Can Lloyds Banking shares hit 70 pence?
Lloyd’s Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) have seen an interesting few weeks, as the shares faced a setback since the December election, where shares initially rallied.
Shares in Lloyds Bank trade at 57p (-0.44%). 13/2/20 12:26BST.
The share price of Lloyds has hovered around the late 50p and early 60p ball park over the last few months, however is yet to hit 70p.
The 52 week high has hit 73.66p, but has also seen lows of 48.16p showing its volatile nature.
Combined with this, the 50 day moving average has flirted with the 60p but has just remained shy at 59.53p. Whilst the 200 day moving average has been slightly lower at 56.75p.
Could Lloyds shares hit 70p?
MJ Gleeson see falling interim revenue from slow Strategic Land division
MJ Gleeson (LON:GLE) have reported a fall in interim revenue on Thursday but have remained confident to meet internal expectations.
The land development firm left its full year expectations unchanged, however a decline in revenue may concern shareholders.
In the six month period, which ended on December 31 the firm saw its revenue drop 19% to £105 million from £118.3 million on year go. Additionally, pretax profit also crashed 40% from £22.3 million to £13.3 million.
MJ Gleeson said that its Strategic Land division hampered results, and this sector recorded no revenue in the half. However, in the year prior it generated £30.3 million.
The urban generator also said that a number of land sales, which were expected to be closed in the first half are now estimated to be closed in the second half.
Following the December election and progress within Brexit negations, the firm added that greater certainty had surfaced the market.
In their homes division, Gleeson said that revenue rose 14% during the firs half to £15.9 million from £14 million a year ago. On a better note, this sectors saw sales rise 17% to 811 units from 691 units.
Shareholders would have been further impressed, as the firm increased its first half dividend by 4.3% to 12 pence per share.
Dermot Gleeson, Chairman commented:
“We are delighted with the performance of our Homes division, with completions up 17.4% at 811 units. Demand remains strong, with January reservations per site up 5% on last year. We see no signs of this abating. Land remains available at sensible prices and we will be opening a significant number of new sites shortly.
“As previously announced, Strategic Land, which saw an exceptionally strong result for the comparator period, did not complete any sales in the first half. However, the anticipated deal flow in the second half is now materialising with three sites sold, of which one was sold unconditionally and legally completed in January. We have a substantial pipeline in place and demand for consented sites, from both large and medium-sized developers, remains very high.
“The strong performance of Gleeson Homes and anticipated deal flow in Strategic Land for the second half underpin the Board’s confidence that the Group’s results for the full year will be in line with expectations.”
Gleeson’s January update
The firm saw its shares in red in January, however remained confident to deliver expectations. The land developer said that its Homes unit had sold 811 units during the half year period to end 2019, which saw a 17% climb year on year from the 691 figure. Additionally, Gleeson said that the demand for its low cost homes remains strong and is on track to deliver full-year unit completions in line with expectations. In its Strategic Land division, the company said that due to a number of land sales which will be closed in the first half, these have shifted to the second half For financial 2019, the firm reported pretax profit of £41.2 million, which showed growth by 11% from the £37 million a year ago. Shares in MJ Gleeson trade at 976p (+0.41%). 13/2/20 12:15BST.Boris says no to dissenters and the dispirited – big hitters axed in reshuffle
PM Boris Johnson has continued his programme of Boris-Cummings-politik, by carrying out a drastic cabinet reshuffle on Thursday.
This latest move comes after complaints of selective media shut-outs and an over-involvement in the selection process of the incoming BBC top brass, alongside tensions surrounding Heathrow expansion and HS2 dissenters drumming up support.
Today, the prime minister has called ministers into 10 Downing Street and has sounded the death knell for the following (former) ministers in the early knockings:
- Julian Smith as Northern Ireland secretary
- Andrea Leadsom as business secretary
- Theresa Villiers as environment secretary
- Esther McVey as housing minister
- Nusrat Ghani as transport minister
- Chris Skidmore as education minister
- George Freeman as transport minister
The reshuffle comes as PM Boris attempts to tailor his cabinet towards being a team more in line with his (somewhat unclear) vision for the UK.This reshuffle shows that dissent will not be tolerated by No10. Leadsom, Smith, Cox, had all stood up to Boris during Cabinet meetings, all now gone. Others, like Villiers and Skidmore, sacked for lack of dynamism.
