Hapag-Lloyd delivers $727m earnings boost
International shipping and container transportation business Hapag-Lloyd (ETR:HLAG) booked positive fundamentals during the third quarter, which capped off three quarters of good financial progress.
During Q3 the Group’s revenues rose from $3.57 to $3.60 billion year-on-year, which pushed the Company’s EBITDA up from $453 million to $617 million and their net result up from $137 million to $$168 million.
This meant Hapag-Lloyd were able to hit the three-quarter mark on a positive note, with efficiencies and on-year revenue growth of $513 million pushing revenues up to $10.65 billion for the year-to-date. This led surges in the Group’s EBITDA and net result, which jumped by $727 million and $318 million to $1.70 billion and $333 million respectively.
Elsewhere in shipping and delivery, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported operational developments, while Hanjin Transportation Co. Ltd. (KRX: 002320) and Clarkson (LON:CKN) both issued less positive updates.
Card Factory report increasing revenues and solid performance
Card Factory (LON: CARD) have reported revenue gains in financial 2019, driven by increasing sales at new stores and increasing online sales.
The high street firm have had a mixed year, as they reported strong gains in quarterly sales back in June, but high street turbulence has hit.
There has been a national crisis on the British high street, where ever presents such as Marks and Spencer (LON: MKS) and Mothercare (LON: MTC) have fallen victim to slowing business and trading slumps.
In the nine months to 31 October revenue increased 5% as Card Factory grew its store numbers, with 38 new branches being opened in the same period.
However like-for-like in-store sales fell 0.4% in the three months to the end of October due to weaker footfall, which would have concerned shareholders.
The greetings card retailer should remain optimistic about the final few months of the year, as they prepare for the ever busy festive period.
The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed retailer reported increased online sales by 16.2 per cent and sales are up 21.9 per cent in the year to date.
“The tradition of sending Christmas cards by post seems to be in decline so Card Factory will have to push ancillary items more, such as wrapping paper, sticky tape and gift boxes, in order to keep driving up sales,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said.
He added: “Fundamentally its prices are low and therefore attractive to a wide market but it has to work even harder each year to encourage people to buy its products, particularly as the market is already highly competitive.
“News that rival Clinton Cards is considering shop closures as part of a survival plan may provide a small benefit to Card Factory yet this is also an indication of how tough life is for many retailers.”
Card Factory is planning on launching a new platform and website later in 2019. Third-quarter online sales grew by 16%.
The company said it continues to face external cost pressures such as the UK’s national living wage, while year-to-date performance has also been hit by storage costs.
However, Card Factory have reassured stakeholders by saying that it expects these pressures to ease in financial 2020.
“I am pleased with our year-to-date performance. Our ongoing focus on customer experience, and the quality and range of our card and complementary non-card products, has led to an increased average spend both in stores and online. This has helped us to substantially offset the effect of the lower high street footfall experienced in the quarter and the corresponding impact on our like-for-like sales,” commented Chief Executive Karen Hubbard.
“We remain on track with our new store roll out and are focused on pursuing other new growth opportunities and retail partnerships to extend our market penetration in the UK and overseas.”
“Our quality/value proposition and new product ranges give us confidence that we are well positioned to deliver a good performance in our key fourth-quarter trading period. The board anticipates profit for the full year to be broadly in line with its previous expectations,” she continued.
Shares of Card Factory slumped 4.19% to 148p despite the positive update. 14/11/19 12:08BST.
TBC shares crash despite quarterly profit gains
TBC Bank Group PLC (LON: TBCG) have seen strong profit gains in their most recent quarterly update, however shares have crashed.
Shares of TBC Bank have crashed 4.6% on Thursday to 1,328p. 14/11/19 11:43BST.
The Georgian focused lender said that increases in fee and commission income had compensated for a decline in net interest income.
The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed bank said its net profit for the three months to September 30 increased 18% to GEL126.8 million from GEL107.4 million in the same period a year ago. Additionally, pretax profit rose 13% to GEL142.3 million.
