Greggs shares spike 5% following bullish annual update
Greggs plc (LON:GRG) have seen their shares bounce following a bullish trading update published on Tuesday.
The bakery goods firm saw a double digit sales rise across 2019, saying that the year was a ‘record’ one.
“Greggs’ exceptional performance in 2019 comes after a multi-year programme of change and improvement. More customers are recognising the benefits of this and are shopping with us in increasing numbers. Our colleagues have shown the resilience and versatility necessary to deliver transformational change across the business, and this has now set us up for the next phase of growth. We will embrace the opportunities this presents whilst continuing to run the business in a responsible manner, such that we deliver sustainable long-term growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Across Greggs’ financial year, which ended on December 28 – the firm noted that sales climbed 14% to £1.17 billion from £1.03 billion.
The headline take was that pretax profit surged 31% from £82.6 million in 2018 to £108.3 million in 2019.
Notably, like for like sales in stores also jumped by a record 9.2% across the recently ended financial year.
Greggs also made net openings of 97 stores across the year, with a total store portfolio of 2,050 as of December 28.
In the nine weeks on from the end of the financial year, Greggs added that sales have increased 7.5% year on year, following a strong January performance.
The chairman noted: “Notwithstanding the tough conditions that continue to affect the UK retail sector, and uncertainties that remain in the global economy such as the potential impact of Coronavirus, Greggs has made a strong start to the new year, attracting more customer visits as consumers become increasingly aware of the breadth, quality and value of our offer.”
However, February did see a slow down for the bakery goods firm, due to stormy conditions in the UK.
Greggs increased their annual dividend by 26% to 44.9p for the 2018 figure of 35.7p.
Roger Whiteside OBE, Chief Executive commented: “2019 was an exceptional year of progress for Greggs, during which we experienced a sustained increase in customer visits as increased awareness and appreciation of our brand gathered momentum. Our exceptional performance was founded on the changes that we have made across our multi-year strategic investment programme, which has delivered transformational change across the business and has now set us up for the next phase of growth.
“We made a very strong start to 2020 in January, but in February saw a significant slowdown in sales growth as a result of the storms that have affected the UK. There is some uncertainty in the outlook, particularly given the potential impact of Coronavirus. This aside we expect to make year-on-year progress and will do so from a strong financial position, supporting our investment for further growth whilst also delivering good returns for all stakeholders.”
Amazon report two cases of coronavirus in Milan
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) have confirmed yesterday that two employees in Milan have caught the coronavirus.
The two employees who have tested positive for COVID-19, have been placed under quarantine, Amazon added.
2020 has not exactly been the best start to the decade for global business and trading. The ongoing saga of the coronavirus still continues to haunt global trading, stocks and indices.
Last week, the FTSE dropped to a record low following a week where coronavirus scares had dampened global business outlook, with the airline operators being hit the hardest.
Last week gave the globe a new update, saying that the coronavirus had hit both Italy and Tenerife. A hotel in Tenerife had been placed on lock down following reports that an individual had caught the illness.
Amazon, who have operations in Italy have been the next firm to be hit by the ongoing epidemic.
“We’re supporting the affected employees who were in Milan and are now in quarantine,” company spokesman Dan Perlet said.
Amazon had told employees to stop essential travel, even to and from the United States.
Certainly, Amazon are not the only multinational that have been affected by the disease.
In other news today, Nike (NYSE:NKE) had also temporarily closed their European headquarters over coronavirus scares.
“The place is on lockdown,” a security guard at the location told Reuters.
Nike hold their head offices in the Netherlands, and the Dutch health authorities have said that 10 cases of the coronavirus have been reported since 28 February.
Multinationals like Amazon and Nike are seeing their trading hampered, and now the coronavirus has been plaguing global markets for over two months.
What seemed like a situation under control, is now spiraling out of hand. Many firms are now speculating how much the current coronavirus epidemic will affect their future results, however the impact may not be so short lived as once expected.
