Ukparky (< 20) Submitted: 8/18/2012 4:47:39 AM : Start Price: $113.50 NWS Score: +36.17

This firm have a slick operation, a strong focus on efficiency and clarity as to their very tightly targeted diversification strategy. The business is slightly counter cyclical as, in hard times, publishers increase cover prices (Smith's revenue is a function of the cover price) and reduce the number of pages (less ad's etc.) So Smiths carry less for more money. Their recent acquisition of the Consortium is a good example of they way they want to dilute their dependency on the declining print medium while exploiting their specialist distribution skills. I expect more like that in the future. Although the market liked their latest interims and their share price has climbed, there is still a very decent yield to be had.I reckon most investors still have them bracketed with WHSmith (they split in 2006) and the company name and logo don't help at all. Although they still do business together, Smiths News is a separate and very different operation. Once the market twigs this and comes to understand their current and future strengths I expect the share price to advance further.