John Charlton, Chairman, bought 5,000 shares in the company on the 10th April 2012 at a price of 53.00p.
Dr Elaine Bond, Non Executive Director, bought 5,000 shares in the company on the 10th April 2012 at a price of 51.50p.
Anthony Lawrinson, Financial Director, bought 35,000 shares in the company on the 3rd April 2012 at a price of 49.00p.

Due 10 Dec half year results. Reaping the benefits of restructuring and paying down debt, the 36m cap is expanding with retailers in a number of export markets and sports a fast growing US division which could power positive earnings surprises going forwards. Could trigger upgrades and further share price upside.

The US market is proving more promising. The company has also been investing in product innovation that should help boost sales. A reorganisation of itsmanufacturing has also recently been completed, which will help reduce costs. Priced at Just over seven times EPS, the shares look cheap compared to larger state-side rivals.

Christmas Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 7452W
International Greetings PLC
31 January 2013



31 January 2013





International Greetings PLC ("the Company" or "the Group")



Christmas Trading Update





International Greetings PLC, one of the world's leading designers, manufacturers, importers and distributors of gift packaging and greetings, stationery and creative place products announces an update for the third quarter, which covers the Christmas trading period to the end of December 2012.



Overall Christmas results were broadly in line with management expectations and the Group has achieved record levels of sales of gift packaging across all territories.

Our US business has achieved strong sales growth during the period, both domestically and in its expanding Canadian and South American markets. In Europe, we are pleased to see some positive trends coming through, supported by a successful first season of production using our new state of the art gift wrap manufacturing facilities in Holland. Our new Christmas cracker manufacturing facility in China has now completed its first season and we are encouraged at the level of orders secured for crackers from our customers throughout the world, including those with many of the UK's blue chip retailers.

As announced at the Interim Results, a major customer of Artwrap, our joint venture in Australia, went into voluntary administration. However, immediate and effective action was taken to minimise impact on the Group's earnings and we can confirm that there will be no further exceptional costs to the Group beyond the £0.75m provision made at the half year. Management expectations are that Artwrap will contribute less significantly to the headline profit of the Group in the near future.



The Board remains committed to its key twin financial objectives of driving growth in earnings per share and reducing debt which are expected to be in line with expectations.





Paul Fineman, Chief Executive said:

"The Christmas trading period included a number of notable successes in our wholly owned businesses in the US, UK and Continental Europe, which continue to enjoy significant business with the world's leading mass market retailers. We are also seeing encouraging new developments, including the addition of 750 US based customers purchasing our growing offering of high quality, innovative and premium end products.

"We remain confident that our strategy to create a balanced global business, whilst driving efficiencies and seeking out prudent investment opportunities across the Group, places us in a strong position for future growth."

- ENDS-

Preliminary Results

RNS


RNS Number : 4536I

International Greetings PLC

03 July 2013






3rd July 2013

International Greetings PLC



Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2013



International Greetings PLC ('International Greetings' or 'the Group'), one of the world's leading designers, innovators and manufacturers of gift packaging and greetings, stationery and creative play products, announces its audited Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2013.



Financial Highlights:


· Revenue from continued operations increased by 2% to £225.2 million


· Operating profit after exceptional items up 34% to £9.1 million (2012: £6.8 million)


· Profit after tax and exceptional items up £2.7 million to £4.1 million (2012: £1.4 million)


· Fully diluted earnings per share before exceptional items increased 16% to 7.8 pence (2012: 6.7 pence)


· Net debt up just £0.2 million to £42.1 million (2012: £41.9 million) despite the effect of exchange rates (£0.6 million) and the investment in working capital to fund new everyday contracts and low season manufacturing opportunities




Operational Highlights:


· Continued double digit growth in sales and profits in USA


· Completion of China factory relocation


· Gift packaging and greetings product sales exceed £150 million


· Major £6 million gift wrap capital investment project commenced in the UK


· Pressure on margins fully mitigated through effective cost control




Paul Fineman, CEO commented:



"We are pleased to report another year of progress in which our manufacturing businesses continued to produce record volumes of product and importantly we achieved our key objective of double digit earnings per share growth.



"It was a pivotal year in the Group's development as we commenced a compelling programme of investment in manufacturing in the USA and the UK having completed a major factory relocation in China and significant investments in Europe and Australia. We have secured increased funding on improved terms to facilitate this.