— Gordon Rayner (@gordonrayner) February 13, 2020
Shock resignation
The most recent – and perhaps most surprising – resignation was that of Sajid Javid, after being ordered to sack his advisors.This latest move could prove seismic for the Johnson administration, though it has already been confirmed Rishi Sunak will replace Javid as Chancellor, and will likely deliver the budget in four weeks’ time. Dominic Raab will stay on as Foreign Secretary, Priti Patel remains Secretary of State and Michael Gove retains his position as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. At the very least, the PM will continue to be comforted by his confidante and master of ceremonies, Dominic Cummings.Hear that Javid was offerered to stay on as Chancellor on condition he fired all of his advisers – he refused and turned down job
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 13, 2020
You’ll also be pleased to hear, Larry kept his post as Downing Street cat.Off to a great start with my Cabinet reshuffle – Dominic Cummings has confirmed that I can stay on as Prime Minister.#reshuffle
— Parody Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson_MP) February 13, 2020
Since the Thursday session began, Sterling went up from 1.19 to 1.20 against the Euro.#Reshuffle update: I was offered my pick of the jobs, but decided to stick at what I do best. pic.twitter.com/Rilj3MNf94
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) February 13, 2020
British house prices rise in January
Prices of British houses have risen at their fastest pace in nearly three months, as the property market looks to stabilize following a turbulent few months.
The last three months have given some reassurance for the British people and British house prices, and a reflection in rising house prices may mean that some consumer confidence is being restored.
Since the December election, where Boris Johnson wiped the floor clean of the Labour party, there have been developments in British Politics and Brexit.
As I am writing now, my colleague to seats to the right of me is typing away updates on the cabinet reshuffle, as Boris Johnson looks to freshen his advisory committee in an attempt to restore British confidence in the government.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that house price index surged to +17 in January, from the -2 figure in December.
“It remains to be seen how long this newfound market momentum is sustained for, and political uncertainty may resurface towards the end of the year. But at this point in time contributors are optimistic,” RICS chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said.
Notably, the January reading was the highest reading since May 2017 and beat the forecast from both analysts and the market.
Market traders and property experts praised the strong growth in London and South East, which had been previously facing troubles as Brexit took its weigh on the British property market.
More properties were being listed for sale, and a steady rate of purchases also led to house prices increasing across the United Kingdom, and on these two metrics showed the fastest rise since August 2013.
Halifax also reported a 4.1% rise in house prices annually, which was the biggest increase since February 2018. Notably, the Bank of England also said that lenders approved the most new portages since July 2017.
Certainly, the outcomes of the election and the formal severance of British ties with the European Union has given some stability on the property market.
There is still a long way to go and many clauses in Brexit will be unfolded, however this is a good sign that the property market has bounced back over the last few months.
Coca Cola European Partners 2019 revenue climbs following strong UK performance
Coca Cola European Partners PLC (LON:CCEP) have reported a rise in 2019 revenue on Thursday morning.
The drinks retailer and producer said that it expects single digit revenue growth in 2020, however performance in 2019 had been strong.
Coca Cola reported that revenue had rose 4.5% to €12.02 billion in 2019, compared to the 2018 figure of €11.52 billion. The multinational said that this reflected solid execution and innovation led growth which will please shareholders.
Notably, pretax profit also rose €1.45 billion from €1.21 billion, whilst operating profit also rose from €1.30 billion in 2018 to €1.55 billion.
On a sweet note for shareholders, Coca Cola also declared a full year dividend of €1.24 per share, which shows a 17% appreciation from last year.
Coca Cola across all business have looked to maintain its annualized dividend payout ratio of 50%.
The CEO commented “It is a fantastic time to be leading CCEP. Our 2020 guidance is firmly in line with our mid-term growth objectives, which when combined with a new €1 billion share buyback programme and a 50% dividend payout ratio, collectively demonstrate our commitment to driving sustainable value for our shareholders.”
Coca-Cola also announced that they will be commencing a 2020 share buyback program of up to €1 billion, as the firm concluded its update.
The drinks firm praised the strong performance in the British markets, as revenue grew by 2% in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta & Monster drinks.
French revenue also jumped 4.5%, and European performance was steady with strong consistent performance in the Netherlands.
Damian Gammell, Chief Executive Officer said:
“2019 saw our business deliver another solid full-year demonstrating our continued focus on driving profitable revenue growth through managing price and mix across our portfolio, delivering solid in-market execution and a step up in innovation, collectively reflected in market value share gains across all our geographies. 2019 was a great year for our customers too; joint value creation remains a key priority, so it has been great to see that once again we were by far the largest FMCG value creator in the retail channel[6]. And all of this alongside the successful closure of our merger commitments.
