Al,
RE: Answers to Your Questions
Thanks for the response. I enjoy hearing other people's opinions. I find that I can learn a lot just by listening to other people's reasoning and questions.
I agree with you about the stability of the Office Products industry, especially as much as the industry is out of favor right now. I especially feel that BTF is very stable at the current price. Like I mentioned, it is trading slightly below book value.
I think you're right in your targets for CEXP. I really like CEXP and OFIS, and feel like they both have some tremendous growth potential (although at a higher risk). My concern with those two, as others have mentioned on the thread as well, is integration of the acquired businesses. That'll be the key to success for them both.
As far as liquidity in BTF, you're right. That can be a problem, especially if you're talking about large positions. That's not a problem for me, though. Like I said, I'm an employee (so I can't afford a large position). ;)
I haven't heard anything about them not being able to handle their growth very well. It looks good to me. 23.7% of the growth in the US last year was internal. The rest came from limited, strategic acquisitions.
As far as the problems in New York, I'm confident that those are resolved. Our regional president (Midwest--St. Louis) was there as an acting president for about six months, and he has returned to our region now. I don't think he would have left if things weren't taken care of. The recent ISO 9002 certification at the New York division reassures me, as well. If you've ever been through an ISO certification, you'll know what I mean.
Even more important than the New York problems, though, is the perception of problems. I think the ISO certification press release will help there, as will continued good earnings reports. Frankly, PR is one area that I have not been satisfied with. Other than earnings reports, major acquisitions, and major management changes or promotions, we don't seem to release much information. I think that things are gradually starting to change, however. The last annual statement was one of the nicest that I've seen, and the ISO release is a very welcome sight.
Regarding the P/E information, I think that the numbers I gave were using trailing (4 quarter) earnings. I didn't check it very closely. Of course they would look better with current (1997) or future (1998) earnings.
- Michael Coley
- i1.net |
