Galliford Try and Bovis Homes agree substantial home building deal
Galliford Try plc (LON: GFRD) and Bovis Homes Group plc (LON: BVS) have agreed a substantial home building deal, for Bovis to takeover the two Galliford housebuilding business units.
The deal was announced during Thursday trading and is valued at GBP1.14 Billion, which sends out a huge statement of intent for competitors.
Across the sector, there has been a reported slump as demand for UK housing fell along with house price growth as reported by Halifax this morning.
Competitors such as FTSE100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) listed Persimmon (LON: PSN) have reported a positive trading statement and have remained confident despite the uncertain political climate.
However, the optimism hasn’t been industry wide as Grafton Group (LON: GFTU) speculated on low profits, leaving their stocks in red.
The agreement comes after Galliford rejected a £1.05 billion bid from rival Bovis for its Linden Homes and Partnerships & Regeneration businesses back in May.
In September the two confirmed they had resumed talks. Bovis was to issue shares worth £675 million and pay £300 million in cash, combined with £100 million of Galliford debt.
The two firms announced that the terms from the September agreement were unchanged, and will see will see Bovis issue 63.8 million new shares to Galliford, valued at £675 million, pay £300 million in cash, and take over Galliford’s £100 million debt.
Bovis shares were 0.17% to the good, trading at 1,165p per share, whilst Galliford Try shares also appreciated 0.63% at 711p. 7/11/19 12:19BST.
The transaction values the two Galliford businesses at a combined GBP1.14 billion, and gives Galliford a 29% stake in the expanded Bovis group. It leaves Galliford with its construction business.
“This transaction is a positive development which is in the best interests of both our shareholders and wider stakeholder group. For Galliford Try, it establishes a focused and well-capitalised construction business led by a very experienced and dedicated management team. Supported by a robust order book and strong market positions in key sectors, Galliford Try will be well positioned for the future,” said Galliford Chair Peter Ventress.
“This transaction also creates one of the UK’s leading Housebuilding and Partnerships businesses with great opportunity ahead, from which Galliford Try shareholders will benefit through their continued shareholding.”
Greg Fitzgerald, the chief executive of Bovis, added: “This is an exciting and transformational opportunity to create a leading UK housebuilder with an enhanced customer proposition and the ability to increase delivery to more than 12,000 new homes per year”.
“The combination with Galliford Try Partnerships gives Bovis Homes a market leading position in the high growth, more resilient partnerships market, with significant potential to increase revenue and profit while delivering more affordable homes at a time when they are needed more than ever.”
Bovis also added that they will carry out a “bonus issue” of 5.7 million shares to existing shareholders. It will pay a dividend of 41p in May, instead of a final dividend for 2019.
Tate & Lyle shares rally after profits surge
Tate and Lyle PLC (LON: TATE) have seen their shares rally after a trading updated released on Thursday showed profits increasing and strong consumer demand.
Shares of Tate and Lyle rallied 5.78% to trade at 702p during Thursday trading. 7/11/19 11:52BST.
The FTSE250 listed (INDEXFTSE: MCX) food and drink ingredient supplier posted a bullish trading update to shareholders, which sparked investor optimism.
Tate and Lyle reported a pretax profit for the six months to the end of September of £164 million, 45% higher compared to £113 million a year ago, as sales grew by 6.7% to £1.48 billion from £1.38 billion.
This comes at an interesting time considering the state of the supermarket and food industry in the UK.The big supermarkets have seen their profits sink and business slow in a tough UK domestic market.
This morning, Sainsbury’s (LON: SBRY) reported a huge profit sink which alerted shareholders to poor business performance.
Additionally, Marks and Spencer (LON: MKS) have closed 120 off their high street stores amidst a crisis which has seen a huge slump in sales.
The London-headquartered company said new product sales were 12% higher year-on-year, driven largely by the clean-label starches and fibre products.
Tate & Lyle increased its interim payout to 8.8 pence a share from 8.6p paid a year prior.
“We made encouraging progress in the first half,” said Chief Executive Nick Hampton. “Our priorities to sharpen the focus on our customers, accelerate portfolio development and simplify the business are driving momentum across the organisation and supporting performance.”
