PERSONAL FINANCE: YOUR QUERIES ANSWERED

How do I value my  CRH share?

Q

I have about 2,000 shares in CRH bought on various dates over a long number of years including right issues and dividends. How do I go about valuing these in the event of my selling them.

- Mr AO’C, e-mail

A

The basic rule of calculating value and capital gains is “first in; first out”. The shares you acquired first are the ones you are deemed to have off-loaded first. With dividends and rights issues, the value attaching is the value at which they were acquired. Before 2002, you can apply indexation factors to allow for inflation to mitigate a gain, though not to exaggerate a loss.

If in doubt, the share registrar can tell you what you acquired and when.

Who owns Lisheen Mines?

Q

I purchased shares in Ivernia between 1998 and 2004. I believe it then became Ivernia West and now is Lisheen Mines in Tipperary. I also believe it changed ownership, possibly to Anglo American.

I have tried to get my new certificate of share ownership from Computershare in Toronto but with no luck. Could you please answer the following: Who now owns Lisheen Mines? Where can I get my new share certificate in the new company and where are its shares listed and are they of any value?

- Mr CC, Tipperary

A

While it was colloquially known as Ivernia, my understanding is that the company’s official name was always Ivernia West plc. One of the oldest mining exploration companies in Ireland, it was best known for discovering the Lisheen lead/zinc mine.

Lisheen is still one of the largest producers of zinc in Europe. It went into production in 1999 and is scheduled to be wound down in 2014.

However, Ivernia’s interest in the mine is historic. Having struggled with low zinc prices, it sold out its stake to Anglo American in 2003. Anglo American sold on the mine to Indian group Vedanta last year.

Even earlier than that, however, Ivernia had moved out of Ireland. The company voted at an extraordinary general meeting in September 2000 to move its primary listing to the Toronto Stock Exchange, keeping a subsidiary listing on Dublin’s Emerging Securities Market.

Investors received one share in the new Canadian-based Ivernia West for each share they held in the original Dublin entity.

The move was a reaction to what the company’s board felt was a problem is being fairly valued in Dublin. The argument was that Toronto, with its greater emphasis on exploration and mining stocks, would prove a more fertile ground for the company and its investors.

At the time of its delisting in December 2000, Ivernia West plc was trading a 56 cent a share in Dublin. In December 2001, in an effort to cut costs, the company cancelled its ESM listing.

The company has traded as high as $2.40 Canadian in mid-2006 and as low as four cent in late 2008. In the past year it hit C$0.53 before problems at its Australian Magellan mine hit sentiment, pushing the stock down to C$0.20. Last week, it was trading at C$0.23.

Computershare is indeed the registrar for the company. You will need to contact their Toronto.

This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No personal correspondence will be entered into.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2. E-mail: dcoyle@ irishtimes.com