said "You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em".
Smart dealers holding multiple sets of Zepps at the start of the free-fall cut their losses and then bought and sold for a small profit on the way down. Those that held on to their stock until the bottom did not fare so well.
Right now SG seems to be holding. They may have little choice with the way their "Investment" portfolios are set up and marketed. Time will tell but in any event it will not be pretty.
re: Stanley Gibbons in more financial difficulty
"If they do go under or need cash and sell assets, I hope the cataloguing group finds a good home. The question is whether selling stamps or making albums/catalogues is their primary source of income."
re: Stanley Gibbons in more financial difficulty
Don, if so what does the revenue / cost under Publishing if it was sold off? Why such high operating cost? If they have overhead they may be spread it across the divisions such as debt payments, etc.