Coca Cola are one of the world’s most established brands. Following strong European and British performance, there is every reason for the drinks firm to remain confident as the market for Coca Cola remains strong.
“Looking ahead to 2020 and beyond, our journey continues to be built on three pillars: great people, great service and great beverages. We continue to build our core business alongside scaling up recent innovations and enhancing our commercial capabilities, by investing to better serve our customers and further improve in-market execution”, the CEO concluded.
Shares in Coca Cola European Partners PLC trade at €49. (+1.86%). 13/2/20 11:24BST.
Coronavirus fatalities and secrecy drive down commodities and equities
With the Chinese Communist Party ousting its provincial leader in Hubei, and the Coronavirus death toll going past 1,350 on Wednesday evening, equities recoiled once again.
Markets were seemingly getting used to the idea of the virus, despite some experts predicting that 60% of the world will have contracted the illness before its day is done. Now, however, markets have doubled back on their tentative optimism, with Hubei adding 15,150 cases to its projected total and taking the global number to over 60,000 cases.
Even with the increase, there is little faith in these figures – only a gnawing understanding that the reality is likely worse than what we’re being told. We can choose whether or not to question the virus’s potency, what cannot be questioned is its reach, and the strain this puts on the movement of people and products. Speaking on the strain put on equities by the virus, Spreadex Financial Analyst Connor Campbell stated,BEIJING, Feb 13 (Reuters) – The Chinese province at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak reported a record rise in deaths and thousands more cases on Thursday under a new diagnostic method, raising fresh questions about the scale of the crisis.
— CoronaVirus Breaking News (@COVID_19NEWS) February 13, 2020
“Just as the markets seemed to break free of their coronavirus fears, an alarming spike in the number of deaths and new cases sent Europe lower.”
“Arguably the main driver of Wednesday’s growth was the hopes that the outbreak in China was being contained. Well, changes to the way in which authorities calculate figures surrounding the illness revealed a worse situation than first thought, with a 242 person jump in the number of deaths and a 15,000 surge in total cases.”
Largely acting as a barometer of market sentiment towards the illness, oil prices have fallen sharply since the virus’s ascendancy. Today, the commodity-laden FTSE suffered as oil companies felt the heat.“Understandably this spooked investors. The commodity-heavy FTSE was the worst hit, which was an extra blow for the index as it was already left out of the market’s record peak party on Wednesday. With BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSB) down 2.4% and 2.1% respectively, and its miners all falling at least 1%, the FTSE shed 80 points, sinking back towards 7460.”
“The Eurozone indices were comparatively unfussed by the latest coronavirus news. The DAX and CAC only slipped 0.3% apiece, leaving the former on a smidge under its recent all-time highs. The reason for this muted reaction could be partially due to the euro hitting its worst price since May 2017 against the dollar.”
“Similarly, investors may be waiting to see whether the sharp increase in deaths and new cases is a one-off, as Chinese officials adjusts their methods of calculation.”
“Looking ahead to the US session and the Dow Jones is currently pencilling in drop more in line with that seen in the Eurozone, the futures promising a 0.5% fall.”
Indivior shares crash 18% as profits drop by over a third
Shares of Indivior PLC (LON:INDV) have crashed on Thursday morning as the firm has given shareholders a worrying update.
Indivior said that future legal costs could bruise the company following a mixed few weeks for the pharmaceuticals firm.
Shares in Indivior trade at 39p (-18.92%). 13/2/20 10:58BST.
Shaun Thaxter, CEO commented:
“2019 was a challenging year for Indivior but I am proud that it brought out the very best in our people as we focused our efforts on improving the lives of patients suffering from addiction and its co-occurring disorders … At the same time, we were able to lay the foundations for the future success of our key growth drivers, SUBLOCADE® (buprenorphine extended-release) injection and PERSERIS® (risperidone) extended-release injection, while also further extending our scientific leadership in opioid use disorder (OUD).”
To make matters worse, the firm reported that profits had dived by over a third in 2019 which reflected the movement in their share price.
Indivior said that net revenue had fallen 22% to $785 million in 2019, whilst pretax profit also plummeted 35% to $180 million.
The firm gave these disappointing figures, but did note that costs did fall across 2019 which may make the results feel worse than they are.
Selling, general & administrative expenses was 16% lower than 2018, totaling $414 million. In addition, research and development costs dropped 42% to $53 million.
The company further warned shareholders by saying that it expects to swing to a net loss within the $20 million and $50 million ball park.
