Renishaw (RSW) non-executive deputy chairman John Deer has sold £392,100 of shares in the measuring equipment specialist, a month after banking £39,000 from another disposal. Mr Deer’s children are the shares’ beneficial owners.
The share sales followed a trading update in which Renishaw revealed a turbulent nine months that have delivered a heavy hit to its profits. In May, the company said that its full-year 2020 pre-tax profits are expected to sit in the range of around £31m to £41m, compared with £109.9m last year. While all of its manufacturing facilities are now open, most are operating at lower capacity. Renishaw registered a fall in Chinese demand during its third quarter that it attributed to the Chinese government’s coronavirus response.
The company has also suffered from falling demand in the machine tool sector and has been caught in the crossfire between China and the US during their trade dispute. It did, however, observe growth for its optical and laser encoder products, citing a recovery in the semiconductor market.
In the nine months to 31 March 2020, Renishaw’s core metrology segment, which accounts for 94 per cent of its turnover, recorded a 9.5 per cent decline in revenue. Renishaw experienced a similar drop in its healthcare arm. The group saved £5.1m through scrapping its half-year dividend in March and has since announced the cancellation of its final dividend.
Over three quarters, Renishaw’s pre-tax profits have slumped 76.8 per cent to £19.7m compared with last year. As a result of the pandemic, Renishaw has delayed the publication of its full-year results from 3 August into the middle of the month.
Renishaw declined to comment on Mr Deer’s disposals.
| Buys | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Air Partner | Ed Warner (ch) | 16 Jun 20 | 75,000 | 75 | 56,250 | |
| Ocean Outdoor | Aryeh Bourkoff | 16 Jun 20 | 56,000 | 500 | 279,887 | Converted from US$ |
| M&G | Massimo Tosato | 17 Jun 20 | 61,000 | 163.92 | 99,991 | |
| WPP | Keith Weed | 17 Jun 20 | 3,121 | 640.32 | 19,984 | |
| Domino's Pizza | Usman Nabi | 17 Jun 20 | 1,024,213 | 306.48 | 3,138,902 | Aggregate price, purchased by Browning West. Stake now 9.16% |
| City of London Investment Group | Barry Olliff | 18 Jun 20 | 16,522 | 369.99 | 61,130 | |
| Filta | Jlubomir Urosevic | 19 Jun 20 | 50,000 | 118 | 59,000 | |
| William Hill | Matt Ashley (cfo) | 19 Jun 20 | 85,000 | 128 | 108,800 | Purchased as part of placing |
| GetBusy | Clive Rabie | 19 Jun 20 | 154,429 | 69.9 | 107,904 | Converted from Aus$ |
| Bayford | Jonathan Turner | 19 Jun 20 | 125,000 | 31 | 38,750 | Purchased by PCA |
| CPPGroup | Oliver Laird (cfo) | 19 Jun 20 | 21,619 | 371 | 80,206 | |
| Sells | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| PZ Cussons | Giannis Bouras | 18 Jun 20 | 26,360 | 181.59 | 47,867 | |
| Ashmore | Mark Coombs (ceo) | 19 Jun 20 | 10,000,000 | 435 | 43,500,000 | Remaining stake of 34.6% |
| Renishaw | Daniel John Deer | 19 Jun 20 | 10,000 | 3,921 | 392,100 | |
| Mediclinic | Gert Cornelis Hattingh | 19 Jun 20 | 25,904 | 270.69 | 70,119 | Sold by PCA |
| Direct Line | Jonathan Greenwood | 19 Jun 20 | 15,500 | 280 | 43,400 | |
| Daily Mail & General Trust | Lord Rothermere (ch) | 19 Jun 20 | 50,364 | 700 | 352,548 | Sold to fund a UK property purchase |
| Chemring | Sarah Ellard | 22 Jun 20 | 31,000 | 236.5 | 73,315 |
