Equities began the day uncertainly but have since rebounded into positive territory. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest views on the markets.
IC TIP UPDATES:
Unlisted bookied Betfred has chosen online gambling business GVC (GVC) to drive its presence on the internet. The 10-year agreement will see Betfred’s online business migrated onto GVC’s platform on an exclusive basis. The deal shows management at GVC clearly have ambition given they are still integrating recent acquisition Bwin Party. It also shows the growing importance of having a strong internet presence - Betfred is largely known for its circa 1,400-strong retail estate. Buy.
Mexico-based lithium miner Bacanora Minerals (BCN) has raised £7.7m in a placing of shares and warrants, in a deal with asset management giant BlackRock. The financing, which can be extended to £10m if the placing warrants are exercised, has priced the new stock at 79p. But the announcement helped to push up Bacanora’s share price by 5 per cent this morning. We remain long-term buyers.
KEY STORIES:
As part of its strategy of disposing non-core units, De La Rue (DLAR) said it has sold a business which provides cash sorting machines to major lenders for £3.6m. The Basingstoke-based firm said it had sold its Cash Processing Solutions unit to a company owned by the UK private equity firm Privet Capital.
Restore (RST) confirmed that trading is proceeding satisfactorily and that the integration of Wincanton Records Management, acquired in December 2015, is proceeding well. The document storage specialist also confirmed the expected improvement in margins in its core business, together with news that net debt has reduced significantly this year.
There’s certainly some jet fuel behind the numbers at budget airline Ryanair (RYA) this morning with revenues up 16 per cent to €6.5bn (£5bn) which has pushed adjusted pre-tax profits up more than two thirds to €1.4bn - which moves up to €1.7bn when the proceeds of its Aer Lingus sale to International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) is taken into account. Management said the airline was roughly 2 per cent better booked for the peak summer months compared to last year but at lower fares. It added pricing would likely be softer in Q1 and Q4 given the lack of Easter and the fact capacity additions in Europe are “higher than in previous years as hedged competitors enjoy falling oil bills”. It expects average fares to fall roughly 7 per cent this financial year. It’s likely this outlook which has kept the shares flat in early trading.
The chips have fallen the way of Stride Gaming (STR) investors this morning as the company announced its maiden interim dividend. The stock has risen some 43 per cent in the past year on the back of strong performance for the London-based business. Net gaming revenue rose by a fifth to more than £21m which helped push adjusted cash profits up 30 per cent to £5.6m. The shares rose nearly 7 per cent in early trading.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Andes Energia (AEN), the only London-listed explorer with significant exposure to the Vaca Muerta shale formation in Argentina, saw cash profits almost double in 2015, thanks to a significant boost in production. The group, which has benefited from the business-friendly outlook of new president Mauricio Macri, has also seen a steep increase in financial liabilities from $58m to $99m, just over a fifth of which is owed in the next year.
4D Pharma (DDDD) has provided some much needed good news for shareholders, after many seem to have been losing patience over the last couple of months. Today the biotechnology group has announced positive early stage clinical trials results for its proprietary drug for irritable bowel syndrome treatment.
As expected losses have once again widened at Tissue Regenix (TRX) as clinical trials expenditure and rollout of the group’s primary product, DermaPure, have ramped up costs. That said, sales of the product have been really flying sending group turnover up over 700 per cent this year.
