Driven by record highs across the Pond, London's FTSE100 has shifted upwards again in morning trading, but mid and small caps are more mixed. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest thoughts on the markets.
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Warehouse Reit (WHR) reported a 4 per cent decline in net asset value per share to 105p during the first-half, due to the cost of its acquisition programme. The industrial and logistics landlord made £133m in asset purchases, investing the proceeds of its April equity fundraising. More than 40 new lettings were completed at 8 per cent above estimated rental values at the end of March. Management has also announced plans to raise the 2020 annual dividend above the 6p paid in respect of 2019. Buy.
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Half-year results from Trainline (TRN) revealed a 19 per cent year-on-year increase in net ticket sales and a 29 per cent lift in revenues, with adjusted cash profits of £42m - a rise of 99 per cent, but 5 per cent below consensus expectations, with the company registering £21m in IPO costs from its June listing.
Imperial Brands (IMB) announced a new chair in current senior independent director Thérèse Esperdy, who will succeed Mark Williamson as of 1 January 2020. The announcement came with full-year results that detailed underperformance in its portfolio of new generation products along with challenges for tobacco in Africa, Asia and Australasia, although there was growth in the Americas and Europe that more than offset this.
Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) are up 5 per cent this morning following a strong performance in the group’s full-year results. Profits and earnings came in slightly ahead of expectations, and chair Michael McLintock said it was “testament to the breadth of the group that profit growth was achieved in a year where the effects of a radical change in the European sugar market fully impacted out businesses”. Sales grew 2 per cent in constant currency to £15.8bn.
Nanoco’s (NANO) board has confirmed it is in discussions to sell the company. The nano-material group has appointed adviser Evercore to help with the process and is undertaking a strategic review to examine its options. Shares are up 7 per cent on the news.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
In a period overshadowed by the death of founder-chief executive Brian Conlon, data analytics software group First Derivatives (FDP) posted a 9 per cent increase in gross profit in the six months to August. Revenues from the core software division rose 13 per cent, ahead of the managed services and consulting business, where the top line ticked up from £42.5m to £45.2m, though management confidence in the outlook has been boosted by a series of recent contract wins across the firm.
National Grid (NG.) has announced that the head of its US business, Dean Seavers, is stepping down from his position with immediate effect for personal reasons. Mr Seavers will stay with the group until the end of year to endure a smooth transition. Current director of corporate development and National Grid Ventures, Badar Khan, will be taking over on an interim basis pending the appointment of a permanent successor. The group has said that it will consider both internal and external candidates.
As previewed in its October trading update, Castleton Technology (CTP) saw revenue fall by 10 per cent to £11.6m in the first half of 2019, amid lower hardware sales and fees from professional services. Adjusted cash profits dipped by 3 per cent to £2.9m. As customers transition to cloud services, hardware and one-off revenue dropped by 55 per cent to £1.4m. At £7.6m, higher margin recurring revenue now comprises two-thirds of total sales, up from 55 per cent at the same point last year. With the merger of managed services and software solutions now complete, this new structure is expected to drive further cross-selling. Shares are up 10 per cent this morning.
IWG (IWG) has seen third quarter revenue increase by 9.4 per cent at constant currencies to £692m, driven by its two largest markets, the Americas and EMEA. Open centre revenue has risen by 15.5 per cent. With net growth capital expenditure of £64.4m, the group has added 66 new organic locations and 2.2m square feet to its global network. It now has 3,348 locations worldwide and 60.4m square feet of space. Following yesterday’s announcement, IWG has now signed master franchise agreements in Japan, Taiwan and Switzerland and has a total of 27 franchise partners across 22 countries. Reflecting proceeds from the Japan and Taiwan partnering transactions, net debt (excluding lease liabilities) stands at £301m, down 35 per cent since the end of 2018. Shares are down 2 per cent.
Wilmington’s (WIL) organic sales growth improved in the three months to September 2019. The education and networking services group’s revenues increased 2.5 per cent, compared with just 1.5 per cent in the comparative period last year. This was largely due to “encouraging” new business sales performance. The UK government’s decision to defer the Autumn Budget until after the December election means some revenues previously expected this month will now fall in the second half of the year.
Topps Tiles (TPT) chief executive Matt Williams will step down at the end of the month, after the group’s next full-year results announcement. He will be replaced by current finance director Rob Parker. Mr Williams has been in the role for the last 12 years - the same amount of time Mr Parker has been FD - and has been at the company for 20. Shares are down 2 per cent.
Boku (BOKU) has partnered with an unnamed global mobile telecoms group to provide mobile identity verification. Management said the deal represented the growing recognition among mobile network operators that mobile phones were to become main way consumers interact with global businesses.
** This article was updated at 14:20 on 5 November to reflect the fact Nanoco is no longer an IC Tip.