The figures posted by TBC are impressive considering the global state of the banking industry.
Big time competitors such as HSBC (LON: HSBA) and Lloyd’s (LON: LLOY) have seen quarterly slumps in profit which have alerted shareholders.
Additionally, the current crisis at Deutsche Bank (ETR: DBK) will keep TBC shareholders optimistic in cut throat market conditions.
Third quarter net interest income fell 6.7% to GEL186.2 million, while fee & commission income rallied 20% to GEL47.1 million.
Other operating non-interest income increased 19% to GEL46.4 million.
Net interest margin for the third quarter fell to 5.0% from 6.9%. Year-to-date margin fell 1.5 percentage point to 5.5%.
TBC has backed their medium-term target of return on equity of above 20%, cost to income ratio below 35%, dividend payout ratio of 25% to 35% and loan book growth of 10% to 15%.
In the third quarter, the company’s return on equity fell to 20.4% from 21.2% and cost to income ratio increased to 39.9% from 37.4%.
Shareholders will be further pleased as an app offshoot of TBC Bank, Space have agreed a partnernship with Visa (NYSE: V)
Nikoloz Kurdiani, deputy CEO of TBC Bank says: “When we launched Space, we wanted to move beyond the traditional banking approach and outdated technology to create a new type of bank in Georgia that would be better at responding to modern customers’ needs. Now, we are ready to go global.”
Visa says it will share knowledge, best practices and its network of technological partners with Space to help it achieve its aims.
Yevgen Lisnyak, senior director and head of strategic partnerships, fintech & ventures (Visa, CISSEE), says: “We are witnessing a rapid transformation of the financial banking sector, where new players are playing a significant role. Neobanks are agile, consumer-centric, flexible and innovative, offering modern consumers completely new financial solutions and digital banking experience. We are excited to be able to support fintechs to navigate the payments landscape in the Caucasus region to achieve their business growth and international expansion ambitions”
Premier Oil shares climb after positive production forecast
Premier Oil PLC (LON: PMO) have seen their shares climb on Thursday after they updates shareholders on production expectations for the year.
Premier Oil reported a rise in year-to-date production and forecasted production to be at the upper end of prior guidance.
Shares in the FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed firm climbed 2.68% to 89p on Thursday. 14/11/19 11:27BST.
Average production was 79,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day for the 10 months to October end, up from 77,700 barrels in the comparative year ago period, underpinned by continued high operating efficiency of 94%.
Premier also added that October production averaged 78,400, an impressive statistic which would have caught shareholder’s eyes.
Premier expects 2019 production to be at the upper end of its 75,000 barrel to 80,000 barrel of oil equivalent guidance range.
Firms in the industry have struggled recently, with global titans such as Shell (LON: RDSB) and Total SA (LON: TTA) reporting lower profits due to slumping oil prices.
However, Premier do not seem to be phased by the market volatility and have reported strong revenue gains to back up a relatively successful period of trading.
Whilst competitors such as Tullow Oil (LON: TLW) cut their annual guidance yesterday, the update provided by Premier was a direct contrast.
Chief executive Tony Durrant commented on the results, “We continue to deliver on our strategic priorities. We are generating significant free cash flow, which is materially deleveraging our balance sheet.
“At the same time, we are actively managing our portfolio and selectively progressing growth projects at the right exposure. We also continue to create value through the drill bit and to build material new positions in emerging exploration plays at low cost.”
David Barclay, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said: “Premier Oil’s production levels have dipped slightly compared to the half-year average reported in the summer, dropping from 84,100 barrels of oil per day to 79,400. “Despite this, the full year production estimate of 75,000-80,000 barrels of oil per day remains unchanged. Premier’s Catcher Area holds its place as the cream of the crop with strong output levels reported from this field once again. “A fast-track development project is well underway to support the recent discovery of gas at Tolmount East and this is expected to have a further impact on production, once drilling starts in mid-2020. “Overall debt levels remain high, but the company has reported a $300m reduction, which is deemed to be in line with guidance. “What’s yet to be seen is the impact of the sale of its Zama oil field, which now has an extended bid deadline to December.”QinetiQ shares jump after bullish interim update
QinetiQ Group plc (LON: QQ) have seen their shares jump on Thursday morning after they reported impressive interim results to shareholders.
