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  1. #61
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    I found this on ShareChat:

    "Daily ShareChat: Tourism Holdings
    By Jenny Ruth

    Monday 7th September 2009

    Tourism Holding's result was ugly, again impacted by restructuring, discontinued activities, divestments, continuing losses at campervan builder CI Munro, reclassifications and accounting treatment changes, says First NZ Capital analyst Jason Familton.

    But once all that was stripped out, "underlying earnings were slightly stronger than anticipated." That was a net loss of $1.4 million compared with Familton's $3.1 million estimate.

    The current financial year looks like it will be difficult for the company with softening visitor arrivals and an over-supplied New Zealand domestic market negatively impacting earnings, he says.

    "While some internal positives are expected from a turn-around at CI Munro (as the cost-base is reduced) and also Explore More moving out of the start-up phase, we do not anticipate any significant earnings growth until (financial) 2011."

    Familton is forecasting a $0.5 million net profit for the current year and $7.5 million in the year ending June 2011.

    "Given the current uncertainty around earnings, and in particular earnings momentum over the next 12 months, we struggle to find a near-term positive catalyst for the share price to recover from its current subdued level," he says.

    But in 12 months time visitor numbers should have started to rebound and the market will be looking forward to 2011 and the boost from the Rugby World Cup. Familton values the shares at $1.01.


    BROKER CALL: First NZ Capital rate Tourism Holdings (NZX: THL ) as outperform.



    Daily ShareChat articles report how the main experts in the market might view a certain share and we provide this commentary as a useful resource for investors. Content on this site does not in any way constitute a recommendation to buy, hold or sell any particular share. Investors should always seek professional advice before making any investment decisions."

    I'm a little surprised that he predicts just a $0.5 mil net profit for the next year and then values the company at $100 mil. They do seem to be expecting better things in 2011, but however good RWC is for THL it is still a one-off influence.

  2. #62
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    I held THL a number of years ago when its SP was well over $2 and made wee bit on them too. A company with such promise and one that I enjoyed seeing in action every time I passed a Maui van or a tour bus with THL written in small type under the drivers window. They virtually had a monopoly on camper vans with Maui and Britz and big events like the Sidney Olympics and the America's Cup were forecast to bring people in their droves to Australia and NZ to spend up large on THL's vans, tours and attractions.

    What a blimmin disappointment. 'Big eventitis' resulted in visitors staying exclusively in Sydney and Auckland. The Germans stopped coming (for a while at least), the Japs stopped coming, while others came and went in a totally unpredictable ebb and flow as NZ's tourism industry was and remains at the mercy of outside events. In the meantime ther eare are plethora of competitive options for independent travelers that are not part of the THL stable.

    IMHO THL's shareprice will track sideways ad infinitum. Investing in tourism related companies is a way too lumpy and unpredictable ride for this investor. However, some of you day traders probably make money out THL as false hopes,flash adverts and questionable stats get people excited about THL from time to time.

  3. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by belgarion View Post
    Accumulating ....
    And so is the CEO...

  4. #64
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    Default Snoopy's THL experience

    Quote Originally Posted by J R Ewing View Post
    As far as full year prospects go, the main summer season is far more critical.
    Over the last week I have relocated a THL campervan from Christchurch to Auckland so have gained some first hand consumer knowledge of this business I thought shareholders might be interested in.

    A relocation means THL reduce the daily hire charge to $5, although you as the hirer still have to pay for diesel road user tax and the diesel itself. Furthermore you have to pay for your own Picton to Welington ferry ticket, although THL pays for the van. It also means you don't have a choice over what campervan you take. I 'got lucky' and was allocated a 'top of the line' Maui brand camper, a Mercedes Sprinter. Having never hired a campervan before, I was amazed at how much road space one can take up with a vehicle that could only take two people. The darn thing was 7.1m long and 3m high, just short of requiring at HT licence to drive I would guess. I'll get the good bit over first.

    What looked like an intimidating prospect was actually quite easy to drive. If I hadn't been looking down at all those other tiny little vehicles on the road -actually full size four wheel drives- I wouldn't have believed I was in such a road hog. The bed was very comfortable too, although I did sleep with the mattress 'doubled up' which probably helped. Fuel cost was just under $140 (I used around 130litres), plus $50 diesel tax. Over 1100km that is 8.5km/l or around 24mpg in the old money, probably reasonable for a vehicle of that size driven rapidly.

