Ahead of set piece announcements including the Budget and the Fed's latest open markets committee meeting, equities are up a little. Click here to see what The Trader thinks of the markets.
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Payments giant Paysafe (PAYS) - formerly Optimal Payments - posted a 13 per cent rise in underlying revenues in 2015. That reflected underlying sales growth of more than 15 per cent in the key payment processing and digital wallets divisions. Combined with about $10m (£7.1m) in cost savings from the integration of Skrill, that helped to drive adjusted cash profits up more than three-quarters to $153m. Buy.
Manufacturing conglomerate Smiths Group (SMIN) grew its statutory pre-tax profit and operating margin in the six months to January, despite a 3 per cent slide in revenues. New boss Andy Reynolds Smith described the results as “solid”, as strong performances from the medical and detection units helped to offset another tough year for the oil & gas exposed John Crane. Buy.
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London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Borse have confirmed details of their merger of equals, which will see LSE shareholders end up with just shy of 46 per cent of the enlarged group.
In other merger news, mid-cap pharmaceuticals specialists Vectura (VEC) and Skyepharma (SKP) have announced plans to merge in a move which would create a £1bn market cap business.
It all seems to be rising like a delicious cake over at Aim-listed Finsbury Food (FIF). The Cardiff-based group’s reported numbers have a bit of extra baking powder in them thanks to two recent acquisitions - Fletchers in October 2014 and Johnstone’s last year. But there has been organic growth too. Sales rose 46 per cent with the purchases mixed in to hit £156m. They were up 7.4 per cent without. A big help to the group was its licensed celebration cake business, which benefited from the success of the Minions film.
Shares in Xaar (XAR) fell 6 per cent in early morning trading after the inkjet printing technology company posted lower pre-tax profit and revenue in 2015. Unsurprisingly, the culprit was the group’s core ceramic tile operation, which has struggled with slower growth in China. Management responded by outlining a strategic plan to grow revenues.
Shares in Kainos (KNOS) climbed 5 per cent after the IT, consulting and software provider’s directors said they expected results for the year to 31 March to meet expectations. They also predict stronger trading across government departments such as the Ministry of Justice and Office of National Statistics and remain positive about the drive towards digitisation in the NHS.
