Shares of oil major Shell (RDSB) are running near the top end of their recent trading range. Nevertheless, they are still attractive, according to The Times' Tempus column. The company is fully on track to meet its goal to divest $15bn in assets this year. In fact, just this week it announced its intention to hive off most of its stake in Australian outfit Woodside Petroleum for $5bn. As well, the company has filed to float various onshore and offshore pipelines in Texas and Louisisana which will eventually bring in $750m. Furthermore, it is selling a refinery in the Philippines and has signed agreements to work on new natural gas projects with Chinese companies. Hence, the firm will be able to cover its capital spending, reduce its debt and increase its dividend pay-outs from its cash flow. Any surplus will be returned to shareholders, Tempus says.
Software provider Micro Focus International’s (MCRO) latest results were not stellar but it is a reliable outfit. Its sales grew by 6.4 per cent in the year ending in April, topping the company’s own guidance by a tad. Significantly, the firm has been in recovery mode for the last three years.
However, the most important aspect of its financials is the potential for further returns of cash, given its robust cash-flows. Yesterday the company moved to accelerate those returns. Broker Numis estimates the firm could either return $140m per annum until 2020 or maintain that same rate for three years while spending at least $200m on deals. There is therefore every reason to stick with the shares. They are a ‘strong hold’ Tempus writes.
BUSINESS PRESS HEADLINES:
President Obama is ready to use American air power in “targeted and precise military action” against Islamists who have captured vast swathes of northern Iraq and are now threatening the capital. Mr Obama made the dramatic announcement yesterday after meeting his national security advisers. He said that he was deploying an elite US special operations force to Baghdad to stiffen the spines of the Iraqi military, who crumbled in the face of advancing Islamic extremists. – The Times
Shire (SHP), the London-listed pharmaceutical company, has rejected a £27bn approach from US rival AbbVie, the maker rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira. AbbVie confirmed on Friday that it had first made an indicative cash and shares offer to merge with Shire in early May worth £39.50 per Shire share and had subsequently raised the value of its potential offer three times to £46.26. The US company said in a statement that discussions were "no longer ongoing" and "there can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made". Under takeover rules, AbbVie has until July 18 to make a firm offer for Shire or walk away. – The Daily Telegraph
A recovery in manufacturing on the back of rising exports could be in jeopardy after the pound broke the key $1.70 barrier for the first time in almost six years. Figures from the CBI’s latest industrial trends survey yesterday showed order books at their highest since December, but the buoyant picture was undermined by fears over the impact of the strengthening of sterling. Katja Hall, the CBI’s deputy director-general, said: “The recent rise in sterling could impact on the resilient export orders we have seen lately.” – The Times
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) will sell a significantly bigger percentage of TSB than it had intended, after strong demand for shares in the challenger bank. Up to 38.5 per cent of TSB will be floated today at a price of 260p a share, valuing the business at £1.3bn. The taxpayer-backed bank had originally intended to sell around 25 per cent of the business. Sources said there had been strong demand for the shares from retail investors, who are likely to receive around 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the initial sale. There was also significant interest from institutional investors in the UK and US. – The Daily Telegraph
The Bank of England again warned that an interest rates rise is on its way as a senior official said it must not ‘hold back too long’. Ian McCafferty became the latest member of the central bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee to suggest that the first hike since 2007 is fast approaching. He said a good reason ‘not to hold back too long’ was that ‘it will be critically important that rises in bank rate are delivered, as far as we are able, at only a modest, gradual pace’. – The Daily Mail
The Bank of England should start moving away from its “emergency” approach to monetary policy by reining in support for the housing market and lifting interest rates “sooner rather than later”, Standard Life Investments (SLI) has urged. Although the fund manager said the central bank should raise borrowing costs later this year if spare capacity in the economy continues to shrink, it noted that “difficult decisions” will have to be made in returning to a normal policy setting. - The Scotsman
