I know it's not the sexiest of sectors, but do any of the technical chartists here think this represents a testing of a significant resistance?
The MDAs seem to offer support. It looks to me like if it could break that line, then a potential line of resistance at about 336 there will be serious upside to follow.
Can this go places?

Red:25 DMA
Green:50 DMA

St Ives owns a lot of land, so the print-profit is really only a side-line - - - that is if you believe anything.
Today they win a Royal Mail print contract (worth 40m/yr) and the sp goes down 3% - - - perhaps punters expected a bigger order
. . . I think the business is in need of a re-rating, but I understand the property hasn't been revalued for yonks. ( that a technical term, folks).

They no longer print Harry Potter ( no new titles being written) . . .but I suspect there may be "just one more" - or a "Complete Works" etc. . . who knows? The film industry need the marque to continue and why would JKR not want to be in the limelight? A book is the means by which the film studios judge the potential box-office frenzy, is my guess.
I suspect the loss of HP has forced management to get their house in order and that's why they moved into Display-print, about a year ago when I bought ( about current levels).
However, it is IMHO a property-play.....I hope!

Er, this EPIC ( under "Quote") returns "Not a valid EPIC!"- what?
- It's OK now - rather Odd!

I understand there is another Harry Potter Film - to be split into two - this could boost [SIV] print-sales . . . . what do others think?

EDIT BigTed - There is the AGM, in London, later in the year - - - -

EDIT-(17NOV08)-Seems Director bought just 16k-worth at 82p...ho-hum. That's far too little esp. at these bargain prices - unless they know different.... Arrgh!

Misread the header, was just getting my coat to come and meet you for a pint at St.Ives...

Print and publishing services firm St Ives , which is also due to release full-year results on Tuesday, looks interesting -- if for no other reason than that current forecasts are suggesting a dividend yield of 7%, rising to 8% for next year, and expecting it to be around three times covered by earnings. And at the current price of 79.5p, those forecasts suggest a year-end P/E of just 5, which seems very low. I don't know what the catch might be, but I intend to do a bit of digging.

Net debt at the interim stage was only £9.6m, which isn't much for a £94m company, so I'll be paying close attention to those results when we see them -- according to last month's trading statement, they should be in line with expectations

St Ives shines as it continues move away from print
Tue 02 Oct 2012

SIV - St Ives

Latest Prices
Name Price %
St Ives 84.75p +6.27%

FTSE All-Share 3,046 +0.26%
FTSE Small Cap 3,241 +0.27%
Support Services 5,185 +0.60%

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Shares of marketing and print firm St Ives took off in early trading after it said that although extremely difficult trading conditions continue, it remains confident in future trading and hiked its dividend payment.

The group, which acquired three new marketing services as part of its move away from print, said underlying revenue rose 10.3% to £327.4m for the 52 weeks ended July 27th 2012. Underlying pre-tax profit for the period climbed 15.9% to £24.2m.

A total dividend of 5.75p per share has been offered, up 9.5% from last time.

"Our market positions are strong, we continue to improve operational efficiencies, our financial position is robust and we have recently renewed our banking facilities. We are proposing an increased dividend and remain confident that further progress can be made," the group said in a statement.

The firm reported net debt of £13.4m versus net cash £16.3m the previous year following the acquisitions.

Chief Executive Patrick Martell added: "We have made continued progress in our transformational plan to build a substantial and broadly-based marketing services offering whilst moving away from commoditised print, and this has resulted in a significantly improved financial performance."

Martell said the three new marketing services acquisitions: Response One, Pragma and Incite have been successfully integrated and are performing well.

"Trading conditions remain difficult, but we are in a strong financial position and will continue to invest to realise growth opportunities, to improve operational efficiencies, and to develop the business for the long-term," the group said.

Full-year results from printer and publishing services firm St Ives , which I took a quick look at last week, were good -- and the shares piled up 4.7% to 83.5p. As forecast, the full-year dividend was upped by 9.5% to 5.75p per share, which is a massive 7% payout.

Earnings per share did fall, by 12% to 11.64p, but the dividend is still twice covered, and the company's net debt fell to £13.4m from £16.3m a year previously. Chief executive Patrick Martell told us the firm is successfully transforming itself to a "broadly-based marketing services" business and away from conventional print, and appears confident about further progress

Moving north, 11% today

Tipped in this weeks IC . Trading on a miserly five times forecast earnings and offering an attractive yield, the new look St Ives seems to have slipped under the radar.

now you tell us!!! lol .,.

29th Sept my 1st post. Got to be quick Bb. lol

Fair play dc.,.

Worth reading.

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/56333/stock-watch-st-ives

Good read, thanks lg.

