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Ian Pollard – WH Smith #SMWH Dividend Up 8% as High Street Slumps Again
WH Smith plc SMWH is rapidly evolving into two separate businesses one of which does not seem to be able to find the management which it seems to need. The problem is the High Street, the traditional business which keeps on trying to make a profit out of selling newspapers, books and pencils. Smiths highlights its problems as if it is something to be proud of. Like for like High Street revenue fell by 2% in the six months to the 28th February and that, it proudly boasts, is its second best sales performance in a decade.Travel on the other hand is the jewel in the crown, with sales up by 18%, like for like revenue up by 3% and profit by 7%. Travel is expected to produce strong profit growth in the second half, slightly ahead of expectations. and it is thanks to travel that the interim dividend can be increased by 8%.
Quiz plc QUIZ saw group revenue rise by 12% during the year to the 31st March, helped by strong online expansion of 34%, compared to UK stores and concessions and International sales up by 8%. The company operates 108 Debenham concessions in the UK and a further 11 in the Republic of Ireland which between them produce 23% of total revenues. Slower than anticipated growth is expected during the year. and a thorough review of all aspects of the business is being undertaken, to mitigate the effects of the slowdown.It still looks forward to continuing to work productively with Debenhams.
easy Hotel plc EZH continued to outperform for the fourth year its hotel markets in the UK and across Europe during the six months to the 31st March, System sales rose by 24% and revenue by 47%. Regional market performance was weaker compared to a strong London. market., There was a marked deterioration across the UK in in the second quarter compared to the first.. As a result the short-term market outlook remains uncertain and trading is mixed on a country-by-country basis and as in the UK overall market demand has softened.
Christie Group plc CTG The 12 months to the end of December produced a solid performance but it can not be hidden that here is yet another company which is being damaged by our feckless politicians Brexit performance and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit is causing UK transaction related activity to slow.despite that, operating profit rose by 8.4%, revenue by 6.3%, the total dividend is to be increased by 3% and the second half performance is expected to be stronger.
Find beachfront villas & houses for sale in Greece; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 23 April 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Sativa Investments (SATI) is acquiring a 51% stake in George Botanicals from Carbon Managers, where Sativa boss Geremy Thomas is 100% owner, for £200,000. Thomas was not involved in the decision making concerning this investment. He was the founder of former AIM company PNC Telecom and invested in George Botanicals before Sativa was set up. George Botanicals supplies cannabidiol (CBD) products, such as vape pens, balms and edible gels. Non-executive director Noel Lyons has sold 750,000 shares at 3p each. He still owns 2.25 million shares. This should have generated more cash than his initial investment, assuming he bought shares in the directors subscription at 0.5p each.
Mandicon (MECP) intends to return 250.125p a share in cash to investors via a solvent liquidation. An offer of £1.1m has been made for the remaining business, Nirvana Engineering, but the board believes it is worth £1.5m. Chairman Wilf Boardman will not receive the cash distribution and instead he will receive the balance of cash left after the liquidation costs and take control of Nirvana and have the right to potential deferred consideration of £400,000. Even taking Nirvana as being worth £1.5m, Boardman will receive the equivalent of slightly less than the cash distribution to the minority shareholders.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) says that investee company Sport:80 has commenced the preparation of documentation for a flotation that could happen in the third quarter. Non-executive chairman Jeremy Taylor-Firth has acquired an initial holding of 12.5 million Primorus shares at 0.1585p each.
Ganapati (GANP) says that iSoftBet will be integrating its Japanese-themed games to the Game Aggregation Platform. This means that these Ganapati games can be delivered to operators via the platform. Robert Dowling has been appointed as chief commercial officer.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) continues to review investment opportunities. The company owns 1.92% of NQ Minerals (NQMI).
National Milk Records (NMRP) chief executive Andy Warne has taken up the options for 85,000 shares at 28p each and then sold 27,200 shares at 87.5p a share. Two other managers, Jonathan Davies and Ben Bartlett, each took up 50,000 shares at 28p a share and each sold 16,000 shares at 87.5p a share.
