LON:HYNS | Haynes Publishing Group (HYNS) - 2017 AGM

9th Nov '17 by drvodkaquickstep

7 comments 3398 reads

Haynes Publishing Group – the 2017 Annual General Meeting

Ticker ($HYNS.L) – Full listing (FTSE fledgling)

Share price 202.5p (market cap £30.6m approx.)

Book value £21m approx. / EV £27m approx.

As per previous AGM’s, the directors could not have been more welcoming to the various shareholders who were able to attend the Haynes Publishing (LON:HYNS) AGM held yesterday (8th November 2017) at the fantastic Haynes International Motor Museum. (http://haynesmotormuseum.com/ - a charitable trust founded by John Haynes).

After meeting and greeting some of the Board over coffee the formal business of the AGM commenced with Eddie Bell giving a brief overview of the last financial year noting the recent acquisitions of OATS and E3 Technical (providing new routes to market and crossing selling opportunities) and stating that the overall business was doing well but still “in transition”.

All resolutions were duly passed and shareholders were then invited to ask questions.

I have recorded below my recollection of the main Q&A session which includes notes of further discussions held with management after the conclusion of the main Q&A.

Question: The Group hold a number of shares in treasury – can the Board confirm whether these are now back in profit?

Yes, there are circa 1.2m shares are held in treasury, these being purchased in 2011/12 at around the 190p area so that are now back in the money.

Question: Can you report any further progress on the sale of the Sparkford HQ site and the remaining Nashville (US) property?

The Sparkford site is still on the market although we have not yet had any formal offers. There have been some discussions with developers and our Agent re: the mix of the site (currently residential with some commercial) and we may look to change this mix to make it more attractive to prospective purchasers and / or sell off sub-plots.

With respect to the Nashville property we have secured a large non-refundable deposit from a prospective purchaser and anticipate that the sale should be concluded before the end of 2017.

Question: It’s evident that sales of printed manuals in North American and Australian are still declining albeit more slowly – what is left to…

Unlock with Email

Unlock with Google

Already have an account?
Login here

AstonGirl

9th Nov '17

Thank you very much for taking the time to write up your notes and share them. #HYNS is on my watch list so I was very interested to get your thoughts on the AGM.
A couple of questions if I may:
Given the progress they outlined in the sale of the Nashville property and future sale of the Sparkford property, did they confirm what the proceeds will be used for?
In addition, the future potential of Amazon in Australia to sell their manuals online versus the current 2 retail chains who stock them- what impact might this have on the margin they achieve?
Thank you, AG

drvodkaquickstep

Reb. Thanks for the comments.

We discussed the potential use of the property disposal proceeds last year and its likely it will be re-invested into new content and / or acquisitions.

With respect to margins on manuals, management noted that with respect to the agreement they have with Halfords in the UK (in store and online) they always ensure that pricing levels are consistent so that that nobody gets undercut as this puts in-store retailers noses out of joint. They also noted a specific small bricks and mortar retailer in the UK who sold a few hundred printed units a year and then closed the store, reopened an online only store and now sells 17000 units a year. Doesn't fully answer your question as I don't have all the facts sorry....

rhomboid1

Actually I covered that v point, they make more margin on Amazon sales as the retailer margin is less and the stocking issues much reduced. Thus Amazon arriving in Australia is a major plus for them as it broadens their shop window whilst keeping price to consumers the same.

TMFMayn

“Whilst I pondered quizzing management re: their significant (and increased) pension liability I was reassured last year that they have this under control and did not see it as onerous. Further questioning seemed unnecessary and the deficit will unwind as discount rates change over time.”

Shame you did not quiz the board on the pension.

I just wonder how paying out benefits of £2m or so a year from the US scheme — when it has assets of only £8m — is sustainable:

5a047eb7420bdScreen_Shot_2017-11-09_at_1

If you look at note 22 in the AR the US scheme only has a £296k deficit as both assets & liabilities are c £8m , what I’d imagine you’re seeing is a side effect of the US restructuring which has seen a lot of staff depart, but the net position is de minimus

5a048687b5fe9552607BE-DA9D-4B78-AA88-838

https://investor.haynes.co.uk/sites/default/files/report/FYE%202017%20-%20Annual%20Report%20-%20Final_0.pdf

..sorry about the formatting of the screen shot, I’ve no idea what happened

wow, that is a big screenshot :-)

ah, I see the benefits paid for 2015 from the US plan was only 392k, so the restructuring seems to explain the sudden leap to the benefit sum. I assume the US plan is paying out lump sums to US employees leaving the group, but I could not find any reference to that in the 2016 or 2017 report. Otherwise, the UK plan looks ok on a current money-going-in, money-going-out basis, with the contributions covering the benefit amount.

Haynes Publishing Group (HYNS) - 2017 AGM

Unlock the rest of this article with a 14 day trial

About the Author

Drvodkaquickstep

7 comments

Unlock the metrics for all these stocks and more...

Unlock the metrics for all these stocks and more...