Udg Healthcare shares dip despite increased operating profit

1

Udg Healthcare PLC (LON: UDG) have seen their shares dip on Tuesday despite increases in operating profit growth and a sound update to shareholders.

Udg Healthcare were formerly known as United Drug is a Dublin based international company and partner to the healthcare industry. The firm provides clinical, commercial, communication and packaging services.

The pharmaceuticals industry has seen a mixed set of results by firm across financial 2019.

Market leaders such as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and GSK (LON: GSK) have reported bullish interim updates, which gives them further foot holding the global pharmaceuticals market.

Additionally, Roche (SWX: ROG) announced the acquisition of US drugmaker Promedior last week.

The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed firm reported adjusted operating profit growth of 5% to $158.4m (€143.8m) in the 12 months to 30 September, as it announced its third acquisition of 2019.

On a more sour note, shareholders will be concerned that the firm saw revenue decline by 1% to $1.3 billion.

UDG Healthcare PLC reported a “year of strong strategic progress” on Tuesday, with both platforms doing well.

“2019 was another year of strong strategic progress for UDG Healthcare. We delivered good financial growth with adjusted earnings per share increasing by 7% on a constant currency basis, the top end of guidance,” said Chief Executive Brendan McAtamney.

“Our two global platforms, Ashfield and Sharp delivered a strong performance through a combination of underlying growth and the benefit of acquisitions.”

Last year, UDG reported two new US business acquisitions in Create NYC and SmartAnalyst which caused shares to rally.

Ashfield reported a 3% revenue growth to $949.2 million, with adjusted operating profit rising by 10% to USD110.0 million in a “good” year.

“Looking ahead to financial 2020, we expect to continue to deliver good growth across our businesses, supplemented by further strategic acquisitions utilising our strong balance sheet,” said CEO McAtamney.

Shareholders should not be too phased by the dip in share price this morning, but should be more optimistic for future outlook as the firm looks to complete its acquisition deals.

Greencore shares slip following annual revenue decline

0

Greencore Group plc (LON: GNC) have seen their shares sink on Tuesday after the firm gave shareholders a disappointing update alluding to declining annual revenues.

Greencore Group plc is an Irish food company, which was established by the Irish government in 1991. The firm now sells convenience food related and boasts itself as the largest sandwich manufacturer globally.

Shares of Greencore sunk 5.48% to 234p on Tuesday morning. 26/11/19 11:07BST.

Greencore have had a mixed financial 2019, as the firm reported struggles in July which led to shares slipping, however recover was made soon after.

The company, which prepares over 700 million sandwiches a year, said in an update on Tuesday that it had completed the sale of its US business for £55.9 million on Monday, which helped pre-tax profit triple to £56.4 million in the year to the end of September.

The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed firm reported declining sales from continuing operations by 3.5% to £1.4 billion in the year to the end of September.

Chief operating officer Peter Haden will also step down as an executive director at the end of December, before leaving the group in April, as part of a bid to “simplify the management structure”.

Patrick Coveney, chief executive officer, said he expects next year to deliver profitable growth, with a target to achieve mid single-digit organic revenue growth in the medium term.

He added, “over the past twelve months we have fundamentally reset our business”, saying that the group’s plan was “expanding our category and channel capabilities within the diverse, growing and attractive UK food to go market”, such as the recent £56 million acquisition of UK salad maker Freshtime.

House broker Shore Capital said Greencore was now “fully focused on the UK market, and with leading exposure within attractive ‘food to go’ categories”, seeing future growth being augmented by selective bolt-on deals and capital discipline.

The food and drinks industry have seen mixed results and firms have had limited success.

Firms such as J D Wetherspoon (LON: JDW) and Greggs (LON: GRG) have given shareholders strong updates seeing their shares rally.

Notably, Compass Group plc (LON: CPG) saw their shares sink this morning as the firm gave a gloomy outlook to shareholders for financial 2020.

Compass Group shares sink following pessimisitc outlook

0

Shareholders of Compass Group plc (LON: CPG) have seen their shares sink on Tuesday morning, after the firm gave shareholders a gloomy outlook amid speculative future business.

Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract food service which resides in Surrey. It is the largest contracted foodservice company in the world with operations in over 50 countries and employs over 550,000 people.

Shares of Compass Group sunk 5.77% after the announcement to 1,956p. 26/11/19 10:50BST.

