This sums up much of my thinking - I hold a few and swing trade a few and even trade intraday sometimes ......

I think there is a lot of slack that management can cut out of the costs and would also anticipate sector consolidation ..... good value currently and have been holding their own in a falling market. Lot of US interest.

ains


Edited by Dominic White
(Filed: 08/02/2003)


Texting makes MmO2 sexy but it's also risky

More and more Britons are discovering the joys of textual intercourse. In the month of December, we fired off more than 50m mobile messages a day, and next Friday (that's Valentine's Day, folks, in case you'd forgotten) we'll send considerably more than that.



It emerged this week that the chief beneficiary of this craze is MmO2 . BT's former mobile phone division revealed that it gets a higher proportion of revenues from texting than any of the other three operators.

Revenue from messaging grew at its fastest rate ever in the last quarter, up 19pc, and data services as a proportion of MmO2 's revenue rose to 17.7pc from 15.6pc.

More good news was the rise in MmO2 's average revenues per customer. ARPUs, as nerdy analysts like to dub them, grew by 5pc to 243 in the UK and by 9pc in Germany to 212.

MmO2 now has 19.1m subscribers and in Britain it may be the smallest player, with 11.9m users, but it is growing faster than its rivals - testament to the success of its rebranding from BT Cellnet.

Only 114,000 of its 503,000 new UK subscribers were higher-spending contract customers, but MmO2 claims its pre-pay customers have started spending more than before.

Customer growth in Germany, which continues to be dominated by T-Mobile and Vodafone, is less impressive and the MmO2 share price ascribes little or no value to this part of the business.

That seems unfair, given the fact that the group has attracted higher-spending customers and has made a decent fist of turning the operation around. An eventual sale or merger is almost as inevitable as a disposal of the Dutch unit, which is losing customers.

MmO2 's larger rival Vodafone is trading on a free cashflow yield of 6pc, while at 49p this week, MmO2 's equivalent valuation remains negative. It might not have Vodafone's scale or profitability but there is room for upside. A risky buy.

Nas futures are up 10.5 points




Buy orders Sell orders
Num(%) Num Vol(%) Vol VWAP Vol Vol(%) Num Num(%)
1% (56.52%) 13 (46.24%) 1,371,788 50.55 - 51.40 1,594,652 (53.76%) 10 (43.48%)
5% (54.29%) 19 (43.54%) 2,174,174 50.32 - 51.65 2,819,695 (56.46%) 16 (45.71%)
10% (57.14%) 32 (51.35%) 4,087,931 49.86 - 51.86 3,872,298 (48.65%) 24 (42.86%)
15% (52.31%) 34 (48.70%) 4,487,931 49.67 - 52.25 4,728,011 (51.30%) 31 (47.69%)
50% (54.41%) 37 (53.03%) 5,337,524 48.93 - 52.25 4,728,011 (46.97%) 31 (45.59%)
100% (53.33%) 40 (52.81%) 5,357,644 48.88 - 52.39 4,787,007 (47.19%) 35 (46.67%)
all (52.63%) 40 (52.79%) 5,357,644 48.88 - 52.48 4,791,007 (47.21%) 36 (47.37%

This is getting on my nerves. Yesterday I miss out on amazing opportunity and today despite US Flying this is stuck whilst L2 looking fine is it not? So what's happening why still -ve?

Buy orders Sell orders
Num(%) Num Vol(%) Vol VWAP Vol Vol(%) Num Num(%)
1% (58.06%) 18 (53.05%) 2,024,965 49.65 - 50.59 1,792,074 (46.95%) 13 (41.94%)
5% (58.14%) 25 (53.77%) 3,095,120 49.45 - 50.74 2,660,753 (46.23%) 18 (41.86%)
10% (50.00%) 27 (39.02%) 3,445,120 49.31 - 51.39 5,383,137 (60.98%) 27 (50.00%)
15% (45.31%) 29 (39.57%) 3,570,120 49.22 - 51.42 5,452,207 (60.43%) 35 (54.69%)
50% (44.62%) 29 (39.57%) 3,570,120 49.22 - 51.42 5,452,907 (60.43%) 36 (55.38%)
100% (44.44%) 32 (39.44%) 3,590,240 49.14 - 51.56 5,511,903 (60.56%) 40 (55.56%)
all (43.84%) 32 (39.43%) 3,590,240 49.14 - 51.63 5,515,903 (60.57%) 41 (56.16%)

Part of a longer article


Industry calls for end to MMS push

London, April 11 2003, (netimperative)



by Susie Harwood

Mobile operators are in danger of missing out on the huge potential offered by SMS messaging by placing too much emphasis on new technologies, according to industry experts.


