Equities have started the day brightly, shaking off their downbeat mood of recent days and The Trader Dominic Picarda, while mildly bearish on European equities in the short term, still expects a broad upwards move in time.
IC TIP UPDATES:
CLS Holdings (CLI) has announced the successful letting of part of a property in Frieburg, Germany, at an annual rent of €971,020, which means it is now fully let. Buy.
CFD trading platform provider Plus500 (PLUS) says that despite relatively subdued market conditions it now expects to report revenue and profits ahead of expectations for the second quarter of 2014. We maintain our buy recommendation.
Simon Thompson recommendation Hangar8 (HGR8) reports an ‘excellent’ year to June with a strong increase in earnings bringing them in ahead of management expectations. The company has confirmed its intention to pay out a 2.3p a share maiden dividend for the year.
Volex (VLX) announces that it has successfully completed its placing and open offer to raise £18.1m gross. We keep our buy rating.
Asian Plantations (PALM) has confirmed that it remains in discussions over a potential sale of the business. Buy.
KEY STORIES:
Online grocer Ocado (OCDO) posted a 15.6 per cent rise in gross sales for the six months to 18 May with earnings rising 78.6 per cent to £34.3m. The company now has 396,000 active customers, up from 360,000 this time last year although average basket price dipped marginally from £114.90 to £114.43.
Premier Oil (PMO) has continued its divestment programme with the sale of a non-operated 42 per cent interest in an onshore block in Aceh, Indonesia, for $40m.
Synthomer (SYNT) chief executive Adrian Whitfield has announced his intention to step down from his position within 12 months, after eight years with the company.
Greggs (GRG) has reported solid trading for the year to date with total sales up to 28 June rising by 3.1 per cent and like for like sales up 3.2 per cent compared with a 2.9 per cent decline at this point last year. The company has refitted 131 stores, opened 26 new shops and closed 36 during the period.
Property group St Modwen (SMP) enjoyed a 32 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £52.3m in the six months to 31 May coupled with a 6 per cent rise in shareholders equity net asset value to 294.2p a share.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Indian power generation specialist OPG Power (OPG) has completed hydraulic testing on its Chennai IV 180MW power project, which means it can now commence connecting up the turbine and generator, a process which will take four months before commissioning can start. Meanwhile, construction at its 300MW Gujarat project is even further advanced.
