Marchpole is one of those stocks which have had a really bad time. Boardroom battles, losses, price collapse, profit warnings up the ying yang.

Now all of those things seem to be sorted out, new management are getting to grips, new contracts and the price is on the up. So much so that Monday ought to see a 50/200 day MA golden cross.

DYOR of course, but I think I will be putting a few of these away at the open.

Socco

Marchpole Holdings PLC
09 November 2004


9 November 2004

Marchpole Holdings plc

'Marchpole shows strong growth'



Marchpole Holdings plc, which designs, produces and sells high quality clothing
and accessories for six world class brands (Yves Saint Laurent, Boateng,
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac ('JCC') and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac / Rossignol,
Emanuel Ungaro and Ungaro) announces its results for the six months ended 2
October 2004.



Highlights


Turnover up 97% to 15.7m (2003: 8.0m)


Operating profit up 194% to 2.6m (2003: 0.9m)


Profit before tax up 216% to 2.5m (2003: 0.8m)


EPS up 180% to 1.4p (2003: 0.5p)


Interim dividend of 0.25 pence (2003: nil) declared to be paid to
shareholders on the register at 31 December 2004


YSL and Boateng combined Spring Summer 2005 order books up 11% to
11.0m (9.9m at same time last year)


JCC Spring Summer 2005 sales order book of 2.5m


25m JCC seven year distribution agreement signed with Korean partner,
Daikyung, until 2012


Worldwide (excluding USA) licence agreement signed with Emanuel Ungaro
strengthens the portfolio and brings two well-defined collections per season
under the Emanuel Ungaro label and the Ungaro label





Commenting Greg Tufnell, Chief Executive, said:



'This strong set of half year results; the successful launch and integration of
Jean Charles de Castelbajac and the opening of the flagship store in Paris and
our new new licence agreement with Emanuel Ungaro show that Marchpole is
succeeding in its strategy of developing our current brands while extending our
portfolio through acquisitions and licensing agreements. We are very pleased
with Marchpole's performance and expect this continuing success to be reflected
in the full year results.'




For further information please contact:


Marchpole: 020 7908 7777
Greg Tufnell, CEO
Justin Hampshire, Finance Director

Shore Capital: 020 74084090
Alex Borrelli / Simon Edwards

Buchanan: 020 7466 5000
Tim Thompson / Nicola Cronk





Chairman's Statement



I am delighted to report another strong set of results for Marchpole Holdings
plc for the first half of the year. The results demonstrate the group's
continued progress with its dual strategy of growing its existing brands and
developing new opportunities and licences.



Results



The group has produced a profit before tax for the half year of 2,539,000, an
increase of 216% on the previous year (2003: 804,000). This performance was
ahead of our expectations and has been driven by strong sales of 15,668,000
(2003: 7,963,000). Earnings per share in the period were 1.4 pence per share;
an increase of 180% on the prior year (2003: 0.5 pence per share).



Overall sales for the group are up by 97%. YSL has increased like for like
sales by 61% and continues to benefit from improvements to the product, sourcing
and logistics management over the past year. The development of the Boateng
brand is progressing successfully; sales have increased by 101% compared to the
first season sales during the previous half year.



We are pleased with the performance of the Jean Charles de Castelbajac brand and
the speed with which it has been successfully integrated with the rest of the
group. Castelbajac sales and royalty income of over 2.7m have met our
expectation of first season's trading and we anticipate continued future growth
in sales and royalty income.



Following the acquisition of JCC and our new Ungaro licence, we believe the
group's cost structure is now able to support considerable increases in sales
without significant further investment in fixed costs. This provides us with a
strong platform to support our brands and gives the potential for margin
improvements as sales grow.



Outlook



The Autumn Winter 2004 order book currently stands at over 16.6 million of
which 86% has already been delivered to customers to date. Excluding JCC there
is a like for like improvement in the Autumn Winter 2004 order books of 28% for
the YSL and Boateng brands compared to this time last year. The combined Spring
Summer 2005 order books are currently over 13.5 million. This represents a
like for like growth of 11% over the forward orders at the same time last year
for combined YSL and Boateng.



