magazine archive


magazine archive

Story In Numbers

SSE eyes big cost savings

Thursday 30 Nov 2017

Cutting combined operating costs and overlap is the main reason why big six energy supplier SSE ( SSE ) wants to merge with rival Npower/Innogy in the UK. So it is instructive that management predict ‘greater than £100m’ of cost synergies, according to analysts. Some number crunchers think these...

Eurozone economy knocking the lights out

Thursday 30 Nov 2017

Purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data on the eurozone economy shows jobs growth and manufacturing orders at 17-year-highs and suggests the economy could be growing faster than expected. The headline PMI figure from IHS Markit came in at 57.5 (any figure above 50 implies growth) with the upturn led...

Uncorking a Majestic turnaround

Thursday 30 Nov 2017

Return on Investment in Majestic Wine’s ( WINE:AIM ) Naked Wines business was restored to 98% from 48% in the six months to 2 October, as the wine specialist stripped back spending on underperforming US direct mail and reduced marketing spend for acquiring new customers for its online crowdfunding...

From £1.7bn to £0.1bn in six years

Thursday 23 Nov 2017

Beleaguered support services company Carillion ( CLLN ) continues to struggle. Last week its share price crashed by over 30% to 28p on yet another profit setback and a warning about breaching its debt convenants. Going back to mid-May 2011, the company was worth a whooping £1.7bn compared to today’...

Can Premier Oil deal with its debt?

Thursday 23 Nov 2017

Oil and gas producer Premier Oil ( PMO ) is coming to the end of a mixed 2017. The year has encompassed a financial restructuring and an unexpected exploration success offshore Mexico. The company headed into the final quarter of the year with net debt of $2.8bn, up slightly from the half year...

Sentiment changing towards bond valuations

Thursday 23 Nov 2017

The number of investors who think corporate bonds are overvalued has dropped for the first time in six quarters, according to a new study by the CFA, an association of investment professionals. However the figure for the third quarter period is still very high at 82% (versus 84% in the second...

Cash represents nearly two thirds of Bowleven’s market value

Thursday 16 Nov 2017

West African focused oil and gas company Bowleven ( BLVN:AIM ) is sitting on cash of $86m according to its latest accounts. That compares with a market cap in dollars at current exchange rates of around $133m. The money in the bank is what is left from a $165m payment associated with the farm-out...

Gearing figures imply greater caution among fund managers

Thursday 16 Nov 2017

A reduction in the level of gearing used by investment trusts suggests that fund managers in the closed-end space are becoming more cautious. Financial services group Winterflood calculates the average level of net gearing among the 200 investment trusts invested in equities has fallen from 8% at...

Further evidence of high street pain

Thursday 16 Nov 2017

UK high street sales in October suffered their worst month since April 2016, according to the latest BDO tracker report. It blamed a fall in spending, a drop in consumer confidence and unseasonably warm weather. Total like-for-like sales fell 5.2% in the month – representing the worst October ever...

Retail investors blocked from Fundsmith’s third fund launch

Thursday 09 Nov 2017

Retail investors won’t be allowed to invest in Fundsmith’s latest fund despite the asset manager’s previous two products being big hits with the general public. Fundsmith has launched its third product called Fundsmith Sustainable Equity Fund. It will only be available to institutional investors...

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