Galliford Try successfully dispose of Linden Homes but H1 revenues fall
Galliford Try plc (LON:GFRD) have seen their shares in red as the firm published its’ half year results this morning.
The firm said that it had successfully disposed of its’ Linden Homes and Partnerships division – which was completed on January 3.
Looking at the figures for Galliford Try – the firm said that its’ revenues had fallen across the first half of 2020 from £728 million to £636 million.
Additionally, the firm noted that it had swung to a loss of £6.7 million in the half period from a profit of £2.9 million in 2019.
The firms’ order book remained flat – totaling £3.2 billion across both periods.
Bill Hocking, Chief Executive, commented: “This has been a period of significant change with the successful strategic disposal of the Group’s housebuilding divisions transforming Galliford Try into a well-capitalised, UK construction-focused business.
The restructured Group is performing well with a number of recent significant project wins, and I’m pleased to report the results for the first half of the year.
Galliford Try has continued to maintain a strong pipeline of work in its chosen sectors, with excellent positions on several key frameworks in the public and regulated sectors. We are encouraged by the demand in our sectors and look to further enhance this position through the continued disciplined approach to project selection and rigorous risk management.
The Group’s focus remains on safe and efficient project delivery and disciplined bottom line growth. We have a strong executive board and management team who are focused on a values-driven, people-orientated, progressive company, working together to deliver for our clients and stakeholders. I am confident that our clear strategy will deliver sustainable results.”
Going forward, Galliford Try have said that they intend to maintain a high quality order book. In their current financial year, 96% of projected revenue is secured and 72% secured for the next financial year.
The firm also noted that it is wary and assessing the current situation with the coronavirus outbreak, and is taking measures to mitigate harm.
Galliford Try declared an interim dividend of 1.0p per share which will be paid on 17 April 2020.
Go-Ahead shares dive 20% as first half challenges take a toll
Go-Ahead Group plc (LON:GOG) shares have dived on Thursday, as the firm updated the market with its’ interim results.
David Brown, Group Chief Executive, commented: “Our London & International bus business is performing well and in line with expectations for the full year, while our expectations for our regional bus business have slightly reduced, reflecting cost pressures and adverse weather on passenger travel.
“In rail, while we await the outcome of the Williams review, our current UK operations are performing well and we are in the final stages of discussions with the Department for Transport regarding a potential direct award contract for Southeastern.
The stronger than expected UK rail performance has offset the impact of operational challenges in the first six months of running our German rail contracts. We began running rail services in Norway in December and are delivering high levels of operational performance.
“In the second half of the year our focus will be on continued management of our regional bus cost base, integrating new contracts and recent acquisitions, and improving our German rail operations.”
The travel operating firm noted that group operating profit within the first half was £60 million, this sees a slight fall from the same figure one year ago of £54.5 million.
As a results, Go-Ahead have added that their full year expectations have reduced, which reflects cost pressures and adverser weather in regional bus travel routes.
The firm added that bus operating profit fell 3.4% to £45.3 million, again this saw a fall from £46.9 million in the first half of financial 19.
On a better note, Go-Ahead said that strong performance in London and International Divisions mitigated the weaker regional performance.
Looking at rail operating profit, this figure totaled at £14.7 million – seeing another drop from £17.6 million on a like for like basis.
The firm maintained its’ interim dividend at 30.17p which should give some consistency for shareholders – despite the disappointing update.
The firm also noted that the impact of the coronavirus is yet to be fully assessed, however ‘travel patterns are likely to be impacted in the second half of the year’.
Brown concluded by adding: “While it is unclear how the coronavirus situation will evolve in the coming weeks, travel patterns are likely to be impacted in the second half of the year.
“I’m pleased with the progress we’re making towards our vision of a world where every journey is taken care of, with industry leading customer satisfaction scores in regional bus of 92% and our improving scores of 82% and 81% in GTR and Southeastern respectively. We’re also helping drive up customer satisfaction and performance in bus markets in Singapore and Ireland where tendering authorities have opened up to commercial operators.
“We have long been campaigning for a national bus strategy to maximise the benefits that buses bring to local communities and society as a whole. I’m pleased with the Government’s decision to move forward with such a strategy and its commitment to invest £5bn in bus and cycle networks in the coming years. This commitment recognises the part public transport can play in protecting our environment, supporting our communities, improving our health and wellbeing, and growing our economy.”
Shares in Go-Ahead trade at 1,313p (-21.94%). 12/3/20 10:53BST.
Novacyt shares bounce as coronavirus test kit develops
Novacyt SA (LON:NCYT) have seen their shares bounce, as the firm gave an update on its’ coronavirus testing kit.
