marktime1231
20 Feb 2020
Swizz tax Took the chance to back out of FXPO at 159p this morning with the sp recovering to a 3 month high on no news in particular. I have noticed that FXPO tends to drop away by the end of the week, as though trading rooms are cashing in bets before the weekend. Anyway, timed well enough to have trapped a reasonable 10% capital gain and a disappointing special dividend, and relieved not to have the worry of such a risky stock in my yield portfolio. Switched some to LLOY in the hope that the approaching 4% dividend will spark new life, and poised to add what looks cheap … am I convinced LGEN will rise even further, or is SMDS a safer long term bet, or does renewed housing sector activity mean it is time to add CRST or another house builder?
marktime1231
20 Jan 2020
Swizz tax I have been wondering why the recent FXPO special dividend announced at 6.6c was only paid to me as about 3.2p. Once again I have been caught out by rookie mistakes. I built a holding in FXPO before Christmas thinking it was oversold on problems with its CEO, and was due an upswing and maybe one or hopefully two special dividends if the business was performing as advised in line with the previous year. This stake was built in my income portfolio eg an ISA. FXPO is a UK listed miner quoted in £ Sterling, operating in the Ukraine selling Iron ore pellets priced in $, registered for legal and tax purposes in Switzerland, and as it turns out the dividends are stated in US cents … not Eurocents, my stupid assumption, so the exchange rate to GBP was 1.3 not 1.17. Worse than that, and despite this being a special dividend, it was subject to 35% Swiss withholding tax. Yes, 35%!!! Why did that come as a surprise? Because it was not mentioned anywhere I looked until I I did some research today. Even the greedy lot in Israel only withhold 25% on my Plus500 dividends … something I was wise to, and so there was no point holding them in an ISA. Why does my platform or the UK tax authority not assert tax exemption on my behalf? If this holding was in a SIPP would it still get clobbered? And at 35%, fer gawdsake, those Swiss are extortionists when they know full well FXPO is listed on the UK stock exchange, and the Swiss and the UK are supposed to have a non-combative tax treaty limited to 15%. I have found this from FXPO … “2. Shareholders NOT resident in Switzerland for tax purposes. If you are not a resident of Switzerland for tax purposes and you do not hold shares in Ferrexpo plc in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or a fixed place of business, any entitlement to a refund of the Withholding Tax will depend on the existence of a double tax treaty between your country of tax residence and Switzerland: (i) UK tax resident shareholders The current double tax treaty between the United Kingdom and Switzerland may entitle you to a certain reclaim of Swiss Withholding Tax on the dividend. Qualifying UK resident shareholders will be able to claim back 4/7ths of the 35 per cent Swiss Withholding Tax, leaving a net tax cost of 15 per cent of the taxation levied by the Swiss authorities on the basis that you are, under UK taxation law, already obliged to pay tax on the gross amount of the dividends (which are treated as income for taxation purposes) received from the Company†and this “(ii) UK resident shareholders Three copies of Swiss tax Form 86, duly completed and signed, must be sent to the to the tax office in the United Kingdom to whom your income tax return is made (or to thetax office for the district in which you reside, if you have not made such a return). The tax office has to certify the forms and the claimant shall subsequently send the first two copies of the claim to the Federal Tax Administration of Switzerland, Eigerstrasse 65, CH 3003 Berne, Switzerland, no later than 31December of the third year following the calendar year in which the dividend became due. Rights to repayment arising in one calendar year must be claimed in a single claim. The relevant Form 86 can be found or ordered on the homepage of the Swiss FederalTax Administration ([link] The claim must be accompanied by evidence of deduction of Swiss Withholding Tax. In general, a certificate of deduction, signed bank voucher or credit slip will satisfy this requirement. A dividend voucher will be provided at the time of payment. However, the Swiss administration reserves the right to request further evidence and information. Dividend statements issued by financial institutions outside of Switzerland must be accompanied by an additional Tax Voucher for a valid claim of refund of Swiss Withholding Tax. The Tax Voucher has to be provided by the financial institution.The claim form may be filed by a representative on behalf of the beneficial owner, provided that the representative is formally authorised by a power of attorney (which must beattached to the form). Please note: If your Ordinary Shares are held through a custodian, then the reclaim may be automatically generated on your behalf. You should therefore check with your custodian whether the reclaim will be made on your behalf. We have been advised by the Swiss tax authorities that refunds may take some months to obtain, so you are advised to make your application as soon as possible. Refunds will be paid in Swiss francs.†So they are going to withold 15% tax regardless and to get the other 20% back you have to go through extreme hoops and delays, assuming that you can prove that the platform is holding the shares on your behald and … aaagh! So actually Swiss registration is a complete Swizz, and is helpful only to the big cheese who is non-dom registered in Switzerland for non-tax paying purposes. The rest of us are totally screwed. Worse than that there has been only one dividend and not two like last year. So I have got half x 65% x 1.17/1.3 of the dividend I was looking forward to when I first took the risk on these risky shares. The only plus is that the sp, which jags up and down a saw blade, has recovered from around 130p to knocking on 160p. Actually if the business does continue to perform in line and the CEO has not run off with money it is worth 200-300p, but I am no longer so tempted by the income because it is so diluted, and the risk is real. So, as Odyssey sang so beautifully, I am looking for a way out.
