Spirent Communications' (SPT) performance so far this year has been supported by a surge of momentum late in 2019. Most of the supplies for the telecoms testing provider’s products and services are dual-sourced, which has provided some shelter from the disruptive effects of the pandemic.
The company has however noted that the launch of its connected devices by its customers – which provides live network testing and digital twins for network and radio systems – may be impacted. But the first quarter saw a 12 per cent increase in revenues, with ‘robust profit growth’ compared with the same point last year. A healthy order book has led its performance, with 5G development continuing well. Indeed, management said in an update in mid-April that it was working closely with Asian service providers who have accelerated their targets for 2020, as demand grows for increased network capacity.
This follows a healthy performance last year, when order intake rose by 13.2 per cent to $532m (£432.8m). This was led by multi-year support contract wins, which have strengthened the Spirent’s revenue visibility. Its networks and security business, its largest division, saw its operating profits climb up by almost a third to $73.9m. Demand has proved robust through the first quarter for its positioning products and ethernet solutions.
Against this backdrop, we are not overly concerned that chief financial officer Paula Bell has sold £126,500 worth of shares. Her partner Dean Ritchie also offloaded £376,285 worth of shares in the company. Since the sales, Spirent’s share price has nudged up by 3.6 per cent.
| Buys | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Metro Bank | Nicholas Winsor | 6 May 20 | 50,000 | 80.84 | 40,420 | |
| McColls | Dominic Lavelle | 6 May 20 | 50,000 | 47.39 | 23,696 | Joining the board as a non-exec director on 18 May |
| Ethernity | David Levi (ceo) | 7 May 20 | 59,162 | 40 | 23,665 | Beneficial interest of 20.9% |
| ThinkSmart | Peter Gammell | 7 May 20 | 500,000 | 18 | 90,000 | Beneficial interest of 9.94% |
| R.E.A. Holdings | David Blackett (ch) | 7 May 20 | 96,144 | 54.5 | 52,398 | |
| Phoenix Group | Caroline Jefford | 7 May 20 | 3,288 | 604.87 | 19,888 | PCA of Stephen Jefford, Group HR Director |
| WPP | Sandrine Dufour | 7 May 20 | 15,000 | 595.4 | 89,310 | |
| Smart Metering Systems | Miriam Greenwood | 7 May 20 | 3,402 | 593.23 | 20,182 | Beneficial interest of 0.021% |
| San Leon | Oisin Fanning (ceo) | 7 May 20 | 98,000,000 | 21 | 20,580,000 | Beneficial interest of 23.89% |
| Pure Gold Mining | Mark O'Dea | 7 May 20 | 129,000 | 49.39 | 63,710 | Converted from C$ |
| Metro Bank | Michael Snyder (ch) | 11 May 20 | 96,700 | 78.37 | 75,786 | |
| Sells | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Nick Hirons | 5 May 20 | 1,666 | 34.11 | 56,836 | American Depositary Shares, converted from $ |
| Rentokil Initial | Daragh Fagan | 7 May 20 | 50,000 | 477 | 238,502 | |
| Croda International | Dr Keith Layden | 7 May 20 | 1,500 | 4,952 | 74,280 | |
| Croda International | Julie Layden | 7 May 20 | 300 | 4,960 | 14,880 | |
| Spirent Communications | Paula Bell (cfo) | 7 May 20 | 50,000 | 252.5 | 126,250 | |
| Spirent Communications | Dean Ritchie | 7 May 20 | 150,000 | 250.86 | 376,285 | PCA of Paula Bell |
