dont rush buying olympia if you are short term buyer,a good buy though for long term investors,the highs of 21.if i were you i would go for akina access or equity if you got the dime. personal views.read and filter

wakam

Looking at the numbers was a huge anticlimax. There is a time I actually contemplated buying this counter because of the SA link,but if a company can triple its sales but only grow PAT by 10% and still be attractive to anybody apart from speculators,then I'm must be a stock-novice.

www.mjengakenya.blogspot.com

@ MainaT,I always give your comments a lot of weight but I wish to point out a few issues

Pls note that the results of companies that were acquired post year end are not included.

Having been acquired through debt financing,it is no wonder that the finance cost (already charged as the Company had the financing in place but the acquisitions were delayed due to regulatory issues ) are slightly mismatched with income from the new investments,hence a less than impressive PAT.

Most commentators on SK have agreed that OCH is a long time buy so I would undersand some one with a short term view opting not to buy now. Logically,once the acquistion spree stops,debt will go down as will the attendant expenses. The companys profits will rise.

If you want to meaningfully assess how well or poorly this company is doing,the cashflow statement should be the principal component of your study.


Citius altius fortius !

MainaT & sisinini... opposite views?

What of recent acquisitions?

Greedy when others are fearful,Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase WB

MainaT: Please collaborate with sisinini and post a blog on this. It will be appreciated. We need the full story from all angles not just the pessimist or the optimist.

At 40cts,the PE seemed very high to me (39) but the NAV is about 15/-. I do not know how much of that NAV is goodwill. The EPS is for 14 months so the effective PE is even higher though it is lower if you use 'weighted average shares'.

Also,the Rights were done in Sep 2007 (as sisinini mentions) per the website so they didn't use the funds for 8 months. The CEO mentions a substantial decrease is expected in financing costs after the Rights raised 420 million. I would say that would be from interest income & paydown of short-term loans.

S.Africa seems the major market for OCHL through OCC but own about 51% only thus the large 'minority interest' deduction. How big (turnover) and profitabale is Mather & Platt (Kenya)? They can't consolidate M&P unless they own 50%+1 share (like they did in Natwood).

Questions:
What happens after 2010?
How are PVC tiles selling in Kenya vs other flooring products?
How are they affected by currency fluctuations?
What happens to OCC & Plush in a xenophobic SA environment?

Greedy when others are fearful,Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase WB

It seems that this cup might not be played in SA if they fail to put their house in order. I wonder how the story below might affect this share:-


There is a Plan B for 2010 World Cup,admits Blatter
2 days ago

VIENNA (AFP) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter admits he has a Plan B organised should South Africa be unable to host the 2010 World Cup - but it will only be used if a disaster makes holding the tournament impossible there.

Blatter gave a press conference before Sunday's Euro 2008 final between Germany and Spain here at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium and said the tournament would only be taken away from South Africa in dire circumstances.

'I would be quite negligent as president if I did not have a Plan B tucked away at the back of a drawer,' said Blatter.

'But only a natural disaster would make it active,' he added pushing aside doubts over security and possible delays over construction of the stadiums.

Safety is a major concern for the tournament in South Africa where there are dozens of murders every day.

And a recent wave of violence against foreigners there has done nothing to ease fears.

FIFA will give 150,000 free World Cup tickets to South African football fans,with unemployment running at 40 percent and the average wage is 700 euros per month.

But next year's Confederations Cup,from June 14-28 2009,will be a big test for South Africa in the traditional warm-up before the World Cup is held there a year later.

'If we had to activate the Plan B,we would do it after the Confederations Cup,' said Blatter.

He added the cup will be used by FIFA to test the idea of using six officials at each the game,including a referee assigned to each penalty area to help control the game.

'It would be interesting on a psychological level,because the players would know they are being observed in the penalty area,' said Blatter.

'We will test this idea next year.'

But Blatter batted off any suggestions of a video referee to give his verdict on key situations in a game,or the idea of having a micro-chip to confirm whether a goal had been scored,saying the ideas had been 'suspended'.

4.5% is not bad for a stock that is generally quiet. Are there any folks with technical trading skills out there who can give us a read on the price movements?

Greedy when others are fearful,Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase WB