Ripley94
28 Oct 2019
Retest of 85 ? ? FXPO… XXXXX Came back in here for 128p… Think I was lucky with it years ago.
Ripley94
10 Sep 2019
Retest of 85 ? ? Back in May I suggested buying shares in Ferrexpo (FXPO) at 207p on the basis that the sharp fall in the share price on the news of the resignation of the auditor was overdone and that a rally to 250p was likely. The good news for those that saw 250p as a target was that it was hit in short order, with the shares going on to 285p… I sold at 250p, but the bad news for those who bought and held is that the shares now trade below 200p. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, iron ore prices have declined recently as fears of a global slowdown mount, depressing demand for steel. This is clearly a concern and H1’s excellent results may well not be repeated. The forward price for its Fe 62% pellets for December delivery has fallen to $100 per tonne against $121 at the end of July, but, as the company states, this compares with an average of $70 per tonne in 2018 and $92 in H1 2019. Secondly, contained in the company’s statement on 30thAugust confirming the conclusion of the Independent Review (into the dubious destination of funds earmarked for Ukrainian charities) was the following ominous statement; The IRC has now completed its work. The Company is aware of various tax and other investigations in Ukraine in connection with the above matters. The monitoring of these, and any other ongoing matters arising from the report, will now be taken forward by the Committee of Independent Directors. The Company will keep the market informed of any developments, as appropriate. It’s that “other†which should worry investors as the tax issues have been well flagged and, on their own, should be easily manageable. Ferrexpo paid out dividends of 19.8 cents in the last 12 months, giving a net yield of over 5.5% at the current rate (the Swiss pinch 30% in withholding tax). Granted one third of that was a special dividend over and above the final and interim but the company makes a habit of these special dividends having paid out 8 of them since 2013. Given the cyclical nature of its business and the jurisdiction in which it operates, an investment in Ferrexpo clearly carries significant risks but I think the current share price more than compensates for these – offering also, as do all dollar earners quoted in sterling, a decent hedge against either a comrade Corbyn administration or a no deal Brexit which presumably would trash the currency; in the first case permanently and in the second, at least temporarily. For these reasons, and mindful of the risks, I have had another go – again with a 250p target.
Ripley94
27 Aug 2019
Retest of 85 ? ? Thank-you MoleMAN I see it recovered to 281p after April news . But today it is back near that bottom… -4% to 193p
devonplay
29 Apr 2019
The board marktime1231: Pity, because FXPO is otherwise a business with potential to take advantange of pelletised iron ore markets and is sitting on the world’s largest iron ore reserves in the world. Agreed. Ive held the stock before. I bought it when the fighting started. It’s a great shame they’ve had this issue. I guess for the brave there might be something to take a chance on, although I think I remember last time buying them in the low 20’s. I’m not in a rush to buy them yet. DL
marktime1231
29 Apr 2019
The board So when Ferrexpo, the Ukranian iron ore miner 50% owned by the exotic sounding Kostyantyn Zhevago who also happens to be CEO and still active in Ukranian politics (external appointments “noneâ€), makes a board announcement it makes me wonder who is saying what … a “unanimous†board announcement in January was followed by senior independent non-exec Simon Lockett’s abrupt resignation. Since then Deloitte the auditor and two further non-execs have resigned abruptly, leaving Chairman billy-no-mates Steve Lucas almost on his own. If I was him I would be considering a resignation of my own, on May the 4th perhaps. His (?) response to Deloitte today is self-defeating, saying there had been no delay to investigations. Deloitte warned about the board delaying a formal investigation into Blooming Land last October since when the Ferrexpo board delayed a formal enquiry twice on the grounds of seeking a co-operative response even though Blooming Land had clearly said it would not release the information requested. It sounds like Blooming Land have falsified account statements describing how charitable donations were expended. This is now the subject of a criminal investigation in Ukraine. Blooming Land