Earlier this year, the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) listed firm reported strong growth driven by North American operations and the performance seems to have continued through the next quarter.

Despite a relatively strong financial 2019, Compass have given shareholders a gloomy update alluding to tough market conditions and Brexit complications.

Compass reported a 5.7% increase in full year underlying revenues reaching £25.2 billion for the year ending 30 September. Operating profit rose 4.7% to £1.9 billion.

Operating margin was 7.4% while free cash flow grew 9.3% to £1.25 billion.

Group chief executive Dominic Blakemore said that despite the good performance, Compass was “not immune to the macro environment”.

“Deteriorating business and consumer confidence in Europe has impacted our business and industry volumes, new business activity and margin,” he said.

He added that the firm was taking “prompt action” in Europe and the rest of the world markets to adjust its cost base.

The cost saving action is expected to result in £300m of exceptional costs across this year and next.

Blakemore continued: “Our expectations for the group in 2020 are positive although we remain cautious on the macro environment in Europe. The pipeline of new contracts in North America is strong and Rest of World is growing well, although we are seeing some hesitation in decision making in Europe.

“Thanks to the group’s geographic and sectoral diversity, we are nevertheless confident of continued progress. As such we expect organic growth to be around the mid-point of our 4-6 per cent range whilst maintaining our strong margin1 as we mitigate the expected volume pressures through our cost actions.

“In the longer term, we remain excited about the significant structural growth opportunities globally, the potential for further revenue and profit growth, combined with further returns to shareholders.”

The food and drinks industry have seen mixed results and firms have had limited success.

Firms such as J D Wetherspoon (LON: JDW) and Greggs (LON: GRG) have given shareholders strong updates seeing their shares rally.

Other competitors such as the Restaurant Group (LON: RTN) have not been so successful, as they saw their shares dip yesterday despite success from their headline branch Wagamama.

CRH shares jump following strong quarterly update

2

CRH PLC (LON: CRH) have seen their share price jump on Tuesday morning after the firm updated shareholders with strong third quarter figures.

CRH shares jumped 2.37% to 2,977p on Tuesday morning. 26/11/19 10:38BST.

CRH is an international group of diversified building materials businesses which manufacture and supply a wide range of products for the construction industry.

CRH operate and are managed in Ireland, where it has earned accolades such as being the largest Irish company.

The FTSE100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) listed firm reported a 9% rise in third quarter profit on a like-for-like basis.

The firm alluded this boost to strong demand and pricing which it expects to continue to 2020.

Shares were at a three year high on Tuesday morning, and certainly this update has sparked shareholder excitement.

The building materials supplier by market value said it expects 2019 earnings of 4.15 billion euros, including its European distribution unit which it sold for 1.64 billion euros this year.

The increased earnings growth to the three months ending September 30 was driven by a 12% climb in its Americas materials division, as CRH is the biggest producer of asphalt for highway construction.

Like-for-like earnings at its building products and Europe Materials divisions rose by 3% and 6%, respectively.

In its Western and Eastern European markets it saw volumes growth while construction activity in the United Kingdom continued to decline amid Brexit-related uncertainty.

“We expect the positive underlying momentum in our businesses to continue and we look forward to another year of progress,” Manifold said on a conference call.

The housing market and home building market has had mixed experiences, but certainly shareholders can be pleased with the results published by CRH.

The recovery of the home builders market will certainly please CRH, as firms have given shareholders optimistic updates.

Homeserve plc (LON: HSV) saw their shares rally last week after a bullish interim update.

Additionally, the merger of Galliford Try plc (LON: GFRD) and Bovis Homes Group plc (LON: BVS) should stimulate further business for CRH and shareholders should be satisfied with the quarterly trading update.

London Uber ban: reactions

2
Transport for London announced yesterday that it will not be renewing Uber’s (NYSE:UBER) licence to operate in London, insisting that it is not “fit and proper”. Uber’s past itself is filled with controversies, including its poor workplace culture and the treatment of its drivers. Having revealed several breaches to the safety and security of passengers, TFL decided to drive the ride-hailing app out of London – but what do people think? Uber UK has said that it will be appealing TFL’s decision: https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Meanwhile, Karren Brady was among many to take to Twitter and share her views:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Similarly, Tony Parsons‏ also praised London’s black cabs: https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Matt Lucas‏ posted the following Tweet: https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Andrew Boff‏ did not hold back with his opinion against the decision: https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Sadiq Khan‏’s statement on TFL’s Uber decision was also shared on the social media platform: https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js How will this impact your commute?

