Royal Mail (RMG) recently revealed that its parcel and international logistics systems (GLS) business – previously the most resilient division – had started to show signs of weakness. Rising costs drove margins down from 7.5 per cent to 5.7 per cent, a far greater contraction that analysts had anticipated. This followed October’s profit warning, when management informed the market that missed productivity and cost-savings targets would dent operating profit. Meanwhile, a 7 per cent fall in letter volumes exceeded the expected 4 to 6 per cent decline and a 6 per cent improvement in UK parcel volumes failed to offset the damage.
Such disappointments sent the shares tumbling, so it’s no wonder management is attempting to shore up confidence in a potential recovery. Chief executive Rico Back purchased 162,000 Royal Mail shares priced between 300p and 318p, spending £506,044 in total. Mr Black used to head up the GLS division before taking over as group chief executive from Moya Greene earlier this year.
Buys | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
3i | David Hutchison | 16 Nov 18 | 13,200 | 800 | 105,600 | 13,200 | 0.001 |
3i | Simon Borrows (ceo) | 16 Nov 18 | 250,000 | 803.6783 | 2,009,196 | 14,139,499 | 1.453 |
3i | Coline McConville | 20 Nov 18 | 3,097 | 807.1 | 24,996 | 3,097 | 0.000 |
3i | Simon Thompson (ch) | 16 Nov 18 | 12,378 | 807.83 | 99,993 | 68,318 | 0.007 |
3i | Jonathan Asquith | 19 Nov 18 | 40,000 | 809 | 323,600 | 87,582 | 0.009 |
Audioboom | Michael Tobin (ch) | 21 Nov 18 | 1,600,000 | 1.2 | 19,200 | 4,659,900 | 0.397 |
Babcock International | Myles Lee | 21 Nov 18 | 7,500 | 551 | 41,325 | 20,000 | 0.004 |
Barratt Developments | John Allan (ch) | 20 Nov 18 | 10,000 | 479.88 | 47,988 | 76,705 | 0.008 |
DCC | Mark Breuer | 19 Nov 18 | 340 | 5815 | 19,771 | 340 | 0.000 |
Devro | Paul Withers | 16 Nov 18 | 30,000 | 176.29 | 52,887 | 140,000 | 0.084 |
Devro | Rutger Helbing (ceo) | 19 Nov 18 | 10,000 | 176.6 | 17,660 | 52,500 | 0.031 |
Electrocomponents | Lindsley Ruth (ceo) | 20 Nov 18 | 10,000 | 560.5667 | 56,057 | 332,221 | 0.075 |
Feedback* | Alastair Riddell (ch) | 16 Nov 18 | 1,000,000 | 1.5 | 15,000 | 6,000,000 | 1.607 |
Feedback* | Simon Sturge | 16 Nov 18 | 5,333,333 | 1.5 | 80,000 | 12,833,333 | 3.438 |
Forterra♥ | Shatish Dasani (cfo) | 16 Nov 18 | 18,700 | 217 | 40,579 | 108,853 | 0.054 |
Georgian Mining | Neil O'Brien | 16 Nov 18 | 250,000 | 6.5 | 16,250 | 1,650,000 | 1.438 |
Georgian Mining | Gregory Kuenzel (fd) | 16 Nov 18 | 250,000 | 6.5 | 16,250 | 597,467 | 0.521 |
Georgian Mining | Michael Struthers | 16 Nov 18 | 350,000 | 6.5 | 22,750 | 350,000 | 0.305 |
Georgian Mining | Peter Damouni | 16 Nov 18 | 220,000 | 6.5 | 14,300 | 407,500 | 0.355 |
Intermediate Capital | Benoit Durteste (ceo) | 15 Nov 18 | 50,000 | 962.95 | 481,475 | 529,265 | 0.180 |
Intermediate Capital | Kevin Parry (ch) | 15 Nov 18 | 10,216 | 973.57 | 99,460 | 40,092 | 0.014 |
Lloyds Banking | Norman Blackwell (ch) | 16 Nov 18 | 50,000 | 54.1 | 27,050 | 150,000 | 0.000 |
Lloyds Banking | Simon Henry | 19 Nov 18 | 50,000 | 55.12 | 27,560 | 250,000 | 0.000 |
Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 | Steven Scott | 15 Nov 18 | 21,664 | 70.5621 | 15,287 | 202,838 | 0.263 |
Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 | William Nixon | 15 Nov 18 | 119,687 | 70.5621 | 84,454 | 428,710 | 0.555 |
Morgan Advanced Materials | Peter Turner (cfo) | 21 Nov 18 | 100,000 | 269.518 | 269,518 | 140,000 | 0.049 |
Reach | Nicholas Prettejohn | 20 Nov 18 | 106,685 | 70.4 | 75,106 | 106,685 | 0.036 |
Robert Walters | Robert Walters (ceo) | 16 Nov 18 | 13,535 | 559 | 75,661 | 2,238,159 | 2.961 |
Rolls-Royce | Warren East (ceo) | 20 Nov 18 | 9,488 | 790.4 | 74,993 | 35,356 | 0.002 |
Royal Mail | Rico Back (ceo) | 20 Nov 18 | 50,000 | 299.9323 | 149,966 | 212,000 | 0.021 |
Royal Mail | Rico Back (ceo) | 19 Nov 18 | 112,000 | 317.9268 | 356,078 | 162,000 | 0.016 |
Sage | Donald Brydon (ch) | 21 Nov 18 | 22,000 | 514.97 | 113,293 | 100,024 | 0.009 |
Schroder Real Estate IT | Alastair Hughes | 16 Nov 18 | 100,000 | 56.7 | 56,700 | 100,000 | 0.019 |
SIG | Nicholas Maddock (fd) | 20 Nov 18 | 13,340 | 105.3495 | 14,054 | 78,410 | 0.013 |
SIG | Andrew Allner (ch) | 20 Nov 18 | 15,000 | 105.7553 | 15,863 | 43,954 | 0.007 |
SIG♥ | Nicholas Maddock (fd) | 20 Nov 18 | 62,938 | 105.863 | 66,628 | 65,070 | 0.011 |
Sportech | Richard McGuire | 16 Nov 18 | 170,000 | 40.4 | 68,680 | 690,000 | 0.369 |
Sportech | Richard McGuire | 16 Nov 18 | 80,000 | 41 | 32,800 | 770,000 | 0.412 |
SSE | Peter Lynas | 19 Nov 18 | 3,000 | 1117 | 33,510 | 5,000 | 0.000 |
SSE | Anthony Cocker | 16 Nov 18 | 5,000 | 1122.7 | 56,135 | 5,000 | 0.000 |
Sumo | Andrea Dunstan | 16 Nov 18 | 20,000 | 150 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 0.013 |
Ten Entertainment | Adam Bellamy | 15 Nov 18 | 10,000 | 231.1 | 23,110 | 10,000 | 0.015 |
Tristel | Paul Swinney | 19 Nov 18 | 8,300 | 235 | 19,505 | 8,300 | 0.019 |
Tristel | David Orr | 19 Nov 18 | 8,300 | 236 | 19,588 | 27,811 | 0.063 |
Vertu Motors | Kenneth Lever | 16 Nov 18 | 60,000 | 38.15 | 22,890 | 100,800 | 0.027 |
XLMedia | Ory Weihs (ceo) | 19 Nov 18 | 84,761 | 104 | 88,151 | 4,556,735 | 2.068 |
Zenith Energy | Andrea Cattaneo (ceo) | 15 Nov 18 | 1,050,000 | 3.3 | 34,650 | 18,822,933 | 12.287 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
AB Dynamics | Anthony Best | 19 Nov 18 | 100,000 | 1497.75 | 1,497,750 | 6,047,107 | 30.953 |
AB Dynamics | Robert Hart (fd) | 16 Nov 18 | 6,501 | 1537.5 | 99,953 | 6,511 | 0.033 |
AB Dynamics♥ | Robert Hart (fd) | 16 Nov 18 | 6,511 | 1537.5 | 100,107 | 0 | 0.000 |
AB Dynamics | Matthew Hubbard | 16 Nov 18 | 1,000 | 1570 | 15,700 | 108,649 | 0.556 |
AB Dynamics♥ | Matthew Hubbard | 16 Nov 18 | 1,000 | 1570 | 15,700 | 107,649 | 0.551 |
Alpha Real Trust | Jeffrey Chowdhry | 20 Nov 18 | 20,000 | 132 | 26,400 | 10,000 | 0.015 |
Investec | Ian Kantor | 20 Nov 18 | 200,000 | 485.3143 | 970,629 | 609,045 | 0.089 |
Ricardo | Mark Garrett | 20 Nov 18 | 72,000 | 678 | 488,160 | 61,223 | 0.115 |
Ricardo♥ | Mark Garrett | 20 Nov 18 | 1,500 | 693.2 | 10,398 | 59,723 | 0.112 |
System1 | John Kearon (ceo) | 16 Nov 18 | 358,974 | 195 | 699,999 | 2,961,235 | 23.551 |
*Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party |