Results Presentation Wednesday 25th May 2022 on IMC.
A recording of this is now available here
They went into a great deal of detail, which was good rather than boring - it is 1 hour 18 mins long. The questions brought out some interesting responses. Qs were:
Q1: Could demand for your products fall heavily if you have to raise prices?
Q2: Is the business an inherently high operating margin business? If yes, why? What operating margins should the Group target in medium term?
Q3: Looking at cash generation, will you always see working capital outflows?
Q4: Shouldn't the business be stabilized for a year or two before any more acquisitions are considered?
Q5: How will you attempt to monetize the fact that your Dentyl mouthwash prevents COVID for an hour
Q6: Why do you believe the new Chinese distributor will be any better than the last? What lessons have you learned from the disappointment of the last distributor in China?
Q7: How far in advance do you have visibility of sales and how predictable is your sales cycle
Q8: Is VLG at risk of a takeover offer from private equity or other buyer with its low valuation, reducing debt and increasing growth prospects? How will management react to such an offer?
Q9: In view of the repeated delays caused by Grant Thornton will you be proposing a different auditor at the forthcoming AGM?
Q10: Dear Board, Congrats on the 2021 results. The share price under performance appears to be in part due to concern over current / Q1 trading. Why do you not report quarterly performance (even headline sales and EBITDA)? That would give much more confidence to shareholders, rather than trying to understand various comments in the update some positive / some negative. Waiting until Sept for H1 is a long way off in the current market!
Q11: Are you likely to acquire another business this financial year?
For myself the best bit came in the concluding remarks when Jerry Randall said "...we've got a new chair who's come into the business - Paul McGreevy joined us recently - vast experience in international growth, development and innovation around consumer products and he's already beginning to have an impact on the business and how we work...".
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is now updated for results out 17/5/22.
To repeat what I have added…
