Unilever (ULVR)

[88V8]

It's funny how some shares have their own halo effect.
Looked at dispassionately, yield 3.7%... meh.
Cover seems to be 1.3... if so, meh.
SP gone nowhere in four years, if that matters... meh.

If it weren't Unilever, would one be topping up?
I do have a small holding, but it's likely to stay that way.

V8

[simoan]

It's funny how some shares have their own halo effect.
Looked at dispassionately, yield 3.7%... meh.
Cover seems to be 1.3... if so, meh.
SP gone nowhere in four years, if that matters... meh.

If it weren't Unilever, would one be topping up?
I do have a small holding, but it's likely to stay that way.

V8

I thought there was special board for this kind of discussion? Some of us invest without consideration for the dividend yield

All the best, Si

[Bouleversee]

It's funny how some shares have their own halo effect.
Looked at dispassionately, yield 3.7%... meh.
Cover seems to be 1.3... if so, meh.
SP gone nowhere in four years, if that matters... meh.

If it weren't Unilever, would one be topping up?
I do have a small holding, but it's likely to stay that way.

V8

I thought there was special board for this kind of discussion? Some of us invest without consideration for the dividend yield

All the best, Si

88V8 also mentioned the s.p. (which presumably does concern you) and was looking at the whole picture following the latest announcements from the p.o.v. of whether to top up or not. I can't really see anything wrong with posting that on this board, unless the rule is that there should be just the news and no views. I'm always interested to read other people's reactions to statements and events. Live and let live, I say! The mods. will intervene if necessary.

[dealtn]

I'm always interested to read other people's reactions to statements and events.

True, but personally I am more interested in views that extend beyond

meh

[scrumpyjack]

It's funny how some shares have their own halo effect.
Looked at dispassionately, yield 3.7%... meh.
Cover seems to be 1.3... if so, meh.
SP gone nowhere in four years, if that matters... meh.

If it weren't Unilever, would one be topping up?
I do have a small holding, but it's likely to stay that way.

V8

If you are fed up with it, then sell. The SP will immediately shoot up as the market decides Unilever's glass is now half full, rather than half empty.

Anyway that has been my experience over many years when I finally get rid of a share that has disappointed me.

[simoan]

It's funny how some shares have their own halo effect.
Looked at dispassionately, yield 3.7%... meh.
Cover seems to be 1.3... if so, meh.
SP gone nowhere in four years, if that matters... meh.

If it weren't Unilever, would one be topping up?
I do have a small holding, but it's likely to stay that way.

V8

I thought there was special board for this kind of discussion? Some of us invest without consideration for the dividend yield

All the best, Si

88V8 also mentioned the s.p. (which presumably does concern you) and was looking at the whole picture following the latest announcements from the p.o.v. of whether to top up or not.

Nope. In the short term the share price does not concern me. Investing is about the future, not the past, and yet there was no mention of anything in today's trading statement in the post I referred to. Seeing as this is the Unilever Company News board I'd expect at least a mention of something within it i.e. margins holding firm with sales growth through price increases rather than volume. Good performance in US etc.

Moderator Message:
Unnecessay and unwanted snipe at the users of another board removed. - Chris

All the best, Si

[idpickering]

Can't see anyone mentioned it, so the dividend in GBP is 35.98p xd 4/11, paid 1/12

Thanks for that. My mistake. I mentioned that info re the dividend over on HYPP but forgot about here.

Ian.

[88V8]

Moderator Message:
Bit discussing moderation removed. Please PM me for an explanation if necessary. Thanks - Chris

I bought Unilever after years of ignoring it, because the yield (which some do indeed disregard) had become tolerable, but I'm beginning to think that it's just another slowly falling knife, and unlike the tobaccos not offset by a decent yield.
Their ability to carry through price increases is indeed a variety of moat, albeit not reflected in the SP, nor the market's response today, which is as I said, meh.

If buying it was a mistake, it wasn't my first and I don't suppose it will be the last, but given that inflation is probably here for a while, holding a share with a long-term declining SP and a sub-inflation yield doesn't seem like the greatest idea.

Presumably there are some fans on here who have a more positive view.

V8

[dealtn]

... holding a share with a long-term declining SP and a sub-inflation yield doesn't seem like the greatest idea.

Yet that appears to be what you are proposing to do, am I wrong?

I am sure I am not alone in thinking every decision to hold a share is exactly that, a choice I have, in the same way I have choices to buy, or sell (assuming I own) such shares.

Why settle for ideas that aren't great when presumably you have some alternative great ones?

[idpickering]

Unilever strikes $5 billion deal with CVC for tea business

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has agreed to buy Unilever's tea business for 4.5 billion euros ($5.1 billion) after outbidding rival groups Advent and Carlyle, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing two sources.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/u ... ar-AAQRL0j

[idpickering]

And this from ULVR in connection with the above;

Unilever today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its global Tea business, ekaterra, to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII for €4.5 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/unilever- ... 20018808S/

I wasn't fast enough to edit my previous post to include the RNS from ULVR.

Uan.

[monabri]

That's the equivalent of a full years dividend (2630m shares x €1.7072= €4.49 bn).

[Dod101]

And this from ULVR in connection with the above;

Unilever today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its global Tea business, ekaterra, to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII for €4.5 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/unilever- ... 20018808S/

I wasn't fast enough to edit my previous post to include the RNS from ULVR.

Uan.

Does anyone know what a 'cash free debt free basis' actually means?

I was also trying to find a carrying value for the Tea business but have not been able to find it in the Annual Report so it is not possible to say what effect this sale will have. The Balance Sheet total assets are shown as about 60 billion Euros so the sale price is quite significant but as I said it depends what their carrying value is.

