Joules shares surge over 6% despite pretax profits slumping 9.3% year on year

Ishen Patel
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Joules shares surge over 6% despite pretax profits slumping 9.3% year on year

Joules (LON:JOUL) have seen their shares surge on Tuesday despite giving shareholders a modest update.

The firm reported a first half earnings fall with profit falling due to higher impairment costs and revenue slipping, whilst the gloomy British high street continues to struggle.

In the 26 weeks to November 24, the firm saw revenues fall 1.3% year on year to £111.6 million from £113.1 million.

With the inclusion of Black Friday, the firm reported that retail revenue rose 3.1% from last year, which was an impressive take in an otherwise modest update.

Interim pretax profit slumped by 82% to £1.7 million from £9.3 million a year before.

Joules attributed this too £6.7 million worth of impairment costs related to store closures or relocations, a move to a new head office and a distribution centre renovation.

Looking at an underlying basis, the firm said that pretax profits were 9.3% lower than last year with the figure dropping from £10.7 million to £9.7 million.

Nick Jones, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Joules delivered a robust first half sales and margin performance in line with expectations, which was pleasing in the context of a challenging consumer environment and widespread discounting by other clothing brands and retailers. This performance reflects the appeal of the Joules brand, our growing customer base and the flexibility of our ‘Total Retail’ model.

During the Period, we invested further in our infrastructure and customer proposition in order to support long-term sustainable growth. This included the roll-out of our new point of sale system across our store estate, enhancing the future profitability and flexibility of our store channel, progressing our new Head Office development, and launching our ‘Friends of Joules’ marketplace. Post period end, this investment has continued with the announcement of improvements to our future logistics capability in the UK and US.

Since the period end, we have updated on our disappointing Christmas trading performance, resulting from a stock availability issue impacting our online channel. We identified the root cause, have taken steps to rebalance the allocation of stocks between channels for Spring / Summer 2020 and are strengthening our underlying processes. I am reassured by the performance we saw in the retail channels where we had good stock availability and by our continued online traffic growth, evidencing the strong customer demand which continues to exist for the Joules brand.

Since joining Joules in September, I have been impressed by the strength of the brand, the flexibility of our multiple routes to market and our fantastic teams. I am confident in the opportunities for long-term sustainable growth of the Joules brand across multiple territories and I am excited to lead Joules through this next chapter of growth.”

Sosandar struggle in the clothing market as well

Yesterday, Sosandar (LON:SOS) another operator in the women’s wear market also reported revenue growth but told shareholders about the potential of a wider loss.

Sosandar attributed this wider loss to increased customer acquisition costs, which sent shares crashing on Monday.

The firm said generated a quarterly record net revenue of £3.8 million in the three months to December 31, as net revenue exceeded £1.2 million in each month.

Looking at their recent quarter of trading, Sosandar said that revenue was ahead of management expectations and more than double the revenue generated in the same period the year before and exceeding the £2.8 million recorded in the first half of financial 2020.

Notably, the company said growth in its active customer data base which totals at 110,132 which saw a 93% surge from the same period one year ago.

Joules will feel like they have missed an opportunity to really gain some ground in the sector, however the British retail market is still recovering from external shocks and tough trading.

Shares in Joules trade at 195p (+6.96%). 21/1/20 12:30BST.