In September we signed an eight year worldwide (excluding America) menswear
licence agreement with Emanuel Ungaro. Under the agreement Marchpole will
produce two collections per season; formal wear under the Emanuel Ungaro label
and a more casual collection under the Ungaro label. We were delighted to
welcome Jose Levy, the well known fashion designer, to the company in September
as the Head of Design for Emanuel Ungaro. The Autumn Winter 2005 collection is
currently being finalised, and will be launched to customers in January 2005.
We have already met with a number of key accounts to introduce them to the new
brand and collection and have received a very favourable response.



With these results, including the first season of JCC, and the new licence with
Emanuel Ungaro the group is fulfilling its strategy of developing new brands and
expanding the business; a strategy which it intends to continue. The board is
also currently in discussion with third parties to advance new opportunities
both in terms of licensing and brand acquisitions.



Dividend

The final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2004 was approved at our AGM on 8
September 2004 and was subsequently paid to shareholders. I am also pleased to
announce that the Board have agreed to pay an interim dividend of 0.25 pence per
share to shareholders on the register on 31 December 2004 payable in January
2005.



Prospects



We are very pleased with the progress of the group and are confident that the
strength of this first half performance together with our current order books
will result in a good performance for the year as a whole.



On behalf of the Board and shareholders I would like to thank the staff of
Marchpole, our suppliers and customers for their continued support.



Christopher Phillips
Chairman



Group profit and loss account
For the 6 months ended 02 October 2004



6 months to 2 6 months to 26 Year ended 31
October 2004 September 2003 March 2004
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)

Notes '000 '000 '000
Turnover 2 15,668 7,963 19,986
Cost of sales (7,767) (4,606) (10,968)
Gross profit 7,901 3,357 9,018
Distribution costs (1,728) (806) (2,124)
Administrative expenses (3,528) (1,652) (4,112)
Operating profit 2,645 899 2,782
Net interest payable (106) (95) (127)
Profit on ordinary activities 2 2,539 804 2,655
before taxation
Taxation on profit on ordinary 3 (691) (160) (925)
activities
Profit on ordinary activities after 1,848 644 1,730
taxation
Dividends proposed (331) - (331)
Retained earnings 1,517 644 1,399
Earnings per share basic and 5 1.4p 0.5p 1.4p
diluted




Group balance sheet
At 02 October 2004
As at As at As at
02-Oct-04 26-Sep-03 31-Mar-04
'000 '000 '000
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Fixed assets
Intangible assets 3,548 - 3,625
Tangible assets 482 94 423
4,030 94 4,048
Current assets
Stock 2,194 1,465 1,986
Debtors 8,707 4,210 4,740
Cash at bank and in hand 183 614 2,102
11,084 6,289 8,828
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (8,703) (3,710) (7,680)
Net current assets 2,381 2,579 1,148
Total assets less current liabilities 6,411 2,673 5,196
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (333) (92) (588)
Net assets 6,078 2,581 4,608


Capital and reserves
Share capital 1,325 23,901 1,325
Share premium 2,666 15,626 2,666
Merger reserve (1,818) (38,584) (1,818)
Profit and loss account 3,905 1,638 2,435
Total shareholders' funds - equity interests 6,078 2,581 4,608





Group statement of cash flows
For the 6 months ended 02 October 2004


6 months to 6 months to Year to
2 October 2004 26 September 2003 31 March 2004
Notes '000 '000 '000
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)

Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating 6 (1,793) 775 2,979
activities

Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received 3 - 7
Interest and facility fees paid (127) (95) (133)
Interest element of hire purchase and finance
lease rental (8) - (1)
(132) (95) (127)
Taxation (786) - (11)
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets (109) - (156)
(109) - (156)
Acquisitions
Costs of acquisitions - - (375)
Net cash acquired with subsidiary - - 52
- - (323)
Dividend (331) - -

Cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (3,151) 680 2,362
Financing
Capital element of hire purchase and finance
lease rentals (13) (33) (15)
New loans 1,031 - 93
Repayment of loans (641) (154) (459)
377 (187) (381)
(Decrease)/increase in cash in the period 7 (2,774) 493 1,981




Notes to the interim statement
At 02 October 2004



1. Basis of preparation

The interim statement has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies
set out in the Group's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2004



The financial information presented in this interim statement does not
constitute full financial information within the meaning of Section 240 of the
Companies Act 1985. The Group profit and loss account for the year ended 31
March 2004 and the Group balance sheet at that date have been extracted from the
statutory accounts for the period, which received an unqualified audit report,
and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.



2. Turnover and profit on ordinary activities before taxation

Turnover and profit on ordinary activities before taxation are wholly
attributable to the Group's principal activity.



3. Taxation

A provision for corporation tax has been made using the rate of 30% on profit
before taxation. The taxation for the period to 02 October 2004 also reflects
any under or over provisions for prior periods.



4. Interim dividend

An interim dividend of 0.25 pence per share has been declared in respect of the
period ended 2 October 2004 to shareholders on the register on 31 December 2004.
(No dividend was paid in the period ended 26 September 2003).



5. Earnings per share

Earnings per share for the period has been calculated based on the profit
attributable to shareholders of 1,848,000 (2003 - 644,000) and the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue throughout the period of 132,454,569
(2003 - 120,454,569).



6. Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities


6 months to 6 months to Year to
02-Oct-04 26-Sep-03 31-Mar-04
'000 '000 '000
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Cash inflow from operating activities
Operating profit 2,645 899 2,782
Depreciation 85 36 99
Amortisation 88 - 29
Foreign exchange movement (60) - (5)
Increase in stocks (208) (341) (845)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (3,967) 89 (44)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (376) 92 963
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating
activities (1,793) 775 2,979






7. Reconciliation of net funds/(debt)
6 months to 6 months to Year to
02-Oct-04 26-Sep-03 31-Mar-04
'000 '000 '000
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)


Net funds/(debt) at beginning of the period 980 (554) (554)
(Decrease)/increase in cash (2,774) 493 1,981
Loans acquired with subsidiary - - (845)
Capital element of hire purchase and finance 13 - 15
lease rentals
Currency translation - - 17
New short term loans (1,031) (33) (93)
Loan repayments 641 154 459
Net (debt)/funds at end of the period (2,171) 60 980

Cash at bank and in hand 183 614 2,102
Bank overdraft (854) - -
Hire purchase and finance leases (34) - (78)
Loans (1,466) (554) (1,044)
(2,171) 60 980





Copies of the interim statement will be mailed to the shareholders during the
week commencing 8 November 2004, and can be obtained from the Company's
registered office, 19-20 Berners Street, London W1T 3LW.








This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Looks good to me!

Cracking results! EPS up 180% to 1.4p and they will be paying another divi of 0.25p. Looks good to me as well!

Fabulous.Simply mouth watering.What a company.Buy and hold.40p here we come.

Couldn't agree more.

LONDON (AFX) - Marchpole Holdings PLC, which designs, produces and sells
clothing and accessories for six world class brands including Yves Saint
Laurent, Boateng and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, said its continuing success
will be reflected in results for the full year.
The comments came alongside strong figures for the six months ended Oct 2
2004 which showed profit before tax up 216 pct to 2.5 mln stg from 0.8 mln on
turnover up 97 pct to 15.7 mln stg from 8.0 mln.
Operating profit was up 194 pct to 2.6 mln stg.
The board also declared an interim dividend of 0.25 pence, compared with nil
a year earlier.
newsdesk@afxnews.com
slm/

Well, we knew they would be good and an interim dividend to boot.

1.4p eps should equate to at least 3.5p eps for the full year. With the growth being shown a P/E of say 17 is hardly demanding which equates to a conservative share price of about 60p.

