,

Spitfire43... thank you for the information... it's all looking good (imho)

Interesting sell transactions today 1.35m sells at 36p, one of 616k, 2 x 250k a 100k, a 50k and 2 x 25k. sp moved slightly down 0.25p, with finals on the horizon 22nd October, and looking very positive, I wonder who could be positioning. Hopefully just an investment, because I would like to stay in EDD for the long haul.

This from Daily Express this morning....explains the tick up yesterday...it's looking good. :

SHARE WHISPER: Education Development International (traders bet on strong annual figures in two weeks' time)

Good news looking forward to results.

Today will be a torrid one for the markets, lets hope they buck the trend again.

Looking good, lets hope the results match the expectation

Nice 300000 buy today, lets hope its a good sign for next weeks results.

Should be.....
Results should be good but in the current market state I don't expect any sudden sp fireworks... maybe it'll slowly rise over next 3/6 months to 50p+ (imho)

Nice little acquisition announouced today see below.

Education Development International PLC said it has acquired Huddersfield-based vocational awarding body, ASET Group Ltd for a total of up to 2.9 mln stg, cash and stock saying it is a sound strategic fit with the group.

Additional cash payments of 400,000 stg may be made dependent on the achievement of performance criteria.

The company said it expects the acquisition to add to its earnings in the financial year to Sept 30, 2008.

The prospects for longer-term synergistic savings are good as is the potential for cross-selling EDI and ASET's services to each other's customer bases, it added.

Education Development said there is good potential to grow ASET's revenues and improve margins thus providing a significant opportunity to add to overall group profitability.

Took some profit today ahead of results despite what appears a good acquisition. In theory sp should rise from here based upon low PE/PEG and trading at discount in sector but market may want more visibility of future earnings and cash position.

Good to see positive Final results today.

PBIT in line with expectation at 2.2m
EPS way ahead at 4.1p
DIV good increase to 0.33p from 0.20.
And cash is up to 3.1m from 2.3m.

Have to remember they had deferred tax allowance of 287,000 which reduced tax charge to around 9%. So EPS would have been about 3.7p on normal tax charge. I would guess the brokers would upgrade forecasts for next year, wouldn't be surprised to see pbit = 2.5m and EPS of over 4.6p.

See new broker upgrades below. With sp at 37.75 it must be a snip even in these markets.

Brewin Dolphin - 2008 profits = 2.81m and EPS = 4.84P, 2009 profits = 3.31M and EPS= 5.65p

Redmayne - 2008 profits = 2.70m and EPS= 4.7p, 2009 profits = 3.20m and EPS = 5.60p

spitfire43, Thank you for the info. Yes, worth holding onto. I saw elsewhere that the target is for 56p... that'll do for starters !

Thought it was time to remind ourselves why EDD is still such a good investment.

sp increased from August 2008 price 25p to todays price of 38.5p. = +54%

even after this 54% rise have a look at some of the fundarmentals.

cash = �3.1m / no debt

current PE = 9.46
2008 PE forecast = 8.12 - with PEG at 0.49
2009 PE forecast = 6.88 - with PEG at 0.38

Operates in Education sector, which Government has pledged to keep increasing spending.

Wouldn't even be surprised to see takeover action at some point in the future, and thats in the price for nothing. (Seems to be an agressive sector re takeovers)

I will post above on the thread ( top aim picks for 2008 ) and challenge people to find a better company on the above fundamentals, and in growth markets. I'm sure there are some but I haven't found them yet.

So have a check and see if any better shares are revealed.

When I suggested EDD could be a takeover target, I was thinking of an American company called Kaplan part of Washington Post PLC.

Kaplan is one of the largest providers of financial services training programs in the U.S. Long known as a test prep company, Kaplan has grown dramatically entering a variety of new education industries and becoming one of the largest and most diverse educational businesses in the U.S.

They acquired UK company FTC Holdings in March 2003 for 55.3m.

FTC was a leader in test preparation services for accountants and financial services professionals, with 18 training centers in the U.K. and a growing presence in Asia, including operations in Hong Kong and Singapore.

As you can see EDD would fit in with Kaplan in the very market they operate in the US. If exchange rates go towards a weaker Pound then they could be tempted into a bid.

Probably me being a bit thick, but what precisely does this company do? Who are their customers: government, private schools/colleges or individuals?

Customers in the main or colleges and schools but also individual's via online further education, They are involved in all areas of Education including Younger Kids and test and prep admission, higher education and professionals. See an overview below.

Kaplan is one of the worlds most innovative and dynamic private education providers and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company. The Washington Post is a venerable, highly respected publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2004, The Washington Post Company's revenues exceeded USD$3.3 billion. Recent Board members include Warren Buffett (CEO, Berkshire Hathaway), James Burke (CEO, Johnson & Johnson) and Don Keogh (COO, Coca Cola).

Established by Stanley H. Kaplan in 1938 and acquired by The Washington Post in 1985, Kaplan was one of the first companies to provide students with tutoring in preparation for the standardised university entrance examinations in the US. Today, Kaplan remains the market leader in test preparation having assisted more than 3 million students over its 70 year history. Driven by a successful diversification strategy, Kaplan has experienced exceptional growth over the last decade with revenues increasing 12-fold. Kaplan is now one of the largest and most diversified private education companies in the world with revenues exceeding USD$1.135 billion.

I believe the EDD business model would fit in very well, I should imagine that the low dollar against the pound may have held them back from making a bid.

Thanks for the info, spitfire. It looks interesting.

EDD mentioned in today's IC mag again. Basically says shares are cheap even if you take away their ?3.1m net cash position. Whilst not an quick multibagger this should double/triple over next year or two.... I've held for past 6months and am already 37% up.

A double/triple will do for me, thats certainly quick enough for me.

nice sp move today, 3.75p up to 42.75p. plenty of buys today, maybe after the write up in IC mag. Volume is 338k so far with one large sale recently gone through of 130k, but if anything the sp has firmed even more. Interesting.