Resolute announce fund raising plan to pay off Taurus Funds loan

Ishen Patel
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Resolute announce fund raising plan to pay off Taurus Funds loan
Resolute Mining (LON:RSG) have announced a fundraising plan to pay off a loan on Tuesday morning. The firm said that it is raising AUD196 million, which will be broken down into three segments. The firm will initially place 132.7 million shares at AUD1.10 each to raise the AUD146 million, and this will close on Tuesday. Resolute have said that they will place 22.7 million new shares at the same price to raise AUD25 million. It will also offer a share purchase plan to shareholders in Australia and New Zealand, with an individual limit of AUD30,000, to raise the last AUD25 million. The gold miner did note that the price offered does see a 6.4% discount off its closing price in Sydney of AUD1.175. As a a result of the share placing plan, in London shares have dipped 6.40% to 60p on the announcement. 21/1/20 12:11BST. The funds raised will be used to repay a $130 million bridge facility provided by Taurus Funds Management Pty Ltd, which is due for repayment at the end of January. This funding was used to purchase Toro Gold Ltd, which included the Mako gold mine in Senegal. Resolute’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr John Welborn said: “The ability to entirely repay the Toro Gold acquisition facility will save Resolute extension fees and interest payments. More importantly, today’s equity raising will support and enable the complete refinancing of our debt facilities during the current quarter. Completion of the equity placement, and the refinancing of our senior syndicated loan facilities, will enable the Company to simplify its capital structure and facilitate the retirement of debt facilities provided by Taurus. “The SPP provides our eligible shareholders, along with the institutional shareholders who are participating in the placement, the opportunity to increase their shareholding in Resolute on attractive terms at a pivotal point in the Company’s life cycle. Strong production guidance, a significant reduction in capital expenditure, operating assets which are now generating positive cashflows, and a stronger balance sheet with a greatly reduced debt burden, provides Resolute shareholders the opportunity for a positive re-rate.”

Busy start to 2020 for Resolute

Last week, Resolute announced that they have sold their Ravenswood gold mine in Queensland. The sale was confirmed after rumors hit the market last Monday, however shareholders have been fully notified with confirmation. Last week, it was announced that Resolute were in talks with private equity firm EMR Capital Management Ltd, and the mine has been sold to EMR Capital Management and Golden Energy and Resources (SGX:AUE). Resolute have said that they will receive AUD100 million in cash and notes for the initial sale of the mine. Subject to further terms of the deal, a further AUD200 million could be sent Resolute’s way dependent on gold production figures and gold prices. Notably, the firm also agreed a power supply deal with Aggreko PLC (LON:AGK) is giving the chance for Resolute to make good progress. The plans come into action following an ensured effort to lower operating costs for Resolute, and the new plans will help reduce power costs by around 40%. The share placing plan gives a good opportunity for Resolute so manage their debts in an adequate manner, and this should allow strong development across 2020 for the firm.

Integrafin report highest ever quarterly inflows as 2020 starts strong

Ishen Patel
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Integrafin report highest ever quarterly inflows as 2020 starts strong
Integrafin Holdings PLC (LON:IHP) have said on Tuesday that its first quarter fund inflow reached a new record for the company within an impressive update. The firm noted its platform rose to over £39 billion, which has left shares in green. Shares in Integrafin trade at 459p (+0.99%). 21/1/20 11:53BST. As of December 31, the investment platform said that it had £39.31 billion funds under direction which is 24% higher than the £31.65 billion recorded one year ago. Integrafin opened the first quarter with £37.8 billion funds under direction, which represents a 4% rise over the three month period. Net inflows across the period totaled £959 million, and combined market movements added £561 million. Ian Taylor, CEO, said: “We have started the financial year strongly, with our highest ever first quarter inflows. Data from Fundscape shows that Transact had the highest net inflows of all advised platforms in the first three quarters of 2019. The business is well positioned, with funds under direction 24% higher than 31 December 2018. These are positive indicators for the year ahead.”

Integrafin build on October update

In October, the firm reported a rise in funds under direction at the end of the 2019 financial year, but inflows slowed down in comparison. Integrafin held £37.8 billion in funds under direction, 4% higher than the reported £36.35 billion seen at the beginning of the quarter, and 14% higher than than the £33.11 billion reported at the same point last year. The FTSE250 listed organization who also runs the investment Platform Transact, said in its fourth quarter update that net flows were down 9% to £891 million, with inflows shrinking 3% to £1.5 billion, and £584 million in funds flowing out. Chief Executive Ian Taylor said “We ended the financial year with a good quarter. If only slightly, inflows were up and outflows were down on the prior quarter. We also learned from Fundscape data that Transact had the highest net inflows of all advised platforms in both of the first two quarters of 2019. These are positive indicators for the coming year”.