QinetiQ maintained their annual forecasts unchanged after they update shareholders with double digit earnings growth in the first six months of its financial year.
Shares of QinetiQ jumped 4.6% on Thursday to 336p. 14/11/19 11:11BST.
The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed firm reported a pretax profit of £71.3 million for the interim period ending in September.
This saw an impressive increase of 35% compared to the £52.7 million figure one year ago. Additionally, revenue grew by 16% from £486.5 million from £420.3 million.
“We delivered a strong first half result, with organic growth in orders, revenue and profit driven by a good performance across our businesses, both in the UK and internationally,” said Chief Executive Steve Wadey.QQinetiQ declared an interim dividend of 2.2p a share, slightly higher than 2.1p it paid a year before.
With the update, QinetiQ maintained their expectations for full year operating profit, and forecasted high single digit revenue growth.
“Our focus for the remainder of the year is to win further campaigns globally, successfully deliver key programmes, and complete the acquisition of MTEQ to transform the scale of our US operations as we build an integrated, global defence and security company,” added Wadey.
QinetiQ announced the acquisition of sensing solutions firm Manufacturing Techniques Inc – or MTEQ – in the beginning of October for up to $125 million.
QinetiQ still remains a relatively young company in the market, but these results will certainly please shareholders about the potential of the defense technology company. The Farnborough based firm still has a long way till it competes with the big gun such as Ultra Electronics (LON: ULE) who met market expectations in their most recent updates. Certainly, for the foreseeable future the domination of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Boeing (NYSE: BA) will continue in the defense technology industry unless major breakthrough’s are made.Wirecard and Yeepay enter international payments partnership
On Thursday, fintech company Wirecard AG (ETR:WDI) announced that it had secured a partnership with Chinese e-payment service provider Yeepay, to provide payment processing services to clients outside of China.
Wirecard said it will assist all Yeepay customers in the airline industry to ‘internationalise’ their businesses and transactions.
Yeepay is China’s leading acquirer in the airline and travel industry, and this new partnership could see Wirecard churning out a potential transaction volume of EUR 17 billion per annum. Last year, Yeepay reported a transaction volume in airline and travel of EUR 34 billion, with most of this being generated by online activity.
The two companies will leverage their payment tech and licences to provide Yeepay customers with a ‘convenient and regulatory’ checkout process. Wirecard claims that travel agencies, airlines and consumers outside of China will all benefit from their new offering.
Elsewhere in payment services, Echoh PLC (LON: ECK), Universe Group plc (LON: UNG) and Boku Inc (LON: BOKU) all issued positive updates.
Wirecard and Yeepay comments
Jörg Möller, EVP Travel & Mobility at Wirecard, stated, “We are proud to enter into a partnership with YeePay and leverage on their status and expertise in the Chinese airline and travel market,” “Wirecard is already one of the largest international acquirers for airlines outside of China, working with more than 100 airlines globally. This cooperation with YeePay and its customers enables us to further expand our presence in this ever-growing market segment.” Bin Tang, Yeepay CEO, added, “As the acquiring partner of choice for China’s airlines, we are constantly seeking new partnerships that can strengthen our service offering,” “With Wirecard we are extending our footprint on a global scale, and as a result can offer our customers a modern and innovative payment experience, no matter where in the world they are.”Investor notes
Wirecard shares rallied modestly by 0.54% or EUR 0.65, to EUR 121.45 per share 14/11/19 11:55 CET. The Group’s dividend yield stands at 0.17%, their market cap is €14.93 billion.Retail sales grow at slowest rate since April 2018
New data revealed on Thursday that retail sales saw the lowest growth since April 2018.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that, in the three months to October, retail sales increased by 0.2% when compared to the three months prior.