Looking ahead, Hampton added: “Despite market challenges, our outlook for the year ending March 31, 2020, is unchanged and we continue to expect earnings per share growth in constant currency to be broadly flat to low-single digit.”
The company concluded that it was on track to deliver its £100 million productivity target, which was a bonus to shareholders.
This programme started last year to drive supply chain and selling and administration costs benefits, delivering £25 million in productivity benefits in its first year.
Aston Martin posts Q3 loss
Aston Martin (LON:AML) posted a third quarter loss on Thursday, sending shares down.
Shares in the luxury sports car manufacturer were trading over 2% lower on Thursday morning.
Aston Martin said that, for the three months to 30 September, loss before tax amounted to £13.5 million, compared to the £3.1 million profit generated during the same period a year prior.
Founded in 1913, the company made its stock market debut last year.
Aston Martin, which has become paired with James Bond, added that revenue amounted to £250 million with core wholesales down 16%.
The company warned that it expects pressure on volumes to continue into the end of the year and now expects total wholesales to be lower than what it had previously guided, though still within the range of market expectations.
“Tough trading conditions, particularly in the UK and Europe, persist and whilst retail sales have grown 13% year-to-date, wholesale volumes remain under pressure,” Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group CEO, commented on the results.
“We remain pleased with the performance of DB11 and DBS Superleggera, however, the segment of the market in which Vantage competes is declining, and notwithstanding a growing market-share, Vantage demand remains weaker than our original plans,” Dr Andy Palmer continued.
“As a consequence, total wholesale volumes are down year-on-year as we balance growth, brand positioning and dealer inventories. Additionally, we are taking actions to control our costs through an efficiency programme.”
Dr Andy Palmer said: “DBX development is progressing well, with the global launch in Beijing on 20 November. The first production trial build has been completed, and St Athan commissioned, with start of production due in Q2 2020 as planned.”
The company also posted a pre-tax loss in its half year results back in July, sending shares down.
Shares in Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc (LON:AML) were trading at -2.25% as of 11:59 GMT Thursday.
Persimmon remain optimistic despite Brexit challenges
Persimmon plc (LON: PSN) have remained optimistic in their ability to deliver results, despite tough Brexit and market conditions.
Persimmon reported that Summer trading had met expectations, and this was down to robust trading and consumer resilience, following comments by many FTSE100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) firms.
Competitors such as Taylor Wimpey (LON: TW) and Redrow plc (LON: RDW) also face similar challenges to Persimmon, commenting on Brexit challenges as an obstacle to trading.
The British Housebuilding firm reinstated their faith in consumers to stimulate business despite wider macroeconomic challenges.
The strong housing market, it said, reflects solid employment in the UK and “some” real wage growth, as well as low interest rates and a “competitive but disciplined” mortgage market.
In the second half of 2019, Persimmon commented on the ‘resilient’ trading patterns alluding to full sale allocations for the year.
Around £950 million of forward sales are secured beyond 2019, compared to £987 million this time a year ago.
Despite the fall in forward sales, the housing market has been slow amid falling house price growth.
Therefore, the fall cannot be attributed to poor business performance, but rather slow market conditions and a period of tough trading.
“I am confident the continued successful implementation of our detailed customer care improvement plans together with our strengthened forward build position, healthy forward sales, robust balance sheet and industry-leading land holdings provide a sound platform for the successful future development of the group,” said Chief Executive Dave Jenkinson.
Jenkinson added “”Persimmon’s top priority is the delivery of higher levels of quality and customer service through the implementation of its detailed customer care improvement plan. Central to this plan is putting customers before volume,”
Sales volumes for the first half of 2019 dipped 6% year-on-year to 7,584 homes, but this was due to an approach of selling homes only when they are at an advanced stage of construction. Persimmon expects second half sales to be above the first half.
“We are mindful of the uncertainties facing the UK economy but remain keen to bring new developments through the planning system as promptly as possible to enable construction activity to commence and new homes to be delivered to the communities we serve,” the company said in a statement to the markets.