Cairn Energy hit upper end of production guidance as revenue grows

Ishen Patel
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Cairn Energy hit upper end of production guidance as revenue grows
Cairn Energy (LON:CNE) have seen their revenues surge in an impressive update to shareholders. The firm told the market that it had reached the upper end of production guidance in 2019, even after the guidance had been lifted mid year. Looking at individual operations for Cairn, the firm said that 2019 production in the Catcher and Kraken fields in the North Sea averaged 23,000 barrels of oil per day, at the upper end of the 21,000 barrel to 23,000 barrel per day guidance. Early in 2019, Cairn had guided for between 19,000 barrels to 22,000 barrels per day, however Cairn have pulled an impressive update out of the bag. Production across 2019 rose by 31% on a year on year basis, and notably Cairn hold a 20% interest in the Catch field tied with roughly 30% in Kraken. Oil and gas revenue for the year was $504 million, at an average price of $64.52 a barrel. This revenue figure is 27% higher than in 2018, though the realised price was over 5% less. Looking at capital expenditure for 2019, the firm reported a total figure of $245 million, and speculated $595 million of capex in 2020. Cairn added that they expect to be spending $135 million on exploration and appraisal within the next year. Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn Energy PLC said: “Cairn’s strong cash flow generation, active portfolio management and year end net cash provide financial flexibility for continued strategic delivery across our balanced portfolio. We are delighted to have achieved FID in Senegal and we look forward to the results of our exploration drilling programme in Mexico. The sale of our Norwegian business through two attractively-priced transactions demonstrates the company’s continued focus on capital discipline and monetisation.”

Cairn leaving Norway pays off

In November, Cairn said that they would be leaving their operations in Norway. The sale was announced for a fee of $100 million, which will also mean that Cairn Energy will exit operations and business in Norway. The sale will allow Cairn to reduce its committees exploration and development spending by around $100 million. The proceeds of the sale will be reinvested into existing operations, Cairn added. The deal is expected to be completed by early 2020 and remain subject to written consent by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, partner and third-party approvals.

Fellow North Sea operators

The North Sea seems to have become fruitful for the market, as Cairn reported a rise in production.

Notably, Premier Oil (LON:PMO) have announced that they will be purchasing two North Sea assets from BP PLC (LON:BP).

Premier have said that they will be buying the Andrew Area and Shearwater assets from oil major BP for $625 million.

Andrew Area includes five fields which produce 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Shearwater in comparison accounts for 25 million barrels of oil equivalent of reserves.

Premier have said that they will be taking 50% to 100% stake in five Andrew Area fields, and a 28% stake in the Shearwater assets.

Premier added that they intend to raise the funds through a $500 million equity raise, and if needed a $300 million bridge operation.

The equity raise will encompass a share placing and rights issuance, and further details will be announced over the next few weeks.

Cairn Energy have given the market an impressive update on Tuesday, despite recently exiting from Norway. Shareholders should remain confident for the firm across 2020. Shares in Cairn Energy trade at 191p (+0.10%). 21/1/20 11:44BST.

deVere Group CEO urges the embracing of fintech to help British business

Ishen Patel
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deVere Group CEO urges the embracing of fintech to help British business
Many British businesses have told the government and market that commitments need to be made towards fintech. Leaders of British businesses, academics and celebrities are heading towards Davos in Switzerland for the 50th annual World Economic Forum to discuss the growth of technology in the workplace. The CEO of deVere Group has made a call to urge legislators and business to embrace the growing technological benefits of fintech.

A fintech revolution?