Meanwhile, the quantity bought in the month of October declined by 0.1% compared to the month prior, and only fuel and department stores reported growth.
When compared to the year prior, retail sales grew by 3.1%; growth occurred across all sectors except for household goods stores, the data revealed.
“Looking at the three-month on three-month movement, from October 2016 sales were increasing at a steady rate until the beginning of 2017, when a short period of contraction was seen in the three months to March 2017,” the Office for National Statistics said in its report.
The Office for National Statistics continued: “From April 2017, sales began to recover and increase steadily, although at a slower rate. From January 2018, the quantity bought began to level for a short period until May 2018, when a faster rate of growth was seen during summer 2018. This was partly attributed to consecutive months of hot weather, as sales in the three months to June, July and August 2018 increased by 2.0%, 2.6% and 2.1% respectively. Slow growth followed for a period from October 2018 to February 2019.”
Retailers on the UK high street have been struggling as of late.
At the start of November, Mothercare (LON:MTC) announced that its UK business was on the edge of collapse.
Elsewhere, names such as Bonmarché, Karen Millen and Coast and Links of London have also fallen victim to the crisis to hit the UK high street.
Burberry shares spike after impressive interim update
Shares in Burberry (LON: BRBY) have spiked this morning after the the global luxury brand reported that it was on track to meet expectations.
Shares of Burberry spiked 4.03% to 2,143p after the announcement was made on Thursday. 14/11/19 10:54BST.
Burberry reported impressive revenue gains of 3% to £1.3 billion in the interim period, which caught shareholder appetite.
Additionally, profit before tax climbed 11% from £174 million to £193 million.
Shareholders would have been further pleased as the clothing brand saw earnings per share increase to 36.4p an increase from 31.6p a year ago.
As a result Burberry increased its dividend by three per cent to 11.3p.
The reports came as a surprise for both shareholders and market analysts as Burberry are in a period of operational and structural development.
Chief executive Marco Gobbetti said: “We are pleased with our performance in the half, as we remain on track to deliver the first phase of our strategy. New product now represents a high proportion of our assortment and the customer response has been positive delivering strong double digit growth.
“We also continued to strengthen momentum around our brand and transform our distribution. We delivered financial results in line with guidance despite the decline in Hong Kong and we confirm our outlook for FY 2020.”
Burberry said new products designed by Ricardo Tisci has boosted sales, offsetting the effect of “considerable disruption” in Hong Kong where sales plunged.
However, sales in mainland China, Korea and Japan increased, along with the UK, Europe and the US.
Steve Miley, senior market analyst at Asktraders.com, said: “Burberry’s designer Ricardo Tisci’s new collections have proved to be a hit helping Burberry through an otherwise difficult trading environment.
“Despite political disruption in the key market hub Hong Kong which experienced double digit decline in sales, an economic slowdown in China, and Brexit uncertainty Burberry is still on track to meet full year expectations.
Additionally, the ongoing saga between Hong Kong and China have led to violent demonstrations but the FTSE100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) listed firm managed to overcome these to stun the market.
At time where brands such as Laura Ashley (LON: ALY) and the clothing sector off Marks and Spencers (LON: MKS) have seen slumps, these impressive reports will make good reading for shareholders of Burberry.FirstGroup shares crash after interim loss widens
FirstGroup Plc (LON: FGP) have seen their shares crash after it was reported that their interim loss was further widened.
FirstGroup alluded to operational problems as the main contributor to this bigger loss, and an impairment on US coach operator Greyhound had contributed further.
Shares of FirstGroup Plc crashed 21.12% across Thursday trading to 101p. 14/11/19 10:39BST.
The FTSE350 (INDEXFTSE: NMXDEN) listed travel operator reported a pretax loss of £187.1 million for the six months to September, from just £4.6 million a year ago
Notably, on an adjusted basis, which strips out exceptional items, pretax profit fell 32% to £28.7 million.