Shares of Persimmon climbed 3.08% to 2,346p during Thursday trading. 6/11/19 11:39BST
Howden Joinery expect to meet annual forecasts
Howden Joinery Group Plc (LON: HWDN) have said that they expect to meet their annual forecasts for financial 2019, and will also meet full year profit expectations despite slow UK business.
Shares of Howden Joinery rose 0.27% during Thursday trading. Shares trade at 587p. 7/11/19 11:20BST.
The FTSE250 listed firm (INDEXFTSE: MCX) reported that it had seen a period of ‘robust’ trading in the period from mid-June to the start of November which allowed them to recover lost ground to meet profit expectations.
Last week it was announced that Howden had appointed a new Non Executive Director in Louise Fowler, who is current director at Assura PLC (LON: AGR).
Fowler, boasts over 25 years of expertise having worked at firms such as Benenden Health, Stockport Hydro Ltd and Britannia International.
Howden Joinery also announced that Mark Allen, who has served as non-executive director since 2011, and is a member of remuneration, audit and nominations committees, will retire from board on December 1.
The timing of these positive results will please shareholders, where competitors such as Grafton Group Plc (LON: GFTU) warned shareholders that profits would be lower than expected.
In the 16-week period ended November 2, Howdens UK depots revenue rose by 4.9% year-on-year, or 2.0% on a like-for-like basis.
The company expects to open a total of 40 UK depots in 2019, including five in Northern Ireland, despite slow investment levels.
Howden has also acquired 10.8 million of its shares in 2019, at a cost of £55.2 million.
This completed a £60 million share buyback programme it began in February 2018. Howden are also half way through a buyback programme it unveiled in February 2019.
The announcement follows a positive period of trading for Howden Joinery, who struggled to conjure up business in the first few months of 2019.
The fact that Howden have remained confident in their ability to meet annual profit expectations will please shareholders after a worryingly slow start to financial 2019.
Halifax: annual house price growth slows in October
New data revealed on Thursday that UK annual house price growth slowed down in October to 0.9% – the lowest growth seen in 2019.
Halifax’s House Price Index indicated that house prices in October were 0.9% higher than those recorded a year prior.
Meanwhile, the data shows that house prices in October were 0.1% lower than those recorded in September.
Halifax said that the average price amounted to £232,249.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js “Average house prices continued to slow in October, with a modest rise of 0.9% over the past year,” Russell Galley, Managing Director at Halifax, commented on the data. “While this is the lowest growth seen in 2019, it again extends the largely flat trend which has taken hold over recent months,” Russell Galley continued. “A number of underlying factors such as mortgage affordability and wage growth continue to support prices, however there is evidence of consumers erring on the side of caution,” added Russell Galley. Russell Galley said: “We remain unchanged from our view that activity levels and price growth will remain subdued while the UK navigates political and economic uncertainty.” Indeed, the UK was supposed to depart from the European Union at the end of last month but was instead granted yet another extension to the deadline. As parties prepare for the general election at the end of the year, uncertainty over the nation’s future prevails. What will the Brexit outcome mean for the property market in the year ahead?🏠 HALIFAX HOUSE PRICE INDEX 🏠
October’s #HalifaxHPI shows house prices fell by 0.1% in the last month. The average UK house price is now £232,249. — Halifax Bank News (@HalifaxBankNews) November 7, 2019
Hikma Pharma hold on 2019 guidance
Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc (LON: HIK) have held their 2019 guidance figures, saying that performance had been strong across all divisions and that expectations were set to be filled.
Shares of Hikma are trading at 1,988p per share. 7/11/19 11:00BST
The London-headquartered company said it is benefiting from its “broad and differentiated” product portfolios, strong commercial capabilities, and tight cost control.
The results will suffice shareholders as the pharmaceuticals market continues to get more saturated amid tough competition.
Last week, global titans such as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) reported that they had smashed analyst expectations in their third quarter update.
In order to combat the big players, firms such as Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) bought Achillion (NASDAQ: ACHN) in a $930 million deal.
Domestic competitors which include GlaxoSmithKline (LON: GSK) also raised their annual profit forecast following a period of bullish trading.
