Anglo Asian Mining’s track record of growth and dividend payments brings investors flocking in. Anglo Asian Mining (AAZ) has been consistently delivering growth for several quarters now. The group’s latest numbers, for the three months to March 2019 show gold equivalent production up 11% when compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, and overall gold production rose by 5%. The majority of production continues to come from the Gedabek mine, although the production mix is shifting somewhat more in favour of copper as time goes by. Last year’s 72,798 ounces of pure gold production won’t be matched this year, and guidance is now set at between 65,000 and 67,500 ounces. Instead, copper production is set almost to double, from 1,645 tonnes of copper to between 3,000 and 3,100 tonnes. At a time of weakening gold prices but considerable copper price resilience, that’s perhaps no bad thing. In any case, Anglo Asian makes a virtue of the increasing diversity of its product mix, and on that score it should be noticed that a not inconsiderable amount of the equivalent ounces are also accounted for by silver. There’s cash coming in now, dividends being paid out, and huge exploration upside on the cards. For Anglo Asian, these are very interesting times.
Change of driver at Auto Trader Group (AUTO) as boss who led firm into FTSE 100 Trevor Mather reveals he will retire next year. The chief executive who led Auto Trader into the FTSE 100 is to retire next year, the company said today. Trevor Mather, who’s been in the top job since 2013, is set to leave the business by the end of March 2020. His resignation is likely to come as a disappointment to shareholders in the car listings site as Mather led the shift of Auto Trader from a printed magazine to a successful FTSE 100 digital company. Shares in Auto Trader have risen in value by more than 70% in the last year, with the company joining the ranks of the FTSE 100 at the end of 2018. Mather, who led the group’s £2.3billion flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 2015, will be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer Nathan Coe.
Legal & General’s home insurance business set to be sold to Germany’s Allianz for up to £350m as the two firms hold ‘exclusive talks’. Legal & General Group (LGEN) division, which provides home cover and pet insurance, was put up for sale last year. Allianz is now in exclusive talks to acquire the business, with a transaction thought to be imminent that could value the unit between £250million and £350million, according to Sky News. The potential acquisition of L&G’s home insurance business would make Allianz a larger presence on the UK’s insurance market. It follows the company’s 2017 deal for a joint venture with LV=, creating the third-biggest personal insurer in the UK.
Non-Standard Finance (NSF) tells Provident Financial (PFG) shareholders to make up their minds about its offer to buy fellow lender by 15 May. NSF said the deadline will not be extended and insisted it was on track to receive regulatory approval for a tie-up. That’s despite growing speculation in the City that the deal could fall through because of concerns held by the Financial Conduct Authority. The watchdog has previously written to NSF warning it that any attempt to exploit customers for a higher profit will not be tolerated. But NSF said today it has discussed its plans with the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority and expects that the associated conditions to the offer will be satisfied by June 5.
British chiefs in firing line over BT accounting fraud scandal in Italy. BT Group (BT.A) bosses in London embroiled in a £500million accounting fraud scandal failed to challenge the accounts, an internal probe found. There was a ‘serious breakdown of accounting processes and controls’ at the company’s Italian arm and a ‘loss of balance sheet integrity’, the review seen by the Mail found. It raises serious questions about how thoroughly bosses in London scrutinised figures from BT Italia before the fraud was uncovered. Last night an accounting expert said the UK authorities needed to launch fresh investigations into the scandal. It comes just days after police in Italy released an explosive report suggesting bosses in London urged staff in Italy to use ‘aggressive, anomalous and knowingly wrong accounting practices’.