Beowulf Mining narrow loss across 2019
Beowulf Mining plc (LON:BEM) have told the market that their loss has narrowed across 2019, within an optimistic update for the firm.
The miner also added that it is making progress on its projects in Scandinavia and Kosovo.
Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf, commented:
“During 2018, we made significant progress in Kosovo with Vardar. Exploration success, developing our understanding of copper and gold porphyry potential at both the Mitrovica and Viti projects, has provided the basis for continued investment and increased ownership, with Beowulf now owning 42.2 per cent of Vardar.
Porphyry deposits are very large, low grade, polymetallic systems, that typically contain copper along with other metals, such as gold, silver, zinc and lead.
At Mitrovica, located near to the world class Stan Terg lead-zinc-silver mine, potential not only exists for the discovery of additional lead-zinc-silver deposits, but also for the discovery of high-level epithermal gold deposits and for copper-zinc deposits.
Looking at the figures, Beowulf reported a pretax loss of £419,334 for 2019 – this improved on the £1.4 million loss recorded across 2018.
The firm noted that it had secured a £563,431 gain on acquisition in 2019, whilst across 2018 Beowulf saw impairment costs totaling £571,456 from exploration costs.
Notably, the firm added that subsidiary firm Oy Fennoscandian Resources AB saw another strong year, as it reported an 81% surge in contained graphite at Aitolampi project in Finland.
Beowulf also added that they exercised their option in Vardar, to invest a further £115,000 to take the company’s ownership of Vardar from 37.6 per cent to 40.1 per cent. A further investment of £100,000 in November took the Company’s ownership to 41.5 per cent.
Budge added: “Beowulf is in the business of exploring for minerals and developing mining projects, thereby creating shareholder value. We are not interested in fighting legal battles, but if forced to do so to get a fair outcome, we will pursue that course of action with vigour. We have completed the groundwork with our legal advisors, making our case for being awarded the Concession and assessing our legal options should the Swedish Government continue to stall on a decision.
Vardar has been a clear highlight for the period and an exciting addition to Beowulf. Fennoscandian is cementing its position in Finland’s emerging battery sector. When it comes to Kallak, we have been steadfast in our commitment to the project since we were first granted an exploration licence in 2006. We have invested over SEK 80 million.
Most importantly, there is significant local support for Kallak, which we intend to honour by partnering with the community in the development of a modern, sustainable and innovative mining operation, thereby contributing to the resurgence of Jokkmokk; a brighter economic future for the town, one that it deserves.
“We look forward to keeping the market updated on further developments across our business areas.”
Beowulf continue to grow from third quarter
Across the third quarter, Beowulf reported that their loss continued to shrink. Beowulf enlightened shareholders that they had narrowed their total loss in the third quarter, following a large exploration cost impairment one year ago. The miner, which is still in its development phase and has yet to generate revenue, reported that pretax loss shrank to £309,344 from £407,287 the previous year. Share based payment expenses fell from £49,519 to £26,566 whilst administration expenses rose to £283,310 from £211,029. Shares in Beowulf Mining trade at 4p. 2/3/20 14:14BST.Anglo Pacific invest $20 million into industrial minerals market
Anglo Pacific Group plc (LON:APF) have seen their shares in green on the back of an interesting update provided today.
The natural resources firm said that they have invested into the industrial minerals market, in an update on Monday.
The firm noted that they are set to commit $20 million into a financing agreement, which has been secured by Incoa Performance Minerals LLC.
In return, Anglo Pacific will receive 1.23% gross revenue royalty once the mine starts producing.
Incoa are developing a calcium carbonate mine in the Dominican Republic along with a processing facility in Alabama. Incoa will produce calcium carbonate for the US market, Anglo Pacific said.
The initial $20 million investment will allow Incoa to bring its product to the market, however the offer is conditional depending on Incoa completing construction and bringing the project into production.