Going forward, Indivior said that they expect net revenue to lie within the range of $525 million and $585 million which could represent a huge year on year drop.
Thaxter concluded by adding “Looking to 2020, I am inspired by the opportunity we have in front of us to profoundly impact patient lives in a more meaningful way.”
“Although we are optimistic about delivering on our strategic priorities in 2020, we of course recognise the legal uncertainties we face. We are proactively working to manage these risks while our teams remain focused on leveraging the strategic and operational accomplishments of the past year to further our leadership position in addiction science and diversification into behavioral health.”
Indivior stumble following turbulent few weeks
In December, the firm told the market that they had made progress with their Sublocade Injection analysis. The firm said that new analysis from a year long investigation of monthly Sublocade injection showed either improved or stable patient-centred outcomes versus placebo. The 12-month study looked at a number of outcome measures, including treatment effectiveness and improvement in the severity of addition as measured by a patient reported Addiction Severity Index.Third quarter profit drop
In the third quarter, the results were not as positive for Indivior. The firm reported that net revenue had dropped 19% to $199 million from $245 million. Additionally, the company posted a $56 million pretax profit for the three months ended September 30, 18% lower than the $68 million profit posted the year before. Selling, General & Administrative expenses fell 21%, while research & development expenses fell 31% to $11 million from $16 million. For the nine months ending September 30th, pretax profit fell 14% to $222 million, versus $257 million. Net revenue was down 15% at $652 million from $768 million, which creates worries for investors and shareholders. Indivior are going through a tough time of trading at the moment, and there are some changes that need to be made to allow growth in a highly contested pharmaceuticals market.Domino’s Pizza UK confirm plans to exit from Norway
Dominos Pizza Group (LON:DOM) have said that they will exit all operations from their Norwegian business on Thursday morning.
The pizza and takeaway firm have recently announced their intentions to depart from Norway, in order to focus their business plans in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Dominos have agreed to sell their 71% stake in DP Norway AS to minority shareholders including Pizza Holding AS and EYJA Fjarfestingafelag III EHF.
Eirik Bergh of Pizza Holding AS said: “This is great news for our hard working store colleagues, our loyal pizza fans and our supply chain partners. We believe Domino’s is the best pizza in the world and we’re delighted to ensure this brand will remain in Norway. I’m confident our in depth knowledge of Norwegian consumers is key to unlocking the potential of Domino’s in this important market. The management team and I have lots of exciting plans and innovations we’re looking forward to sharing.”
The firm have said that it will need to make a cash outlay of around £7 million as part of the sale. This will cover marketing campaign costs, future liabilities and cash retained within the disposed business.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of May, Dominos said. The full disposition is subject to shareholder and US brand owner Dominos Pizza International Inc clearance.
Norway operations led to an underlying operating pretax £6.6 million for 2018, and the UK branch arm has agreed to cover further losses until the completion of the deal in May.
David Wild said: “We are today announcing the disposal of our Norwegian business to its minority shareholders, subject to shareholder approval. This transaction is positive for all stakeholders and also provides DPG with a clean exit from Norway following operating losses and high levels of capital expenditure over a number of years. The new owners have exciting plans for the business and importantly, the Domino’s brand will retain its presence in Norway.
“Now we have agreed the transaction for Norway, we will focus on progressing transactions for our businesses in Sweden, Switzerland and Iceland. We are focused on securing the best possible terms for shareholders and are working closely with Domino’s International throughout. We will update the market in due course.”
Dominos plan to quit international operations
Dominos already gave shareholders a pre-warning on their intentions to quit operations overseas. In October, the firm said that It said that though the financial results have stabilised, international system sales remain “disappointing”. “Although the financial results have stabilised, the performance of our international business remains disappointing,” David Wild, Chief Executive Officer, commented in a third quarter trading update.Fourth quarter update
Last week, the firm gave an update on its fourth quarter trading. In the UK and Ireland, sales jumped 4.4% from £312.9 million to £326.7 million, on organic measures this also showed a 4.5% rise. Like-for-like sales in the UK alone were 3.9% higher during the quarter, though in Ireland, they were down 1.0%. Internationally, Domino’s have struggled and business has slumped. Once again this sentiment was reflected in the figures from today’s update. Looking at international business, sales were down 4.9% to £25.3 million from £26.6 million. Domino’s said its disposal program is “progressing” and added that it is focusing on offloading its Norway operations. Dominos should remain optimistic that their plans to dispose of business in Norway are underway. The strong performance of the firm in both the UK and Ireland will allow a focus following this disposition and should lead to stronger trading in the future. Shares in Dominos trade at 311p (+1.34%). 13/2/20 10:50BST.South32 see earnings drop due to ‘volatile’ commodity prices
South32 Ltd (LON:S32) have seen their earnings drop in the first half of its financial year amid a period of volatile commodity prices.
