This is really bad? Understatement. Have a look at the financial reports before 2012. The electronics businesses (which they have "transformed" the company into for all those lazy "analysts" who are fooled by the spin), traded at circa $340M and made around $30M EBIT, with total company sales of over $1B. This business's strength and profitability was already in the sector they have "transformed" into, and the appointment of the CEO and all his associates at that time saw all of that undone. Played around with divestments and provisions with no strategic plan whatsoever. Then it all came crashing down. Haven't recovered since. Yes, there were sectors of the Hills business that needed to be sorted - but why interfere with the successful, market leading electronics group? Now, we see announcements about an e-commerce platform that low margin box movers use every day. Seems to me the strength in this business was the footprint, high-value solutions and market breadth. Good luck to all remaining holders. Those ultimately culpable for this demise remain in charge. It just shows how benign shareholder attitudes really are. This was an Australian icon, and its staggering fall from that position seems to have been accepted without any ramifications other than a few comments on HC. The say cut costs with every second announcement. These costs are people and expertise. You cut enough, without the correct strategy for investment in the correct business models to win, you end up where Hills is. They STILL don't get it. That's the most amazing part. They STILL don't get it.
HIL Price at posting:
16.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