Mr Green comments on: “As it celebrates its landmark 50th year, the World Economic Forum 2020 has the opportunity to champion and enhance the transformation of business, which has been dubbed the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution.’ “We’re living through a pivotal moment in history in which increased and advancing technology is monumentally and profoundly changing the way we live, do business, and interact with one another.” He continues: “We can clearly see seismic shifts happening in the financial services industry – a sector trade and commerce is deeply reliant upon. “The vast majority of this change is being driven by financial technology, or ‘fintech.’ Mobile banking and investment apps, peer-to-peer lending, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, robo-advisers, and crowdfunding are all part of this fundamental shake-up of the space.” Mr Green goes on to add: “The momentum and energy of this evolution now needs to be harnessed by delegates in Davos. “They need to commit to fintech by using their time, energy and resources for its research and development for three principal, positive reasons. “First, it benefits society. Fintech can speed up the pace of global financial inclusion. It can provide access to financial services for millions of people who live in remote areas and/or who might normally not be able to use financial services because of historical biases of traditional financial companies. Helping individuals, firms and organizations successfully manage, save and invest can only result in better, stronger and more stable communities for us all. “Second, fintech offers companies the opportunity to be agile, to diversify, to cut costs, and to meet regulatory requirements all whilst improving the client experience. This will help them thrive in rapidly challenging times of change and disruption. “And third, the revolution is happening with or without them. As consumers, we increasingly want all our financial services needs to be dealt with online and/or on their mobile devices. We demand personal service and instant access anywhere and at any time. This trend is only set to grow as we all become increasingly dependent on tech.” The deVere CEO concludes: “Davos 2020 is the ideal forum in which to unite the best political and business leaders to galvanize the positive potential of the fintech revolution. “With a slowing global economy, it is an opportunity that the world cannot afford to miss.” Certainly, British business has been put in a tough situation following Brexit negotiations and the tough nature of the retail market and any changes to help businesses run more efficiently will be duly welcomed.

Dixons enjoy strong online festive sales

Ishen Patel
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Dixons enjoy strong online festive sales

Dixons Carphone PLC (LON:DC) have said that its festive trading has been solid in an update on Tuesday.

The firm said that Christmas trading had been good, despite a weak retail market which had hit consumer confidence and British business.

Dixons’ revenue for the 10 weeks to January 4 was -2% higher on a reported basis, but was flat like-for-like however shares have been in green on Tuesday. Due to a clerical error Dixons had first reports growth of 2% as opposed to a 2% decline.

Notably, the firm saw a rise in its UK and Irish Electrical revenue where a climb of 1% was reported, and 2% on a like for like basis.

Dixons’ mobile unit stumbled however, where mobile revenue fell 11% with the like for like figure dropping 9%.

The firm said that there was growth in televisions, gaming, smart technology, and small domestic appliances, while the decline in Mobile revenue was in line with expectations.

On an international scale, Dixons reported that revenue fell 1% but rose 3% on like for like terms, whilst good performance in Greece led to revenue growth of 3% and like for like revenue spikes of 6%.

Alex Baldock, Group Chief Executive commented

“We’ve had a good Peak in a weak UK market and we’re on track to deliver what we promised for this year, and with our longer-term transformation.

Peak saw us continue to invest in our strategic initiatives with encouraging results. Credit and services adoption rates increased, online sales grew strongly, and our newly remodelled stores performed well. Coupled with our unambiguous “You won’t get it cheaper. Full stop” price promise, alongside better availability and delivery, this led to big improvements in customer satisfaction and strong market share gains in Electricals.

Our customers loaded up on amazing technology this Christmas. The supersizing TV trend kept on giving as we sold 75% more 65″+ TVs, Dyson Health & Beauty sales were up over +20%, Shark Vacuum sales almost doubled and we sold 8,000 smart speakers each day. We broke records on wearables like Fitbit and Apple Airpods, while gamers couldn’t get enough of the Nintendo Switch. Our new Gaming Battlegrounds showed the exciting potential of more enticing, immersive store experiences and drove strong sales and share gains.

None of this would be possible without our thousands of capable and committed colleagues who work hard to deliver a great customer experience every day. I cannot thank them enough as together we continue to unleash Dixons Carphone’s potential.”

Dixons remain consistent from September

In September, the firm reported a similar drop In mobile sales but said that its guidance for the year remains unchanged.

Mobile like-for-like revenue in the UK and Ireland was down 10%, Dixons Carphone revealed in a trading update for the 13 weeks ended 27 July.

