British drug maker Indivior (INDV) faces bankruptcy after the US Government accused it of overseeing a multi-billion pound fraud to drive up sales of its opioid addiction treatment. The FTSE 250 firm’s shares crashed by more than 70% after prosecutors claimed it had engaged in a ‘truly shameful scheme’ that put profits before the health of patients. It is accused of using shaky evidence to falsely claim a new version of its Suboxone treatment was safer than rival products – and raking in billions of pounds from subsequent sales. If found guilty, the company will be ordered to hand over at least £2.3billion. But analysts have warned Indivior cannot afford to pay.
Tesco (TSCO) chief executive Dave Lewis said the supermarket’s turnaround is close to completion as he unveiled a bumper 29% rise in profits. Britain’s biggest grocer rewarded investors by almost doubling its dividend to 5.77p per share after raking in £1.7billion of profits in the year to February 23. Same-store sales rose 1.4% to boost total revenues by 11.2% to £63.9billion. Lewis, who uncovered a £250million accounting scandal at Tesco just two weeks after arriving from Unilever, hailed his turnaround as nearing the end.’After four years we have met, or are about to meet, the vast majority of our turnaround goals,’ he said. ‘I’m very confident that we will complete the journey in 2019/2020. I’m delighted with the broad-based improvement across the business.’
G4S (GFS) soars as Canadian rival eyes a £3bn takeover after share price falls by a half in less than two years. One of Britain’s largest security firms could fall into foreign hands. G4S is being targeted by Canadian rival GardaWorld following a near halving of its share price in less than two years. In a statement to the stock market yesterday, Garda confirmed a report in the Evening Standard that it was looking to buy part or all of G4S. Shares in G4S jumped 19.7%, or 36.35p, to 221p – its highest level since October last year and valuing it at £3.4billion. The interest from Garda comes after G4S was stripped of a contract to run HMP Birmingham earlier this month following a dramatic rise in drug use and violence within the prison’s walls.
is threatening to sue Debenhams (DEB) administrators after owner Mike Ashley had his £200million offer to save the ailing department store rejected. The retail tycoon, 54, branded the Debenhams collapse a ‘national scandal’ after he was prevented from seizing control and stepping in as chief executive. It now means his 30% stake in the store, once valued at £150million, is now worth nothing. Lenders FTI Consulting have instead taken control and are working to safeguard the jobs of the 25,000 staff. However they have made clear new buyers will accelerate store closure plans and cut jobs. Ashley has said lenders FTI consulting should step away from the process and in a letter from his lawyers told them: ‘Sports Direct will do everything available to it to unwind the damage caused to the company and other stakeholders including large and small shareholders.’
Barclays (BARC) boss Jes Staley has slammed corporate raider Edward Bramson for short-selling the bank’s stock while he pushes for a seat on the board. The chief executive said it didn’t ‘make sense’ for Bramson to seek a non-executive director role while he gambles on a drop in Barclays’ value. Bramson has a 5.51% stake through his fund Sherborne Investors. But he has also short-sold 500m of shares – meaning he will make money from them if the price falls – to offset losses in the rest of his portfolio if Barclays’ stock drops.
Sir Richard Branson has warned that his Virgin Train business ‘could disappear’ after the Government banned its partner business Stagecoach Group (SGC) from competing for a third rail franchise. Virgin Trains is 49% owned by Stagecoach and Sir Richard reacted angrily to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s decision today – driven by issues over the funding of pensions – to award the East Midlands Railway to rival operator Abellio. Mr Grayling said passengers will benefit from an entire new fleet of trains and an 80% increase in the number of morning peak-time seats available on trains into Nottingham, Lincoln and London’s St Pancras.
Shares in seating and hospitality business Arena Events Group (ARE) surged after the firm released strong results for 2018. Revenue at the company, which provides seating to ITV’s Dancing on Ice and the 2018 Ryder Cup, was up 24% to £135million, and the dividend was raised by 11% to 1.5p. Boss Greg Lawless said he expected more growth, especially in 2020 which will see the US Open tennis tournament, the US Ryder Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.
Online shopping giant ASOS (ASC) was back in fashion with investors, even after releasing half-year results which showed profits sliding by 87%. After a profit shock in December and a tricky trading period in the six months to February, in which chief executive Nick Beighton conceded there were ‘a number of things we can do better’, the firm has come out fighting. Asos refused to cut full-year forecasts, saying it had identified areas where it could improve and was ‘taking action’. Part of the problem for millennial-favourite Asos has been its major investment in new technology and infrastructure, which has caused significant disruption and costs as it moves systems. But in a sign that the business may have taken its eye off the ball, Beighton added: ‘We should have stocked more animal print skirts.’ Such items proved hugely popular with customers over the period, and Asos admitted it had not ordered large enough quantities of the most in-demand products. Heavy discounting also weighed on its performance.
Ted Baker (TED) was trying to move past the hugging scandal involving boss Ray Kelvin as it announced a Chinese joint venture. It will partner with Shanghai Longshang to create a new company, which will manage Ted Baker’s presence in the region and aim to drive its expansion.
Pagegroup (PAGE) boosted the FTSE 250 into the black, as the recruiter brushed away worries that Brexit might be dampening the jobs market. Profits over the first quarter of 2019 climbed in all four of its key regions – the UK, Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa.
the Dubai-based payments group hit the stock market with its shares priced at 435p, but by the end of the day they had soared 20% to 522p, giving the company a value of around £2.4billion.
Britons still have a taste for bowling, according to Hollywood Bowl Group (BOWL), which saw revenues grow by 5.4% in the first half of its financial year to March 31.
Despite winning a £1.5m contract with transport manufacturer Bombardier, surveillance software firm Petards Group (PEG) slid after releasing results for 2018. Its revenue jumped from £15.6million to £20million, but costs overshadowed the performance and profits dipped from £1.2million to £1.1million.
Canada-focused oil and gas firm Cabot Energy (CAB) whipped up excitement as it confirmed it was still in funding talks with buyers and investors. The company cautioned earlier this month that it needed new cash to survive, but shares yesterday rocketed 50%, or 4.75p, to 14.25p.
Home furnishing group Dunelm Group (DNLM) has bucked the trend for dismal retail results and posted a 32% rise in online revenue for the three months to 30 March. The group has upped in annual profit forecast after announcing its like-for-like sales increased by 12.5% over the period. Total like-for-like sales are up by two-thirds so far this year. Comparable sales in shops were up 9.8%, against significantly weaker growth last year when shoppers were put off by the Beast from the East. Profitability also improved over the period, with an increase of 90 basis points to gross margins. This was driven by better sourcing and the closure of the Worldstores business. The company said that although political and economic uncertainty remains high, it expects to report annual pre-tax profits that are slightly above market expectations.
