ATM - A2 Milk Corporation Limited

[couta1]

I've been retired sort of since 58 and never got bored yet. Never.
Take care not to attribute what might be your attributes to others !
I doubt he's been sitting on his hands.

I know you like fishing so if you lived in Wellington you would be bored cause you would get very few days at this time of the year when you could go out in any small craft.

[Balance]

I will have to rethink my investment in A2 Milk then. As a long term investor I agreed with Jayne's strategy if they want to grow the business. We don't have many businesses that technically could operate in every market on the planet so we need a Board that has a vision and the strength to execute.

https://www.ig.com/au/news-and-trade...ps-down-191209

"Tellingly, in an A2 investor briefing also released this morning, the company's CFO David Hearn stressed that the company will 'target an EBITDA margin of at least 30% in the medium term.'

A goal the Board views as achievable, without much detriment to growth, he added."

And there you have it - the board disagreed with Jane and believes that growth and high margins can go together.

Who is right?

[Beagle]

In other words the board felt Jayne was playing much to fast and loose with marketing and related human resource cost, which is what I have been suggesting for a long time now. EPS growth was much faster under Geoffrey Babbage's leadership and that's all that really matters in my opinion.

I think the Board is right.

[winner69]

https://www.ig.com/au/news-and-trade...ps-down-191209

"Tellingly, in an A2 investor briefing also released this morning, the company's CFO David Hearn stressed that the company will 'target an EBITDA margin of at least 30% in the medium term.'

A goal the Board views as achievable, without much detriment to growth, he added."

And there you have it - the board disagreed with Jane and believes that growth and high margins can go together.

Who is right?

Who is right you ask ...I say Jayne will be proved right.

Most on this thread (those invested) seemed to say that increased marketing was the way to go even if ebitda margins suffered a little. One or two were even excited taking that course of action.

Seems a few have different views now.

[longy]

From what I have read so far it seemed to me that were some disagreement or different point of views between the board and the CEO.

[winner69]

Hearn’s profile on A2 website says he resides in the UK

Over here on an extended stint?

[winner69]

She presided as a senior partner for a very long time at Russell McVeagh which has been in the news many times in recent years for the wrong reasons.
Before anyone puts her on a pedestal they should read this. https://www.nzlawyermagazine.co.nz/n...ic-252073.aspx
Personally I think its extremely disappointing that a senior female law partner could not have done more for her junior female staff who are widely reported to have been subjected to a completely unacceptable culture within that firm. The senior partners are directly responsible for setting the tone of the corporate culture within the firm.

Recent Director appointment was Pip

Wonder if she had anything to do with current events?

[Baa_Baa]

Who is right you ask ...I say Jayne will be proved right.

Most on this thread (those invested) seemed to say that increased marketing was the way to go even if ebitda margins suffered a little. One or two were even excited taking that course of action.

Seems a few have different views now.

Agree, and we're only talking about a small few %, this is almost a 2 billion$ PA company with 1/2 a bill in the bank and some folks get heir knickers in a twist worrying about a couple of hundy mill in marketing costs into opening the two largest markets in the world!

Anyway, she's gone burger. Have to live in the present, the CEO is dead, long live the CEO. Geoff can trim the marketing costs, fire a few talking heads management buy-in's from Jaynes hiring, turn a decent profit, put the SP back on an even keel ... and hopefully set the company up for a 10 bagger from here.

Actually, it's the 10 bagger from here that Jayne saw that the Board may not have, or maybe Geoff who's in the Boards pocket. But keep the conservative shareholders happy and we'll see $20 soon enough. Maybe not $200, but give it time.

She's gone. God is back. All is good. The non-holders can pile in when this current weakness bottoms, and long holds can suck up a few more, then everyone will be happy with their $20 SP in due course. Then a new CEO will come along and everyone will doubt the wisdom of the Board who obviously ****ed up this time.

Get to $200! Go Board, do it. Don't live in the moment, live in making the making the future .. prosperous.

[winner69]

Agree, and we're only talking about a small few %, this is almost a 2 billion$ PA company with 1/2 a bill in the bank and some folks get heir knickers in a twist worrying about a couple of hundy mill in marketing costs into opening the two largest markets in the world!

Anyway, she's gone burger. Have to live in the present, the CEO is dead, long live the CEO. Geoff can trim the marketing costs, fire a few talking heads management buy-in's from Jaynes hiring, turn a decent profit, put the SP back on an even keel ... and hopefully set the company up for a 10 bagger from here.

Actually, it's the 10 bagger from here that Jayne saw that the Board may not have, or maybe Geoff who's in the Boards pocket. But keep the conservative shareholders happy and we'll see $20 soon enough. Maybe not $200, but give it time.

She's gone. God is back. All is good. The non-holders can pile in when this current weakness bottoms, and long holds can suck up a few more, then everyone will be happy with their $20 SP in due course. Then a new CEO will come along and everyone will doubt the wisdom of the Board who obviously ****ed up this time.

Get to $200! Go Board, do it. Don't live in the moment, live in making the making the future .. prosperous.

Gross Margins are improving and very healthy

[Beagle]

Geoffrey Babbage built this company up from nothing, absolutely nothing. He presided over many years of exceptionally strong growth in sales and earnings per share and some people have made exceptional returns from holding shares while he was at the helm. ( I am very happy with my tenure as a shareholder).

Frankly, I am amazed that there is so much loyalty to Jayne on here who has done nothing but throw tremendous amounts of marketing resource, (which judging by results achieved seems to have been very poorly targeted and largely ineffective), and enjoyed nothing but slowing growth in top line sales and dramatically slower growth in eps. Almost right from the start the excuses started flowing, the game has changed, the low hanging fruit have been picked etc etc etc.

She was a very poor hire and has added very little to the business. I have consistently said this for quite some time and it would appear the board have been of the same view for quite some time too.

When will people accept that running a third rate budget carrier with truly appalling customer satisfaction ratings has nothing whatsoever in common with building a premium brand dairy food business ? What is so hard to understand about that ? The cultural fit was poor right from the start and things obviously deteriorated when she brought her girlfriends in who obviously infused the company with more of JetStar's "winning" culture.

I suspect there has been a lot of conflict within senior management circles and the board have had enough of her throwing money around in a scattergun manner at any form of marketing and simply hoping some of it works. The company was growing top line sales and eps at vastly greater rates when Geoffrey Babbage was in charge. This is an indisputable historical fact. I was not game to reinvest in ATM with Jayne in charge. Its back on my radar now.