Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Trading in the shares of Aussie poltroons, the law firm Slater & Gordon (SGH) has been suspended on the ASX ahead of interim results on Monday with the imbeciles flagging that there will be a material write-down of its British assets, notably the fraudulent businesses bought from Quindell (QPP). Oh dear...this is not going to end well for S&G is it?
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Comments
mammyoko
hubris
Drunken Sailor
Do you think this could means they won’t be releasing results and clearing up all the accounting issues on 29th Feb? Why suspend ahead of it when they have already said they were going to be shit and the only real question was just how shit. Normally when an ASX company has something to announce they have a trading halt, more often than not the news following a halt is good. This is a suspension which generally means it is going to be a while before the shares come back, if indeed they do comeback. ASX does not have a 6 Month rule like AIM.
I was really looking forward to 29 Feb – we only get one of them every 4 years. I had been hoping MTV would go into administration on 29 Feb and they have gone early and I had been looking forward to SGH accounts too.
Is there now nothing to look forward to on that special extra day?
Kolo
DS,
Point d) of the announcement says the suspension continues until the earlier of a results announcement ‘and’ commencement of trading on Monday 29/2.
As ever with S&G of late, this appears slightly confusing.
They seem to be saying they haven’t finalised some material adjustments on one hand, but that trading may re-commence earlier than 29/2 if they can box these off. Seeing as they haven’t been able to finalise them in 2 months since the period end this seems unlikely.
Also, in their point d) of the announcement they don’t say the eariler of results ‘or’ 29/2. Maybe it’s me that’s shit with words and these legal wordsmiths are super smart, but I’m definitely not feeling that.
I’m taking Tom’s advise. A box of Castlemaine XXXX and a few shrimps on the George Formby grill on Sun Night/Mon morning will do for me.
I suspect we’re going to get a full announcement and some final hearty truths on 29/2. Surely, they’ve painted themselves into too much of a corner now to be able to pad this out any further.
Drunken Sailor
KOLO,
I do hope you are right, it would be such a shame not to have anything to celebrate on leap year’s day. I have owned ASX stocks and still have one – doing a bit better now but I am still underwater. Both have had halts and suspensions. Halts normally only last to the date given, where as suspensions on the ones I own(ed) always went on much longer. We will definitely get an announcement on Mon, but it might be just and extension of the suspension. However my limited experience of ASX stocks does not qualify me to explain Aussie grammar.
Defendant Lawer
An announcement to UK staff is expected on Friday I hear. No one ever likes a Friday announcement…
Tom Winnifrith
Dear Colleagues
Results on Monday will be truly shite, we will be flagging up that most of you are going to get fired. Have a good w/e
The Board
PS We imagine most of you have already dusted down your CVs. If you have not done so yet might we suggest that you set aside a few hours before the rugby?
diggdy
Tom
I note that the broker recommendations for this stock only show one “strong buy” and one “buy”
but there are 4 “holds” which we all know, by now, is broker speak for “sell”
one “sell” which i assume means “man the lifeboats”
and TWO “Strong Sells” … which I assume means “oh my God”
I am not sure which analysts you are seeing who are recommending buying
TW NOTE - those who said buy at $8 - ie more or less all2+2=4
Years since I have seen someone use the word “poltroon”! Was it a word Spike Milligan used?
Why were S & G so stupid?
Dom Coop
I think you are incorrect Tom, when you say senior management have destroyed a solid company. Delving into it, S+G was made up of aquisition after aquisition. The whole thing appears to be little more than a Ponzi scheme. Buy some crappy Aussie law firm. Announce that it was actually worth £300million AUS$. Add to balance sheet, absorb made up accruals and fairy-tale case load. Share price rises. Use shares to raise money or leverage debt to keep the show on the road.
Rinse, and repeat.
Quindell was a gamble too far. But in hindsight, you can see why they thought it was a good idea. Their strategy had worked so far and nobody batted an eyelid. As with Hitler, when Austria fell, then Czechoslovakia, then Norway, then Belgium, Holland, France it made sense to have a pop at the USSR too.
warun boofit
I dont like popcorn , a bacon and egg butty is more to my taste but unfortunately I have to work in the drive this evening lying on my back underneath a car trying to figure out why Vauxhall fit shit timing chains to their shitty cars instead of doing what sensible people do and use rubber belts which last twice as long, fuck the bastards. I think I know the answer , its so that Vauxhall main dealers can charge £1000 to replace them when a rubber belt costs £30, they may be not so daft after all but fuck them all the same.