The mining firm told the market that its pretax profit had been totaled at $187 million for the six months ending in December 2019.
Notably, this sees a significant drop from the $870 million figure one year ago. Additionally, revenue declined 16% to $3.22 billion from $3.81 billion.
South32 said that six month figures had suffered from volatile macroeconomic conditions which bruised the price of commodities.
Graham, Kerr CEO commented: “Against a challenging backdrop for our key commodities we delivered another strong operating result with production for the majority of our operations tracking on or ahead of schedule. Our operating costs trended down in the half and we have lowered our cost guidance across most of our operations.
“We delivered record production at Brazil Alumina and maintained higher output rates at Worsley Alumina. We responded to lower manganese prices at South Africa Manganese, cutting higher cost trucking.
On a better note, the Australian miner paid an interim dividend of 1.1 US cents in addition to a special distribution of a further 1.1 cents.
Shareholders of South32 should not be as concerned as once thought, as the firm did reiterate its confident nature to make sure that 2020 is a successful year.
“We advanced our pre-feasibility study at Hermosa and increased exploration across the broader land package.
“Demonstrating our strong financial position, track record of returning excess capital to shareholders and positive outlook for our business, today we announced a fully franked interim dividend of US$54 million and a US$180 million increase to our capital management program, including US$54 million which will be returned via a fully franked special dividend.” Kerr concluded.
South32’s interim update
A few weeks back, the firm gave shareholders a positive interim update which showed progress for the firm. For the first half ended December, South32’s production rose 4% year-on-year to 2.6 million tonnes, with Brazilian operations delivering a record performance. Aluminium production was flat at 496,000 tonnes, which will not worry shareholders. Nickel production did see a 2% slip in production to 20,600 tonnes whilst silver rose 2% to 6.1 million ounces. The lead sector saw impressive growth for South32 as there was a rise in production to 55,300 tonnes seeing a 14% growth. Additionally, Zinc production surged 24$ to 32,500 tonnes, and manganese ore production fell 3% to 2.9 million wet metric tonnes, and manganese alloy put was down 17% to 91,000 tonnes. The coal sector, which is one of South32’s biggest operations saw production fall 2% to 12.6 million tonnes, as did metallurgical coal output declined by 7% to 2.9 million tonnes. Shares in South32 trade at 134p (-2.46%). 13/2/20 10:32BST.Coronavirus: updates
Fears rise as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread across the world.
Last week, the World Health Organisation said that the international community has launched a $675 million plan to prepare and respond to the coronavirus outbreak over the next few months.
Sunday was one of the deadliest days as the number of people killed by the virus increased by 97 in one day alone.
Let’s take a look at the conversation on Twitter:
The World Health Organisation has shared how countries around the world are responding to the virus outbreak:
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care provided an update on the situation in the UK:Around the 🌎🌍🌏 countries are preparing and responding to #COVID19.
Watch this video and follow the thread below for just a few examples 👇 pic.twitter.com/wOlXciP8uS — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 12, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The NHS has also tweeted about the virus, providing some tips to stay protected:UPDATE on #coronavirus testing in the UK:
As of 2pm on Wednesday 12 February 2020, a total of 1,758 tests have concluded 1,750 were confirmed negative 8 positive Updates will be published at 2pm daily until further notice For latest information visit ▶️https://t.co/CZh5JdyN2Q pic.twitter.com/SYysPyjy1s — Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 12, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Other media outlets have taken a look at the situation in China:Find out the latest updates on the outbreak of #coronavirus in China, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms: https://t.co/m6vs04XyhN pic.twitter.com/StvQapL5iL
— NHS London (@NHSEnglandLDN) February 12, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsChinese state media footage shows a restaurant in Beijing that has found a creative way to help prevent spread of the coronavirus. https://t.co/lhRWMnCLL1 pic.twitter.com/SqA2pRldTg
— ABC News (@ABC) February 12, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js UK Investor Magazine will provide updates as further news emerges.Patients that have recovered from the #coronavirus walk out of hospitals and pose for photos with the doctors that cared for them.
At least 744 people have been discharged in China after recovering from the virus #CoronavirusOutbreak #新型肺炎 pic.twitter.com/HqzTH4p8F4 — QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) February 12, 2020