Welcome to FBDplc.com
This page has the latest news affecting the Company, and my comments.

Brian Marshall ATCL. - My CV and What I would suggest if I was on the Board

----- Share price: - As of July. 21st. 2023 - no open market deals done since the €1.91 a share buy-back announced.

FBDplc.com Shareholder Survey Results - the views of the 168 shareholders who replied since July 2018.

Latest News:- 25th August - The Company has not released details yet, but it has again purchased from existing shareholders, and is offering for resale to existing or new shareholders, shares at €1.91.

August 11th. FBD Holdings results : - KEY HIGHLIGHTS -- Profit before tax of EUR39m under IFRS 17 compared to EUR3m in 2022. - Special dividend approved of 100 cent per ordinary share. -- Insurance revenue increased by 4.5% to EUR195m. -- Written policy count increased by 2.6%. -- The Covid-19 related Business Interruption best estimate reduced by EUR15m to EUR27m net of reinsurance since year-end 2022 following conclusion of the test case. -- Retention levels of existing business increased by 0.2% year on year.

Following these results, FBD Developments intends to pay out the Holdings 'Special Dividend' to it's shareholders.

May 11th - FBD Holdings in line Trading Statement - "Overall, we remain confident in the underlying profitability, future growth prospects, capital strength of the business and in our ability to continue to provide excellent service to our customers.”

March 10th 2023. FBD Holdings results for 2022 - profit down but other metrics looking positive. €1 per share dividend

Feb. 3rd - The Official Company statement on Padraig's death is HERE


Feb.2nd - THE UNTIMELY DEATH HAS TAKEN PLACE OF OUR CHAIRMAN, PADRAIG WALSHE, ON FEB.1ST 2023
Although this website has in the past been critical of some of the Companys decisions, or lack of them as the case sometimes was, I am in shock at Padraigs passing. I always found him to be curtious and polite in all our dealings and exchanges, even if those exchanges were at times robust . His broad smiling face greeted everyone at the AGM, and a big firm handshake.
He was a strong, forceful leader, committed to his beliefs, surrounding himself where he could with those who shared his vision. The Company will not find it easy to replace him with someone who has the same business, and business of farming, experience. Nor will it be easy to replicate his circle of influence and network of contacts.
RIP Big Fella !!!!

FBD Holdings Financial timetable 2023 - Final results - Friday, 10 March 2023.
AGM Thursday, 11 May 2023. . . . . . Half Year Results - Friday, 11 August 2023

August 18th:- Farmer Business Developments plc pays out €4.4m to Farmer Shareholders in an increased Voluntary Share Buy-back Scheme.
This I view as a VERY positive decision by the Board. The original €2m scheme limit would have been totally inadequate to deal with the huge pent-up demand for a half-decent exit price. The Board should have foreseen this demand - I've been telling you all about it for years !!!
We now should have vastly reduced our number of "looking for an exit" small shareholders. 421 sold an average of just over 5000 shares each. Overall shareholder numbers are down by over 10%.
A good result, but that still leave almost 70 shareholders who were looking to sell 900,000+ more shares at that price. There are still a lot of potential sellers. It's time to enable new, willing, shareholders.
To that end we should scrap the Constitutional 3 year IFA membership and FBD user rules for potential new shareholders to make it much easier.

June - AGM PRESENTATION by Padraig. Things seem to be going reasonably well. I especially like that the Board have found and enabled a way of letting shareholders, especially smaller shareholders, sell their shares at a 75% premium to the 85c/90c that the Grey market was offering.
Of course, IF the Company had abolished the Constitutional 3 year IFA and FBD Insurance membership rule as I have repeatedly suggested, (as the Company vets potential shareholders anyway) all this would not have been necessary, as there would have been more new shareholders to drive up the shareprice.

David Kelly also gave a presentation [Read HERE] on what's happening at Property and Leisure, - which I view as quite positive in present circumstances

April 2nd - I will not be going for election this year. Even though my fully correct nomination was lodged by email by the closing date, my nomination letter arrived on April 2nd, so the nomination was counted by the Company as invalid.

March 4th. Holdings release very good full year results.
Profit before tax €110m . EPS €2.34. Capital ratio strong. Net assets per share up by over €2 to €13.38. DIVIDEND €1 per share
My Comment: - Given the strength of Holdings dividend, and the increase in Holdings Share price in the last year, there is now no good reason why FBDplc's shareholders should not get a final dividend of at very least 7c per share.

Feb. 14th FBD Hotels and Resorts buys the Killashee hotel in Kildare, for €25 Million.
My comment: - We still have lots of debt, and this adds to it. The wisdom of buying yet another hotel has to be questioned, especially one that may increase the total number of employees by 30%. Has the pandemic not taught our Board the dangers of putting all the eggs in one basket?
At another angle - Padraig has always insisted that this Company needs to retain its farmer shareholders owner basis because "that's what those who set up the Company wanted". Does he REALLY believe that FBDplcs founding shareholders envisaged the group becoming leisure property and hotels focused, (as opposed to FARMER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS)

Surely the present business structure of the PLC makes a mockery of the "you have to be a farmer for 3 years before applying" rule in the Constitution. IT'S HIGH TIME THAT RULE WAS SCRAPPED

Nov. 2021. FBD Holdings interims. Profit, revenue and Net Assets all up.