Earlier in June, the company posted a statutory loss before tax of £259 million, warning that UK mobile will continue to make a significant loss.

Despite the fall in mobile phone sales, the leading multinational consumer electrical and mobile retailer said that its guidance for the year remains unchanged.

Dixons have seemingly pulled the reigns back with their festive trading, however the tough retail market does continue to bear upon the British high street.

Shares in Dixons trade at 149p (+4.63%). 21/1/20 11:21BST.

easyJet bounce back from November struggles as shares jump over 3%

Ishen Patel
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easyJet bounce back from November struggles as shares jump over 3%
easyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) have seen their shares in green as the firm gave an impressive update to shareholders. Shares in easyJet trade at 1,507p (+3.97%). 21/1/20 11:00BST. “easyJet has delivered a strong performance in the quarter. The delivery of self-help initiatives, robust customer demand and low levels of competitor capacity drove outperformance in both our passenger and ancillary revenue per seat leading to an upgrade to our H1 revenue guidance. Our cost performance was in line with expectations, while our Operational Resilience programme continued to be a driving force behind a robust operational performance.” The firm said that it has started its new financial year strongly, and told shareholders that it expects its interim loss to improve from last year. The firm reported that it had seen a half year loss of £272 million in the six month period to March 31 2019, however the firm seems to have bounced back. In the first quarter of its financial year, the low budget airline reported that its total revenue grew 9.9% year on year to £1.43 billion. Notably, passenger revenue also climbed 9.7% to £1.12 billion which was a positive for the firm. Passenger numbers in the first quarter increased by 2.8% to 22.2 million, with capacity increasing 1.0% to 24.3 million seats. Load factor was up 1.6 percentage points to 91.3%. Airline revenue per seat increased by 8.8%, exceeding management expectations. easyJet also said that underlying costs for the quarter were in line with expectations, with airline headline costs per seat excluding fuel rising by 4.3%. The firm attributed this rise to planned lower capacity growth, new aircraft deliveries, crew pay rises and political action in France which caused over 800 cancellation, and disrupted rivals such as Ryanair (LON:RYA). easyJet improved its on-time performance in the quarter, with 80% of planes landing within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival, up from 79% in the same period last year. easyJet noted 1,274 cancellations – with the majority coming from the strikes in France – and saw delays of over 3 hours decrease by 21%. Speculating further, the firm said that it it expecting its full year capacity to grow by 3% with interim capacity to rise by 1.5%, which seems to have caught shareholder’s attention. The firms capacity in financial 2019 was 105 million seats. Revenue per seat in the first half is guided to grow by mid to high single digits – versus previous guidance of low to mid single digits. The airline’s revenue per seat in the first half financial 2019 was £50.71. Finally, the firm is expecting a full year bill of £1.64 billion and has told the market that it expects to break even in financial 2020. Commenting, Johan Lundgren, easyJet Chief Executive said: “I’m pleased that we have made a strong start to the year with continued positive momentum. The improvement in our revenue per seat has been driven by our self-help revenue initiatives combined with robust customer demand and a lower capacity growth market. “Cost per seat is in line with expectations, helped by our Operational Resilience programme which has not only improved overall customer satisfaction in the quarter but also enabled us to manage our costs. “easyJet holidays launched successfully with customers looking to benefit from our unrivalled flexibility, great value and handpicked hotels. “Being an industry leader in sustainability is important to us, and since our announcement in November we have offset the carbon emissions from the fuel used for all our flights. This means nine million customers have flown net-zero carbon flights with us and our offsetting programme has been received very positively by customers, staff and other stakeholders. “We, of course, recognise offsetting is only an interim measure and we continue to work on reducing our carbon footprint in the short term, coupled with long-term work to support the development of new technology, including hybrid and electric planes, to reinvent aviation for the long-term. “And I am delighted to confirm that Peter Bellew has now joined easyJet as Chief Operating Officer.”