Mike Grenville, founder and CEO of SMS and mobile messaging forum 160 Characters, said operators are focusing too much on trying to launch new MMS (multimedia messaging) services instead of looking at how they can make more money out of "something that everyone already has in their pocket".

There have been many industry predictions that SMS will peter out as soon as MMS takes off, but MMS services, such as picture messaging, are a long way from mass take-up. There is still a number of issues to be ironed out, including interoperability between different operators, and marketing and pricing of services, before this is likely to happen.

Sari Aapola, VP of marketing and customer relationship management at messaging infrastructure company Tecnomen, said that operators need to stop rushing and pushing MMS and 3G and give these technologies the time that is needed for them to get off the ground.

Experts also believe that operators also need to focus less on selling the technology and more on marketing the services. "Stop trying to make it rocket science and try coming down to earth," said Aapola.

Meanwhile, Grenville said that month-on-month numbers for SMS messages in the UK just keep growing and that the market has not even reached a plateau yet, making it very unlikely that this will start to decline any time in the near future.

AMSTERDAM (AFX) - O2 Netherlands BV, the Dutch arm of mm02 PLC, said it will hold a news conference at 8.00 am here, or 7.00 am BST, on Monday morning.
A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment on the reason for the meeting beyond saying the company's CEO will make an "important announcement".

amsterdam@afxnews.com

dutch company has been sold ..... makes OOM more saleable - gives them more cash to invest and after allowing for the one off charge will improve the bottom line over time



ains

L2? Looking nice and +ve↑6% but I'd like to know will it still face 53 hurdle today? US +ve. To add to the good news ML upgraded their initial morning note to Buy. 12mth price target 66p.

volumes are highish but not exceptional - nas futures are making slow progree at 4.5 points up - dont see them over 53p today - but no rush

ains



Scotsman


MOBILE phone firm mmO2 has agreed to sell its Dutch arm to investment group Greenfield Capital Partners for around 15 million in cash.

The firm, formerly BT Cellnet, also said it expects to report positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the financial year to the end of March.

Last month mmO2 said it expected full-year core earnings to be in line with analysts forecasts, and said it would beat its target for ten per cent revenue growth at its main British division. Full-year results will be released on May 21.

Greenfield, which also owns Enertel, a major Dutch internet protocol data provider, said it would streamline and rename O2 Netherlands.

Stef van Doesburg, a partner in the investment firm, said: "The business is complementary to our existing telecoms portfolio which includes Enertel, the number two dial-up telecoms operator in the Dutch market.

"This acquisition supports our overall strategy of investing in companies that offer a competitive range of fixed and mobile services."

Mm02, the smallest of Europes five listed mobile phone companies, has been dogged by merger speculation in an industry that has spent 60 billion on third-generation mobile licences only to see new services delayed by software glitches and handset shortages.

Peter Erskine, chief executive officer of mmO2, said: "We believe that this deal is in the best interests of mmO2 shareholders."

L2 looks strong at this time

Ains can you provide the L2 figs Thanks. It hit 53 bid but then slipped back after ~1M sells!

Buy orders Sell orders
Num(%) Num Vol(%) Vol VWAP Vol Vol(%) Num Num(%)
1% (48.15%) 13 (56.37%) 2,220,593 52.67 - 53.48 1,718,940 (43.63%) 14 (51.85%)
5% (52.38%) 22 (56.60%) 4,531,766 52.40 - 53.74 3,474,702 (43.40%) 20 (47.62%)
10% (59.70%) 40 (63.92%) 6,480,328 52.08 - 53.81 3,658,222 (36.08%) 27 (40.30%)
15% (60.53%) 46 (65.91%) 7,127,660 51.76 - 53.83 3,685,922 (34.09%) 30 (39.47%)
50% (60.49%) 49 (68.63%) 8,083,728 51.09 - 53.84 3,694,226 (31.37%) 32 (39.51%)
100% (60.92%) 53 (68.46%) 8,128,848 51.03 - 53.99 3,744,918 (31.54%) 34 (39.08%)
all (60.23%) 53 (68.44%) 8,128,848 51.03 - 54.10 3,748,918 (31.56%) 35 (39.77%