Nov. 10th. DIVIDENDS RESTORED with a 10c "interim" gross payment. Press release HERE
I wonder if the arrival of the new directors has loosened the purse strings, - under pressure from the Co-ops. Hopefully there should be a final dividend to go with this one. ( albeit I'd expect it to be smaller)

Aug. 31st - 2 new Directors from the Co-operative societies. The new Directors are John Joe Kelleher of Macroom, Co Cork, and David Rice of Belgooly, Co Cork, replacing Neil O’Riordan and Tommy Joe Tuffy.

June 20th. I submitted the following questions to Bryan Barry, for Padraig to address at the AGM. These were "half" answered, and the answers given by Padraig are HERE

Questions for the AGM.
1] What interest rate is the Company paying on it's loans ?
2] When are we going to see any changes to the Constitution to make the shares more attractive to potential new shareholders, and to enable a bigger number of potential new investors ?
3] What is the Company going to do to arrest the now 8 year long continuous shareprice decline ?
4] What is the Company's role in the election of, and supervision of, FBD Trust's CEO and Committee ?
5] At the date of the 2021 AGM the Board has 12 Directors, 6 of whom have 5200 or less shares. With high debt, but 2.87 million Treasury shares on hand, could the Company pay half each Director's normal €6000+ annual fee, and the Chairman's €11,000+ fee in shares to help align Director's interests to those of shareholders ? (this noting that the Board appears to have taken a fee cut in 2020)
6] Should the FBD Trust, as a holder of almost 7 million shares, circa 13% of the issued shares, not have an automatic right to have a Board seat, which could come from the Co-Ops 4 seat allocation ? Every other Company with a shareholder holding such a high percentage gives them an automatic Board seat.
7] We made a new €6 million investment this year. What Company or investment was it in ?
8] Given that a high proportion of our assets are Spanish, what number of present Board members can speak Spanish ?
9] Given that 40%+ of shareholders are women, has the Company identified any potential female Board members yet ?

June 7th. As a note to those who have asked - I will NOT be attending the AGM this year. Last year I did and was prevented by the Chairman from asking shareholders questions. This year I predict will be the same, - he will quickly usher through the proceedings and not answer shareholders questions. NOR will he allow a recording of proceedings, so that absent shareholders who can't tune in can hear what goes on (or doesn't)
Instead, on the 17th, I will be at our Heritage Hotel in Co. Laois with my wife Diane, a fellow shareholder, in the middle of an extended stay.
I believe in putting my money where my mouth is. As a shareholder and potential Board Member, I will be supporting our businesses with my cash, unlike our present Board, who haven't bought a single share in the Company in the last 2 years.
The question HAS to be asked - do you as shareholders want our Company run by those who don't really care, as they have a very small stake, or no stake at all, in it ?

May 30th. Accounts of FBD PLC arrive. The AGM is June 17th. The Group has made an after-tax profit of €37.23m, and boasts "healthy""cash balances" of €55.8m.
YET neither the ordinary or preferrence shareholders are getting a dividend this year. The reason, according to Padraig's statement HERE - is to preserve cash in an uncertain Covid environment, even though the pandemic looks to be all but over.

Feb 5th 2021 High Court rules against FBD in Pubs legal case This may cost FBD Holdings at least €30m, and may hit the valuation of our shares, although Holdings has released a statement saying "Today's judgment provides much needed clarity to all concerned. We understand the significant challenges our Public House Insurance policyholders currently face. FBD will arrange interim payments to affected policyholders while awaiting final clarity on quantum. We expect the cost to be well within the range of considered financial outcomes, with FBD remaining strongly capitalised,"

ARCHIVE NEWS AND COMMENT 2020

ARCHIVE NEWS AND COMMENT 2019

ARCHIVE NEWS AND COMMENT 2018

ARCHIVE NEWS AND COMMENT 2017

ARCHIVE NEWS AND COMMENT 2016

So why have I set up this site ? I, as a shareholder with more shares than that declared by any Board member, am fed up with being in the dark as to how this Company is being run. I'm not happy about it, and neither should you be. I intend using this site to ask questions that should have been answered long ago, should be answered now, and may need to be answered in the future.

I also want to try to get enough backing from you the Farmer shareholders to possibly put AGM motions forward, to ensure openness and less secrecy.

& I will make suggestions to the Board on how to correct THE 2016 CONSTITUTION which is faulty in my opinion.

I want to work for the good of OUR Company and I want ALL shareholders to know what's going on in OUR Company.