Hide

FocusBar

Subscribe to Premium Member
Free 7-day Trial
All Articles and Columns »

Champion (CHMP) Gets Battered

December 15, 2011 | About:
gurufocus

Barel Karsan

10 followers
Shares of small-cap Champion Industries (CHMP) are dropping fast. The stock is down more than 60% from its April high and as a result it trades for a P/E of just over 3.

Champion operates in three distinct industries: printing services (for brochures, pamphlets, company annual reports etc.), office products/furniture, and a town newspaper. Check out the 10-K for the breakdowns by segment, and for more information about Huntington, West Virginia than you'll ever want to know.

Despite operating in these rather competitive and/or battered industries, the company does turn a profit. By keeping capex low, Champion has also managed to generate cash flow that is significantly higher than its net income. And it's a good thing it has, because it has allowed Champion to pay off a lot of debt, which is the main risk to this company.

Champion now has $50 million of debt and a market cap of just $8 million. In the last three years, the company has generated cash from operations less capex of about $25 million, and it has used all of that money to reduce its debt. If it can keep doing this, shareholders at the current price will likely be very-well rewarded.

But the problem is that revenues are declining, so management has to continue to find ways to cut costs to keep cash flow up. On that front, management is very much aligned with shareholders; Champion's CEO earns just $1 per year with no bonus, and owns 47% of the company's stock.

This is a high-risk, high-reward situation, as Champion is a levered up company which may or may not have the future cash flows to deliver outstanding returns to shareholders.

Disclosure: No position

About the author:

GuruFocus - Stock Picks and Market Insight of Gurus

Tickers in the article:

What Worked in the Stock Market for Long-Term Investors?

Extensive research has found that the companies with predictable revenues and earnings outperform the market average; they also suffer lower probability of loss. As a matter of fact, this kind of companies are exactly what Warren Buffett wants to buy and hold forever. Please read the research about what worked in the stock market:

Part I: What worked in the market from 1998-2008? Part I: Predictability Rank
Part II: Role of Valuations
Part III: Intrinsic Value, Discounted Cash Flow and Margin of Safety


Rating: 3.7/5 (9 votes)

Comments

Please leave your comment:


More Gurufocus Links

GuruFocus Affiliate Program: Earn up to $400 per referral. ( Learn More)
Get WordPress Plugins for easy affiliate links on Stock Tickers and Guru Names
Free 7-day Trial
FEEDBACK

This article has been successfully added into your Bookmark.

Members Only. Please Sign Up or Log In first.

Bookmark of this article has been deleted.