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Darty directors detect a deal

New chairman at Darty shows his confidence in the company by buying shares while Ed Torr sells in his veterinary pharmaceutical business.
January 3, 2013, Julian Hofmann and Robert Ansted

Perhaps reflecting confidence in restructuring plans at electronics retailer Darty (DRTY), various members of the group’s management team have recently been buying up shares in the company.

New chairman Alan Parker bought £58,860-worth of shares, while non executive directors Alison Reed and Agnès Touraine bought shares worth a total of £20,601. But it remains to be seen whether that confidence will be rewarded. After all Darty – which used to own the now closed UK electronics retailer, Comet – revealed that like-for-like sales had fallen 1.7 per cent with last month’s half-year figures. The group reported a €7.3m (£5.9m) pre- tax half-year loss, too. Sure, the group’s restructuring efforts look worthy enough – management plans to exit such weak non-core markets as Spain and Italy, as well as sub-scale markets such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic. But that will still leave Darty heavily exposed to France where the group generates some 70 per cent of sales – the French consumer electronics market, however, is hardly booming amidst eurozone-induced economic misery. Yet Darty’s shares, at 59.25p, trade on 16 times UBS’ adjusted earnings estimate for end-April 2013 – not cheap for a retailer with negative underlying sales growth.

 

Anything but torrid times at Dechra Pharmaceuticals

A predictably quiet season for directors’ dealings did produce a couple of interesting sales in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly at animal pharma company Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH). Ed Torr, the company’s head of product and business development, sold 50,000 shares at price of 600p, raising over £300,000 in the process. Mr Torr still retains nearly 425,000 shares, or 0.48 per cent of the total for Dechra. As well as useful Christmas money, the sale captures the good performance of Dechra’s share price, which is up more than 20 per cent in a year.

 

