Shares in London regained a significant chunk of their recent losses in morning trading today. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's thoughts on the markets.
IC TIP UPDATES:
Shares in Mears (MER) have bounced up 3 per cent this morning, reversing much of the losses of recent weeks. The catalyst was the news that revenues in the housing division have stabilised, following a tough period after the Grenfell Tower tragedy prompted owners to assess their portfolios for safety and compliance. MER is winning work in the division, with around £70m coming in during the first half of the year. Buy.
Inspired Energy (INSE) has reportedly traded in line with expectations for the first half of 2018. In a brief statement ahead of the AGM, the group highlighted the acquisitions of Systemslink 2000 and Energy Cost Management as boosters to its client offering. It has also brought in a long-term incentive plan for senior management. Buy.
Sirius Minerals (SXX) has signed another bind take-or-pay long term agreement, this time with a Dubai-based trading outfit, for exclusive supply rights for POLY4 in Nigeria. The deal, which takes Sirius’ peak contracted sales volumes to 4.7 million tonnes a year, is reportedly “consistent with the company’s existing portfolio” of price agreements, and requires the miner to sell ITL Trading with up to 350,000 tonnes of polyhalite a year over seven years. Shares are up today, and remain a buy.
KEY STORIES:
Shares in HSS Hire (HSS) are down 2 per cent this morning. The group has secured refinancing consisting of a new-term loan facility of £220m and a revolving credit facility of £25m. The bulk of the borrowing will now not mature until June 2023, though £20m will mature in December 2020 and the £25m revolving facility will mature in December 2022. The catch is that the new debt is a lot more expensive than the preexisting facilities, and consequently analyst Numis has revised down its forecasts, predicting pre-tax losses this year and next.
Shares in Wynnstay Group (WYN) are up more than 4 per cent in early trading after the agriculture company reported a 10.3 per cent increase in sales to £219m during the six months to April, while operating profit from continuing operations was up 15.9 per cent to £5.09m. Chief executive Ken Greetham is set to retire in early July after 10 years in the role, and current joint managing director Gareth Davies will take over. Mr Greetham said these results reflect a “long awaited upturn” for the agricultural sector.
OTHER COMPANIES:
NCC’s (NCC) chief financial officer Brian Tenner will leave the cyber-security group in August this year, to pursue other interests. The company is currently searching for a replacement.
Anexo (ANX), a provider of legal services and credit hire, floated on Aim this morning. On admission, based on a placing price of 100p per share, the group was expected to have a market capitalisation of £110m - following a £25m fundraising. This entailed £10m raised for the company, and £15m for selling shareholders (with at least £5m to be repaid to Anexo).
