SCHAFFER Corp director Danielle Blain has sold shares worth almost $1.8 million, a move that barely dented her holding after the diversified industrial’s extraordinary share price rise during the past 18 months.
Managing director John Schaffer said his sister’s move was due to a private acquisition she had in mind.
The stake of 138,000 shares were bought by an institutional investor for $12.90, well over three times the price Schaffer shares were trading at in October 2001.
Perpetual Trustees announced that it became a substantial shareholder of Schaffer Corp last week with a holding of 760,397 shares.
The company would not reveal if Perpetual had purchased shares from Ms Blain who is a non-executive director but remains a big shareholder in the company with a holding of 909,673 shares worth about $11.7 million.
The Schaffer family control 30 per cent of the company.
The company’s strong sharemarket run has been on the back of strong profit growth and dividend increases from around the 30 cent mark to a forecast of $1 a share.
It recently announced a $10.3 million interim profit, reflecting a bumper performance in its automotive leather business, an export-focused operation in which Schaffer has doubled its holding to own more than 80 per cent.
Property investments and building products such as its Urbanstone pavers have also done well.
Mr Schaffer said Ms Blain’s sell down was timely in some ways.
“Part of the issue we have, and people have said this to us, is our shares are too tightly held,” he said.
Ms Blain’s sale was one of a rare few by directors of WA listed companies during the past week. Hugall & Hoile director David Nicholls took out $60,900 from his $5.5 million holding and Tasman Resources director William Yeaman sold $4,712 worth of his $20,615 stake.
But on the buying side, directors remained extremely active.
p See Changes in Directors Interests page 23.
