This week I’m invoking one of my least-used rules - the profit warning sell. Although last week’s profit warning from toy group Character (LON:CCT) has only resulted in a fairly modest share price fall, I still need to look at this situation to see if it triggers a disposal.
In addition to reviewing Character, I’ll also be carrying out my usual month-end review of stocks that have been in the portfolio for at least nine months. Four companies are on the list this month:
Financial adviser platform Tatton Asset Management (LON:TAM)
Recruitment group Robert Walters (LON:RWA)
Precision instruments specialist Spectris (LON:SXS)
Currency hedging manager Record (LON:REC)
I’ll take a look at each of these stocks in a moment, to see whether they still satisfy my screening criteria. But first, let’s take a quick look at the performance of the SIF virtual portfolio so far this year.
SIF Folio: September performance update
I’m pleased to report the portfolio has continued to outperform the market as signs of volatility re-emerge. Here’s how SIF has fared against the FTSE All-Share index over the last month:
And here’s how the portfolio has performed against the market so far this year:
To wrap up this section, here’s a snapshot of all the portfolio’s current holdings, before any changes that might result from this review.
Character (LON:CCT)
(Original buy report 20 July 2021)
Character Group is a toy manufacturer that’s probably best known for its Peppa Pig toys. It’s also one of a handful of companies (so far) toissue a profit warning due to supply chain disruption.
What’s happened is that “global logistical challenges” have combined with rising production costs in China. As a result, Character warned on 15 September that profits for the year ended 31 August 2021 will be up to 10% below market forecasts.
This is a retrospective profit warning and was issued after the financial year ended. The company has not issued any fresh guidance for the current financial year, but brokers covering the stock have started…