"Our new three year plan is on track to delivery double digit cumulative average growth in earnings per share, whilst remaining committed to debt reduction and leverage below two times debt/EBITDA. We have identified new opportunities for incremental growth and shall continue to deploy our resources and energy in accelerating and enhancing this process

:-))

up just under 11% today

Been in these for a couple of months now, accumulating slowly as funds permit. They should continue to pick up as we near interim results on 4th December. The trading statement makes it clear that there will be no nasty surprises. These have a long way to travel.

Moving up very nice.

On the roll now.

Very nice indeed. 80p first stop after results if all is as expected. 100p at some point next year.

:-))

Interim Results

RNS


RNS Number : 6124U

International Greetings PLC

04 December 2013






4th December 2013



International Greetings PLC ("the Company" or "the Group")

Interim Results



International Greetings PLC, one of the world's leading designers, innovators and manufacturers of gift packaging and greetings, stationery and creative play products, announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2013.



Financial highlights




· Sales in line with expectations at £113.6 million (2012 H1: £115.2million), reflecting the phasing of deliveries to customer requirements, resulting in H2 weighting


· Gross margin improved to 19.0% (2012 H1:18.4%)


· Operating profit before exceptional items up £0.1 million at £5.3 million (2012 H1: £5.2 million)


· Profit before tax and exceptional items up 7.9% to £3.5 million (2012 H1: £3.3 million)


· Profit before tax in line with expectations at £1.7 million (2012 H1: £2.5 million) after planned exceptional costs of £1.8 million in respect of our new investment in Wales completed to planned timescales, costs and service levels.(2012 H1: £0.75 million)


· Debt reduction programme remains on track with net debt level at £84.8 million (2012 H1: £84.6 million) including the capital investment in Wales




Operational highlights




· Manufacturing season in China successfully completed on time and fully to customer requirements




· Strong manufacturing efficiencies and volume gains achieved in Europe following investment last year




· Investment programme in Wales remains on track and on budget


· Completed renegotiation of US banking facilities with Sun Trust on improved terms, building on improvements achieved with HSBC in April 2013




· Granted Royal Warrant for Gift Wrap, in addition to established Royal Warrant for Christmas crackers


· Robust order book for the full year 2013/14, in line with expectations




Paul Fineman, Chief Executive said:



"The first half of the year has seen a number of positive operational developments across the Group and we are pleased to report that all regions traded profitably during the period, with notable improved performance in the UK and Europe and a strong order book in the USA.



"We are particularly pleased to note the record levels of gift wrap production and profitable sales growth in Europe following the investment in our new, high definition printing facilities, which underpinned this success. This bodes well for the recently commenced project to bring similar technology to our gift wrap plant in Wales. This exciting initiative is on track and on budget to be operational in the Spring of 2014.



"We are confident that the Group remains well placed to meet the needs of our customers, whilst continuing to provide excellent customer service and innovation. We have a strong order book and are on course to deliver targeted growth in underlying earnings per share, whilst continuing to remain focussed on reducing leverage."

Edison report today - Valuation: Still below reasonable value
The share price has recovered from the ‘disappointment’ at the announcement of
the additional investment programme in the summer and the related delay in the
return to the dividend list. However, it still stands at a substantial discount to all
relevant valuation metrics – comparison to (an admittedly shrunken) peer group,
DCF with conservative assumptions on top-line growth or underlying published
assets – which indicate an underlying value in the 84-88p range. As the market
becomes more confident that the level of debt will diminish, the substantial discount
should start to close more quickly.

IC today - And judging by the latest results, trading is heading in the right direction - the underlying pre-tax profit was up 8 per cent in the six months to September. Exceptional costs related to investment in manufacturing will dissipate next year as the benefits from these investments start to be come through. As such, management believes it can achieve double digit underlying annual EPS growth over the next three years. Yet the shares, which have doubled since the summer, still trade on just 7 times Edison's underlying EPS forecast of 9.1p for the current financial year dropping to just 6 times the underlying 10.3p the broker has pencilled in for the year to the end of March 2015. That's too low for a company with such good recovery prospects.

International Greetings PLC (IGR:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 69.00. Over this period, the share price is up 22.67%.

Thank you IC. What a dream tip when you are already fully loaded! Well worth the subscription! :-))

:-))

Another good day

Yes indeed. It must surely draw breath now after such a rise in two days. Lovely to be fully loaded and already in profit when this sort of thing happens.