Revenue at Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) surged by 35% to £843.1million in the last year, the group’s latest results reveal. The logistics company’s pre-tax profit for the year came in marginally below expectations, at £49million rather than £50million. The haulier signed new contracts with the likes of PepsiCo Walkers, Britvic, Cemex and Tarmac, and renewed deals with Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and Coca-Cola. In total, Eddie Stobart gleaned £162million from new contracts across all its sectors. The group’s EBIT margin fell from 7.8% to 6.6%. Chief executive Alex Laffey said: ‘We were pleased with our strong performance in 2018, during which we made significant progress in delivering our strategy of becoming a full-service logistics and supply chain organisation. ‘Whilst we remain mindful of the current political and economic uncertainty, we are confident that our unique operating model provides us with the flexibility to respond rapidly to changing market conditions.’
The prospect of Debenhams (DEB) shareholders having their stakes wiped out edged a step closer today after the ailing department store was given the green light to press ahead with a £200million refinancing plan. As part of Debenhams’ quest to secure new loans, the department store said the majority of its bondholders had already given the refinancing plan the go-ahead. Any remaining bondholders have until 5pm this evening to have their say. If the latest refinancing plan goes ahead, it will wipe out Debenhams’ shareholders, including Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of . The latest development is likely to infuriate Mr Ashley, who revealed on Wednesday that Sports Direct is considering tabling an offer for Debenhams which would value it at £61.4million. The ‘possible firm offer’ would be for the 70% of Debenhams shares that Mr Ashley does not already own.
Barclays (BARC) has pushed out the head of its investment bank as it seeks to fight off corporate raider Edward Bramson. In a major rejig of its prized investment arm, boss Tim Throsby is leaving after just two years. Chief executive Jes Staley will now take personal charge of investment banking. It comes as Barclays fends off Bramson, who has demanded a seat on the board and is thought to want drastic cutbacks in the investment bank. Bramson, who controls a 5.51% stake in Barclays, has said the division is sluggish and unprofitable, and holds the bank back. In a tacit admission that the 68-year-old activist investor has made valid points, Staley said returns are getting better but are still not good enough. He said last year’s performance was a significant improvement ‘but not yet where we need it to be’.
The boss of Ladbrokes and Foxy Bingo owner GVC Holdings (GVC) has sought to calm investor nerves as he was awarded shares worth £2.5million by the company. Kenneth Alexander insisted he was ‘totally committed to GVC’, and promised not to sell any more stock for the rest of his time as chief executive. His pledge came less than three weeks after he offloaded more than 2m shares worth nearly £14million, sending the stock tumbling. Lee Feldman, GVC’s chairman, also sold 900,000 shares – worth £6million – and it is understood that he will leave the company in the coming months.
Just under a year ago shares in Churchill China (CHH), the ceramics group, were changing hands for close to 800p. Yesterday they closed at 1462.5p (up 7.35%, or 100p) after a stellar set of figures. Profits for 2018 rose 26% to £9.4million on revenues of £52.5million, up 7% on a year earlier. Sales to the hospitality sector and exports offset a fall at the retail arm. Ahead of Brexit, it has been stockpiling key materials and has set up a logistics facility in Holland. The dividend increased 18%.
The diamond market has lost its sparkle according to London analysts of German bank Berenberg who visited the industry’s focal point of Antwerp, where stones are cut and polished. ‘Sentiment is mixed, with rough diamond prices starting the year on a relatively lacklustre note, but at least remaining stable, rather than weakening,’ Berenberg said. Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) was downgraded to a ‘Hold’ from a ‘Buy’. There were tweaks down to share price targets for Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) and Firestone Diamonds (FDI). The latter is rated a ‘Sell’ by Berenberg. ‘Current cash flow generation leaves little upside for shareholders, with debt holders taking the bulk of the value,’ it said of Firestone.
There was some support for Pets at Home Group (PETS), formerly one of the most shorted stocks on the market as Citi switched its recommendation on the retailer to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ saying it had a viable plan to turn around the business. The American investment bank reckons Pets is worth 180p.
M&C Saatchi (SAA) shares – up 32% in the year to date – fell 14p, to 378p in the wake of a solid set of prelims which revealed headline earnings had advanced 16% to £32.2million.
Avast Software (AVST) sank 13.3p, to 283.5p after shareholder Sybil Holdings sold 95.4m shares, or around 10 per cent of the company, for £271million.
Mirriad Advertising (MIRI) fell 3.25p, to 6.25p after it unveiled restructuring plans, concluding its previous strategy was flawed.
Cloudcall Group (CALL) shares drop after a wider annual loss due to increased investment despite a double-digit rise in revenue. The shares tumbled 17.5p, to 86.5p.
Social media content creator Brave Bison Group (BBSN) failed to register a profit last year. Shares dropped 0.6p, to 2.8p.
A poor performance cut into cryptocurrency project developer Online Blockchain (OBC), which saw its shares sink 3p, to 19p after its half-year losses grew to £276,000 from £188,000 a year ago.
UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) fell 0.07p, to 1.13p after it issued stock to raise £3.5million. The fresh cash will be splashed on new projects. It will be interesting to see what the management comes up with.
Quadrise Fuels International (QFI) jumped 0.14p, to 3.38p after it agreed to partner with bitumen products maker Bitumina Group to look for opportunities to use its MSAR synthetic fuel.
Five acquisitions helped shares in gas and electricity consultant Inspired Energy (INSE) surge 0.88p, to 18.25p as the additions helped its 2018 revenues rise by nearly a quarter.
Toilet roll maker Accrol Group Holdings (ACRL) recovered from an initial plunge on the back of an investigation into its accounts by the Financial Conduct Authority, ending 1p, higher at 22p.
