Ok - I'm happy to truce it up here.
I'm no telco expert.
I think some around here profess to be and I find that much of what is written about TLS (both positive and negative) to be convoluted. It is a huge corporation (that might be part of its problem) and it seems to me that forming a proper understanding of TLS is a Herculean and ultimately, insurmountable task.
My reasons for selling are very basic.
1. I fail to see where the growth in earnings is going to come from in the medium term. This contributed to my decision to sell. Cost cutting is not earnings and in the long term is unsustainable.
2. It is an excellent yield stock but the potential loss of capital offsets that yield at this stage. This contributed to my decision to sell. Yield is derived from the return per share / the price per share and any additional tax benefits.
3. The recent selling has been relentless and someone knows more than me which also added to my decision to hop out for now.
4. The biggest risk, in my view, is the dividend - if the 'special' dividend or any other part of the dividend gets reduced then I reckon it will tank big time. Maybe that is getting priced in now?
All in all too many risks for me at this time.
All the yap about 5G and becoming a tech business yada, yada, yada fails to impresses me at all. Particularly when I overlay that talk on the risk factors noted above.
It might be worth a short to medium term trade at $2.99 or lower. I will assess that opportunity when the time arrives.
As an example, my NXT shares (purchased for $1.53 in August 2014) have simply outperformed my TLS holding. I had to ask myself, "...
why do I continue to hold this thing?" No answer. So sell I did.
I try not to over complicate that which is all too obvious.
Just my views.
