I have been in and out of these a few times :-)) ..... bumping around their bottom but starting to bounce a little ..... closed @ 87/90p on Friday.

They have fallen from grace because of poor distribution probelens caused by poor management and an out of House warehousing system. THis is being sorted and new guys have replaced the old .....

Great brand name and selling could be overdone ..... anyway I am in for a few @ 90p and will let them ride for a while - not a t trade. Recent director buying around this price


ains


bought @ 90p - currently moving up at 141/145p 13/05 = plus 56.66% net

Still on the sidelines GF, not confident either way.

This Grimsey chap is the bloke whos been taking on Mary Portas up and down the country saying shes just a winow dresser and as no idea how to run a business.

Havent a clue myself how results will turn out.

You just don't have a clue - full stop gf. :-) A winow dresser - now there's a new one -what is a winow dresser?

Q2 TRADING UPDATE

Key messages for Q2

Worldwide network sales up 3.9% and group reported sales down 0.5%

International space up 11.9% year-on-year with 2.5m sq.ft. of retail space

International retail sales up 12.6% in constant currency and reported retail sales up 12.4% with all four regions delivering positive growth

Against strong comparatives, UK like-for-like sales down 1.9% with Direct in Home up 8.3%, taking year to date Direct in Home growth to 11.6%

In line with our plan, UK space reduced by 6.0% year-on-year as a further five loss making stores closed during the quarter

The UK market remains very promotional, particularly in Home and Travel, and we have continued to focus on cash margin

FIL Limited (the parent holding company for various direct and indirect subsidiaries) has increased its shareholding in Mothercare plc.

Interims tomorrow.

Half-yearly Report

Highlights for H1 FY2013/14
Financial highlights

Group returns to half year profit with underlying profit before tax of £2.0 million

Worldwide network sales2 up 4.4%1 to £637.7 million; total International sales up 13.0%1 and total UK sales down 7.5%

International like-for-like sales up 4.8%1; UK like-for-like sales (1.4%), on an improving trend from (3.4%) last year

Underlying International profits up 13.5% to £25.2 million and underlying UK losses reduced by £2.0 million to £14.9 million

Net debt of £48.0 million with banking facilities refinanced

Operating highlights

International space up 11.9%1 with 1,156 stores in 59 countries

Reshaping of UK business continued with the closure of an additional 18 loss making stores and refits in some key stores

Growth in total Direct sales, with click-and-collect now in all stores in advance of peak trading

Award winning mobile app; mobile visits now represent 33% of all website traffic

Further product innovation with 30% newness in our toy range for Christmas

Run down over hear and build up over there, that's the way to do it.

Stan - as mentioned before, that seems to be their adopted MO.

Eyes down..

Yes Skinny, been doing that for some years now.

Numis Add 412.88 414.25 450.00 475.00 Reiterates

N+1 Singer Buy 412.88 414.25 450.00 450.00 Reiterates

Down over 3% so far.

Trading Statement 16 Jan 14.

Trying 420 again.

Looking for 440p.

INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Overview for 12 weeks to 4 January 2014

Worldwide network sales were down 4.4% with Group reported sales down 6.1%
International has been negatively impacted by currency deflation and weaker than expected economic conditions in some of our key markets, resulting in lower royalty revenues
In the UK, the highly promotional nature of the Christmas period and lower seasonal footfall have impacted both sales and margin, but stock remains closely managed
We remain cautious about the outlook for consumer expenditure and currency deflation for the rest of the year and therefore full year profit expectations are now below the current range of market forecasts.

more...

ouch for skinny ..... hope not too much damage

Yes - not a good start to the day!

and impossible to duck too .... now you have the prob as to whether to bale out or grit your teeth

Ouch....

It's amazing how different the management statement this time is from the one in July when everything was coming up roses. All doom and despondency and no wonder the shares have fallen 30%.
I remember Shares Mag has this as a buy at the start of last year and I was annoyed with myself that I missed the boat when the shares rose from the 270's to over 300.
Now if I wanted to I could buy back in but at the moment I'll keep my powder dry and see what happens here.
Hope you're not too deep into this skinny!
TT