The company further reported a £124.4 million impairment on its US bus operations Greyhound, and faced a reserve charge of £59.3 million for its American insurance business.
FirstGroup said it is “disappointed” with a further deterioration in the US motor claims environment which led to the increase in insurance costs.
The widened loss may worry shareholders of FirstGroup, as rivals such as National Express (LON: NEX) reported strong trading figures across financial 2019.
However, rivals such as Stagecoach (LON: SGC) have seen a tough time of 2019 and have seen slumping profits and board restructures.
FirstGroup at the end of May decided to sell Greyhound, and also announced a plan to spin off First Bus from UK operations. It said on Thursday that it has made a number of “important steps” since then in carrying out this plan.
Revenue for the half was £3.53 billion, 6.9% higher year-on-year and up 4.1% at constant currency.
All sectors delivered growth, FirstGroup said, excluding sales and withdrawals from loss-making routes.
First Rail operates three UK rail businesses which achieved 9.0% revenue growth to £1.33 billion, which may act as a consolation to shareholders.
This sector delivered 4.9% like-for-like passenger revenue growth, but FirstGroup said industry conditions remain “very challenging” due to macroeconomic uncertainty, infrastructure upgrades, and strikes from South West Rail staff.
FirstGroup has held its outlook for financial 2020, with performance on track with board expectations. “In the first half we continued to execute the clear commercial strategies in each of our divisions to ensure they deliver future progress and growth. In particular, we were pleased to have delivered another strong bid season and two complementary acquisitions in our largest business First Student, as well as the award of the West Coast Partnership to our rail venture with Trenitalia,” said Chief Executive Matthew Gregory. “We are, however, disappointed with the further deterioration in the US motor claims environment which has required an increase in insurance costs for our North American businesses.” “As ever, first half trading mainly reflects the highly seasonal nature of the group’s operations, given the timing of the North American school holidays in our First Student business. Based on current trends and underpinned by our activities to reduce the cost base further, we are confident in delivering our trading expectations for the full year,” Gregory continued.Countdown to Christmas: John Lewis Christmas advert
The countdown to Christmas has begun, and John Lewis & Partners, together with Waitrose & Partners, have released their yearly advert for the festive season.
Watch the advert below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9D-uvKih_k]
This year, the advert features #ExcitableEdgar who attempts to fit in with the community but finds his fire-breathing just doesn’t seem to work in a land set in ice.
As always, the heartwarming ending is enough to make even the least festive of viewers excited about the upcoming Christmas season.
Last week, Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) launched its Christmas add which involves cast dancing to House of Pain’s Jump Around.
As for John Lewis, #ExcitableEdgar was trending on Twitter on Thursday morning. The character even has its own account on the social media platform:
#ExcitableEdgar
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Fans of the advert expressed their emotions around the character, which seems to have touched the hearts of many:I hear a few of you have been talking about me? That explains why my ears are burning! I’m #ExcitableEdgar, star of this year’s Christmas advert from John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners! You can watch my adventure in full over on @jlandpartners and @waitrose now 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FpMwRkoTBa
— Excitable Edgar (@ExcitableEdgar) November 14, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Partners have also shared their positive feelings towards the advert:It’s only 7:43am & I’m already an emotional mess wishing I had my own #ExcitableEdgar https://t.co/zebgoKEtrp
— Shannon 🌙🔮🦇 (@NerdyGirlShay) November 14, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Even Pizza Hut responded to the adventures ofI love being a Waitrose Partner and so proud of our new Xmas Joint venture with John Lewis, check out Edgar https://t.co/wlfOIxEU0W #ExcitableEdgar #WeArePartners
— Paul Hutton (@Paulyisme) November 14, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Last Christmas, the John Lewis Partnership reported an 11% growth in sales on Christmas Eve.We love Edgar, but please don’t copy him and blow your nose over our Salad Bar/Buffet.
It won’t set on fire and you will be asked to leave #ExcitableEdgar — Pizza Hut Restaurants (@pizzahutuk) November 14, 2019