Stanley Gibbons, James Halstead and Daily Mail and General Trust

“The FTSE100 started the week on the front foot, with the global equities rally continuing as US markets posted handy gains on Friday and with Asian markets making positive progress this morning,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Stamp and coin auctioneer Stanley Gibbons was a double-digit faller in early trading after full year losses deepened. The group has been hit by a slowdown in the collectables market and faces liquidity problems despite the sale of a major part of the Interiors division to Millicent. Stanley Gibbons will need its bank to extend the current facilities beyond the end of May next year. Constructive talks are taking place but chairman Harry Wilson has admitted there can be no guarantee that these facilities will be extended. The group’s shares were down by more than 13.3%.

“Floorcoverings group James Halstead was an early riser following record turnover and profits for the year to the end of June. The group’s exports have benefited from the weakness of sterling in the wake of the EU referendum but this was tempered by a 5.2% fall in UK sales and turmoil in the supply chain of raw materials. The drop in UK sales was due to de-stocking at two of the larger distributor chains. James Halstead’s shares were up by over 1.4%.

“Daily Mail and General Trust’s shares were down in early trading after it warned its full year adjusted pre-tax profits would be towards the low end of forecasts. The overall outlook for the year remains in line with current market expectations with underlying revenues for the first 11 months of its financial year up 1%. On a pro forma basis, revenues are up 5%, including a 6% benefit from foreign exchange rates. DMGT’s shares were down by just over 2%.”

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