Julian Treger, CEO and Executive Director of Anglo Pacific Group, said:
“We are delighted to announce the opportunity to invest US$20 million into the Incoa calcium carbonate project, allowing us to expand our portfolio further to include industrial minerals. The transaction is structured such that funds are only invested when the operation is in production and generating cashflow.
The Incoa project meets many of the Group’s investment criteria, especially in relation to ESG, product quality, long mine life, attractive cost profile and, by the time the funds are invested, the project will be generating cashflow. This will further diversify our portfolio and will continue our trajectory of reduced exposure to coal.
The US$20 million Anglo Pacific Tranche 2 Commitment provides the Group with a proportionate portfolio exposure to the Dominican Republic, an established mining jurisdiction with a number of companies operating high-value assets, the most prominent of which is Barrick Gold’s Pueblo Viejo project which constitutes the largest gold mining project in Latin America.
We are also delighted to continue partnering with Orion following the previously completed Mantos acquisition.”
Anglo Pacific see Australian success
In January, the firm saw their shares in green following an impressive update. The firm said that the Kestrel Mine, which is located in Australia has helped the firm achieve another record year of trading. Anglo Pacific receives royalties from the Kestrel mine, and holds a vast portfolio across the globe. The company has guided for £57 million to £59 million in royalties for 2019, which would be 16% to 20% higher year-on-year. In 2018, royalties were around £3.5 million. The Kestrel mine performed well along side the Labrador Iron Ore Co of Canada. Anglo Pacific also received maiden royalties from the Mantos Blancos copper mine in Peru. The company have said that they will be lifting their dividend to at least 9 pence per share for 2019 compared to 8 pence one year ago. Shares in Anglo Pacific trade at 135p (+4.25%). 2/3/20 13:55BST.Cora Gold begin test work to look at oxide ore in Mali
Cora Gold Ltd (LON:CORA) have told the market that they have begun work in Mali.
The gold miner said today that a test work program has commenced looking at oxide ore from the Sanankoro project in Mali.
The work is being carried out with Hummingbird Resources (LON:HUM) which has an 18% stake in Cora.
Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Gold, commented, “The recently completed Scoping Study at Sanankoro showed the potential for a standalone mine with an 84% IRR and less than 18 month payback period at a US$1,400 gold price. Whilst this is clearly a highly compelling standalone project, Cora’s board is simultaneously assessing additional opportunities through which to potentially fast track development, including identifying synergies with operating mines in the vicinity. We are pleased to be working with our largest shareholder, Hummingbird, to investigate the opportunity to potentially deliver a high-grade concentrate which could, in principle, create a fast track route to low capex and positive cash flow for the Company.
“We are committed to delivering the optimum route of development for the benefit of all stakeholders and will provide updates on this test work in due course.”
A sample size of 350kg is being sent to North America for tests, to see whether commercial viability is possible to send the oxide ore from Sanankoro to Hummingbird’ producing Yanfolila gold mine.
Cora Gold give Mali update
Last week, the firm gave another update on its operations in Mali. The gold miner said that drilling in Southern Mali had produced “significant” mineralisation away from the existing resource. Cora has been targeting shallow oxide extensions beyond the existing work at the Sanankoro gold project. The current resource stands at an estimated 5.0 million tonnes of ore, containing 265,000 ounces of gold from a grade of 1.6 grams of told per tonne of ore. The company also said that they have seen a 1,500 metre-long gold structure as a continuation of Zone B North, as well as 500 metres of new mineralisation along strike to the west of Zone C. Shares in Cora Gold trade at 5p (-0.50%). 2/3/20 13:37BST.Kainos acquire Intuitive Technologies LLC for undisclosed sum
Kainos Group PLC (LON:KNOS) have announced that they have acquired Intuitive Technologies LLC for an undisclosed sum.
Kainos noted that Intuitive Technologies has completed over 500 Adaptive Insights projects. Adaptive Insights is a Workday Inc company and its software is used for business planning.
The firm added that Intuitive Technologies is a “a trusted advisor in the areas of financial consolidation, budgeting, planning, forecasting, reporting and accounting solutions”.
From the statement above, this displays the kind of confidence that Kainos hold in their new acquisition.
Commenting on the acquisition Brendan Mooney, CEO, said:
“I am delighted to welcome the IntuitiveTEK team to Kainos, and into our ever-expanding Workday practice. The team’s expertise, excellent reputation, and passion for building strong customer relationships aligns with our business, and we look forward to having them on board. As a leading Workday partner, we see this acquisition as an important step to deepen our expertise in Adaptive Insights Business Planning Cloud in the United States, where we continue to see growing demand from clients in modernizing their planning and financial management processes.”
Kainos complete two merger deals in November
In November, the technology firm announced that they had agreed two merger deals, which led to shares jumping. The firm said its revenue in the six months to September 30 rose by 29% year-on-year to £86.9 million from £67.2 million. Pretax profit was 38% higher at £12.0 million from £8.7 million last year. On an adjusted basis, excluding “share-based payments and related costs”, the profit growth was more modest at 27% year-on-year to £12.8 million from £10.1 million. Revenue in its core Digital Services segment grew by 29% to £73.7 million from £57.3 million last year. Kainos also said that it has acquired Formulate Ltd, a technology consultancy firm based in Worcestershire in the west Midlands, England. It has also bought the Adaptive Insights arm of Implexa GmbH. Kainos said: “Implexa is the only accredited Adaptive Insights partner in Germany, and adds Hamburg-based software and consulting capabilities to Kainos’ existing Frankfurt presence and capabilities.” Shares in Kainos trade at 739p (-0.93%). 2/3/20 12:36BST.Finablr warn that results could be affected by coronavirus and malware attack
Finablr PLC (LON:FIN) have told the market that its results could be affected by a malware attack and the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
Just before the turn of the New Year, Finablr saw their subsidiary business Travelex face an attack with a software virus.
Following this attack, the firm had to conduct its business manually which led to both shares crashing and business taking a massive bruising.
Today, Finablr added that they expect their earnings to take a £25 million hit following both events.
Finablr said: “Travelex has a cyber-insurance policy in place which we currently expect to off-set a material proportion of this EBITDA reduction in addition to covering the direct costs of recovery. However, the timing of EBITDA recognition and receipt of the insurance recovery is yet to be determined.
At present, Travelex does not expect the cyber-attack to have any material impact on trading during our peak periods in Q2 and Q3 2020 which contribute a large proportion of Travelex’s annual EBITDA. Travelex’s current expectation is that the results for the FY20 would reflect the benefit of the cyber-insurance policy and cost actions taken by the business.”
In addition to the malware attack, the firm added that the coronavirus could affect its Travelex business, considering the exposure and business it has within airports and the travel sector.
Due to the attack, Finablr noted that they cannot release their final results until mid April.
The firm commented: “Following the cyber-attack that affected its business from 31 December 2019, Travelex announces that it has successfully restored all its customer-facing systems in a phased and controlled programme.
The decision to immediately take the Travelex systems offline at the time of the attack contained the spread of the malware and protected the integrity of customer and partner data. The Business Continuity Plan was initiated promptly, as a result of which the majority of the business remained operational and was able to continue trading in spite of the precautionary shutdown.
Certain financial reporting tools were unavailable for part of January, as a result of which the publication of Travelex’s FY19 results is now expected to be from mid-April.”
Finablr’s data hacking crisis
At the start of January, the story hit news headlines as Finablr saw their shares crash 15%. Travelex who was the victim of the vicious cyber attack has a presence in more than 70 countries, and holds a portfolio over 1,200 branches and 1,000 ATM’s worldwide. Customers of Travelex have said that they have been caught up with their money being left in the midst of a cyber attack. As far as public media is aware, the criminals behind the attack demanded a ransom of £4.6 million or the threat of leaking data and deletion of systems has been poised. Reports have suggests that a ransomware gang called Sodinokibi carried out the attack. The gang have made claims that it first accessed the company’s computer network six months ago and since have downloaded 5GB of customer data, something which will worry the market and consumers. “Travelex been successful in containing the spread of the ransomware. Travelex has also confirmed whilst there has been some data encryption, there is no evidence structured personal customer data has been encrypted, and there is still no evidence any data has been exfiltrated,” said Finablr. Shares in Finablr trade at 60p (-0.98%). 2/3/20 11:56BST.Starcom shares bounce as revenue jumps 14% but loss widens
Starcom PLC (LON:STAR) have seen their shares bounce on Monday following a steady set of final results.
The firm did note that its’ loss had widened across 2019, however shareholders can expect growth across the year.
Shares in Starcom trade at 1p (+5.05%). 2/3/20 11:16BST.
The media company told the market that it had seen a pretax loss of $1 million across 2019, compared to the $831,000 figure one year ago.
Starcom alluded this wider loss to rising operating expenses, as these costs rose to $3.5 million fro $3.3 million. These costs rose due to non-cash expenses including depreciation and share option provisions.
On a better note, Starcom saw revenues surge 14% to $6.8 million from $6 million year-on-year.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation totalled $300,000 compared to $8,000 Ebitda loss a year ago.
Avi Hartmann, CEO of Starcom, commented, “I am pleased to report another year of progress for the Company, moving into EDITBA positive for the first time, which we believe is a turning point and a clear indication of the Company’s future performance.
“Based on our existing range of products, mature technology, global client base, recurring SaaS revenues and substantial sales pipeline, the Company anticipates continued growth in 2020. We further anticipate higher margins in the future as our product mix migrates more towards the IoT sector. One of the key focuses of 2020 is to expand our sales and marketing team to take advantage of the opportunities before us, whilst ensuring we maintain our competitive edge through continued R&D.”
Going forward the firm said that it is looking to migrate towards the he higher margin IoT products, gross margin should continue to improve.
The Chairman concluded:
“Based on the existing range of products, mature technology, global client base, recurring SaaS revenues and substantial sales pipeline, the Company anticipates continued growth in 2020. The Board also anticipates that as the product mix continues to migrate towards the higher margin IoT products, gross margin should continue to improve.
The innovative Lokies is expected to be one of the key growth engines for the Company in 2020. The agreement and the purchasing plan provided by the Russian distributer signed up in 2019 underpins this assessment. Also encouraging is the three-year OEM contract recently signed with Cubemonk for the incorporation of our Kylos Air unit into their product.
Zero is progressing with its own sales of the Starcom-inside motorbikes which may have an impact on other similar manufacturers. The Board is therefore optimistic about the prospects for the Company in 2020, particularly the opportunities presented from its relationships with Cubemonk, CropX and WIMC, as well as its North African distributor.
We plan to expand our sales and marketing team to strengthen our ability to take advantage of the opportunities we now see as well as continuing to focus on R&D to maintain and improve our competitive edge.”
Starcom agree deal with CubeMonk
A few weeks back, Starcom told the market that they had signed a three year supply and support agreement with US shipping serviced provider CubeMonk Inc. The wireless solutions and technology firm said that the agreement would allow the supply and support of Kylos Air technology units. The Kylos Air technology will be used as part of CubeMonk’s tracking service for air containers. Starcom expressed that they had been working with CubeMonk over the last year to implement Kylos Air technology for shipping solutions. The firm noted that the trial had been successfully completed, and had produced pleasing results – adding that it had seen “very positive feedback from the end users in the trial.”Wizz Air set to expand into Abu Dhabi
Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ) have announced their intentions to launch operations in Abu Dhabi.
The FTSE 100 airline firm said that operations should commence this Autumn, following the completion of a partnership agreement.
The announcement to move into the Middle East was made a few months back, in December – and the firm said that it was looking to set up a deal with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Co PJSC.
Wizz Air noted that the agreement had now bee completed, and that this means it can operate in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa from Abu Dhabi’s international airport.
József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air Holdings, said: “Today marks an important milestone on the way to establishing our new airline in Abu Dhabi. The joint venture agreement with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company to form Wizz Air Abu Dhabi underpins our long-term dedication to bringing an economically and operationally highly efficient as well as environmentally most sustainable airline business model to boost Abu Dhabi’s aviation development. Wizz Air’s mission feeds into Abu Dhabi’s diversified economic strategy as we aim to stimulate traffic by creating demand to the benefit of growing Abu Dhabi’s touristic and economic diversity. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board our young, green and ultra-efficient fleet.”
Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi, CEO of ADDH, added: “Tourism is a high priority in Abu Dhabi’s growth strategy. Significant investment is going not only into our airports but also the tourist infrastructure, including hotels, resorts and cultural attractions. Last year the emirate achieved a record high of 11.35 million visitors and a key driver for this is the connectivity that enables people to visit Abu Dhabi easily and affordably. Our partnerships with Wizz Air and others will help elevate the UAE’s capital as a highly competitive regional and international destination for leisure and business travellers alike.”
Wizz Air boast strong third quarter
In January, Wizz Air reported a very strong third quarter performance – which led to shares in green. In the three months to December 31, revenue was 25% higher year-on-year at €637.3 million from €511.3 million. Ticket revenue alone was 16% higher at €336.3 million, which represents significant progress for the budget airline, in an industry which has seen hardship. Notably, the firm also swung to a quarterly pretax profit of €22.4 million from a €21.2 million loss one year ago. Passengers carried also climbed 23% year on year and totaled 10 million in the third quarter, whilst load factor edged 1.1 percentage points higher to 92.5%. Shares in Wizz Air trade at 3,350p (-1.90%)/ 2/3/20 11:09BST.Hiscox lift annual dividend, despite reporting mixed 2019
Hiscox Ltd (LON:HSX) have seen their shares bounce despite the firm seeing drop in profits within their full year results.
The FTSE 250 listed firm reported that its pretax profit had sunk 61% to $53.1 million, compared to the $135.6 million figure a year ago.
Hiscox noted that its performance had been affected by ‘large catastrophes’ as the firm alluded to issues such as hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and typhoons Faxai and Hagibis.
Notably, the firm also said that it had seen higher claims and claim adjustment expenses at $3.21 billion versus $2.33 billion.
In addition to this, expenses for the acquisition of insurance contracts totaled $944.9 million, seeing a significant rise from the $882 figure one year ago.
On a better note, Hiscox saw their total annual income grow by 9.4% to $2.91 billion from $2.66 billion the prior year. Net premiums earned also rose by 2.7% from $2.57 billion to $2.64 billion.
The firm is still assessing the impact of the current coronavirus, and added that its main area of exposure would be in event cancellations travel and personal accidents – however only small claims have been received.
Hiscox declared an annual dividend of 29.6 cents per share, giving a total of 43.35 cents – seeing a 3.6% jump from 41.85 cents across 2018.
Bronek Masojada, Chief Executive Officer, Hiscox Ltd, commented:
“Our strategy of balance, between big-ticket lines and our more steady retail earnings, provides resilience and opportunity. Our growing Retail profits and strong investment return has enabled us to weather a third consecutive year of storms. We are investing for growth as we look to capture the many opportunities we see ahead.”
Going forward, Robert Childs, Chairman added:
“We aim to balance Hiscox Retail with the higher-volatility big-ticket businesses. Looking forward, we expect our retail business to get back on track, with better growth this year than last and an improved combined ratio. We will trim the reinsurance business to suit conditions. The London Market is seeing improvements in rates and conditions. In the past these improvements have made it straight through to much better returns. We have the brand, talent and diversity of product and geography to make the most of the opportunities ahead.”