Thus is becoming more and more like a coiled spring. Negative sentiment and the failure to recognise Thus's brilliance has been going on for at least 9 months now. At some point in the future, there will be a SHARP correction, a rise of 50-100% within a week. This will happen when the final results come out showing a decent profit compared to the other flagging telcos. Only then will people wake up and show THUS and Bill Allen the respect they deserve.

Aerotus.
Go for it and tell the world (investors world that is) the sooner the your views are accepted by the majority the better.
This last week has been a disaster for THUS but the trend must surely change soon as this is a good company operating in a very competitive field, yet producing results as forecast and continuing to gain good new business on a regular basis.
Bill Allen continue on this format and THUS will be on a much different rating than it is today.

My views
opto

From www.Frequentrader.info (Monday 12th July) ...

"I see Thus (don't hold at the moment) is getting a bit of a battering. But at some point soon it'll start to look undervalued - keeping my beady eye open for a possible good entry point. Just watching for the moment."

1anT

what is a protected portfolio transaction see posting no. 118

mpw777,

To be honest I am no really sure - this is the description from the stock exchange if this helps:

Protected Portfolio
The transaction was reported as a protected portfolio or, was as a result of a worked principle agreement for a portfolio transaction.

I will try to get a more details explanation.

Ian

THUS is not looking good....

ROUNDUP Thus shares plunge after PROFIT ALERT stuns city

LONDON (AFX) - Shares in Thus Group PLC (LSE: THUS.L - news) plunged today after the UK group stunned investors, warning full-year profit will be depressed by ongoing margin erosion at its main telecoms business and problems at two of its other operations, one of which it has agreed to sell.
A spokesman said the company expects to report earnings before interest and tax of 47-53 mln stg in the year to March 31 2005, down from 53-59 mln previously.
House broker Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news) meanwhile slashed it forecast for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 16 pct to 49.3 mln stg.
That compares with reported EBITDA up 61 pct to 43.6 mln stg in the year to March 31 2004.
The company said margins at its core telecoms operations, which provide voice and data services to business customers throughout the UK, as well as offering high-speed internet access were under pressure.
It said that was partly because growing numbers of Britons have been switching from dial-up internet access to broadband, on which its margins are lower.
Thus also warned its telephone-based marketing promotional business was unlikely to make money this year, having previously expected the business to generate underlying profit of around 4 mln stg.
It said following the 'poorer than expected' performance of the unit, which was created by Thus' former parent Scottish Power PLC, it is 'reviewing its options' and will make a further announcement when it delivers interim results in November.
The so-called Interactive division, which makes money from newspaper scratch cards, inviting the holder to dial in to claim a prize or promotion, last year generated generated sales of 13.0 mln stg, around 4 pct of the total.
Separately, Thus said it had agreed to sell its loss-making call-centre business to a subsidiary of Murray International Holdings, one of Scotland's largest private companies, for around 1.75 mln stg.
Thus will also retain working capital of around 2.25 mln stg.
Although the unit has consistently lost money since Thus was floated on the London stock exchange (LSE: LSE.L - news) in December 1999, Investec had expected the unit, which has a net book value of 3 mln stg, to contribute around 2 mln stg to underlying profit in the current year.
The alert mirrored a similar warning from rival Colt Telecom PLC (LSE: CTM.L - news) last week, when it said profits would be hit by tough market conditions and pressure on margins.
The company, which has seen its shares plunge from a high of 862 pence in March 2000, attempted to make light of its latest difficulties.
'Although we remain cautious on the general economic outlook and the competitive dynamics of the existing market structure for UK telecommunications... we remain comfortable with the range of market expectations for the full year, and will now exit the year EBIT positive,' the company said.
At 12:30 pm, Thus' shares were trading 4.5 pence, or 20 pct, down on the day at 18.25, valuing it 246 mln stg.
rob.branch@afxnews.com

Old news hyleo98!

optomistic
Agreed, for anyone who is holding Thus shares last Friday seems a very long time ago
I do however, as your name suggests remain optomistic for the long term

Hi Rampage, optomistic also remains cautiously optimistic for the long term, hopefully we could see some earlier return to 'normality'. THUS seems to be on target for Bill Allen's projections and just the slightest change in sentiment to the alt telco sector would see a tremendous boost to THUS's share price IMO.

p.s. I was going to have optimistic as my name, not really very creative I know, but someone else had used it with a number attached so I chose optomistic, perhaps it could be changed to just opto

optomistic
optomistic is a great name for anyone who buys or trades shares
Why else would you buy them if you were not optimistic??
Whats an o or an i between friends/fellow investors etc etc

Hi rampage thanks for that, it is a suitable name certainly. At the moment I am a buyer not so much a trader, NOT the original intention with some of my buys I might add. I suppose we all have this problem though!!
All the best
opto

Aye well .. definition of a "hold" is a short term trade gone wrong.