    Unfortunately I had to drive rapidly due to what I considered a rather incompetant check out procedure. I was booked on the 2pm Picton ferry with a 1pm reporting time. I knew I would have to get away early. So I turned up at THL Christchurch Airport Base waiting for the 8am opening time. First customer in, I was duly shown in and offered a cup of coffee while I waited. Then I had to watch an explanatory DVD for the van, which took about half an hour. Following this, there was another 15 minutes or so sorting out paperwork before I was away. That gave me four and a quarter hours to drive to Picton in something the size of a bus in bad weather! The staff didn't seem at all concerned at this driving challenge they had set me. I was just lucky I had chosen Bluebridge and not the Interislander or my timetable would have been even tighter! When I gave the van back at the other end I found out that the two other people who were handing back campervans at the same time had each taken an hour to pick up their vans. So it would seem my 45 minute getaway time was 'lucky'.

    Somehow I did manage to drive up to Picton in 4.25 hours, by going non stop and virtually flat out. I think it was my fastest trip up ever in any motor vehicle. Only one person passed me on the way and they got hauled over by the law. However, when I arrived there was more drama. THL had booked me a ticket, but there was nothing for the van! Desperate phone calls to Christchurch followed and eventually I got on the boat moments before it sailed. The fact that the Bluebridge staff seemed unflapped by the paperwork stuff up made me believe that what had happened to me may not have been an isolated incident!

    The weather on the first three days was atrocious, so it didn't matter that the windscreen washers were not working. Something that caused me slightly more distress was on the second day when the ESP warning light came on and the indicators stopped working. That introduced an extra driving challenge, to try and arrive at my destination by only driving straight ahead! OK I admit I had to make a couple of turns in quiet back streets. The next day all of the electrics seem to function again.

    I tried to report the electrical defects when I dropped off the campervan. But while someone with a clipboard noted any issues with the van returned in front of me, no one wrote down my complaints. I hope the girl who checked off my van had a good memory and did it later, as sending out a van with faults is a sure way of turning a happy camper into a hapless camper. I am not sure of the competance of the mechanics either. A chap in front of me wanted the clock on his campervan adjusted (it was four hours out) and the mechanic couldn't do it! Just in case you were wondering, none of the campers had owners manuals with them.

    My overall impression of THL was of not enough staff, poorly trained. I knew there were different grades of campervans you could hire but I was very surprised to find there were four: Maui, Britz, Backpacker and Explore. Isn't that market segmenting gone mad? What are THL thinking? I have never held shares in THL and I can't say that my experience has me hanging out to invest. If you ask me whether I would hire a van from them at normal price ( I was quoted $155 per day ), then I probably wouldn't. But would I relocate a van for them again? Probably yes, but I would allow more time between connections. knowing how THL operate!

    SNOOPY

    discl: do not hold THL
    Last edited by Snoopy; 04-02-2010 at 01:24 PM.
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  5. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snoopy View Post
    Over the last week I have relocated a THL campervan from Christchurch to Auckland so have gained some first hand consumer knowledge of this business I thought shareholders might be interested in.
    Oh and one more thing. Normally when you hire a vehicle you have to put up a bond for the amount not covered by vehicle insurance. That is fair enough. Normally you write out a credit card voucher which is then 'ripped up' if you bring your vehicle back safely.

    However, having just got my credit card account today I see that I have been charged for my bond as a transaction. I was assured when I returned the van that this charge will be reversed. But it will be interesting to see how long THL take to refund my money. I wouldn't normally mention what is quite a minor thing. But if THL have taken $800 off me as a loan (which is in effect what they have done), spread over a fleet of camper vans that amounts to a lot of cash on the books that is not really theirs. While I was shown how to cook on my campervan stove, was the company at the same time cooking their own cash books?

    Also I was surprised to see a 2% surcharge on my credit card payments. I know the banks have got a good little racket going here clipping the ticket whereever credit cards are flashed. But generally companies do not push this charge through to the consumer. I always thought the trade off for businesses over credit card bank charges was that the bank guarantees that the merchant will in fact get paid, saving the merchant having to chase unpaid accounts. Perhaps some businesses have forgotten that?

