Updates

Ottakar's - Canny acquisition kick-starts shares

May 2003

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.

On 25 April the shares jumped 15.5p to 217.5p, to hit a new 52 week high, following the announcement that Ottakar's had purchased 24 High Street general bookshops from Hammicks. The acquisition cost Â£3.3m cash, plus the assumption of Â£2m of bank debt. It will be "modestly earnings enhancing before integration costs." The acquired stores had made a Â£2m profit, before head office costs, on sales of Â£28.3m in the year ended March. However, Ottakar's will incur an extra Â£1m in annualised central costs and a one-off Â£1m integration cost. The stores, which will all be rebranded within three months, are predominately situated in the South of England and remarkably, only one overlaps with an existing sto ...

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Maiden - Better short-term value elsewhere

TMI Trader Portfolio - May

Ottakar's - Take profits (March 2004)

Ottakar's - Book retailer still in fine fettle (November 2003)

Ottakar's - Upbeat trading statement (August 2003)

Ottakar's - Harry Potter release to boost sentiment (March 2003)

Ottakar's - Earnings to grow 72% over 2 years (February 2003)

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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