The Naked Trader's opinion is nice to hear especially for us long term holders :-)

'St Ives seems to be transforming itself from a dull old fashioned printer into a new whizzy high tech one. And doing it fast. It's been buying up other companies to help its transition and it's got some decent contracts with the likes of Sainsburys and HSBC.

Its new strategy is paying off and the shares look very cheap to me even though they have already gone up quite a bit and I missed some of the boat I actually think they are worth 150-200 rather than a quid.

So the plan is to tuck them away for longer-term growth - and I bought some in two lots, at 93.5 and 97.25.

My target is to hopefully get at least 50% out of them in time, and maybe even a double over say a year.'

Interesting read from ample...

Stock to Watch: St Ives
By Edmond Jackson | Fri, 05/10/2012 - 00:00

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

FTSE SmallCap-listed marketing services and print group St Ives (SIV) has declared impressive headline results for its financial year to 27 July, the second half helped by acquisitions and the Olympics.

Approaching 90p a share, up from 80p just before the results and a spring-summertime low around 68p, SIV sports a prospective yield of about 7% covered over 2.5 times by recent and forecast earnings, and the price-earnings multiple (P/E) is only about five times. In short, the kind of share that looks primed to re-rate.

Indeed if management can deliver on the strategy to get its recently acquired marketing services firms feeding business into the print side, and the UK (to which St Ives is wholly exposed) does not experience further serious recession, then risk is on the upside. Bear in mind that marketing services can be cut quickly if the economy turns down - one reason why, in these difficult recent years since 2008, the stockmarket de-rated SIV from an average historic price-earnings multiple of 11 times to nearer six times.

Normalised pre-tax profit plunged from £28.7 million to £7.3 million over the years ending July 2008 and 2009 although there were risks with a mainly "commoditised print" operation. Not many analysts cover St Ives but one forecast looks for peak profitability of £29 million in the 2013/14 year, implying a P/E of about five times.

It is necessary to look beyond the headlines, as acquisitions and the Olympics have boosted the group's latest second half and possibly saved the dividend - or at least a prudent payout. First-half results were already acquisitions-assisted while print revenues "declined slightly, reflecting the increasingly competitive landscape and reduced demand for traditional print services..." At this point, marketing services generated about 20% of underlying operating profit but they still helped underlying pre-tax profit rise 8.7% to £11.1 million on underlying revenue up 11.7% to £166.4 million.

From note 10 to the prelims' cash-flow statement it would appear that a culture of late payment currently in publishing and advertising has pushed up trade receivables such that overall cash generated from operations more than halved to £10.8 million. That is still sufficient considering note five in the results implies the cost of the (rising) payout policy is about £6 million a year, but it's not ideal in support of a progressive dividend policy.

The marketing services' acquisitions have been made with £25.5 million of new, longer-term debt. To reinforce my point, if you were running a private business then you would cut the dividend and/or make modest investments, rather than bump up debt in a recessionary environment. Perhaps St Ives would argue that a recession offers better-priced targets it is worth buying as a well-financed operation, although as a public company it is also true that it must bolster its earnings profile. The acquisitions must obviously beat their cost of capital at the very least.

For the full year the main print side is in slight decline, with underlying operating profit of £20.4 million on £280.3 million revenue. Performance has varied in this division with the Olympics helping the exhibitions and events business, while direct response and books have slipped. Point of sale, nearly a third of this division's revenue, gained market share to post a slight improvement.

Considering the weak UK economy, the slight fall in overall performance seems respectable if likely - without sexier acquisitions - to mean a low single figure P/E drags on.

The marketing services side saw acquisitions boost operating profit from £500,000 to £4.0 million, on revenue up from £14.1 million to £47.1 million. This explains the headline 15.9% rise in group operating profit to £24.2 million, and full-year accounting for the acquisitions reaffirms a 20% contribution. A year ago, management stated its objective for 30% to 40% of group operating profit to be derived from marketing services, on a three-year view, and sticks by this - which possibly implies a further acquisition or two. Last May the group concluded a new £55 million credit facility and net debt was £13.4 million at end-July - hence the balance sheet might support more debt and/or some of the cash flow be applied for ongoing investment.

Management says expenditure is now substantially reduced after major rationalisation across its print businesses, with future investment on "capability in marketing services". Consequently, and despite extremely difficult trading conditions, it is proposing an increased dividend "and remains confident that further progress can be made". This sounds promising if synergy can be exacted from marketing services and print to drive up profit and cash flow. Management say they are very pleased with the performance of the acquired businesses, to date, and cross-collaboration has resulted in some long-term blue-chip contracts.

So it is an interesting risk/reward profile. The print side has shown it can withstand tough trading, while management says the rise in consumer power is driving a fundamental change in the role of marketing, and St Ives is now ideally positioned. You could say the market's pricing the shares to exact a 7% yield discounts the risks with little to no recognition of the potential.

