Shares in London have made good some of yesterday's dramatic losses. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest thoughts on the markets.
IC TIP UPDATES:
A pre-close trading update from Porvair (PRV) revealed that revenue growth is anticipated to sit around 10 per cent for the filtration technology company’s full year. Earnings are expected to come in ahead of management expectations after underlying growth in the company’s aerospace and industrial, laboratory and melt metal quality divisions. Porvair has made a number of acquisitions this year - acquisition and capital expenditure of £13m have resulted in a marginal drop in the company’s cash position. Shares rose 6 per cent in morning trading. Buy.
KEY STORIES:
Ahead of its annual general meeting, Associated British Foods (ABF) chairman Michael McLintock said trading at Primark during November had been “challenging” in a “tough retail market”. Careful inventory management and improved margins mean that ABF still expects Primark to deliver profit growth over the year and plans for selling space expansion will go ahead. Profits from the sugar business will be “significantly lower” reflecting the full year effect of EU sugar prices. Shares fell more than 2 per cent in early trading.
Shares in Games Workshop (GAW) were up 6 per cent in early trading after the company announced that it expects to report sales of £124m for the first six months of its financial year with operating profit of £41m. This is in line with expectations. Management said the results show the Warhammer Hobby is in “great shape in our core markets”. A 30p interim dividend was also announced.
Three bits of news for Premier Oil (PMO)-watchers today: completion of the $39m sale of its interests in the Babbage Area, above-forecast group production for November primarily driven by Premier’s 50 per cent stake in Catcher, and that 30 per cent of 2019 forecast oil output has been hedged at an average price of $70 per barrel. The latter is particularly encouraging, given the debt-laden group’s sensitivity to prices – a fact reflected in the halving of Premier’s shares in the last two months.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Healthcare software group Emis (EMIS) has reached a settlement agreement with NHS Digital in relation to the service level reporting issues announced in January this year, within the £11.2m provision that had been previously made and announced.
Shares in small-cap EVR Holdings (EVRH) were up nearly a fifth this morning on the news that the first live-streamed virtual reality event using its MelodyVR platform will take place on 19 December 2018. The company also announced the appointment of Andy Brown as chief financial officer. Mr Brown was previously chief financial officer at Universal Music Group.
With its shares languishing at a three-year low, investors no longer appear to be expecting much of Sound Energy’s (SOU) remaining drill programme in Eastern Morocco. Today, the company reports that it has begun drilling at the TE-10 well, its second target. The company has put the well’s chance of success between 14 and 26 per cent, depending on the geological structure targeted.
Somewhat uncharacteristically, Ophir Energy (OPHR) is out with two positive updates for shareholders today. The first is a gas discovery at its Paus Biru-1 exploration well in Indonesia, which flowed gas for over 5 hours, and is now the subject of a development plan submitted for approval. The second is the completion of a development drilling programme at Bualuang, which came in $6m under budget and resulted in November production 20 per cent above the year average.