mmO2 shares jump as Dutch unit is dumped

By Lucas van Grinsven
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - MmO2, the smallest of Europe's five listed mobile phone groups, has sold its ailing Dutch unit for 25 million euros to a private equity house and sent its shares surging.

Fuelling renewed speculation that its German unit might be next on the block, British-based mmO2 sold its loss-making O2 Netherlands subsidiary to Greenfield Capital Partners after conceding it lacked the commitment to turn the business around.

After having invested two billion euros on O2 Netherlands over four years, mmO2 Chief Executive Peter Erskine said 25 million euros was "the best price we got". MmO2 OOM.L , which was forced to write down almost the whole investment, had seen no way to make 02 Netherlands "anything more than cash break-even".

Investors welcomed the news, sending shares in mmO2 5.5 percent higher to 52.52 euros by 1100 GMT. The group, which has seen its shares rise 15 percent this year, is one of the top restructuring stories in Europe's mobile phone market.

"The amount of money they got is relatively irrelevant," said one London-based telecoms analyst. "What's more important is that they are exiting from a business that was burning cash."

New owners Greenfield Capital Partners gets a debt-free company with an 11 percent market share. It plans to cut staff to 550 from 715, reinstate the unit's former name Telfort and delay any investments in a high-speed, third-generation (3G) mobile network. Greenfield already owns Enertel, a major Dutch Internet Protocol data provider.

GERMANY IN FOCUS

Analysts have long expected mmO2 to sell its Dutch unit, which operates in Europe's most competitive mobile phone market, and the sale has refocused market attention on mmO2's other loss-making unit, O2 Germany.

Both the Dutch operation and O2 Germany, which has a market share of around 7.8 percent, have been under management review. But O2 Germany has beaten financial targets and has extended a network-sharing agreement with T-Mobile to cut costs as it rolls out a costly 3G mobile phone network.

"The move seems likely to reinvigorate reports that O2 Germany is about to be sold to (Netherlands-based) KPN KPN.AS ," said Mark James, analyst at Nomura in London.

"But don't buy (mmO2 shares) in anticipation of a 1.0 billion euro-plus sale to KPN, because in our view it remains unlikely, despite the obvious fit."

Fresh speculation about a sale was sparked last week after KPN voiced interest in O2 Germany, which would help beef up its own German unit E-Plus and help build a viable rival to T-Mobile DTEGn.DE and Vodafone Group Plc VOD.L , which together control 80 percent of the German market.

Both KPN and mmO2 insist there are no talks about combining their German arms, and insist that last year's exploratory talks about a full-scale merger to create a company with a market value of about 20 billion euros came to nothing.

"(The Dutch deal) demonstrates a degree of pragmatism on the part of the management, which was never going to be forced to commit itself to keeping the whole of the footprint together," said another London-based analyst.

"(But) I don't think this means any sale in Germany is more likely, simply because the arguments are different. There is one obvious buyer in the form of KPN -- it's not a matter of trying to find a private equity company. What happens there will ultimately be a function of price rather than anything else."

MmO2 also has fully-owned units in Britain and Ireland.

GOING DUTCH

MmO2 said it would book a charge of around 1.4 billion pounds for the sale, including taking on around 200 million euros of debt from the unit. The charge will be an exceptional item in results for the fiscal year to end-March.

O2 Netherlands will continue as a local player with a down-to-earth new brand and market approach, Chief Executive Ton aan de Stegge told reporters. The business has a 3G licence, but its new owners have no plans to invest millions of euros in fast 3G services, such as mobile video calls.

Aan de Stegge said the case for 3G was unproven.

