First sentence is consistently and exactly right and very alarming - and what has changed?! Bad news always late @SGH and then some spin with it...
It's dependent on all those three things I quoted, most significantly point 3. I haven't seen anyone post here bullish who understands the dynamics of a professional service firm and how easy it is and common it is for talent/clients to leave a law firm under stress. SGH been under great stress for >6 months and latest news is really awful and would be echoing the corridors. SGH has the advantage small numbers of top lawyers doing hardest most complex work and lots of lower-level lawyers doing work to a process, but I don't think this advantage is enough to stop devastating talent/client outflow, especially given history of growth by acquisition so now most revenues in Australia from recently acquired firms (s0 no shared history/loyalty). Plus austerity now needed, what white collar worker wants that in their workplace? Plus MD lost credibility externally and must have internally too. Once talent/client outflow starts in significant way, it usually escalates.
Point 2. could involve sale of debt to vulture fund, this has happened many stocks before to the surprise and cost small investors.
Point 1. - are they still betting on NIHL? I think it's proven to be a bad bet (portfolio claims poor - I called NIHL Arthur Daley's FREE "quality red" thrown in with the PSD as an enticement - it has proven so far even worse than I expected) and insurers in UK will likely starve them out - they have been so far, and only need to do so for couple months now. And exactly how are they going to stop the other cash outflows UK without need even more short-term cash outflow redundancy payments? And advertising in UK and Australia brings clients in - cut or stop that and what happens to future cash flows?
Then there's the Class Actions coming imminently, and the media sensation of this when it happens - including likely some very serious claims against management.
It's a mess. Except now for traders who thrive on the uncertainty and volatility and in my view "retail mug" longs now who can't resist a gamble on well known brand and the (false here) concept that "lawyers make money".
I'm going to sign off on SGH for now, in absence new news or really significant price changes. Someone pointed out I first posted here in Dec - I had forgotten. To me, it seemed like much longer than that ago
. It's been a ride.
GLTA from here.