    SNOOPY
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  6. #66
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    Thanks for that report Snoopy. This is so different from the company we originally invested in. I was hanging on reluctantly hoping for better prices as the rugby fanatics invade the country in a year or more, which i suppose will still happen. But with no dividend income to justify a place, it seemed the stars had lined up for a prompt booting out.
    However, today it looks like there is no market interested in my shares.

  7. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by sharer View Post
    Thanks for that report Snoopy. This is so different from the company we originally invested in. I was hanging on reluctantly hoping for better prices as the rugby fanatics invade the country in a year or more, which i suppose will still happen. But with no dividend income to justify a place, it seemed the stars had lined up for a prompt booting out.
    However, today it looks like there is no market interested in my shares.
    I'm not trying to say whether anyone should buy or sell THL Sharer. I was just calling things as I found them. Generally my investment strategy is to look for 'good' companies that have suffered some kind of setback. Then I buy in cheaply and wait for the recovery.

    THL is a company I *want* to like. Tied as it is to overseas tourism, and knowing what a good place NZ is for tourists I have tended to think:

    "What is good for THL is good for NZ."

    Mind you the US version that that saying:

    "What is good for GM is good for the US."

    didn't stop General Motors going bust! I have read this thread from the beginning detailing the sorry tale of this perrennial underachiever. But last week was my first 'direct experience' with THL. I was interested if others experiences mirrored mine, or whether my experiences were atypical. At this stage I am not tempted to bid for your shares myself, Sharer!

    SNOOPY
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  8. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snoopy View Post
    Oh and one more thing. Normally when you hire a vehicle you have to put up a bond for the amount not covered by vehicle insurance. That is fair enough. Normally you write out a credit card voucher which is then 'ripped up' if you bring your vehicle back safely.

    However, having just got my credit card account today I see that I have been charged for my bond as a transaction. I was assured when I returned the van that this charge will be reversed. But it will be interesting to see how long THL take to refund my money. I wouldn't normally mention what is quite a minor thing. But if THL have taken $800 off me as a loan (which is in effect what they have done), spread over a fleet of camper vans that amounts to a lot of cash on the books that is not really theirs. While I was shown how to cook on my campervan stove, was the company at the same time cooking their own cash books?

    Also I was surprised to see a 2% surcharge on my credit card payments. I know the banks have got a good little racket going here clipping the ticket whereever credit cards are flashed. But generally companies do not push this charge through to the consumer. I always thought the trade off for businesses over credit card bank charges was that the bank guarantees that the merchant will in fact get paid, saving the merchant having to chase unpaid accounts. Perhaps some businesses have forgotten that?

    SNOOPY
    Things are changing in the rental industry with respect to bonds. A few years ago a signed blank voucher or some sort of pre-authorization was accepted by most companies. Nowadays there are a plethora of credit and debit cards issued with very low limits. So the company can easily be left holding a worthless bit of paper if the vehicle is damaged. Having said that, I am surprised that you were not told about the insurance excess being charged in advance and that you were not asked to sign to that effect. It could be embarrassing indeed to have considerably less available funds on your card than you thought! Still, at least you will be getting the refund in the same currency. An overseas tourist could easily be significantly out of pocket due to currency conversion charges and fluctuations.

  9. #69
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    Hi Snoopy, Marie at the Customer Care team here. Thanks for your feedback. We were aware of some of your pointers and are already working on them but have taken on board your other comments around relocations that we were not fully aware of. Thanks again for taking the time to comment. MT

  10. #70
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    Sounds like things have improved a bit Snoopy. When we hired (several years ago) we got a two minute talk, then sent on our way. One of the few things we were showed was the "exhaust break". Tried to use it just before a nasty corner and found out it was really the steering wheel height adjustment. As a shareholder I wrote a letter outlining our problems (there were many) and received a standard? letter back saying nothing of merit. Saved me a bit of money though as sold some shares after that experience. Would have saved a lot more if I had dumped when I found out about the genius move to Hamilton. Hot tip - dump these before the World Cup. Based on previous experience such an event could send them under.

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