The balance sheet is goodwill/intangibles heavy, as you can expect from a largely "people business", comprising over 80% of net assets, although key aspects of the balance sheet do not pose strain. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities is over 1.2 times, with trade receivables up 37.5%, hopefully they will end up paying what is due to St Ives despite the recession. The only debt is via the long-term facility established this year. Within £146.8 million net assets there is a £20 million pension fund deficit.

In conclusion, SIV is suffering like many smaller marketing services shares do, in a recession, if mainly due to its legacy exposure to print. It is up to management now, to prove it has adeptly repositioned the group to a strong area of marketing and make this model hum

Latest Broker Stances.....

On a forward P/E of just over
6 to 2013.

It could double from here and still
look cheap.

St Ives PLC

FORECASTS 2013 2014
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Singer Capital Markets Ltd [R]
02-10-12 BUY 27.80 16.40 6.30 29.10 17.30 6.50
Numis Securities Ltd
02-10-12 BUY 26.50 16.60 29.00 17.50

2013 2014
Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Consensus 26.89 16.54 6.30 29.03 17.44 6.50
1 Month Change -0.49 0.08 0.00 -0.97 -0.46 0.00
3 Month Change -0.57 0.09 0.00 -0.61 -0.25 0.00


GROWTH
2012 (A) 2013 (E) 2014 (E)

Norm. EPS 2.55% 3.28% 5.44%
DPS 50.00% 20.00% 3.18%

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2012 (A) 2013 (E) 2014 (E)

EBITDA £m £35.42m £38.61m
EBIT £m £28.40m £29.40m
Dividend Yield 5.22% 6.27% 6.47%
Dividend Cover 3.05x 2.63x 2.68x
PER 6.28x 6.08x 5.76x
PEG 2.46f 1.85f 1.06f
Net Asset Value PS p 84.20p 80.90p

Hemscott Premium.

SIV St Ives

Broker Target Prices.....

Date Company Name Broker Rec. Price Old target price New target price Notes

08 Oct St Ives PLC N+1 Singer Buy 104.63 - 129.00 Retains
02 Oct St Ives PLC Numis Buy 104.63 132.00 132.00 Retains

(NORWICH & PETERBOROUGH BUILDING SOCIETY )


Seem a little stingy at present
and expect these to be raised
as the company grows going forward.

Historical broker snippet.

Broker Notes

Singer Capital reiterated its "buy" rating for St. Ives (SIV) with an increased target price of 129p, from 126p. The printing company has made rapid development in the marketing sector,and the broker expects it to account for 32% of EBIT by 2013, from just 2.1% in 2011. Additionally, Singer noted that the book printing business is outperforming the market, while the remaining divisions have been reorganised and should be profitable from now on. The broker pointed to a low earnings ratio for the year ending July 2012 of just 5.7 times and a dividend of 6.6%. Shares in St. Ives lost 0.75p to 81.25p.

http://uk-analyst.com/shop/page-advice/action-advertorial.show/id-130016927

St Ives SIV

KEY FIGURES

Market Cap. £127.02m EPS Growth (pr) 5.46%
Shares in issue 119.83m DY (pr) 6.13%
PER (pr) 6.09x ROCE/ROIC 27.56%
PEG (pr) 1.12f Net Gearing -12.0%

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Sector Professional and Support Services
Activities Provides marketing, print and display services
EPIC SIV
Index FTSE Small Cap, FTSE All Share
Listed LSE - Full

OUTLOOK

(2/10/2012) PLM: ce - "Trading conditions remain difficult, but we are in a strong financial position and will continue to invest to realise growth opportunities, to improve operational efficiencies, and to develop the business for the long term benefit of our shareholders"

LATEST RESULTS - Prelim
29/7/2011 27/7/2012

Turnover £297.24m £329.46m
Pre-tax Profit £16.9m £14.91m
EPS (Norm Dil.) 14.46p 16.02p
Dividend 3.5p 5.25p
Notes Figures from 2005 in accordance with IFRS


INVESTMENT RATIOS

Co. FTSE Sector Market
PER (pr) 6.09x 14.29x 12.16x
Dividend Yield (pr) 6.13% 2.94% 4.20%
PEG (pr) 1.12f 1.04f 2.46f
ROCE 27.56% -28.40% 12.66%
Operating Margin 6.88% 10.67% 10.25%
EPS Growth (pr) 5.46% 15.00% 16.70%
EV/EBITDA 2.61x 12.51x 13.94x
Net Gearing n/a% 69.08% 25.53%
Net Tangible Asset Value PS p 0.07p 1.98p
Price to Tangible Book Value (PTBV) x -1.69x -0.25x
Price to Cashflow (PCF) x 15.01x 10.76x
Price to Sales Ratio (PSR) x 1.78x 2.43x