The firm said that its coronavirus test kit, which has been developed by Primerdesign, its molecular diagnostics division, have invested a significant increase in manufacturing capacity following strong demand.
Novacyt noted that as of March 11, the firm has sold and received order for over £2.3 million of their coronavirus testing costs.
Interestingly, this figure represents five months of sales for the division under normal circumstances – and as a results shares have bounced.
Over the past two weeks the number of countries the Company is selling its COVID-19 test into has doubled to over 50, which is expected to increase further as the virus continues to spread.
Currently, the company is seeing significant sales from Europe and from a number of new and existing distribution partners across the Middle East.
Novacyt also added that they had completed a formal evaluation of its COVID-19 test by Public Health England (PHE) and is very satisfied with the performance assessment of its test.
The firm said that they are now expecting more NHS Hospital to purchase the testing kit, which should drive demand and sales.
Graham Mullis, Chief Executive Officer of Novacyt, commented:
“We believe the commercial demand for and interest in our COVID-19 test could continue for several months as the virus continues to spread from country to country. We are therefore ensuring we are fully prepared to meet the increasing demand for the product, as we continue to position Novacyt to support the global response to monitor and contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The sale of our COVID-19 test has already generated significant revenue for the Company, which we expect to continue given the increasing demand for the test.
“In addition, we believe interest in our COVID-19 test will have a positive, long-term impact on Novacyt as new customers look to purchase our broader product range. We are already seeing an increased demand for our B2B capabilities as customers look to utilise our molecular design and development capabilities.
“We will continue to update shareholders regularly with the Company’s progress, but we also ask shareholders to be patient as we try to respond to an ever-changing situation.”
Novacyt thrive on coronavirus scares
A few weeks back, news first broke out that Novacyt had been developing a testing kit for the coronavirus. Novacyt SA have said that it has launched a CE-Mark approved molecular test for the detection of the coronavirus (COVID-19). CE-Mark allows a company to register their product in compliant with the European Unions safety, health and environmental requirements. The firm said that the COVID-19 test is the first CE-Mark test for the 2019 strain of novel coronavirus and follows the company’s rapid launch of its research use only coronavirus test on January 31. Novacyt added – “As a result of the CE-Mark, the Company’s COVID-19 test can be used directly by laboratories and hospitals for the testing of patients without the need for validation by clinicians. The Company anticipates increased demand for its test for COVID-19 due to this extended use for clinical diagnosis.” Shares in Novacyt trade at 121p (+13.41%). 12/3/20 10:42BST.WH Smith shares crash as coronavirus could have significant impact on results
WH Smith Plc (LON:SMWH) have given shareholders an update on its first half trading and the impact of the coronavirus.
The high street retailer said that across the first half of its’ financial year – which ended on February 29, group total revenue had jumped 7%, however on a like for like basis revenue had fallen 1%.
Total revenue across their travel division spiked 19% as like for like revenue also rose 2%. Notably, High Street saw their total revenue fall 5%, as like for like revenue also fell 4%.
The firm remained confident however that despite the current market conditions, that that underlying profit before tax for the first half will be in line with market expectations.
WH Smith also gave an update about the impact of the coronavirus on their operations and trading.
The firm said that across its Asia Pacific operations – which accounts for 5% of Travel revenue, the firm has been significantly affected.
Additionally, over the last two weeks WH Smith has seen a reduction in passenger numbers at airports outside of the Asia Pacific Region.
The firm said: “The Group is managing the business to protect profitability and is taking all necessary action to reduce costs. Based on current trading and modelling, the Group believes that the effects of Covid-19 will result in a reduction in our expectations for revenue and profit across the Travel business for the second half. Today, the Company is therefore providing guidance on the impact on full year results of Covid-19 based on an assumption of a challenging third quarter and a modest normalisation in the fourth quarter.
For UK Travel, we expect revenue for the six months to be down approximately 15% on expectations which includes airports, our most affected channel, down 35% in March and April. On the same basis, including significant reductions in March and April, second half revenue in the US is expected to be approximately 20% lower than our expectations. The rest of our International business is also expected to be approximately 20% lower.”
WH Smith have said that they will give more clarity on April 22, when interim results are set to be published.
The firm have speculated that the coronavirus could have a major impact within their financial year, and could face a hit between £100m and £130m on Group revenue.
Profit is also expected to be hit between £30m and £40m – which may worry shareholders.
The firm concluded by saying: “WH Smith is a resilient business with a strong balance sheet, substantial cash liquidity and strong cashflow. The Group has a strong management team in place and has consistently demonstrated that it can adapt and respond quickly to changing market conditions.