November worries

In November, the firm saw their full year profits plunge. easyJet revealed that headline profit before tax declined 26% to £427 million. The airline emphasised, however, that this figure does lie towards the top end of its £420-430 million guidance range. For the year ending 30 September, passenger numbers grew by 8.6% to 96.1 million. Total revenue was up by 8.3% amounting to £6.4 billion, compared to the £5.9 billion figure recorded the year prior. easyJet said that total revenue per seat declined by 1.8% to £60.81, driven by weak consumer confidence. It seems that easyJet have managed to bounce back from their dip in November. With the strong start to their financial year, shareholders will be keen to see recovery across 2020.

BHP maintain annual guidance, as copper and iron production remains steady

Ishen Patel
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BHP maintain annual guidance, as copper and iron production remains steady
BHP (LON:BHP) have told shareholders that they have kept their annual production guidance unchanged on Tuesday morning. Shares in the miner trade at 1,793p (-2.56%). 21/1/20 10:41BST. The firm said that it had reported a solid performance in copper and iron production, however it saw a decline in petroleum and coal. For the six months to the end of December, BHP’s copper production was 885,400 tonnes, up 7% from 825,300 tonnes the year before, which will impress shareholders in this division. BHP said that they have kept their annual production guidance unchanged within the range of 1.71 million tonnes to 1.82 million. Notably, iron ore production for the six month period increased by 2% to 121.4 million tonnes, seeing a 2% climb from the 119.3 million figure one year ago. BHP also reported record production at Jimblebar in Australia, which has driven the firm to stay within its guidance figures. Annual iron ore output has remained stable and is estimated to be between 242 million and 253 million tonnes, but metallurgical coal production dipped 2% year on year to 20.3 million tonnes from 20.6 million. Energy coal production decreased by 12% to 11.7 million tonnes from 13.3 million tonnes the year before, due to a weaker performance from the New South Wales Energy Coal operations in Australia, and the Cerrejon mine in Colombia. BHP did allude to the ongoing troubles in Australia where work was affected by bushfires, saying that this factor could constrain its performance in the second half of financial 20. However, BHP kept its production guidance for energy coal at 24 million to 26 million tonnes. Looking at BHP’s petroleum business, the firm told shareholders that production declined by 9% to 57.4 million barrels of oil equivalent from 63 million barrels due to natural field declines and other weather conditions. The group expects its annual petroleum output to be at the lower end of its guidance range of 110 million to 116 million barrels BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry, said: “We delivered solid operational performances across the portfolio in the first half of the 2020 financial year, offsetting the expected impacts of planned maintenance and natural field decline. Production and cost guidance is unchanged, and we remain on track to deliver slightly higher production than last year. Our six major development projects are progressing well, and we continue to advance our exploration programs in petroleum and copper.” BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry, said: “We delivered solid operational performances across the portfolio in the first half of the 2020 financial year, offsetting the expected impacts of planned maintenance and natural field decline. Production and cost guidance is unchanged, and we remain on track to deliver slightly higher production than last year. Our six major development projects are progressing well, and we continue to advance our exploration programs in petroleum and copper.”

BHP’s investment into SolGold

In November, BHP announced that they will be increasing their stake in SoldGold Plc (LON:SOLG). BHP have signed up for a further 77 million SolGold shares at 22.15 pence each, giving a total approximate investment of £17.1 million. BHP will hold 282.7 million SolGold shares after the deal, making it marginally the biggest shareholder with a 14.7% stake. BHP have also been issued with 19.3 million share options exercisable at 37p within five years. Additionally, as well as BHP SolGold has a majority shareholder in Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM). The recent share purchases follow an unsuccessful attempt in late 2016 by BHP to buy a 10% stake in SolGold for $30 million. BHP also had looked to take a 70% direct interest in the Cascabel project for a further $275 million, but this was rejected by SolGold. The investment that BHP have made seem to have pay off, with many firms seeing good mining results coming from Australia. BHP shareholders seem a little skeptical about the the update provided this morning, however the fact that the firm have maintained their guidance should mean some consistency for shareholders.

