From UK-Analyst.com: Tuesday 12th February 2013
IMPORTANT: Are your UK-Analyst emails being delayed? Please add UK-Analyst@news.t1ps.com to your safe senders list/address book to help resolve the problem.
The Markets Inflation in the UK remained unchanged at 2.7% for the fourth consecutive month in January. According to the Office for National Statistics, annual consumer price inflation (CPI) stayed at 2.7% last month, slightly below the average analyst forecast of 2.8%. This unchanged rate included an 8.5% increase in alcohol and tobacco prices, held back by slower rises in the price of clothes and shoes. Victoria Clarke, Economist at Investec said, "In terms of the consumer, it certainly means that the squeeze on real spending power remains very much in place but that's mitigated to an extent by employment having held up relatively well". According to New York-based consultancy Freeman and Co, global investment banks in Europe and the US are losing market share in emerging markets to smaller domestic competitors. Banks such as Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and CitiGroup are all seeing an erosion in business development in developing markets to firms such as Brazil's Grupo BTG Pactual SA, Russia's VTB Capital and China's Citic Securities Co. The trend is consistent with a decline in lending by European banks to emerging markets making it harder to compete for assignments. Paul Skelton of HSBC commented, "Its always the case in banking-as one set of players goes off the pitch because they're injured, you get another set of players who come on to try and play the same game". Year-on-year industrial output in India fell by 0.6% in December in stark contrast to the 1.1% growth many analysts were forecasting. The drop was exacerbated by a 4.2% fall in the production of consumer goods, while manufacturing production demonstrated a 0.7% decline. A drop in mining production did not help either, with a fall of 3.3% over the month. A Prasanna, Economist at ICICI Securities said, "It is true that growth is still weak and there are no signs that a recovery is around the corner. The problems that are breaking industry – governance issues and supply bottlenecks – those haven’t gone away and until we progress there the numbers won’t recover". 
At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 27.15 points at 13,988.39 and the Nasdaq fell by 10.40 points to 2,764.24. In London the FTSE 100 increased by 61.32 points to 6,338.38; the FTSE 250 finished 102.38 points up at 13,476.01; the FTSE All-Share gained 30.92 points to 3,330.80; and the FTSE AIM Index slipped by 0.09 points to 747.86.  Broker Notes Panmure Gordon retained its "buy" recommendation on pub operator JD Wetherspoon (JDW) with a target price of 615p. The broker believes that the group's value offering will become even more favourable with consumers against the backdrop of disposable incomes tightening across the country. Furthermore, the broker notes that the shares currently trade on a 2012 adjusted EV/EBITDA rating of 7.4 times - an "unjustified" discount to rival pub operator Mitchells & Butlers which currently trades on 7.6 times. The shares slipped by 2p to 509.50p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" stance on Lo-Q (LOQ), a company which focuses on reducing queue times at attraction parks for visitors, increasing its target price by 14% to 500p. Canaccord is of the opinion that the 14 new sites the company began operating in during 2012 will result in strong profit growth during 2013 as they did not have the time to materially contribute towards profits in the last period. In addition, the broker is positive that the group's original sites will generate significantly higher profits over the next period based on adverse weather conditions experienced last year. The shares slipped by 5p to 437.5p. Seymour Pierce reiterated its "buy" recommendation on bicycle retailer Halfords (HFD) with a target price of 400p. The broker believes that the recent wet and cold weather will benefit Halford's car maintenance business which, in Seymour Pierce's eyes, will ultimately underpin its Q4 sales. Additionally, the broker sticks with its pre-tax profit forecast of 73 million pounds for 2013 due to an expected increase in like-for-like sales and a potentially robust trading period over Easter which will fall into the final quarter. The shares were down by 1.7p at 338.7p. 
Blue-Chips Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata (XTA) reported contrasting results from its core copper and coal businesses for 2012. The group produced 747,000 tonnes of copper over the period, 16% lower than in 2011 as it begin to shift focus from some of its older mines while trying to overcome some "challenges" at its Chillean Collahausi mine. However, total coal production for 2012 was up by 7% at 90.4 million tonnes, partly due to the restart of mining at Blakefield South and the commencement of mining at its Ravensworth North and Ulan West sites. The shares lost 5.5p to 1,155p. British bank Barclays (BARC) announced a 26% increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to 7.048 billion pounds for 2012 driven by significant improvements in the Corporate & Investment Banking division, as well as the Wealth & Investment division. The group conceded that 2012 was a bad year in terms of reputation for the bank and the sector as a whole but committed to making changes this year. What will undoubtedly grab the headlines is the decision to cut 3,700 jobs across the group, primarily across the Investment banking divisions in Europe and Asia as Barclays looks to focus on the most profitable sectors within its operations. The shares gained 25.85p to 327.35p. Security outsourcing group G4S (GFS) has agreed a financial settlement with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in relation to the issues surrounding its security workforce for the games last year. Under the terms of the settlement G4S will incur an overall loss on the contract of 88 million pounds, which is above the 50 million pounds which was set aside as a provision at the group' s half year. The shares inched up by 0.1p to 280.4p. CLAIM A FREE PAIR OF TICKETS TO MASTER INVESTOR 2013 - CLICK HERE AND ENTER THE PROMO CODE UKA2013
Mid Caps Homewares retailer Dunelm Group (DNLM) reported a 13.4% increase in revenues to 340.1 million pounds, as well as a 14.6% increase in pre-tax profits to 59.8 million pounds, for the 26 weeks ended 29th December 2012. The company cited the expansion of its store portfolio across the UK as the main reason for its growth, with 10 new stores opened over the period, increasing the overall amount of stores to 123. Dunelm also made progress on its online shopping site, which is now compatible with smartphones. Online sales now contribute 4% of total revenues. The shares slipped by 3.5p to 788p. Housebuilder Galliford Try (GFRD) revealed that its partnerships business has been named as preferred bidder for affordable housing projects which could be worth up to 60 million pounds for the group. Under the agreement Galliford Try will be tasked with the creation of 80 homes and commercial units as part of the Hampstead Reach Project in North London. Furthermore, the Partnership business has been selected as preferred bidder for projects in East London, the Midlands and North East Derbyshire. The shares increased by 5.5p to 853p. Healthcare group United Drug (DNLM) announced that revenues and profits for the final 3 months of 2012 will be ahead of the corresponding period in 2011 with growth driven by the group's international operations outside of Ireland. The group did warn, however, that the full integration of Pharmexx, a group which it acquired in 2012, will result in some restructuring costs being incurred in order to optimise performance. Despite this largely positive update, broker Investec reiterated its sell stance on the shares with a target price of 240p. The shares were down by 3.5p at 788p. 
Small Caps & AIM Designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting PhotonStar LED Group (PSL) revealed a 44% increase in revenues to 8.7 million pounds and a 62% increase in gross profits to 3.4 million pounds for 2012. The group cited the increased affordability of its products as a reason for success, as well as the scale up of its LED fixtures business. However, the group expects to report EBITDA figures which will show a loss of approximately 0.4 million pounds as a result of non-recurring costs. The shares gained 1p to 11.75p. Supplier of nutritional products Provexis (PXS) revealed that its Science in Sport business has signed Sir Chris Hoy as brand Ambassador. Cyclist Sir Chris is Britain's most successful ever Olympian and will make appearances to help promote the brand's range of endurance nutrition products as well as appearing on the website. This partnership between Sir Chris and Provexis is the latest in a string of partnerships between the group and athletes such as Helen Jenkins and Rebecca Romero. The shares jumped by 0.075p to 1.5p. Sabien Technology (SNT), the manufacturer of energy saving devices, announced a 37% decline in sales to 942,000 pounds for the 6 months ended 31st December 2012 and a subsequent a loss before tax of 67,000 in a turnaround from a 301,000 pounds profit the previous year. However, the group stressed that for this financial year, a higher proportion of sales are scheduled to be delivered during the second half and that prospects in the long term remain promising. The shares plummeted by 10p to 29p. 
Densitron Technologies (DSN), the manufacturer of information display systems, announced that operating profits for 2012 will be materially below levels it achieved in 2011. The group had warned that things were not going well back in November but trading deteriorated further in the final 2 months of the year and some business has been delayed into 2013 due to "reasons outside the control of the company". Separately, a case against the company relating to the lease of a property in Tyne and Wear continues as other parties in the litigation process have been unwilling to co-operate. The shares fell by 1.5p to 7.625p. 3D technology company DDD Group (DDD) has renewed its license agreement with Samsung to integrate DDD'S Tridef 3D software with Samsung's 3D monitors. The software in question allows 750 of the latest PC games to be played in 3D, even in cases where the game was not developed to be played in 3D. Additionally, the software can convert photos and videos from 2D to 3D. The shares were up by 0.75p at 28.25p. Pawnbrokers Albemarle & Bond (ABM) reported a 33% decline in pre-tax profits to 8.1 million pounds for the six months to December, reflecting an expected reduction in gold buying profits and a 2% increase in operating profits across the group. Looking ahead, the group has continues to diversify its product range to exploit the increasing demand for short term cash and has fully integrated its early pay day loans business into the rest of the group's operations. The shares lost 17p to 212.25p. Spread betting company London Capital Group (LCG) announced that it has received "preliminary approaches" from Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, GAIN Capital Holdings and City Index regarding the possible acquisition of the entire share capital of the group. As usual, the firm was keen to stress that there is no certainty that any of these offers will lead to a formal offer being made. The shares climbed by 8.5p to 48.5p. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment