After a disappointing start to its float, things are starting to pick up. Since the release of results in December, the shares have steadily increased from 147p to 161p.

The group has a strong and fast growing market share and should perform well.

Board Changes looking grim but will it bounce


Jessops today announces the following Board changes:


- Gavin Simonds, Non Executive Chairman, has informed his fellow directors that
he considers that the group will for a period require more active leadership of
the Board than his other commitments permit. He has therefore indicated that he
will step down from the Board but has agreed to stay with the company until the
time of the interim results announcement in May. The search for a replacement
has now started.


- Robin Whitbread, Commercial Director, who was responsible for day to day
operations, has resigned from the Board and has left the business. The Board
would like to thank him for his contribution, and wishes him well for the
future.

Jessops issues third profit warning in 3 months UPDATE
AFX


(Adds detail)

LONDON (AFX) - Jessops PLC, the photographic retailer, has warned on profits for the third time in less than three months, blaming a further deterioration in the UK camera market, sending its shares crashing 55 pct.

The group, which trades from 218 stores and employs 4,000 people, has sacked Robin Whitbread, its commercial director responsible for day to day operations, and has launched a strategic review of the business.

Jessops is now forecasting a first half loss of about 8.5 mln stg and expects to report a profit of around 3.5 mln stg for the second half, resulting in a full year loss of around 5 mln stg.

Before today's statement, analysts were expecting a full year pretax profit of about 6.5 mln stg, down from 17 mln stg last time.

No interim dividend will be paid and the full year payout will be reviewed.

The retailer said it has continued to gain market share in camera hardware but still saw its like-for-like sales fall 5.2 pct in the four weeks to Feb 28.

Its gross margins in the first half are now expected to be around 4 percentage points lower than the same time the year before, reflecting continuing price deflation and a more aggressive stance on pricing to drive volumes.

Jessops' current expectation for its year-end debt balance is approximately 52 mln stg.

It said a seasonal working capital uplift will be required in the autumn in excess of available banking facilities, noting the board will explore 'all options' to address this.

The group re-confirmed it has the continued support of its bank and talks about its future funding requirements are continuing.

'To address the challenges currently facing Jessops, Chris Langley, chief

executive will lead a strategic review of the business, with the results and key actions being communicated to shareholders as soon as practicable,' the company said.

'This review will examine strategic options to reconfigure the business taking into account changing market conditions.'

The retailer also announced that Gavin Simonds, its non-executive chairman, will step down in May.

It said Simonds felt the group required 'more active leadership of the board' than his other commitments permit.

At 1.26 pm, shares in Jessops were down 25-1/4 pence at 21-1/4 pence, valuing the business at just 22 mln stg.

The stock floated at 155 pence in October 2004.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

Buy order set at 7p .

is that BUY or GOODBYE

"...Chris Langley, Chief Executive commented:


'Jessops is experiencing unusually tough trading conditions, driven by severe...etc..."

Surely this market condition was obvious a year ago?
As new cameras replace old, the market price of the new matches, or even undercuts the old model (list)...so the old model has to be discounted to shift 'em. Problem is that the new model removes some of the defects in the earlier version, such as battery life, zoom range, screen size etc - so many punters feel the new model is the better camera - so the old-model is destined for deep discount.
This situation has been on-going as manufacturers get to grips with what is possible in miniaturisation. Gone are the days of aspiring to a brand of camera and building a system of dedicated lenses, flash etc....today it's almost always all-in-one and then wait for the next model.

In that scenario JSP really needs to have a USP - but apart from good shops and staff they haven't - so the staff are having to compete on price with internet shops. I think they need to offer basic club-facilities for aspiring photographers with competitions and so on. Then get some OWN-branded cameras which they can sell and even provide an up-date route, or in the wake of farepak - maybe a Xmas saving club with a release of a new model just prior tpo the Xmas festivities - JSP would be in a good position to get a bulk discount and if this was sucessful they could try a second club for the summer-holiday snapper.
But I'm wary that the execs are old-school photographers and not sufficiently connected to this new digital-age which is seeing low-res acceptable from phones, although they have a good line in printing booths.

Cynic was right, as an Investment - but what are yr thoughts at this new sp-level(sub 18p)...bearing in mind we know the dividend has gone?

certainly not to buy ..... there's a pretty strong argument to bite the bullet at and sell, though with end of the tax year only a week away, your CGT posiiton may determine whether to do so now or in 10 days time ..... probably too risky to short at this stage, though might be worthwhile with a senisble stop-loss in place

Well, cynic I've sold - never let the tax get in the way of a sensible investment decision ....this was a weak buy ( when I did at 53p) and so I've only myself to blame now at 15p...still it hurts -FOR- I could have bought one of JSP's shiny digital cameras for the loss - several -
Really irks when a Co fouls up this much - I understand there is nigh-on 53m of debt and little prospect of sufficient sales to turn a profit - so it seems to me that the begging-bowl could come out, just to pay the interest charges.
It's not good...and one wonders what the Full Market Regulators ( Yes!), were doing allowing such a poor investment to be listed so highly in the first place...maybe 15p (not 1.50) was nearer the mark....
Two execs have walked the plank...let's hope they never work again.
Grr - severely browned off!
++all IMHO - DYOR etc...++

what annoys me is that all too often the execs still walk away with very fat wallets and pensions ...... Eric Nicoli is a good example of a CEO who has screwed up totally twice and walked away fortunes richer and Tiphook (many years ago) was a case of blatant abuse by the directors

dont mention marconi..................lord simpson should be in jail...........and he lost more than 10,000 jobs on top of busting the company almost overnight

Hate to disagree, esp. since I lotalot on Marconi - but LS was only the instigator...admittedly he did the Deed over several years, but he was encouraged by City types who (let's not forget) ..Make money on the way Up as well as Down. The City (it is rumoured) wanted to see ( GEC as then) become an international player to make them lots of money - and why not find a sap to spend the fortune Lord Weinstock had amassed?
Well LS spent like there was no tomorrow, except he and his like didn't tell retail investors that for every 1, they were getting barely 20p (Unlike Lord Weinstock who got six beans in exchange for five).... as long as the Telco bubble was inflated no-one looked...too hard
Then it all fell down and some respectable investments fell out also - but Marconi was seen in its true light - a company with masses of debt, lots of outgoings (wages, rent etc) and no sales potential and er little asset-value. Hence the debt for equity grab by the Banks.
I agree that LS should be in jail for he was able to stop the madness - but then so were many of his ilk =the exec. hangers-on at Marconi who now have spread themselves into other FTSE companies (at increased salaries no doubt) - look at the historic jobs of many of Invensys Execs - I say no more; but it surprises me that no-one creates a web-site of past deeds so that crooks, rapists, murderers (and failed execs) can't be named, shamed and kept away from my other investments....
Needless to say my holding in ISYS is quite small since I made the connection...I bought at 13p, sold at about 20p (prior to consolidation) so managed to make something out of their reincarnation....ISYS was in doggy-do for some time but I'm not able to track the movement of GEC/Marconi Execs - but it looks a really good company to me and I'm no fool, am I?

JSP is potentially another debt-for-equity swap - if the Banks think they can run a high-street photo-shop. The real profit comes from prints and for that a kiosk is about as much as you need, maybe at the main-line railway station. If national advertising is what pulls in punters....why bother with an expensive shop? Make the price attractive, decent web-presence (this is a rarity - indeed I can't think of any company whose web-presence is better than: "so you make..."..and NO, I don't want yr emails...)..
However, JSP is my largest loss in five years, so maybe I'm losing my marbles - whatever tempted me to invest - no I still don't know.....maybe that poster was right - 7p? However, by then it will be obviously heading for insolvency.....a shame for it was a well-run family business operating from an ex-railway station in Leicester (the line closed in 1890, but Daguerre missed it!)...but the flotation was a dog and really should never have been launched in its condition, esp. with digital cameras coming in to wreck their historic pitch. It's a latter-day Dixons in reality...(investment-wise).....yet I still wish their staff well, but execs not.

Ah well.
The reason Execs walk briskly is that remaining execs are paying for "silence". ?The whole company is probably rotten and they want to keep the lid on it; hoping that overseas order will come in and the shipyard will prosper etc etc.

back on the way up, can see to be made.get in quick.

Sorry Dave, but how many shares will I need to make a 1.

Heard today that there is a bid for Jessops

on the tube? ..... in the local greasy spoon? ...... not impossible i guess, especially if they own any freehold properties

master - Can you tell me where you have heard about a possible bid?

Chatting to city traders on the west coast commuter train to London Bridge this morning

solid and reliable info then!
a bit unkind i know(lol) and certainly sp has shot up again this morning, but that might very well be bears closing their positions with significant profits.
old and valid adage is that one should never buy just on the hope of t/o .... far too dangerous especially with a flaky company like jessops

Gutted bought 20k @70p watched the drop bought back in 50k @ 12.5p sold at 16.5p to reduce my loss , but looks small profit after cassenove gave them a boost saying that the bad news may all be out and the brand has value, bought another 50k @17.5p so am holding 70k and they are looking better

count your fingers