In my opinion these are about 40% undervalued at the moment.

capa

Capa,

Agree with what you say. I take it that no one is selling then! I wonder if we will see more director buying over the next few days? The divi payment was a nice surprise, wasn't really expecting that.

LONDON (AFX) - Marchpole Holdings PLC, which designs, produces and sells
clothing and accessories for six world class brands including Yves Saint
Laurent, Boateng and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, said its continuing success
will be reflected in results for the full year.
The comments came alongside strong figures for the six months ended Oct 2
2004 which showed profit before tax up 216 pct to 2.5 mln stg from 0.8 mln on
turnover up 97 pct to 15.7 mln stg from 8.0 mln.
Operating profit was up 194 pct to 2.6 mln stg.
The board also declared an interim dividend of 0.25 pence, compared with nil
a year earlier.
YSL and Boateng combined Spring Summer 2005 order books are up 11 pct to 11.0
mln stg from 9.9 mln at same time last year. The JCC Spring Summer 2005 sales
order book is at 2.5 mln stg.
Chief executive Greg Tufnell said the strong set of half year results; the
successful launch and integration of Jean Charles de Castelbajac and the opening
of the flagship store in Paris and the new licence agreement with Emanuel Ungaro
show that Marchpole is succeeding in its strategy of developing current brands
while extending the portfolio through acquisitions and licensing agreements.
The group's overall Autumn Winter 2004 order book currently stands at over
16.6 mln stg of which 86 pct has already been delivered to customers to date.
Excluding JCC there is a like for like improvement in the Autumn Winter 2004
order books of 28 pct for the YSL and Boateng brands compared to this time last
year.
With these results, including the first season of JCC, and the new licence
with Emanuel Ungaro in September the group is fulfilling its strategy of
developing new brands and expanding the business -- a strategy which it intends
to continue. The board said it is also currently in discussion with third
parties to advance new opportunities both in terms of licensing and brand
acquisitions.
newsdesk@afxnews.com
slm/

Gav - selling ? nah !

Lovely sleep easy stock to have as a backbone to my portfolio, hold and occasionally add on any short term dips from now on is my plan.

regards

capa

Capa, you took the words right out of my mouth! Sell, don't think so! Shows that buying the dips on the way up has been good for us.

This part form the last AFX release:

"The board said it is also currently in discussion with third
parties to advance new opportunities both in terms of licensing and brand
acquisitions."

I would assume this to be the Feraud deal? Unless they have something else up their sleeves.All bodes well for us!

Gav

Looking at this again, it appears that the 1.4p was achieved without any help from JCC. Indeed JCC may have had a slight negative effect, with the winter season ahead this is when JCC will come into its own and contribute towards the second half, in which case my initial thoughts of 3.5p for the year could be hopelessly conservative.

capa

caught by surprise there. Bagged a few.

unbelievable.

capa

beautiful tree shake if anyone witnessed that?

I did. A classic.

P

Missed the latest action today. Well done to those who managed to top up on that dip. Found this on the Scotsman.com:

11:02am (UK)
Marchpole Hails Designer Deal

By Phil Waller, PA City Staff


Fashion group Marchpole Holdings today hailed a new deal to make clothing for prestigious menswear label Emanuel Ungaro as it posted a 216% rise in half year pre-tax profits to 2.5 million.

London-based Marchpole said it would produce two collections per season for French fashion house Ungaro under the eight year deal, which it signed in September.

The group said the deal was among a number of business initiatives it had taken that had made its cost structure able to support considerable increases in sales without significant further investment in fixed costs.

It said strong sales of about 15.7 million, up 97% on the same period last year, had driven the ahead-of-expectations pre-tax profits. Operating profits were up 194% to 2.6 million.

Marchpole designs, makes and sells clothing and accessories for six world class brands including Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Boateng, Jean-Charles de Castalbajac (JCC), JC de Castalbajac/Rossignol, Emanuel Ungaro and Ungaro.

It said YSL and Boateng combined spring/summer 2005 order books were up 11% to 11 million on the first half the previous year, while the JCC spring/summer sales order book had hit 2.5 million.