I wonder when they will start to account in sterling?

Dod

[scrumpyjack]

Cash free, debt free simply means without any debt and without cash, ie purely the trading assets and liabilities.

AFAIAA they have no intention to change their accounting currency from euros.

[monabri]

source https://www.unilever.com/investor-relat ... -accounts/

[Dod101]

source https://www.unilever.com/investor-relat ... -accounts/

Yes I found that but that is not what I am looking for. I would like to know the carrying value of the assets being sold. These numbers appear to me to be the revenue figures only.

Dod

[Dod101]

Cash free, debt free simply means without any debt and without cash, ie purely the trading assets and liabilities.

AFAIAA they have no intention to change their accounting currency from euros.

So if that is the case they are not buying the businesses as such, they are simply buying the net assets.

The currency question is unrelated but I cannot understand why they persist in using Euros. The US Dollar would be more logical since many of the emerging markets are linked to it. None as far as I know are linked to the Euro. However since they are now established as a purely UK company sterling would seem to be the logical currency. It does not really matter because as an international company they are dealing in all currencies I would imagine.

Dod

[idpickering]

Unilever completes share buyback programme

Unilever PLC announces the successful completion of the second tranche of its share buyback programme initially announced on 29 April 2021 (the 'Second Tranche'). Under the Second Tranche, which began on 23 August 2021, 32,508,415 Unilever PLC shares were purchased with a total value equivalent of approximately €1,499,999,934.

Under the first tranche of this buyback programme, which began on 6 May 2021 and completed on 13 August 2021, 30,467,730 Unilever PLC shares were purchased.

All of the shares purchased in the buyback programme have been placed in treasury. As a result, Unilever PLC holds a total of 62,976,145 shares in treasury and has a total of 2,566,267,627 non-treasury shares in issue. Of the non-treasury shares in issue, a total of 5,301,252 shares (including shares represented by Unilever PLC ADSs) are held by or on behalf of companies in the Unilever group (the 'Unilever Group Shares'). The voting rights attaching to the Unilever Group Shares are not exercisable.

With the completion of the Second Tranche, Unilever has delivered on its intention, as announced on 29 April 2021, to buy back shares with an aggregate market value equivalent of up to €3 billion.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/unilever- ... 37125726U/

[Bouleversee]

Unilever completes share buyback programme

Unilever PLC announces the successful completion of the second tranche of its share buyback programme initially announced on 29 April 2021 (the 'Second Tranche'). Under the Second Tranche, which began on 23 August 2021, 32,508,415 Unilever PLC shares were purchased with a total value equivalent of approximately €1,499,999,934.

Under the first tranche of this buyback programme, which began on 6 May 2021 and completed on 13 August 2021, 30,467,730 Unilever PLC shares were purchased.

All of the shares purchased in the buyback programme have been placed in treasury. As a result, Unilever PLC holds a total of 62,976,145 shares in treasury and has a total of 2,566,267,627 non-treasury shares in issue. Of the non-treasury shares in issue, a total of 5,301,252 shares (including shares represented by Unilever PLC ADSs) are held by or on behalf of companies in the Unilever group (the 'Unilever Group Shares'). The voting rights attaching to the Unilever Group Shares are not exercisable.

With the completion of the Second Tranche, Unilever has delivered on its intention, as announced on 29 April 2021, to buy back shares with an aggregate market value equivalent of up to €3 billion.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/unilever- ... 37125726U/

Can someone explain how keeping the shares in treasury, as opposed to cancelling them, will enhance the value of existing shareholders' holdings. What is the object of this exercise? Do they think the shares are undervalued at present and plan to sell them when they go up or is this to increase the pool of shares to dish out in free or cut price options to personnel? It doesn't seem to have done much for the s.p. so far.

[Dod101]

Unilever completes share buyback programme

Unilever PLC announces the successful completion of the second tranche of its share buyback programme initially announced on 29 April 2021 (the 'Second Tranche'). Under the Second Tranche, which began on 23 August 2021, 32,508,415 Unilever PLC shares were purchased with a total value equivalent of approximately €1,499,999,934.

Under the first tranche of this buyback programme, which began on 6 May 2021 and completed on 13 August 2021, 30,467,730 Unilever PLC shares were purchased.

All of the shares purchased in the buyback programme have been placed in treasury. As a result, Unilever PLC holds a total of 62,976,145 shares in treasury and has a total of 2,566,267,627 non-treasury shares in issue. Of the non-treasury shares in issue, a total of 5,301,252 shares (including shares represented by Unilever PLC ADSs) are held by or on behalf of companies in the Unilever group (the 'Unilever Group Shares'). The voting rights attaching to the Unilever Group Shares are not exercisable.

With the completion of the Second Tranche, Unilever has delivered on its intention, as announced on 29 April 2021, to buy back shares with an aggregate market value equivalent of up to €3 billion.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/unilever- ... 37125726U/

Can someone explain how keeping the shares in treasury, as opposed to cancelling them, will enhance the value of existing shareholders' holdings. What is the object of this exercise? Do they think the shares are undervalued at present and plan to sell them when they go up or is this to increase the pool of shares to dish out in free or cut price options to personnel? It doesn't seem to have done much for the s.p. so far.

Retaining the share in treasury will not in itself do anything to enhance the share price. Buying back Euro3 billion ought to help the share price but maybe if anything all it has done is prevented a further drop in the price. I guess they may issue them towards the purchase price of a new acquisition but in the meantime just try to console yourself with the thought that it may have been a good time to buy in their shares. Unilever is it would seem out of favour at the moment.

Dod