From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 22nd November 2012
The Markets Leaders of the Eurozone countries are beginning talks on the bloc's seven-year budget, with the general consensus being that cuts should be imposed in line with national savings. The EU's commission has called for an increase of 4.8% to the budget, while EU leaders will try to reach an agreement on their own figure. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said before the negotiations "Clearly at a time when we are making difficult decisions at home over public spending, it would be quite wrong for there to be proposals for this increased spending in the EU". At home, Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, said that the risk taking culture of the big banks is changing, but there are still further steps that need to be taken. Sir Mervyn, who is retiring next year, commented "I feel that the economics of investment banking is changing and that is driving the new generation of leadership in banks to recognise that is in their interest to change their culture". Staying in the UK, figures published by the Office for National Statistics suggest that the average annual earnings of full time workers rose by 1.4% in the year to April 2012, while inflation over the same period was 3.5%. This cut in the real value of pay was announced alongside a contraction in the gap between male and female pay in the UK. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 48.38 points at 12,836.89 and the Nasdaq gained 5.82 points to 2,600.48 In London the FTSE 100 increased by 42.96 points to 5,794.99; the FTSE 250 finished 70.77 points up at 11,854.09; the FTSE All-Share gained 21.71 points to 2997.14; and the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 3.89 points to 691.40.  Broker Notes Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "buy" stance on mining company Weatherly International (WTI) with a 1p increase in its target price to 13p. The rise comes after Weatherly management revealed that it intends to add 3000tpa copper production by restarting production at the Old Matchless Mine in Namibia. However, the broker is cautious that a full feasIbility study is yet to take place and will not commit to a higher target price until the publication of such a study, expected in the next 2-3 months. The shares dropped by 0.05p to 3.575p. Daniel Stewart maintained its "buy" recommendation on RSA Insurance (RSA) with a target price of 135p after the company announced the appointment of Martin Scicluna as Chairman with effect from 31st December. Scicluna spent 30 years at Deloitte where he was Chairman from 1995-2007 and has since been Chairman at Great Portland Estates. This new experience in management, coupled with the company's focus on growth impresses the broker and is the reason for the reiteration of its "buy" stance. The shares gained 2.6p to 113.5p. Northland Capital Partners kept its "buy" recommendation on Hyder Consulting (HYC) with a target price of 500p after a positive set of interim results from the engineering firm. The broker was impressed with the company's 8% increase in revenues to 150 million pounds and the 28% increase in pre-tax profits. The broker believes that this significantly de-risks the full year financial results. The shares fell by 4.5p to 415p. 
Blue-Chips Brewing giant SABMiller (SAB) announced that its UK subsidiary posted a 5% increase in domestic volumes in the 6 months ended 30th September, against a backdrop of a 4.6% drop in total beer volumes in the UK. This resilient trading was boosted strong sales of its Peroni brand which is now widely available on draught. Management believe that results for the 6 month period could have been even better if the summer had delivered sustained good weather. Away from the UK, emerging markets also drove growth upwards. The shares climbed by 168p to 2,801p. 
Consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) has signed a merger agreement with Schiff Nutrition in a 877 million pounds deal. This is in an attempt to springboard the company into higher margin health business. Schiff is a major player in the US healthcare market and has Delsym, Cepacol and Durex as its major brands. Both companies are looking to complete the integration process promptly so that business can continue with minimum disruption. The shares rose by 14p to 3,859p. Mid Caps Security company Cobham (COB) has consolidated its agreement with BHP Billiton to transport workers to remote mines at Yandi and Area C, 1,100km northeast of Perth. The deal is worth in the region of 65 million Australian dollars (42.2 million pounds). Cobham's aviation division already has a far reaching network in Australia, with clients such as Qantas and the Australian Government. The shares jumped by 6p to 202.5p. Residential property landlord Grainger (GRI) reported a 3.2% increase in NAV per share to 223p for the year ended September 30th. However, the group posted a loss before tax of 1.7 million pounds for the period due to derivative movements of 31.2 million pounds, a swing from a 26.1 million profit last year. This loss was achieved despite a 45% increase in Gross Fee income to 10 million pounds. Grainger increased its dividend by 4.9% to 1.92p per share. Grainger finished down by 1.5p at 113.5p. 
Financial services group Close Bros (CBG) reported solid results for the period between 1st August to 31st October, especially within its banking division. The loan book in the division increased by 4% to 4.3 billion pounds, driven by motor finance and property. The asset management division has also made good progress and has moved towards profitability, with a 2% increase in assets under management to 8.5 billion pounds. Despite this good news, performance in its securities division has remained slow with low trading volumes in the capital markets to blame. The shares fell by 2.5p to 840p. Small Caps & AIM Aviation services and distribution company Dart Group (DTG) announced a 37% increase in profit before tax to 57 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September. The increase in profitability was largely driven by a strong summer for jet2.com and jet2holidays, with the business focusing on popular leisure cities as well as Mediterranean and Canary Island destinations. However, the firm warned that the business is becoming increasingly seasonal as it continues to grow and therefore results will not be as strong for the full year. The shares shot up by 7.25p to 111p. SQS Software Quality Systems (SQS) announced several new contract wins on the back of its partnership deal with Siemens, worth a total of 10 million euros over the next two years. The contract wins include three deals in Europe, one in Japan and two in the US as part of the firm's strategy to expand into new territories. The company also reported that it has been able to lower its net debt position through its recent cash generation and is in a position to reduce debt to a level in line with management expectations. The shares gained 8p to 225.5p. Provider of advanced surveillance technologies Digital Barriers (DGB) announced a 68% increase in group revenues to 8.078 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September. Despite this rise the company posted a 59% increase in losses before tax for the period, driven by a substantial increase in administration expenses. The company cited its investment in core technologies and setting its cost base for the traditionally stronger second half of the year as reason for the increase in losses. The shares crept up by 0.5p to 142.5p. 
Producer of credit management software Intercede Group (IGP) has reported a loss before tax of 185,000 pounds for the six months ended 30th September, a swing from a profit of 653,000 pounds last year. The company attribute this turnaround from profit to loss to its investment programme, embarked on in an attempt to accelerate the growth of the business. The shares were down by 2.5p to 69p. Young's Brewery (YNGA) revealed a 10.7% increase in revenues to 100.1 million pounds and a pre-tax profit of 14.01 million pounds for the 26 weeks to 1st October, a swing from a loss of 16.1 million pounds last year. The pub and hotel operator attributed part of this growth to this summer's events such as the Diamond Jubilee, Olympic and Paralympic Games. As a result of these promising figures, the board is hiking the dividend by 5.1% to 7.02p, the 16th consecutive year of increases. The shares closed up by 19p at 712.5p. Multi-Media Specialist Aeorema Communications (AEO) reported a 35% increase in revenues to 2.9 million pounds for the year ended 30th June and a loss of 83,000 pounds. The positive growth in revenues were underpinned by a substantial increase in sales with new corporate clients. This firm cited the acquisition of viral agency ST16, which has not resulted in the volume of business anticipated, as reason for the loss before tax. The shares decreased by 0.25p to 17.75p. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment