Paddy Power's surging share price over the past year was underpinned by an impressive set of recent full-year results. The Irish bookie's reliance on free-spending Aussie gamblers and an impressive digital operation meant that a €1m (£840,000) share sale by chief executive Patrick Kennedy looks decidedly well earned - especially after annoying the National Trust by 'painting' a jockey on the Uffington white horse. And, let's face it, with the Cheltenham Gold Cup already underway, and quickly followed by the Grand National at Aintree, which true punter wants to keep money in the bank earning just 0.5 per cent interest?
Julian Hofmann
Results analysed this week for two transactions
Peter Rose, the finance director for the international energy services group Hunting, sold 22,302 shares in his company netting himself £206,405. This transaction was made in part to satisfy his personal tax liabilities. See Hunting’s latest results where we upgrade our view on the company.
Three of Aga Rangemaster’s directors, on the other hand, have been busy buying up shares in their company which specialises in range cooking and kitchen living. Aga faces tough conditions ahead -see the preliminary results.
Robert Ansted
Rice ups his stake again in CWC
Cable & Wireless Communication (CWC) chief executive Tony Rice has scooped up yet more shares in his company. He forked out some £716,000 and bought two million shares in two tranches back in February. This took place a week after the half-year management statement was released, providing an update on the company's trading and financial position. This time round he is buying 2.5m ordinary shares at 32.85p each, which took his holding in the company to 19,915,751 ordinary shares, representing 0.79 per cent of the business. It seems that Mr Rice was capitalising on the company’s painfully low share price. The price of shares in the embattled emerging market telecoms operator have shed 36 per cent of its value in the past 12 months, and lost further investor confidence following its February profits warning, on the back of weaker operations in Panama. Mr Rice also announced the refinancing of £1bn of CWC’s £1.4bn debt but the size of the debt burden has certainly raised concerns on CWC’s dividend payouts, with analysts expecting a 30 to 50 per cent cut in dividends this year. CWC shares currently yield 15.11 per cent, and even if this halved, it would still yield on a par with Vodafone or BT. That said, we still prefer Vodafone for emerging market exposure, yield and most importantly, stability.
Malar Velaigam
Director buys
Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Access Intelligence | Michael Jackson (ch) | 12 Mar 12 | 1,800,000 | 3 | 54,000 |
Access Intelligence | Kole Dhoot (fd) | 12 Mar 12 | 1,800,000 | 3 | 54,000 |
Access Intelligence | Jeremy Harner | 12 Mar 12 | 360,000 | 3 | 10,800 |
Access Intelligence | Ray Jackson | 12 Mar 12 | 900,000 | 3 | 27,000 |
Access Intelligence | Henrik Bang | 12 Mar 12 | 301,500 | 3 | 9,045 |
Aga Rangemaster | Jonathan Carling | 08 Mar 12 | 5,000 | 87.95 | 4,398 |
Aga Rangemaster | William McGrath (ceo) | 08 Mar 12 | 28,045 | 87 | 24,399 |
Aga Rangemaster | Shaun Smith (fd) | 08 Mar 12 | 16,090 | 87 | 13,998 |
Alliance Trust | Karin Forseke | 07 Mar 12 | 10,000 | 366.08 | 36,608 |
British American Tobacco | JB Stevens | 12 Mar 12 | 345 | 3092.933 | 10,671 |
Britvic | Joanne Averiss | 07 Mar 12 | 6,000 | 381 | 22,860 |
Cable & Wireless Communications | Tony Rice | 09 Mar 12 | 2,500,000 | 32.85 | 821,250 |
Centrica | Lesley Knox | 07 Mar 12 | 3,500 | 306.56 | 10,730 |
Fidelity European | Dr Robin Niblett | 08 Mar 12 | 500 | 1123.04 | 5,615 |
Galliford Try | Greg Fitzgerald | 12 Mar 12 | 8,190 | 605 | 49,550 |
Hargreaves Lansdown | Alexander Davies | 09 Mar 12 | 6,457 | 464.6 | 29,999 |
Independent Investment Trust | Maxwell Ward | 09 Mar 12 | 170,000 | 203 | 345,100 |
MicroGen | Peter Whiting | 09 Mar 12 | 24,000 | 145 | 34,800 |
Northacre | Ken MacRae (fd) | 07 Mar 12 | 2,000 | 91.5 | 1,830 |
Rolls-Royce | Iain Conn | 07 Mar 12 | 305 | 812.5 | 2,478 |
Taylor Wimpey | Mike Hussey | 07 Mar 12 | 50,000 | 48.23 | 24,115 |
Triple Plate Junction | Christopher Goss | 09 Mar 12 | 150,000 | 3.15 | 4,725 |
Triple Plate Junction | Simon Bullock (cfo) | 08 Mar 12 | 200,000 | 3.35 | 6,700 |
Triple Plate Junction | Fraser McGee | 07 Mar 12 | 150,000 | 3.0795 | 4,619 |
Director sells
Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Polythene Industries | David Duthie | 07 Mar 12 | 8,094 | 371 | 30,029 |
British Polythene Industries | David Harris | 08 Mar 12 | 17,500 | 365.00 | 63,875 |
Hunting | Peter Rose (fd) | 12 Mar 12 | 22,302 | 925.50 | 206,405 |
Independent Investment Trust | Maxell Ward | 08 Mar 12 | 100,000 | 203.00 | 203,000 |
Intercontinental Hotels | George Turner | 12 Mar 12 | 22,000 | 1,456 | 320,211 |
International Power | Anthony Concannon | 12 Mar 12 | 75,000 | 361.21 | 270,908 |
Kingspan | Eugene Murtagh | 13 Mar 12 | 5,120,000 | €8 | €40,960,000 |
Paddy Power | Patrick Kennedy | 08 Mar 12 | 22,200 | €47.5653 | €1,055,950 |
Table compiled by Robert Ansted.
Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director