Shares in London fell in morning trading as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the G7 meeting this weekend.
IC TIP UPDATES:
BT (BT.A) chief executive Gavin Patterson will be stepping-down later this year, with the search for his successor now underway. It follows shareholder concern over his suitability to lead a restructuring of the group. Chairman Jan du Plessis said that while the “Board is fully supportive of the strategy recently set out by Gavin and his team. The broader reaction to our recent results announcement has though demonstrated to Gavin and me that there is a need for a change of leadership to deliver this strategy.” Sell.
Shares in Amerisur Resources (AMER) were marked down heavily following news that Platanillo field production has been constricted by the ongoing treatment and maintenance programme, together with a reduction in production from certain key wells due – in some cases – to an increased ratio of water compared to the volume of total liquids produced. Remedial measures have been undertaken, but there is still widespread flooding in the Putumayo basin. Unfortunately, grist to the mill for oil producers. Buy.
Benchmark Holdings (BMK) has acquired a 49 per cent interest in a Chilean salmon breeding and genetics joint venture with Empresas AquaChile for $16.25m. Management expects the venture to be immediately earnings accretive and expand its presence in what is the world’s second largest salmon market. It also plans to raise £19m to to fund the total cash consideration of the transaction, a $5.4m (£4m) loan to the JV and transaction expenses, with the balance being used for general working capital purposes. Buy.
Lloyds (LLOY) has sold its remaining stake in Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) at 352,5p a share, representing a stake of around 3.3 per cent and raising gross proceeds of £344m. Buy.
Revenue at Fuller, Smith & Turner (FSTA) increased by 5 per cent to £404m, based on 52 week comparative, during the year to March 2018, with cash profits up 2 per cent to £70.9m. This was driven in part from above industry average growth in the managed pubs and hotels, and a strong performance in tenanted inns. This helped to compensate for flat beer and cider volumes over the period. The pub group acquired Dark Star Brewing, a craft cask brewer in Sussex. Shares fell 2 per cent in early trading. Buy.
KEY STORIES:
Synthomer (SYNT) has announced the European Commission (EC) has opened an investigation into practices relating to the purchase of styrene monomer by companies operating in the European Economic Area. As part of the process, the Commission visited Synthomer's London office this week. Management said it was fully cooperating with the EC throughout the investigation.
Shares in Games Workshop (GAW) declined 5 per cent in early morning trading, despite the model maker guiding towards pre-tax profits of at least £74m for 2018, up from £38.4m the previous year. What’s more, royalties receivable from licensing are around £10m. The board also declared a dividend of 30p per share, to be paid on 27 July.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Merlin Entertainment (MERL) has appointed Andrew Fisher as non-executive director. He is currently executive chairman at Shazam, and has previous experience focusing on technology companies.