only exists to provide a vehicle to distribute the considerable charitable donations made by Ferrexpo, and has been tainted with allegations that Zhevago or people associated with him are involved in a fiddle. At worst it may be that Zhevago has been using Blooming Land to divert funds tax-efficiently from Ferrexpo to friendly associates, which he denies saying he has no controlling influence. That sounds to me me a bit like Bill Gates saying he has no influence over the Gates Foundation. The problem would have been resolved at first attempt if Blooming Land had provided verified bank statements revealing how funds have actually been allocated, but they are hiding behind a technicality which says they are not obliged to. So, they are hiding something. Of course Zhevago is involved and it must have been his decision to delay a formal enquiry, since he has the majority of voting rights. The inevitable conclusion is that Zhevago has been helping himself or his family and friends. No wonder Ukraine is regarded as the most corrupt nation in Europe, after Russia. Pity, because FXPO is otherwise a business with potential to take advantange of pelletised iron ore markets and is sitting on the world’s largest iron ore reserves in the world.
MoleMan99
26 Apr 2019
Retest of 85 ? ? Presumably you know about the misappropriation of funds at the charity director is linked with? Been going on a while with denial from the company. Deloitte clearly don’t agree. Non-execs now bailing out now. Could be a real stink coming. New Ukranian PM won’t inspire investor confidence either.
Ripley94
26 Apr 2019
Retest of 85 ? ? FXPO… Deloitte resigned RNS 7am some sort of wrong doing ??? Shares fell 25% no comments on this site by 1pm .
mfletcher
08 Feb 2019
Iron Ore Pice spike Iron Ore pricing has gone through the roof today 8.2.19 following conditions at the Vale mine in Brazil , the worlds largest, following a dam burst killing about 220 people. There is now potential for ensuing global supply constraint. FXPO has risen sharply since the disaster, however today’s spike will fuel the rise.
I am zely
07 Apr 2018
Re: Two days of drops 5 Iron,I wish you luck. So I assume you think we are near or at the bottom of this run and it will climb back up from here? Any specific reasons or just a gut feeling?I'm not clear which way it's going and my other investments are on the climb so I'm reluctant to buy back into this one at the moment. I may regret that decision and indeed may change my mind in the coming days/weeks/months.CheersZ
5 Iron
07 Apr 2018
Re: Two days of drops It's lost over a third of its value recently. I bought a few at 2.18 yesterday. Fingers crossed!
I am zely
26 Mar 2018
Re: Two days of drops Hi Tb,I've no idea where the bottom will end up? If there are no geo-political influences or other unexpected influences, then surely this will soon be back up above 300p. But how far it will fall in the meantime is anybody's business? Ultimately, I wish I had held/accumulated on the climb up to over 300p, but itchy fingers and other temptations led me to JAY and SXX. I am liable to sit tight in these for a few years to benefit from increased sp. Spare dosh and I'd be throwing a load into fxpo. Been in and out of stocks since mid 90's and realise that the PI is shafted multiple times along the way - if you make anything without then losing it again, you are doing well. But I suppose the whole game is fun, in sick kind of way.Z
Triggers broom
26 Mar 2018
Re: Two days of drops Do you have a target price in mind where it will tempt you back in?My strategy was to accumulate a small holding in 2012 only to watch it almost disappear down the Swanney in 2015 so the climb back to profit has been a very pleasant surprise. I'd written it off when it hit 15p. As you say, with hindsight should have lumped on and reaped the rewards. I'm just glad to see it back in profit and see no reason to sell up as it's a very good business, albeit with multiple micro and macro risks associated.Tb - holding long and strong, for better or worse.
I am zely
25 Mar 2018
Re: Two days of drops Hindsight on this share and we could all have been very rich in the space of a very short time. I've been in and out of this share for about 8 years. Bought back in low 30's and then sold out in 200's - despite brokers' poor forecasts generally. I can see a great buying opportunity coming soon. Yes, there are many influences on this share, but fundamentally, this is a strong company with a top product, with a reducing debt.I'm out completely now but waiting in the wings.Good luck on your strategy.