Over the longer term, the Board remains confident in the strategy and believes the Group is well positioned to benefit from the normalisation and growth of the global travel market.”
WH Smith see turbulence in 2020
In January, WH Smith gave the market a mixed update. The high street reader said that revenue growth in the 20 weeks period ending January 18 was 7%, however like for like revenue fell by 1%. WH Smith noted that high street business revenue fell by 5% on both a reported and like for like basis, which will worry shareholders. Gross margin was ahead of expectations however, and WH Smith said that they intend to identify further savings of £3 million. The travel business bloomed for the firm, as revenue growth of 19% was reported. This was driven by the acquisitions of Marshall Retail Group and InMotion. MRG was bought in October for £312 million, with InMotion purchased a year earlier for £198 million. Excluding the two deals, WH Smith in their travel sector still achieved revenue growth of 5% across travel overall which was impressive looking at the volatility of the airline and holiday market. Shares in WH Smith trade at 1,390p (-12.41%). 12/3/20 10:25BST.Trainline shares drop 10% however group net ticket sales rise 17% annually
Trainline PLC (LON:TRN) have seen their shares crash on Thursday, as the firm published its’ recent trading update.
The train ticket retailing platform noted that across its recently ended financial year, group net ticket sales increased 17% year on year to £3.7 billion – notably this fell within guidance and expectations.
UK Consumer net tickets also rose 24% – and Trainline added that this “reflected strong mobile demand driven by increasing eticket availability and adoption by customers”.
Trainline praised the strong performance of their new ‘SplitSave’ mobile app feature – which sold more than one million split tickets.
Notably, UK Trainline for Business (UK T4B) net ticket sales declined 1%. The firm said that these ticket sales were impacted by a change in operation and branding for the West Coast mainline franchise in the fourth quarter.
Group Revenue increase 24% year on year, giving a total of £261 million – which was at the top end of improved guidance.
The firm also noted that UK Consumer revenue grew by 30%, which was ‘ driven by strong momentum in net ticket sales and the launch of new revenue services in the last 12 months’.
International Revenue jumped 79%, which was driven by growth in net ticket sales and the launch of a new revenue service in Trainline’s international markets.
Going forward, the firm noted that since the outbreak of the coronavirus – trading had become more challenging.
The firm commented: “The trading environment has become more challenging in recent weeks. Trading softened significantly in February in Italy following an increased number of COVID-19 cases and demand has since weakened across the rest of International. UK demand has remained more resilient, although growth has slowed particularly from inbound travellers. The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve and at this time its ongoing impact is difficult to fully assess. As you would expect, the Group is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to take mitigating actions as appropriate.”
Going forward, Trainline have speculated saying that they expect expect Group adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of £82-86 million.
Clare Gilmartin, CEO of Trainline said:
“We are pleased to announce a strong trading performance for this financial year, with net ticket sales in line with and revenue growth ahead of expectations set out at the IPO. We have continued to focus on our mission to make rail and coach travel easier for customers in all the markets in which we operate, thereby encouraging a much greener way to travel.
“Our UK Consumer segment outperformed expectations, underpinned by ongoing consumer adoption of our mobile app and etickets, as well as the successful launch of our split-ticketing service ‘SplitSave’, which has been very well received by our customers. In International, while French ticket sales were impacted by the nationwide rail strike, I’m pleased we saw a good recovery once the strike ended and a continued strong performance in the rest of our International business.
“We have delivered on our growth plans this year, our first as a public company. While the impact of COVID-19 on near-term trading is unclear at this stage, we are well positioned in all of our markets and remain confident in our long-term growth strategy.”
Trainline see mixed few months
Trainline gave shareholders a confident update in December, as they eiterated their annual guidance as the firm continued to deliver strong growth in ticket sales and revenue. Within the nine months to November 30, Trainline’s climbed 26% to £198 million, with UK revenue up 22% to £178 million and International rising 90% to £20 million. Revenue from the UK consumer segment climbed 31% to £133 million, though Trainline for Business revenue in the UK was flat at £45 million. Trainline did note there was a slowdown in the third quarter of its year as large corporations cut discretionary travel spending. Trainline offers a rail and coach ticket purchase platform saw net ticket sales of £2.86 billion within the none months, seeing an 18% climb year on year. In the UK, net ticket sales were up 14% to £2.47 billion, with International climbing 49% to £390 million. UK consumer net ticket sales rose 24% to £1.54 billion, with business sales rising 2% to £930 million. Shares in Trainline trade at 349p (-10.61%). 12/3/20 10:12BST.
