Smiths Group, Digital Barriers and IG Design

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“The FTSE100 opened in positive territory after a slight fall on Wall Street overnight and a mixed session in Asia. Traders will be looking to a raft of purchasing-managers' index data out in the eurozone mid-morning, followed by PMI and durable goods orders data in the US this afternoon,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Engineering conglomerate Smiths Group led the blue-chip board in early trading after a 31% jump in pre-tax profits and an 18% increase in revenues. The overall outlook for the full-year is unchanged and while the group’s performance is likely to be slightly weighted towards the second half, it will be a more balanced split than last year. The depreciation of sterling will provide a tailwind to full-year revenue and operating profit if current rates prevail. The group’s shares were up by more than 4%.

“Surveillance systems specialist Digital Barriers’ shares plummeted after the group warned it faced a shortfall in full-year revenues due to delays in signing major contracts. These include its largest ever sales to the US, Asia and the Middle East. Digital Barriers had hoped to put pen to paper before the end of March, which is the close of its financial year. But if none of these deals is signed before then, the group will face a revenue shortfall of around £10m. Digital Barriers’ shares were down by over 20.9% in early trading.

“Gift wrap and greetings card group IG Design’s shares were up after it forecast record full-year revenues of more than £300m. Profitability is also expected to be ahead of current forecasts. Not only has performance surpassed historical revenue levels, but the group is now significantly de-risked, with lower average debt and improved geographic and product diversity. IG Design’s shares were up by more than 8.8%.”

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