More of the same, with European stocks opening lower on Thursday, as investors digested a raft of quarterly corporate updates, while the political impasse in Ukraine continues..
IC TIP UPDATES:
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) has announced a successful gas discovery from an exploration well 135km offshore Malaysia. We maintain our buy recommendation.
Insurance group RSA (RSA) has announced the proposed sale of its interests in the Baltic states and Poland for an aggregate €360m (£300m) in cash as it continues to act to shore up its capital position. Our sell recommendation remains.
Simon Thompson Bargain Shares 2014 constituent Taylor Wimpey (TW.) reports that it has continued to trade strongly in the opening quarter of its financial year with a strong spring selling season in which private net reservations have been running at 0.75 per week against 0.66 last year and cancellations are low at 10 per cent against 13.7 per cent in 2013. The total order book is up by 33 per cent to £1.6bn with selling prices 22 per cent up on last year.
Babcock (BAB) announces that, pursuant to its recent rights issue, 139,259,204 New Ordinary Shares of 60 pence each will be admitted, nil paid, to listing on the LSE today.
Budget airline Fastjet (FJET) said that it plans to raise an additional £3.9m through an open offer. It comes after last week’s £11m share placing; both share sales will be carried out at the same price of 1.6p per share. Meanwhile, company revealed that operations in Tanzania carried a total of 34,536 passengers and achieved a load factor of 67 per cent. The average yield per passenger was $88 compared to $52 in March 2013.
KEY STORIES:
Aim-traded Caza Oil & Gas (CAZA) revealed an encouraging well result from the Bone Springs play in New Mexico, with West Copperline flowing at a rate of 1,366 barrels oil equivalent per day. This is the second development well on the 62 per cent owned West Copperline property, and follows equally successful wells on the property.
Frontier driller Providence Resources (PVR) confirmed that it will continue the exploration of the Newgrange prospects off Ireland’s west coast, via a 2D seismic programme. The company has been given a follow-on frontier exploration licence (FEL) from the Irish government, but to satisfy the FEL’s main exploration requirement Providence, and its partner Sosina Exploration, must acquire 1,000 kilometres of 2D seismic over the area. Interpretation of existing data has revealed two large stacked four-way structural closures.
Motive Television (MTV) has signed a software development license agreement with Shenzhen Skyworth Digital Technology, a leading Chinese technology manufacturer that will be supplying set top boxes in support of the Siyaya DTH services.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Cobham (COB) has disposed of a US manufacturing business, which the company described as its 'last remaining non-core business to management'. The US operation makes displays, navigation aids and safety aids for general aviation customers. As part of the deal, a $15m (£9m) term loan note is payable to Cobham.
Hutchison MediPharma - Hutchison China MediTech's (HCM) R&D subsidiary - has initiated a phase II clinical trial in colorectal cancer patients in China for fruquintinib (HMPL-013).
Meanwhile, The Co-operative Group is set to announce losses of up to £2.5bn after a series of "catastrophically inept" business decisions.
