magazine archive
magazine archive
Under The Bonnet
How does Shell make its money and should you buy its shares?
Thursday 30 May 2019With a market cap of more than £200bn Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSB ) is comfortably the largest company on the UK stock market. To put its position into perspective, it accounts for around 10% of the FTSE 100 index on its own. Given its heavyweight status in London and the...
Battle of the broadcasters: why is STV beating ITV?
Thursday 16 May 2019What is ITV’s ( ITV ) counterpart north of the border getting right that its former parent is getting wrong? Both are under relatively new management and Carolyn McCall at ITV and Simon Pitts at STV ( STVG ) arguably face the same challenges of a difficult consumer backdrop and political...
Can GoCompare disrupt the price comparison sector?
Thursday 09 May 2019Few of us love household admin and even if we did, even fewer of us are blessed with huge amounts of time to devote to it no matter the savings we could achieve. It’s no wonder that a new platform which could take the stress out of switching energy, broadband, insurance and financial services...
Why the recovery at Luceco looks attractive
Thursday 02 May 2019LED lighting and electricals manufacturer Luceco ( LUCE ) is on track to roughly double pre-tax profit in 2019 as it bounces back from a series of problems. These challenges have included retail-facing customers running down existing LED stocks and price increases on key raw materials, particularly...
Behind the screen with Ocean Outdoor
Thursday 18 Apr 2019Sci-fi fans may remember the early noughties release Minority Report . One of the elements of the imagined world of the film was personalised advertising with digital billboards responding to the individuals passing them at that moment. This scenario no longer belongs to the world of science...
Value retailer The Works fails to excite as shares flop 30% since IPO
Thursday 28 Mar 2019Shares in retailer TheWorks.co.uk ( WRKS ) have fallen by 30% since it joined the stock market last summer at 160p, caught up in general negative market sentiment towards everything linked to the high street. While it hasn’t been the best start to life as a quoted company, there is a feeling that...
Reappraising John Menzies now it is a pureplay aviation services group
Thursday 14 Mar 2019For a business which ranks number two in the world for its industry, John Menzies ( MNZS ) has an image problem. Folk memories of its high street origins mean that few people realise it is now a global support services firm. Nor do they appreciate that it has a long growth runway ahead of it...
Why Merlin is looking to China and the US for future growth
Thursday 07 Mar 2019China and the US could become more vital for growth for theme park operator Merlin Entertainments ( MERL ) as it aims to generate approximately 33% of sales each from the Asia Pacific, Europe and the UK, and the US over the long term. Merlin currently generates over 50% of sales from Europe and the...
Frontier Developments’ shares have halved: is it now time to buy?
Thursday 28 Feb 2019Shares in Frontier Developments ( FDEV:AIM ) have fallen from June 2018’s £18.25 peak to 849.4p amid a broader de-rating of the global gaming sector and as the hype dies down over its Jurassic World: Evolution game despite it being a monster hit. Perhaps investors want to see a broader roster of...
RPS outlines plan to win back investors’ interest
Thursday 14 Feb 2019For a professional services firm operating in 125 countries across the world and turning over £600m in annual revenue, RPS ( RPS ) flies under most investors’ radar. Chief executive John Douglas aims to change that, starting with a brand overhaul and the appointment of a new group director of...