Equities have given up a little of yesterday’s strong gains as momentum stalls again. Click here to find out what The Trader Nicole Elliott thinks of the state of play on the markets.
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An oil discovery in the Falklands at the Isobel Deep well has boosted shares in Rockhopper Exploration (RKH), although demand for partners Falkland Oil & Gas (FOGL) and the well’s operator Premier Oil (PMO) has been less apparent. The well found oil in the lower regions of its drilling depth but problems with the equipment hampered proper assessment of the find. We maintain our buy rating on Rockhopper.
Property company Helical Bar (HLCL) has posted strong full year results showing a 23 per cent rise in net asset value and a rise in the value of its share of its property portfolio over the £1bn level. Profits dipped due to the lumpy nature of development profits but net rental income rose by 30 per cent. Buy.
Property investors Palace Capital (PCA) also announced strong results in which profits rose from £1.4m to £4.6m. The company has also announced plans to raise £20.7m through a placing to help fund the proposed acquisition of Sol Central, a mixed-use leisure development in Northampton. We keep our buy rating.
KEY STORIES:
Full year results from Tate & Lyle (TATE) were predictably downbeat after a tough year for the ingredients to sweetener giant. Adjusted group profits fell by 30 per cent to £224m after adjusted sales dipped by 14 per cent. Management says that the current year will be one of ‘structural change’.
Value retailer B&M European Value (BME) has posted strong maiden preliminary results following its floatation last year. Group revenues rose by 29.5 per cent to £1.65bn with UK like for like sales up by 4.4 per cent and group cash earnings one third higher at £150.2m. During the year B&M opened 52 net new stores in the UK and acquired Jawoll in Germnay bringing with it 49 stores. Management expects to open another 60 stores in the UK this year.
Serco (SRP) has announced the appointment of the well travelled Sir Roy Gardner as its non-executive chairman. His previous roles include chairman of Centrica and Compass.
Kingfisher’s (KGF) first quarter sales totalled £2.8bn and showed a modest 0.8 per cent like for like improvement, driven by a stronger showing in the UK and Ireland and some international markets but held back by continued subdued conditions in France.
IG Group (IGG) reports that its fourth quarter trading went to plan and it expects to meet market forecasts for full year performance.
Mobile and top up payment specialist Paypoint (PAY) grew revenues by 3 per cent in the year to March with profits rising 7.7 per cent to £49.6m. Highlights included record numbers of transactions at 812.7 million and a 38.7 per cent uplift in the number of Collect+ parcel service transactions.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Recently floated asset and energy support services specialist Lakehouse (LAKE) grew revenues by 28 per cent in the six months to March with profits more than trebling to £1.2m, although this was boosted by acquisitions. The company won £248m worth of contracts during the period including framework agreements and its order book at the end of March was £563m, which means 97 per cent of full year revenues are in the bag.
Renewable energy specialist Infinis (INFI) saw revenues dip marginally to £236m in the year to March but posted profits of £20.7m compared with a loss of £11.8m the year before allowing management to up the dividend to 18.3p for the full year.
Oil and energy services business Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI) says that the parts of its business which are exposed to oil and gas are now expecting to see no significant upturn in business during this calendar year. This means the business will be loss making in its first half and management has been prompted to close several parts of the business and reduce headcount by 10 per cent to better position it for recovery in 2016/17.
Smart Metering Systems (SMS) says that total annualised recurring revenues have increased by 10 per cent to £29m since the turn of the year.
English sparkling wine specialist Gusborne (GUS) has announced plans to raise £3.7m through an open offer to investors to acquire two shares for every five they own at 50p a share. The funds will be used to support the development of new vineyards planted in 2015, expand winery capacity and support marketing of the brand.
Applegreen, an operator of motorway service areas in Ireland which turned over close to €1bn in the year to December, has announced plans to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market.
