Kier, Mitchells & Butlers and Conroy

“Equities tracked overnight gains on Wall Street and in Asia after the US Federal Reserve stayed interest rates, but hinted they could rise by the year's end,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Construction and support services group Kier has seen no impact on its operations since the Brexit vote and remains course to achieve its goal of double-digit profit growth on average each year to 2020. Kier continue to perform well in growing market sectors including infrastructure, housing and regional building and for the first time 50% of profit now comes from its services division which gives it long-term visibility on its future pipeline of work. Kier’s board has proposed a 17% rise in the final dividend and its shares were up by more than 3.5% in early trading.

“Pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers has benefited from the recent spell of hot weather with like-for-like sales up by 1.8% in the past eight weeks. But margins for the full year will be below last year due to the investment it has made in its sites and wage inflation following the introduction of the National Living Wage.

“Conroy was an early riser after it confirmed that five new gold zone had been intersected during the latest drilling programme on the Clontibret deposit. The discovery of new zones, high grades and wide intersections of gold add further support that the Clay Lake - Clontibret property could become a multi-million ounce deposit. Conroy’s shares were up by over 8.5%.”

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