Rishi Sunak unveils new budget plans to mitigate coronavirus impact
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak has unveiled the latest budget by the government this afternoon.
Over the last few weeks, the global population have been trying to combat the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
Since its initial spread, the coronavirus has affected Europe in a manner which is larger than anticipated.
Italy seem to have taken the worse of the beatings, as the Italian Government announced yesterday that the country would be placed into lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The UK has seen case numbers rise also, and as of this morning six deaths had been recorded due to COVID-19.
Many analysts and policy makers have anticipated that the Budget would be largely focused on combatting the coronavirus – as the Chancellor planned to inject more money into the NHS and public service.
Notably, the Bank of England slashed interests rates from 0.75% to 0.25% this morning – in an attempt to increase cash flows to support businesses in the UK that had been bruised by the coronavirus.
This afternoon, Chancellor Sunak announced new budget plans including a £30 billion package to battle the coronavirus.
Sunak noted that there was significant strains on the UK economy, however said that “We will get through this together.”
Other policies that were notable in today’s budget included a statutory sick pay for “all those who are advised to self-isolate” even if they have not displayed symptoms and a a “Fiscal loosening” of £18 billion to support the economy this year, taking the total fiscal stimulus to £30 billion.
Notably, the was also the introduction of a “temporary coronavirus business interruption loan scheme” for banks to offer loans of up to £1.2m to support small and medium-sized businesses.
The newly elected Conservative Government also pledged to meet costs for businesses with fewer than 250 employees of providing statutory sick pay to those off work “due to coronavirus”.
Additionally, Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons that there would be a £5 billion injection into an emergency response fund to support the NHS and other public services.
Despite the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast growth of 1.1% in 2020, 1.8% in 2021 and then 1.5%, 1.3%, and 1.4% in the following years – if the impact of the coronavirus is mitigated.
Notably, fuel duty has been frozen for another year – and an increase in spirits duty will be cancelled. Tobacco taxes are increasing by 2% above the rate of retail price inflation.
Sunak also added that this budget will include a £600 billion allowance for road, rail, housing and broadband projects over five years – which built on the Conservative pledge to focus growth outside of London and the South East.
Finally looking at devolving powers – the budget also told the British people that there would be an additional £640m for the Scottish government, £360m for the Welsh government, £210m for the Northern Ireland executive and £240m for new city and growth deals.
Ultra Electronics post bullish annual update, as dividend is lifted
Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC (LON:ULE) have reported an impressive set of fundamentals from their annual results.
The firm saw a pretax profit total of £91 million – a notable rise from £42.6 million recorded a year ago.
Ultra Electronics also added that revenues spiked 7.7% to £825.4 million from £766.7 million.
The FTSE 250 listed firm said that its’ current order book stood at £1.02 billion – seeing a 4% jump from the 2018 figure of £983.9 million.
Following the strong results, Ultra Electronic raised their dividend by 5% to 54.2p from 51.6p.
Simon Pryce, Chief Executive, commented:
“2019 was a busy year for Ultra, and one in which we made great progress. We defined our ONE Ultra strategy and started our Focus; Fix; Grow transformation journey, made good progress on a number of our change initiatives and continued to identify longer term opportunities for enhanced growth and improved efficiency. At the same time, we delivered a good set of outcomes for our stakeholders.
We enter 2020 with an enhanced, engaged and motivated team and a strong order book. In addition to focussing on improved delivery, we will be accelerating investment in internal R&D and underlying IT infrastructure as well as process standardisation and excellence.
We remain excited about the significant opportunity within Ultra to accelerate growth, improve delivery and generate exceptional value for all our stakeholders over time. We are increasingly confident in our ability to deliver it. ”
Ultra Electronics deliver on expectations
In November, the firm told shareholders that its’ trading was set to meet expectations and was on track with company targets. The defense engineering company said for the nine months to September 30 there had been good order book development, as anticipated. Ultra’s order book rose above the £1 billion mark for the first time since 2011 at the half year stage in June. In November, Ultra’s Ocean Systems business won a potential $100.9 million contract to design, develop, test and integrate a radar software management platform intended for the US Navy’s new and in-service submarines. Numis forecasted Ultra to deliver £104.1 million of pre-tax profit for the full year to 31 December 2019, £824 million revenue. The analysts estimate pre-tax profit to grow to more than £115 million by 2021 showing significant strides after volatile 2019 trading year – and these targets have comfortably been met. Shares in Ultra Electronics trade at 2,046p (-1.06%). 11/3/20 14:31BST.Future remain confident that COVID-19 will not hurt profit levels
Future plc (LON:FUTR) have remained confident that their annual results will not be impacted by the current epidemic of coronavirus.
