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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Ames Department Stores (AMES) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: WinnerSBW who wrote (1037)	3/16/1998 11:58:00 AM
From: Market Tracker	Respond to of 1911

Barry, - I had the opportunity this weekend to upgrade my operating system to Windows '98 (beta 3). I think the tech geeks call it the platinum edition, as it is practically the final release version. You really can't tell from viewing the monitor that it's any different from Win '95, in that most of the improvements take place behind the scenes. It contains a TV tuner so you can watch TV or cable on the computer screen, many enhanced system tools, etc. I will be beginning AMES' financials today. Gary

To: WinnerSBW who wrote (1037)	3/16/1998 12:13:00 PM
From: Arthur Tang	Respond to of 1911

Thank you, Barry. The numbers they have released looked very solid. Consistent with previous audited numbers but with definite improvements. Store closing write off is last year's news. This year they reserved $1,000,000 only; instead of $7+ million, which amount is not enough to close one store.

To: WinnerSBW who wrote (1037)	3/16/1998 2:50:00 PM
From: Market Tracker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1911

Just a few thoughts on AMES' financials. * The cash position increased >25% to $57.8 million. * The current ratio increased to 1.49:1 from 1.42:1. * Long-term debt decreased 16.1%. * Current portion of LTD is down to $12 mil. from $24 mil. * The rate of store closings is diminishing. * After-tax profit margins in 4th Q were 3.8% up from 2.7% last year. * The company's book value now stands at $ 7.70/ share. * Co. has changed its method of accounting for inventory to FIFO from LIFO on 10/25/97. Not sure of the ramifications of this move. * Based on today's price, the price-to-sales ratio stands at a miniscule 0.19. (Let's try that one on the Motley Fool)<g> * Company's credit lines are excellent, and untapped. * AMES is planning to open between 5-10 new stores this year. * Inventory appears well under control. * Leased department sales are down, and I need a clarification on this. Are we selectively cutting back on leased departments, and if so what ones? What is the advantage to AMES of leased departments as opposed to running those depts. themselves? So, the company continues to increase sales slightly, while increasing profit margins significantly. Good slug of cash on hand; debt well under control, and an untapped revolving securred credit agreement in effect until June, 2000. AMES is also in compliance with all financial covenants associated with the credit agreement. Institutional holdings have increased (along with the trading volume.) We do need to procure a new CFO, and I hope we will announce one by or at the annual meeting. There really can't be too many unhappy AMES shareholders, unless they sold too early. Easter and Passover are but 4 weeks away, and I'm sure AMES will be prepared. Gary