Lighwave RF blame supply issues for quarterly sales slump

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Lighwave RF blame supply issues for quarterly sales slump
Lightwave RF (LON:LWRF) have updated the market with a disappointing update for shareholders. Lightwave is Europe’s leading supplier of installed home automation technology. The firm offers products that offer convenient automation, control and monitoring of lighting, heating and power via its app, Apple HomePod, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Lightwave said that it experienced a shortage of “certain lines of stock” in December following a record Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance. “As announced by the Company on 11 December 2019, following a challenging final quarter of FY 2019, held back by a number of one-off issues, trading during Q1 2020 demonstrates a near return to the sales levels experienced during the first quarter of FY 2019”. “Following a successful first two months of this financial year, which included Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Company has continued to make progress. The focus for FY 2020 remains to build revenues within the professional channels, electrical installers, contractors and selected wholesalers.” In the three months to December 31, LightwaveRF’s like-for-like revenue was £1.1 million, down 8.3% from £1.2 million. Telesales revenue in Q1 2020 was up 72.1% on the corresponding period last year to £394,000 (2019: £229,000) and e-commerce revenue in Q1 2020 was up 5.5% on the corresponding period last year at £307,000 (2019: £291,000) Jason Elliott, Chief Executive of Lightwave, commented: “We are pleased to see our overall sales performance returning almost to 2019 levels. Our initiative to build revenues within the professional channels is progressing well and we are now seeing traction with improved trade sales, supported by our Telesales team. We also continue receive supportive reviews on Lightwave products and our approach in mainstream trade publications such as Professional Electrician. “Our continued focus on the end customer is now also being reflected in an overall 4.5 star status on Trustpilot from 387 reviews. We anticipate Trustpilot may hit 5 stars in the next half, a true reflection of the quality of product and services offered by Lightwave.”

Lightwave grow from November

The firm in November announced expectations of an annual loss. LightwaveRF, which made a loss of £2.54 million for the year to 30 September 2018, said it had expected its full-year revenue to double following the first three quarters of the year. However, following “one-off” issues in the fourth quarter to 30 September, the AIM listed business said its “substantial progress” had been “nonetheless been held back”. In a statement the business said: “In order to meet the working capital, marketing and development needs arising from the revenue growth in the first three quarters referred to above, the company had hoped that it would have raised funds by the issue of further equity under the then existing authorities, granted at the company’s last annual general meeting, and signed the inventory finance facility with ESCS earlier than was the case. Shares in Lightwave trade at 4p (+1.80%). 20/1/20 15:08BST.

Palladium prices surge by 25% over last fortnight

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Palladium prices surge by 25% over last fortnight

The price of Palladium has soared over the last few days and has hit record highs. Just over the last two weeks, the price has risen by 25%.

In the last year, the price has doubled and now an ounce of palladium costs over £1,900 which makes it more expensive than gold.

Analysts have said that this price could only rise further due to global supply issues and prices still could surge.

The majority of the worlds palladium is sourced from Russia and South Africa, and is extracted as a secondary product in the mining of other precious metals such as platinum and nickel.

The by product is used in catalytic converters, which is vital in the performance of a cars exhaust system that controls emissions.

The majority of palladium sourced is used in these catalytic converters, and turns greenhouse gases into more environmentally by products when a car is operating.

A long term supply deficit has cause the pride of the metal to surge, and rates charged to lease palladium have rocketed over the last few weeks.

Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) analyst Suki Cooper said she expects 700,000 ounce shortfalls this year and in 2021, and for prices to rise.

Notably, forward and lease rates have jumped to around 20% which gives the price of palladium a new peak point.

South Africa, who produce roughly 40% of the worlds palladium said last week that its output of precious minerals including Palladium had fallen 13.5%.

Demand for palladium has only surged following emissions standards in China coming into full effect, which has led to Chinese markets needing 30% more palladium per vehicle.

Notably, the progressions made on the US-China trade deal have also driven prices and this agreement which was reported last week may help to easy up global supply issues and stabilize the price of oil.

Despite firms such as Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) guiding for palladium at 1.4 million ounces for 2020, there is a clear global supply issue which has made it more expensive than gold.

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