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Authoritative Independent Monthly Share Selections Using Technical & Fundamental Analysis

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Mothercare

December 2004

Investing in shares may lose you all or some of your money. Past performance is no indication of future performance. Some of the shares recommended here may be small company shares, which can be relatively illiquid and hard to trade and this makes such shares more risky than other investments.

  • Epic Code:
  • MTC
In its pre-close trading update, for the 28 weeks to 9 October, Mothercare announced that like-for-like sales increased by 2.4%, which implies a disappointing –0.2% in the second quarter, albeit against strong comparatives, with bad late summer weather being blamed. The bright spot was that gross margins increased around 1.25%, and this after gains of 6% in the comparable period last year. This was achievedthrough a combination of lower markdowns and better buying, including more direct sourcing.  Mothercare's refit program is also advancing well, with 81 outlets converted, equivalent to over 50% of its High Street selling space.   Although chief executive,Ben Gordon, has milked most of the easy gains in Mothercare's ...

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With small companies there is an above average degree of risk compared to buying blue chips. Please be aware that we have not assessed the suitability of any of these investments for you. The newsletter simply states a personal view and diarises the editor’s investment decisions. Please speak to your stockbroker or other qualified individual to ascertain whether any of these companies mentioned would form useful additions to your own portfolios. Past performance is no indication of future success.

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