THUS needs an analist to say that the share are "oversold" for a temporary recovery to take place, but I doubt this will happen until the beginning of october.

Might expect a small relief rally with the sale of the Contact center at the end of the month but who knows.


Monday low of 16.25 didn't break today, but personally I'm looking for some support @ 12.5p which was resistance late 2002. Much, however, will depend upon how bad the CTM numbers are later in the month since THUS is not due to report until november. The trading update at the AGM was a carbon copy of the interims with the expection of the sale of the contact center which is a positive.

Scotland on Sunday article

It was ever Thus

TERRY MURDEN
tmurden@scotlandonsunday.com
Business editor

IT WOULD be fair to say that Bill Allan, chief executive of Glasgow telecoms company Thus, is rarely content with the world: his targets have ranged from disinterested politicians to the behaviour of some of his rivals. Not for the first time he is upset with the City. Earlier this year he threw his toys out of the pram over a "reduce" recommendation on Thus from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein; now he is now raging about the marking down of the companys shares when, he argues, Thus is performing reasonably well in a battered sector. Allan, who commutes to Scotland from his home in Tunbridge Wells, is truly disgusted.

There is some justification for this latest show of indignation. The company is in better shape than its peers and, according to Allan, is "getting stronger year by year", although in a sector suffering a severe hangover from the late 1990s boom it is merely less drunk than some of its rivals.

The cause of his concern this time follows a near-20% markdown in the shares after his firms annual meeting. Allan was apoplectic, and his fury continued into a media dinner last Wednesday when he kept up his rant for the best part of an hour.

He now admits that de-listing may be something for the board to consider and it may be that after a series of meetings with analysts this week, he will ask his fellow directors to take a view. It would be a pity if that were to be the chosen route, but Thus, which spent a few weeks in the FTSE 100 shortly after flotation, would not be the first to show its disillusionment with the City by taking the company private.

Jim McColl at Clyde Blowers was the first in recent times to instigate a Scottish public-to-private transaction after seeing his company so undervalued that overseas customers were beginning to ask if there were fundamental problems. Geoff Ball at Cala Homes was among those who followed suit. It is no wonder that the bosses of small companies are wary of treading the stock market path.

Allan, however, has to be careful not to overreact. Thus is not alone in the telecoms sector in feeling the pinch. Most of his peers are trading at or about their year lows. The markets remain cautious, particularly about the alternative carriers, not least because there are too many of them: apart from Thus, there is Colt, Fibernet, Kingston, Energis, along with overseas competitors - and none is making any real money.

One of the main reasons shares in Thus fell last week was nothing to do with the companys own performance. Colt, a company with far deeper problems, put out a profits warning just days earlier and worried traders ran for cover. After that, Thus didnt stand a chance.

One analyst I spoke to last week was surprised to hear Allans comments on de-listing, but said it would be a last resort to take such a decision. It would also find it difficult to raise funds for a leveraged buy-out.

The most likely stimulus for the shares will be consolidation. Allan would prefer Thus to be an acquirer and his outburst over the plunging shares probably owed something to the frustration over opportunities lost to use the firms paper. He was, after all, in talks with Kingston and had made veiled suggestions in the past about making an acquisition using the companys shares.

It is just as likely, however, that Thus will be acquired, possibly by an overseas player. France Telecom and Telefonica have been suggested as possible buyers with Cable & Wireless an outside bet, although C&Ws shareholders will be so wary of repeating past mistakes they will want the company to concentrate on getting its own house in order before attempting to pick off any of its rivals.

