McLoughlin fails to inspire market

This column has regularly put the boot into James Crean, that former blue-chip stock that now ranks among the also-rans of the Irish stock market.

But, give credit where credit is due, Ray McLoughlin is showing confidence in Crean in the most tangible way - by buying a million more shares at a cost of £870,000 (€1.1million).

That's a lot of money, even for someone who earns £200,000 a year for running a company whose share price is precisely 12 per cent of what is was back in 1990.

Unfortunately for Crean, the rest of the market doesn't share Ray McLoughlin's confidence and there is absolutely no sign of the company being turned around.

Okay, a start has been made in getting rid of the dross with the sale of the electrical business in Britain, but the proposed demerger of the print and packaging operations into a separate listed company - announced over six months ago - has still to see the light of day.

When Donnacha Hurley was appointed chief executive of the print and packaging division last December, the demerger was supposed to happen early in the new year.

Well, we're almost halfway through the year and it's still waiting to happen.

And as for finding a chairman to succeed Domhnall McCullough, who retired 18 months ago, there also seems to be no sign of any movement, with Ray McLoughlin still wearing both chairman and chief executive's hats.

When he took over as chairman December 12 months ago, Mr McLoughlin described it as a "temporary arrangement" and would be regularised once the print division was hived off. We wait with bated breath.

Ray McLoughlin might harbour hopes that his recent £870,000 investment will generate a profit.

But it's virtually impossible to find anybody who shares his confidence. Institutional investors - who once were part of a Crean fan club - have by now long given up on Crean even it might be more in their interest to be a bit more proactive in getting the situation finally sorted out.

If, as Davy's suggested late last year, Crean has a sum of the parts valuation of £1.70 (€2.16) a share, then the best move would be to follow Jones by selling off the entire company in bits and pieces and giving the proceeds to shareholders.