On November 25, 2011, when we linked a story saying that Billabong’s stock had “mysteriously” dropped 12.5 percent in one of the busiest days of Billabong stock trading all fall, one of our commenters speculated the following: “Insider trading. Someone’s gotta know something.”
Oddly, today, December 19, 2011 saw Billabong stock fall 44 percent (to a record low) after the company reported that “sales growth had ‘deteriorated significantly'” in the pre Christmas months “as fears of global recession undermined consumer confidence,” according to a story in The Australian.
Billabong has forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of between $70 million and $75m for the first half of the financial year, down from $94.6m in the previous comparable period. . . The company also said the “poor macroeconomic and trading environment” meant it was unable to provide any forecast for the rest of the financial year, but noted “strong underlying EBITDA growth compared to the previous comparable period in constant currency terms for the full year is not expected”.
Those people who got out three weeks ago must simply be blessed with perfect timing. Unfortunately, founder Gordon Merchant, Billabong’s largest shareholder, was not one of them. His fortune took a reported $78 million fall today, at least on paper. For more Billabong’s current financial situation check out the Wall Street Journal.
[Link: The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Wall Street Journal]
you can not have your online portal/company stores beating your bricks and morta wholesale base to sale and expect indents/fillins to remain the same or increase.there is only so much pie to go around your share of the pie is going to end up in the mouths of your competitors. is billabong a wholesaler or a retailer?
Billabong is a wholesaler now! They have opened wholesale clearance stores open to the public in california, and florida this year. they are offering 50 percent off all brands they own. There is a old saying i like. You can’t burn the candle at both ends. they are trying just that, and everyone know what the outcome is going to be.
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