An interesting article

but it still remains.....

if Allan seriously considers that the recent fall is 'grossly overdone' and remains 'apoplectic'

he should be filling his boots at these levels

indeed if he considers it even a possibility to go private then unless he expects to get the company for less then again he should be picking up stock at todayslat weeks prices

of course if if he isnt buying then it begs the question WHY????????

he should put his money where his mouth is.

remain hopeful and doubled my holding last week

Does anybody know whether we would have to sell our precious Thus shares to a take-over bidding company, especially if they are offering much less than what "MOST"
of us have paid for? ie: 20p offer ...paid 35+p???

Where do we stand if a company were to try and buy our hard HELD shares for THUS?

If they get the required %, which i beleive is usually 90% then the offer can go compulsory
(I hope someone better informed than I will correct that if reqd)
in which case you have no options open
however you can hold out until then in case!

but its not there yet i think

If they get the required %, which i beleive is usually 90% then the offer can go compulsory
(I hope someone better informed than I will correct that if reqd)
in which case you have no options open
however you can hold out until then in case!

but its not there yet i think

It would be done through a majority shareholder vote.

For you guys : press mention in Today's Guardian Newspaper

Thus, the alternative telecoms operator, firmed 0.25p to 17.25p after chief executive Bill Allan told a Scottish newspaper that taking the company private was an option.


Best Wishes.

One of the articles taken from The Scotsman.

TERRY MURDEN
tmurden@scotlandonsunday.com


IT WOULD be fair to say that Bill Allan, chief executive of Glasgow telecoms company Thus, is rarely content with the world: his targets have ranged from disinterested politicians to the behaviour of some of his rivals. Not for the first time he is upset with the City. Earlier this year he threw his toys out of the pram over a "reduce" recommendation on Thus from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein; now he is now raging about the marking down of the company's shares when, he argues, Thus is performing reasonably well in a battered sector. Allan, who commutes to Scotland from his home in Tunbridge Wells, is truly disgusted.

There is some justification for this latest show of indignation. The company is in better shape than its peers and, according to Allan, is "getting stronger year by year", although in a sector suffering a severe hangover from the late 1990s boom it is merely less drunk than some of its rivals.

The cause of his concern this time follows a near-20% markdown in the shares after his firm's annual meeting. Allan was apoplectic, and his fury continued into a media dinner last Wednesday when he kept up his rant for the best part of an hour.

He now admits that de-listing may be something for the board to consider and it may be that after a series of meetings with analysts this week, he will ask his fellow directors to take a view. It would be a pity if that were to be the chosen route, but Thus, which spent a few weeks in the FTSE 100 shortly after flotation, would not be the first to show its disillusionment with the City by taking the company private.

Jim McColl at Clyde Blowers was the first in recent times to instigate a Scottish public-to-private transaction after seeing his company so undervalued that overseas customers were beginning to ask if there were fundamental problems. Geoff Ball at Cala Homes was among those who followed suit. It is no wonder that the bosses of small companies are wary of treading the stock market path.

Allan, however, has to be careful not to overreact. Thus is not alone in the telecoms sector in feeling the pinch. Most of his peers are trading at or about their year lows. The markets remain cautious, particularly about the alternative carriers, not least because there are too many of them: apart from Thus, there is Colt, Fibernet, Kingston, Energis, along with overseas competitors - and none is making any real money.

One of the main reasons shares in Thus fell last week was nothing to do with the company's own performance. Colt, a company with far deeper problems, put out a profits warning just days earlier and worried traders ran for cover. After that, Thus didn't stand a chance.

One analyst I spoke to last week was surprised to hear Allan's comments on de-listing, but said it would be a last resort to take such a decision. It would also find it difficult to raise funds for a leveraged buy-out.

The most likely stimulus for the shares will be consolidation. Allan would prefer Thus to be an acquirer and his outburst over the plunging shares probably owed something to the frustration over opportunities lost to use the firm's paper. He was, after all, in talks with Kingston and had made veiled suggestions in the past about making an acquisition using the company's shares.

It is just as likely, however, that Thus will be acquired, possibly by an overseas player. France Telecom and Telefonica have been suggested as possible buyers with Cable & Wireless an outside bet, although C&W's shareholders will be so wary of repeating past mistakes they will want the company to concentrate on getting its own house in order before attempting to pick off any of its rivals.

opto