Panther Metals (PALM) has changed the general meeting date to 11 May.
Etaireia Investments (ETIP) is investigating a number of transactions undertaken by Baron Bloom before his resignation as a director. These cover acquisitions totalling 16% of the company’s assets.
AIM
Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) is making a habit of putting out statements late in the day and sometimes at the end of the week. The latest is a trading statement released at 4.35pm last Friday. Full year revenues are 5% lower at £37.9m and also below the 2015-16 level, which was a previous low point when the reported loss was nearly as high as the revenues. There was around £28.5m in the bank at the end of March 2018, compared with cash of £29.7m (and debt of £1.33m) at the end of September 2017. The preliminary results are due to be announced on 20 June, possibly at an earlier time, although the interim figures were published at 4.30pm on Friday 24 November. Management will undoubtedly be bemused why the share price is so low, immune as they appear to be from a good sense of investor relations.
Aviva has sold its 3.92% stake in Vernalis (VER) and GAM cut its stake below 5%. Stockholm-based HealthInvest Partners has bought a 5.69% stake. Vernalis had £46m in the bank at the end of 2017. US commercial cough treatment activity should finish by the end of September and that will slow the rate of cash outflow. A formal sale process for the company has started.
Bad news from Immupharma (IMM) concerning the phase III trial of lupus treatment Lupuzor. The performance against the placebo was not good enough to meet the required target. There is still potential for a treatment targeted at specific sections of lupus sufferers. Lanstead Capital has sold its 5% stake and Aviva has cut its shareholding from 7.27% to 4.4%.
Integumen (SKIN) plans to acquire Cellulac via an all share reverse takeover. Cellulac provides the group with operations involved in biodegradable plastic ingredients and food supplements. The shares issued for the acquisition will account for 84% of the enlarged share capital. There are also plans to raise £7.5m. Gerard Brandon and Camillus Glover will become chief executive and chief operations officer respectively. Declan Service has resigned as chief executive. The current business will focus on existing products.
ClearStar, Inc (CLSU) is regaining the confidence of investors with further growth in revenues and progress towards profit. In 2017, revenues improved $16m to $17.8m and the loss was reduced from $2.11m to $1.95m. In 2018, the loss is expected to halve to $1m and it could breakeven in 2019. Net cash is $1.3m.
N4 Pharma (N4P) has commenced the proof of concept clinical trial for sildenafil, which should take eight to ten weeks. Initial results should be available in July with the final study at the end of August. This will show whether the reformulation is successful and how the performance compares to Viagra.
Connemara Mining (CON) says that the maiden mineral resource estimate for the Stonepark zinc lead project is 5.3mt at 8.55% zinc and 2.6% lead. The mineralisation is relatively shallow. Connemara has a 23.44% stake in the Stonepark project and Group Eleven Resources owns 76.56%.
SkinBioTherapeutics (SBTX) says that the cream formulation of its SkinBiotix technology has proved effective on skin models. Stability testing is underway.
Property fund manager First Property Group (FPO) says its full year pre-tax profit will be in line with expectations. Funds under management have reached £625m. The Universities Superannuation Fund has sold its 8.58% stake.
Production grades declined in the third quarter at the Uruguay mines of Orosur Mining Inc (OMI) and production was lower than expected at 6,859 ounces of gold. Full year production should be more than 27,000 ounces. Orosur generated $6.3m of cash from operations in the nine months to February 2018.
Filta Group Holdings (FLTA) reported growth in continuing revenues from £8.5m to £11.5m with the grease management business making an initial contribution. The figures exclude the refrigeration activities which have been sold. Underlying pre-tax profit improved from £831,000 to £1.73m. The main growth came in the North American franchised fryer management operation. Filta has bought the German master licence and this will provide a base from which to grow in Europe. The strategy is the same as in North America. The total dividend for the year is 1.3p a share.
Rose Peteroleum (ROSE) believes that the total cost of the first well on its project in the Paradox Basin in Utah will be in the range $7m-$8m, which is lower than previously thought, and it could be less than that.
Ascent Resources (AST) is reviewing its strategic options. A partner could be sought to help to exploit the existing gas assets. There is already interest from potential partners. Ascent still has cash of more than £1m.
Draper Esprit (GROW) has more than doubled its gross portfolio value to £244m in the year to March 2018 as it invests the cash it raised in the period. There is still £56m to invest and the funds managed by the group have a further £50m.
Profit has bounced back at Christie Group (CTG) thanks to a sharp recovery in the professional business services division. The stock and inventory systems division made a larger loss. Overall pre-tax profit improved from £1.8m to £3.15m, although the outcome as flat excluding the previous year’s exceptional pension-related charge.
In the six months to January 2018, Egdon Resources (EDR) produced 17,962 barrels of oil equivalent. That was higher than the previous year but revenues were flat at £513,000. There is £4.1m in the bank.
MAIN MARKET
Full year pre-tax profit fell from £908,000 to £730,000 at Tex Holdings (TXH) but NAV increased from 155p a share to 168p a share. The NAV improvement came from a reduction in the group pension deficit. Net debt increased from £3.75m to £4.87m. The plastics division improved its profit but the engineering division was hit by relocation costs. The dividend has been maintained at 8.5p a share. Chris Gray, who is in his seventies, is replacing Richard Burrows as chairman. David Redhead has switched from non-exec to executive director.
Sanity has not taken over when it comes to the share price of standard list shell AIQ Ltd (AIQ) following the return from suspension. The suspension price was 125p a share and it ended the week at 130p a share, having fallen to 92.5p a share the previous day. AIQ raised £115,000 at 20p a share in order to help to improve the limited liquidity of the shares. A one-for-40 open offer at the same share price could raise up to £253,000 more. In January, £4m was raised at 8p a share.
Sealand Capital Galaxy Ltd (SCGL) is selling SecureCom Media Holdings to Creative Alpha Ltd for £10,000, having acquired the business for £1m plus 10 million shares at 20p a share just over one year ago.
Boston International Holdings (BIH) had £811,000 left in the bank at the end of 2017. There was a £400,000 cash outflow during the year. Spinnaker Opportunities (SOP) had £1.18m in the bank on 13 April 2018.
Andrew Hore
Ian Pollard – Is ABF-Primark losing its star quality rating?
Associated British Foods ABF Interim results for the 24 weeks to the 3rd March produced a rise of 1% in profit before tax and rises of 3% in the interim dividend and adjusted earnings per share.On a statutory basis, operating profit was down 3%. All of the groups businesses, with the exception of sugar, produced good sales and profit growth. Despite unseasonable weather Primark produced 4% profit growth which is mundane compared to previous years but its UK performance is described as being remarkable, with a strong increase in the total share of the clothing market.
JD Sports Fashion JD produced record results for the 53 weeks to the 3rd February with revenue rising by 33% and profit before tax by 24%. Basic earnings per share rose from 18.38p to 23.83p and the total dividend is increased from 1.55p per share to 1.63p.
APC Technology Group APC has quadrupled total profit for the six months to the 28th February with a rise from £0.1m to £0.4m., which also represents a doubling of the total profit for the full year to August 2017. Operating profit for the half year, before exceptionals rose by 45% and revenue was up by 14%. Profit before tax surged from £42. to £353m. and earnings per share tripled. The company says that these results have laid the foundation for the delivery of increasing profits and cash generation.
Christie Group plc CTG preliminary results for the year to the 31st December showed an encouraging rebound and the first half performance in 2018 indicates that it will be significantly ahead of last years. Revenue in 2017 rose by 11.1% and operating profit more than tripled from £1.1m. before exceptionals to £3.8m., whilst earnings per share were up from 5.41p per share to 9.47p. Dividends for the full year are to be increased from 2.5p to 2.75 per share. The PBS division in particular showed a strong recovery with revenue up by 15.9% and operating profit tripling to £5.3m.
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