In the light of the L2 figs does it not indicate the offer must hit 53.5 to take out sell orders? Also the BUY orders being so below current price doesn't that make them redundant?

in a way ...... you look at the most recent orders placed and tend to ignore those out of touch with current price action

L2? Any further progress? Still hoping the offer can be pushed to 53.5 within next one hour!

sector is plus 1% - market 1% and nas plus 2.5 points


Buy orders Sell orders
Num(%) Num Vol(%) Vol VWAP Vol Vol(%) Num Num(%)
1% (50.00%) 20 (37.72%) 1,971,343 52.59 - 53.46 3,254,733 (62.28%) 20 (50.00%)
5% (51.85%) 28 (46.34%) 4,328,413 52.35 - 53.65 5,011,352 (53.66%) 26 (48.15%)
10% (56.58%) 43 (54.81%) 6,283,182 52.04 - 53.69 5,180,872 (45.19%) 33 (43.42%)
15% (57.65%) 49 (57.09%) 6,930,514 51.72 - 53.71 5,208,572 (42.91%) 36 (42.35%)
50% (57.78%) 52 (60.19%) 7,886,582 51.04 - 53.72 5,216,876 (39.81%) 38 (42.22%)
100% (57.73%) 56 (59.06%) 7,931,702 50.98 - 54.33 5,497,568 (40.94%) 41 (42.27%)
all (57.14%) 56 (59.05%) 7,931,702 50.98 - 54.40 5,501,568 (40.95%) 42 (42.86%

By Friedel Rother

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - UK stocks were pushed up by a buoyant banking sector on Monday and gains for mobile operator mmO2 , while Wall Street added to the cheer with modest gains after a good start to the reporting season.

The FTSE 100 benchmark index was up 36.1 points, or one percent, at 3,844.2 by 1400 GMT. The market has rallied 17 percent over the past five weeks but is still four percent below where it started the year.

A flood of results are due out from both U.S. and UK companies this week. But despite encouraging news from financial services giant Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) , market observers remained wary.

"People are not going to be too concerned about the results themselves but more about the outlook for the rest of the year. I think it'll be quite cautious, quite tough," said Martin Cobb, investment manager at SVM Asset Management.

Mobile phone operator mmO2 was the biggest FTSE gainer. The shares rose 5.5 percent to trade around a five-month high after mmO2 sold its ailing Dutch unit for 25 million euros.

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER - news) upgraded the stock to "buy" and said the sale was good news for shareholders and the company.

Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY.L - news - msgs) was another top riser, up 3.6 percent on a report it is looking to sell its New Zealand banking unit, said to be worth up to $3.26 billion. Lloyds declined to comment on the weekend story in the Australian Financial Review.

Other banks also fared well, including Abbey National (LSE: ANL.L - news - msgs) and HBOS , both 2.7 percent better. The sector accounted for a third of the FTSE's overall gains.

Dealers said banking stocks were seen as an obvious play for investors betting on an improvement in the economy.

What's L2 showing now? It hit the price I wanted it to but I'd like it to close there now!

Buy orders Sell orders
Num(%) Num Vol(%) Vol VWAP Vol Vol(%) Num Num(%)
1% (51.85%) 14 (57.84%) 2,034,707 52.69 - 53.57 1,483,186 (42.16%) 13 (48.15%)
5% (47.06%) 16 (43.79%) 2,512,247 52.56 - 53.80 3,224,805 (56.21%) 18 (52.94%)
10% (48.08%) 25 (47.83%) 4,213,576 52.06 - 54.07 4,595,120 (52.17%) 27 (51.92%)
15% (51.67%) 31 (51.27%) 4,860,908 51.60 - 54.08 4,620,820 (48.73%) 29 (48.33%)
50% (52.31%) 34 (55.69%) 5,816,976 50.70 - 54.10 4,629,124 (44.31%) 31 (47.69%)
100% (52.78%) 38 (54.42%) 5,862,096 50.62 - 54.75 4,909,816 (45.58%) 34 (47.22%)
all (52.05%) 38 (54.40%) 5,862,096 50.62 - 54.83 4,913,816 (45.60%) 35 (47.95%

If only I could predict things as accurately as today! Nice bullish stance with close @53.25↑6.5%. Lets pray & hope that tommorrow see's this make further gains to the upside.