Topps Tiles shares decline on election warning

0
Topps Tiles shares (LON:TPT) were down on Tuesday after the retailer warned that consumer demand has weakened even further since the general election was called in October. Shares in the tile retailer were 3% lower during Tuesday morning trading. The UK was granted yet another extension to its European Union departure deadline, prolonging the period of political and economic uncertainty. Parties are now preparing for the general election on the 12th of December. Topps Tiles said on Tuesday that in the first eight weeks of the new financial period, retail like-for-like revenues declined by 7.2%. The company said that a reduction in the uncertain political climate is intrinsic to the improvement of its short term outlook. The warning came in the company’s financial results for the full year, in which it revealed that adjusted revenue for the 52 weeks ended 28 September 2019 was “broadly flat”. “This has been another year of strategic progress for Topps, with a resilient sales performance in our retail business and significant development in our commercial operations,” Matthew Williams, who will be stepping down from his position as CEO at the end of November, commented on the results. “At the start of the new financial year, trading conditions have become more challenging, with consumer demand weakening further since the General Election was called in late October,” the CEO warned. “Against this backdrop of heightened political and economic uncertainty, like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks have declined,” the CEO continued. “Whilst we expect external events will continue to weigh on consumer confidence for the immediate future, we remain confident that our market-leading retail offer and growing commercial operations give us a strong platform from which to deliver sustainable growth over the medium and long term.” As the election date approaches, the question remains; when will this period of political doubt end? Shares in Topps Tiles plc (LON:TPT) were down on Tuesday, trading at -3.68% as of 09:18 GMT.

Pets at Home shares rise on “strong” H1

2
Pets at Home shares (LON:PETS) rose on Tuesday after the UK’s largest pet supplies retailer saw its profits increase for the half year. Shares in the company were up almost 10% during Tuesday morning trading. Pets at Home said it had a “strong” first half period over the 28 weeks to 10 October. Group underlying profit before tax on a comparable basis increased by 18.9% year-on-year, amounting to £45 million. Group revenue was up by 9.4%, with vet group revenue increasing by 19.6%. Pets at Home added that, because of its strong first half performance, the business remains confident about its full year outlook. Indeed, it expects full year profit towards the top end of current market consensus, despite the prevailing consumer uncertainty. Indeed, as the nation has been granted yet another extension to its deadline to depart from the European Union, uncertainty among consumers continues to weigh on some businesses. “I am very pleased with what we have achieved in the first half of the year,” said Peter Pritchard, Group Chief Executive Officer. “We have executed our plans well, and this has been reflected in the strong customer sales growth across the Group,” the Group Chief Executive Officer continued. “Our commitment, and that of the Group’s Joint Venture Partners, is to make sure pets and their owners get the very best advice, care and products; and this has led to record levels of VIPs, First Opinion practice clients and subscription customers. In short, our pet care strategy is working.” Peter Pritchard said: “We have seen sustained momentum in Retail, with a 2-year like-for-like of 13%. This has been complemented by a meticulous delivery of our Vet Group recalibration. The programme to buy out a number of Joint Venture practices is already complete, whilst changes we have made to the fee arrangements for ongoing practices are already showing signs of positive progress and will be followed by further planned adjustments in the second half of the year.” Shares in Pets at Home Group plc (LON:PETS) were up on Tuesday, trading at +8.97% as of 08:48 GMT.

Tesla shares climb following Elon Musk’s Cybertruck tweet

2

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) have seen their shares climb on Monday after the firm reported strong sales for its new Cybertruck.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted that the company had received over 200,000 orders for its Cybertruck pick up, which seems to be a hit with consumers.

Shares in Tesla climbed 2.58% after the weekend’s news broke out and shares trade at $341. 25/11/19 15:05BST.

The global automotive industry has seen slumps and many firms have struggled to stimulate business amid cut throat market trading conditions.

Volkswagen (ETR: VOW3) and Nissan (TYO: 7201) saw their shares dip last week after they updated shareholders with a gloomy annual outlook.

Global rival such as Suzuki (TYO: 7269) have not been so lucky, seeing major slumps in Indian business.

Whilst firms have attempted to combat slow business through mergers, as seen with Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU) and Peugeot (EPA: UG).

