Hi Dan, yea i remember, those times where a bit more risky... i managed to finish up on a high.
(This is a bit of a rant, not trying to change anyone's mind, each to their own, just saying how i see it, rightly or wrongly.)
I havent followed Telstra closely lately, so cant comment on recent financials, my concern is around the big picture, growth, structure, and management. Im out of the Telco sector, i dont see much scope for industry wide growth in the foreseeable future. (more interested in salmon long term).
Telstra have always lacked a good growth plan, the business is mostly about trying to maintaining its current market share.
Telstra tried to diversify in Tech, but trying to understand their investments there is like trying to understand the contents of a brown paper bag, its all strings a mirrors, if they cant account for an investment with transparency, how can shareholders hold management accountable, its naive to have any faith in it.
Telstra has/is also trying to diversify into energy, which always seemed like a good idea to me, but they have been talking for 3 years or more, i think have managed to do the paperwork in that time, but not sure how its going beyond that. Why does it take so long, what does it say about internal management processes.
A similar thing a year or so ago they decided to be a wholesaler of their dark fiber, rather than only selling it themselves at the enterprise level. It would have been a good idea to make that decision anytime in the last 20 years, why did it take so long ?
They seem hamstrung by decision making processes.
The answer they came up with to improve management, is to give up, split into multiple parts, so its all someone else's problem. If thats the only way they can fix their management problems, then yea, go for it i say. But still, i wonder if a different CEO and Board could have found a better way.
Bottom line, i dont trust Management, and i think the Board is full of apologists who dont want to rock the boat because they are on a good wicket personally.
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