The group also said JCC had concluded a 25 million euros (17.4m) seven year distribution agreement with Korean partner Daikyung.

It added that the groups autumn/winter order book currently stood at more than 16.6 million, of which 86% had already been delivered to customers to date.

Chief executive Greg Tufnell said Marchpole was succeeding in its strategy of developing its current brands while extending the portfolio through acquisitions and licensing agreements.

We are very pleased with Marchpoles performance and expect this continuing success to be reflected in the full year results, he said.

The group announced that it would pay an interim dividend of 0.25p per share to investors in January.

Broker Shore Capital described the results as excellent and said it was upgrading its full year pre-tax profit forecast for 2005 by about 200,000 to 4.5 million.

And yet the price didn't budge today apart from a short sharp burst upwards at the start of trading. Was all this good news in the price already?
The possible takeover of that Italian fashion house (name escapes me - senior moment - please excuse) could mean that a placing is in the offing. This would certainly subdue the share price.
Let's hope that good press and the tip sheeets will see it fly again in the days ahead. We need to see it break through resistance at 36p before it can truly start to motor and challenge the 40p level.

Thanks for that GAV, quite some write up.

Don't think it will too long before the word gets round that these are cheap.

capa

You're welcome Capa. Would be expecting some updates in the magazines very soon. You know how fast these move on a tip somewhere! Been having a bit of a think about whether there may be some more director buying, always nice to see them put their money where their mouth is, but they do have shed loads of these as it is. But if there's no more buying, then maybe we can read that as they are lining up the Feraud brand as reported previously. I'm not sure if they could buy knowing full well of a possible acquisition, perhaps not.

Pond Life, as to whether the good news is in the price already, then I don't think so. The possible acquisition of Feraud or indeed any other brand could be paid for with the outstanding shares, 42m I think of the top of my head. In the short term, it may subdue the sp as you point out, but looking at the bigger picture, what would an acquistition bring to Marchpole. Quite a lot IMO, especially if they can get it cheap enough.

Another article on Citywire:

Marchpole dressed for success, says Shore
Published: 14:30 Tue 9 Nov 2004
By Dylan Lobo, Market Reporter
Email to a friend | Printable Version


Mens fashion group Marchpole Holdings has more than doubled first-half profits, leading housebroker Shore Capital to raise its forecasts.

Pre-tax profit at Marchpole (MPH) came in at 2.5 million versus 0.8 million a year ago, with turnover up 97% to 15.7 million.


The company, which designs and sells clothing and accessories for six of the biggest names in fashion, including Yves Saint Laurent, Boateng and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (JCC), also declared an interim dividend of 0.25p, compared with nil a year earlier.


The group's autumn-winter order book stands at 16.6 million, of which 86% has already been delivered to customers.


Marchpole shares gained 1.25p to 34.5p.


Chief executive Greg Tufnell said the results highlighted the group's success at developing our current brands while extending our portfolio through acquisitions and licensing agreements.


Tufnell said he expected continuing success to be reflected in the full year results, with the board adding that the company is currently in discussion with third parties to advance new opportunities both in terms of licensing and brand acquisitions.


John Stevenson, retail analyst at Shore Capital, said the results were ahead of his forecasts and raised his profit forecast for 2005 by 0.2 million to 4.5 million.


Shore predicted compound earnings per share in excess of 32% in the next three years, with return on capital employed rising from 36.3% to 70% over the same period.

Stevenson, applauded the successful integration of JCC into the business, which was further strengthened last week through the distribution and marketing deal struck in Korea for the JCC brand.


Shore is also looking forward to next years debut of the Ungaro collections designed by top designer Jacob Levy, for which Marchpole owns a worldwide licence.

Shore Capital aren't exactly chancing their arm, are they? We got 2.5m in this half year according to post 263.......

MPH easily beat forcast way ahead of expections eyes blindfolded and hands tied behing back.Buy,imho.dyor.

L2 only 1 mm logged on - EVO

KBC decided to muscle in...