Tesla opened preorders immediately, and allowed potential buyers to book the truck by depositing just $100, compared to the $1,000 Tesla charged for booking Model 3 sedans in 2016, drawing the flood of reservations and sending the company’s shares back up on Monday, according to Reuters.

The carmaker received 325,000 orders for the Model 3 in the first week of bookings three years prior, and the initial excitement for the trucks suggest that preorders could beat that figure.

“Better truck than an F-150, faster than a Porsche 911,” he tweeted here over the weekend, posting a video of the Cybertruck dragging the F-150 uphill.

Elon Musk had hit news headlines after he used his vast twitter fan base to promote Tesla products, but appeared controversial las year when he pledged to take Tesla private.

Tesla have updated shareholders that they plan to start manufacturing operations for the Cybertruck around late 2021.

Consumers seem very excited about the new product developments made by Tesla, however not all orders will translate into sales as many orders are likely to be cancelled.

However, it has been proven that once again Elon Musk has managed to promote Tesla products via twitter using his fanbase holding over 30 million followers.

Uber loses licence to operate in the capital

1
Transport for London announced on Monday that it will not be renewing Uber’s (NYSE:UBER) licence to continue to operate in the nation’s capital. Uber is not “fit and proper,” said the body responsible for travel in London. TFL recognised that Uber has made several positive changes to its culture, leadership and systems since it was granted a license in June 2018. However, TFL said that “a pattern of failures” have occurred. These failures include “several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk,” TFL said. Uber is not “fit and proper” at this time, TFL said, and the body responsible for travel in London added that it has little confidence that these issues will not take place again in the future. An example identified by TFL was that unauthorised drivers could upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts, allowing them to pick up passengers as if they were the booked driver. This occurred for at least 14,000 trips. Another safety and security breach was that dismissed or suspended drivers could create an Uber account and carry passengers. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, commented on the news in a Tweet: https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js “As the regulator of private hire services in London we are required to make a decision today on whether Uber is fit and proper to hold a licence,” Helen Chapman, Director of Licensing, Regulation and Charging at TfL, said in a statement. “Safety is our absolute top priority. While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured.” “It is clearly concerning that these issues arose, but it is also concerning that we cannot be confident that similar issues won’t happen again in future.” “If they choose to appeal, Uber will have the opportunity to publicly demonstrate to a magistrate whether it has put in place sufficient measures to ensure potential safety risks to passengers are eliminated.” Helen Chapman continued: “If they do appeal, Uber can continue to operate and we will closely scrutinise the company to ensure the management has robust controls in place to ensure safety is not compromised during any changes to the app.” Earlier this year in May, Uber drivers in the UK were set to strike against pay and work conditions just days before the company launched its initial public offering. The ride-hailing app’s past is filled with controversies; from its poor workplace culture to the treatment of its drivers.

Viagogo set to purchase Stubhub from EBay

0

EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) have announced that they have sold StubHub to Swiss ticket vendor Viagogo.

News broke out on Monday afternoon that the deal proposed was valued at $4.05 billion in cash.

The deal is expected to close by the first quarter of financial 2020, subject to clearance from financial authorities and competition regulation.

Neither firm is new to the world of investigation. One year go eBay launched a US lawsuit against Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) following competition breaches.

“We believe this transaction is a great outcome and maximizes long-term value for eBay shareholders,” said Scott Schenkel, interim chief executive officer of eBay Inc.

“Over the past several months, eBay’s leadership team and Board of Directors have been engaged in a thorough review of our current strategies and portfolio, and we concluded that this was the best path forward for both eBay and StubHub,” he said.

When combined, StubHub and Viagogo will sell tickets across more than 70 countries, “giving fans seamless access to a wider selection of inventory around the world, while sellers, teams and artists will have the ability to more effectively reach a broader global audience,” the release said.

Viagogo’s founder and CEO Eric Baker left StubhHub when it was sold to eBay for $310 million in 2007.

“It has long been my wish to unite the two companies,” Baker said.

Bringing StubHub and viagogo together will allow us to drive further expansion and innovation, and create a more competitive offering for live event fans globally,” said Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, president of StubHub. “This provides a great opportunity to expand our business, pursue new partnerships and execute our strategy. We expect a seamless transition for all our employees, partners and customers, and we are excited for what the future holds.”

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is acting as a financial advisor to eBay, whilst J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) is acting as sole financial advisor and sole underwriter of the committed debt and preferred equity financings for Viagogo.