The firm noted that it has decided to cancel two of its’ biggest events, which are e Photography Show and Homebuilding & Renovating Show.
Both these events had been scheduled for March however the Photography Show is now expected to take place in September, while the National Homebuilding & Renovating Show is scheduled for July.
Shareholders will remain optimistic – as both these events even with the rescheduling still fall within Future’s current financial year – which ends on September 30.
The firm commented:
“The decision to postpone has been agreed in partnership with the headline sponsors of both events and in anticipation of the requirements of other sponsors and exhibitors. We do not expect any impact on profit as a result of postponing these events, while the decision to delay in a timely manner means we can avoid unrecoverable costs. We have a number of other smaller events, both in the UK and the US, over the coming months, however their impact to the wider group is not material. A decision will be made regarding each event based on the local market dynamics.
Overall, we are seeing limited impact of Coronavirus in our day-to-day business model; our strategy is working well in terms of audience, product and end market diversification. The fundamentals of our business have not changed, our headline audience numbers continue to be strong, and our operating disciplines mean that we are well placed to meet the challenges and opportunities arising from these dynamic market conditions.
Whilst the Board continues to monitor the situation closely, the Group does not expect any impact on profit as a result of postponing these events.”
Future’s annal results still set to beat expectations
In February, Future saw their shares in green as the firm reinstated their confident sentiment in beating Interactive expectations. The British media firm said that it expects its annual results to be ahead of market expectations, despite both political and economic uncertainties affecting many British businesses. Following the strong trading form, Future said that they can expect financial year results to be “materially ahead of current market expectations”. Interestingly, the firm saw audience members across its media division rise which caused the surge in strong organic revenue. Future also saw higher conversion off margin revenue in eCommerce and digital display advertising. For its financial year ended September 30, 2019 the company posted pretax profit of £12.7 million on revenue of £221.5 million. The magazine and media brand concluded by saying that it had carried strong trading momentum across the four month period, which ended on January 31st. Shares in Future plc trade at 1,038p (-1.33%). 11/3/20 13:57BST.French Connection shares in red as 2019 sales fall
French Connection Group (LON:FCCN) have seen their shares dip as the firm gave shareholders a disappointing update.
The fashion brand said that across the recently ended financial year their loss had narrowed but sales continued to slip.
The Chairman noted: “After making further progress during the first half of the year, the overall result for the financial year is disappointing. Performance during the second half has been considerably worse than expected, particularly during the fourth quarter in the UK, reflecting the continued difficult trading conditions and a shift in the phasing of wholesale deliveries to customers into the New Year.
Encouragingly however, the strong sales growth we have seen recently in the USA wholesale business continued, helped by another excellent sell through at the major department stores, although this was adversely impacted by the additional import duties imposed.
I am however, pleased with the continued good performance of the wholesale business in the USA and we have good forward order banks in the UK to be delivered during the first half of the year. Initial reaction to the winter ranges has been good.”
Across the annual period, which ended on January 31 – French Connection recorded revenue from continuing operations of £119.9 million – which sees a 11% slump from £135.3 million recorded a year ago.
French Connection managed to cut their loss from £8.6 million to £7.3 million on a better note – this was mainly due to operating expenses falling by 20% from £71.6 million to £57.2 million.
Total retail revenue dropped 20% to £46.7 million – whilst wholesale revenue also dipped 4.8% to £73.2 million.
Looking at the UK Europe – the fashion brand saw like for like sales fall 2.5% following tough market conditions.
French Connection noted that the British High Street was becoming tougher to operate within and that this had affected its’ results across the yearly period.
“The trading landscape in the UK is unlikely to improve in the short term and this has a potential impact on both the retail and wholesale businesses. Against this background we are working hard to ensure we are operating as efficiently and cost effectively as possible while working closely with all our trading partners to maximize business with them.
All our staff have worked hard over the year in testing conditions and for this I thank them. We have a lot to do to return the business to the positive progress we had been making prior to this year but I am confident we are well positioned to achieve this”.
Commenting on the results, Stephen Marks, Chairman and Chief Executive said:
“The performance this year has not been as anticipated and we are not being assisted by the continued difficult trading conditions in the UK and potential uncertainty due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. I am however, pleased with the continued good performance of the wholesale business in the USA and we have good forward order banks in the UK to be delivered during the first half of the year. The initial reaction to the winter ranges has been positive, particularly at our recent New York Fashion Show.”