Buys

CompanyDirectorDateNo. of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Total shares heldValue (%)
ACM ShippingJohnny Plumbe (ch)18 Dec 1221,06214229,908959,2344.9
Adriatic OilBruno Müller (ceo)19 Dec 121,000,0000.959,50058,411,26018.11
Adriatic OilJack Wilson (ch)19 Dec 121,000,000110,00040,350,00012.51
Adriatic OilJack Wilson (ch)19 Dec 12500,0001.15,50040,850,00012.67
Adriatic OilJack Wilson (ch)19 Dec 12500,0001.15,50041,350,00012.82
African MineralsDermot Coughlan27 Dec 1250,000313.32156,66050,000-
African MineralsNina Shapiro27 Dec 1225,000313.3278,33084,560-
AlentEmma Fitzgerald19 Dec 126,000329.919,7946,0000.002
AlentSteve Corbett21 Dec 1220,00030661,20073,6720.26
Alexander MiningEmil Morfett18 Dec 12200,000510,000200,0000.15
AnimalcareJames Lambert21 Dec 1250,00013467,0001,413,6916.81
Berkeley Mineral ResourcesMasoud Alikhani (ch)17 Dec 12500,0002.814,00021,995,9582.03
Berkeley Mineral ResourcesMark Wainwright17 Dec 1285,0002.82,3801,430,6480.13
Berkeley Mineral ResourcesHoracio Furman17 Dec 1285,0002.82,3803,019,7790.28
Berkeley Mineral ResourcesMasoud Alikhani (ch)18 Dec 12700,0002.819,60022,695,9582.1
Berkeley Mineral ResourcesMasoud Alikhani (ch)19 Dec 12200,0002.95,80022,895,9582.11
BlackRock New Energy InvJames Skea19 Dec 1216,00032.885,26116,0000.007
CineworldMartina King10 Dec 121,9422574,9911,942-
Corero Network SecurityJens Montanana21 Dec 1275,0002418,00015,943,68727.33
DartyAlan Parker (ch)19 Dec 12100,00058.8658,860120,0000.023
DartyAlison Reed19 Dec 1220,00058.8611,77220,0000.004
DartyAgnèsTouraine19 Dec 1215,00058.868,82915,0000.003
DevroPaul Withers18 Dec 1225,000309.9877,49570,0000.0423
DodsSir William Wells19 Dec 12500,0004.7523,750945,0000.3
easyJetAndrew Martin19 Dec 127,000768.2553,7787,000-
ExperianDeirdre Mahlan21 Dec 1210,000US$16.08US$160,800--
Hargreaves LansdownStephen Robertson19 Dec 125,695698.539,78016,9140.0036
Helical BarNigel Scott21 Dec 128,999233.521,0132,722,5562.3
Henderson OpportunitiesR King19 Dec 122,000477.29,5443,0000.04
HightexCharles Sebag-Montefiore19 Dec 12500,0002.0510,2507,500,0002.65
HiscoxErnst Jansen28 Dec 123,961448.940617,783--
HiscoxAndrea Rosen28 Dec 124,289448.940619,255--
Imagination TechnologiesDavid Anderson18 Dec 121,000397.4353,9746,675-
IomartCrawford Beveridge14 Dec 1218,00019535,10030,0000.03
Legal & GeneralJulia Wilson18 Dec 127,780144.7711,263--
LMS CapitalNeil Lerner14 Dec 1220,00065.913,18028,2620.01
LMS CapitalNicholas Friedlos18 Dec 1230,70265.119,98742,4040.02
Micro FocusKevin Loosemore27 Dec 1226,807577.8134154,894209,5340.14
PureCircleTan Boon Seng27 Dec 1230,00023771,10031,228,150-
Quindell PortfolioRobert Terry (ch, ceo)27 Dec 12625,00016.12100,750682,750,00019.9
Quindell PortfolioRobert Terry (ch, ceo)28 Dec 12250,00016.4341,075683,000,00019.9
Rangers Intl Football ClubPhil Cartmell19 Dec 1225,80076.519,73725,8000.04
Robert WaltersLeslie van de Walle (ch)20 Dec 1215,00020030,00015,0000.02
SABMillerJA Manzoni21 Dec 125052,840.4714,344--
ScapaJames Wallace27 Dec 1220,00062.0512,410840,0000.57
SkyepharmaPeter Grant21 Dec 1240,00070.8128,32461,6970.1337
SkyepharmaJean-Charles Tschudin21 Dec 12100,0007170,810112,5780.2441
Strategic Natural ResourcesDon Nicholson (d ch)17 Dec 1225,00026.386,59525,0000.02
Strategic Natural ResourcesDon Nicholson (d ch)18 Dec 1275,00026.519,875100,0000.06
Terra CapitalFilip Montfort21 Dec 1216,000US$0.79US$12,640218,3930.31
Value & Income TrustMatthew Oakeshott20 Dec 1250,00018994,5002,739,79311.6
Witan Pacific Inv TrustAlan Barber19 Dec 126,000209.712,58230,0000.045

 

Sells

CompanyDirectorDateNo. of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Total shares heldValue (%)
32RedEdward Ware (ceo)24 Dec 12400,00038.50154,00017,500,00024.8
BerendsenDavid Lawler (sec)19 Dec 1225,000602.17150,54397,172-
CarillionStaffan Engstrom14 Dec 1226,63631082,604--
CineworldTom McGrath18 Dec 12126,000258.69325,9495,000-
Dechra PharmaceuticalsEd Torr21 Dec 1250,000600.53300,265424,5520.488
Guinness PeatSir Ron Brierly19 Dec 125,000,000A$0.47A$2,350,00031,882,7652.01
Jardine Lloyd ThompsonEdward Lloyd18 Dec 1247,000760357,200309,9880.1417
Jardine MathesonEPK Weatherall20 Dec 12100,000US$60.486US$6,048,600--
Netplay TVAndrew Lapping18 Dec 121,500,00012172,5009,370,398-
PaypointMichael Norton07 Dec 123,45587030,059nil-
Premier FoodsIwan Williams (md)21 Dec 1289,000117.25104,35389,2090.04
XstrataDavid Rough18 Dec 125,0001,050.0052,500--

Table compiled by Robert Ansted

Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director