Hikma continues to expect global Injectables revenue to be in the range of $870 million to $900 million for 2019 and for the core operating margin to be in the range of 36% to 38%.
For the full year, Hikma now expects Generics revenue to be closer to the top end of its guidance range of $690 million to $720 million and continue to expect the core operating margin to be in the range of 16% to 18%.
“I am pleased to reiterate our full year guidance for the group in 2019. We continue to execute against our strategic priorities and all three of our businesses continue to deliver good organic growth and profitability in line with our expectations,” said Chief Executive Siggi Olafsson.
He added: “We are successfully launching new products while making strategic investments in research and development and partnerships to drive sustainable long-term growth.”
The company are set to report financial 2019 results on 27th February 2020, and the effect of tough competition and new product diversification will be seen in this report.
Auto Trader lift dividends following strong profit figures
Auto Trader Group PLC (LON: AUTO) have lifted their dividends to shareholders after reporting profit gains in their first half update.
Auto Trader were quick to reassure investors for future outlook by saying that the firm remains confident in meeting growth expectations for financial 2020 despite ongoing market uncertainty.
It has been a busy few weeks in the automotive industry, with many firms making moves in order to streamline costs and boost demand amid a slow market production period.
Last week it was reported that Peugeot (EPA: UG) and Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU) had finalized a merger move that would make them the fifth biggest car producer in the world.
Additionally, despite a tough trading climate and slow production levels, Nissan (TYO: 7201) held faith in the UK market by moving their Juke manufacturing operations to their Sunderland plant.
For the six months to September 30, Auto Trader recorded a 12% rise in pretax profit to £127.7 million from £114.5 million a year ago, on revenue of £186.7 million, up 6% on £176.8 million a year prior.
Operating profit grew 9% to GBP131.4 million, with margins rising to 70% from 68%.
“We have had a good first half and have seen an even greater number of car retailers opting to partner with Auto Trader to access our growing consumer audience,” said Chief Executive Trevor Mather.
“Despite ongoing market uncertainty, the board is confident of meeting its growth expectations for the year,” Mather added.
The online automotive marketplace said average revenue per retailer per month rose 7% year-on-year to £1,951 in the first half from £1,826, which showed good progress for the car retailer.
Platform visits per month increased by 4% to 51.2 million in the interim period from 49.3 million a year ago.
At a time where there appears to be a global slowdown in the automotive industry, these results will come as a relief to shareholders.
The fact that seniority at Auto Trader were quick to give a positive outlook for the next six months will for now suffice shareholder appetite, but further scrutiny will be expected in their next update.
It will be interesting to see how the new mergers formed will affect competition in the car retailers sector, but for now that Auto Trader can be pleased with the results published.
Auto Trader has increased its interim dividend to 2.4p per share from 2.1p.
Shares of Auto Trader were 3.17% to the good, and are trading at 566p per share. 7/11/19 10:52BST.
The Works warn shareholders on profits leaving shares in red
Works co uk PLC (LON: WRKS) have warned their shareholders about their next trading update statistics, alluding to lower profit levels, which has caused their shares to crash.
There hasn’t been much positivity to report for the high street retailer, as the cut-price gifts, arts, toys and books seller warned shareholders about poor business performance in tough economic and political conditions.
Recent like-for-like sales haven’t improved as much as hoped. Management have also been skeptical about Christmas trading, saying that expectations will be hard to fulfill in the busy trading period.
The Works warned warned that full year pre-tax profits are expected to come in ‘significantly below’ the current consensus of £7.3 million.
Chief executive Kevin Keaney bemoaned a consumer environment that ‘has remained challenging’, explaining that The Works has been ‘trading against strong comparators’ following last year’s Squishies ‘Mega Trend’
Keaney insisted The Works has ‘responded decisively to minimise the impact to our performance and are benefiting from easier comparators in the second half’. He is looking ahead to the busy Christmas period ‘fully prepared and ready to deliver for our customers with a fantastic selection of good quality and great value products.
During the six month period, ending in October total revenue rose 5.4%, although even stripping out the impact of last year’s Squishies fad, like-for-like sales were down 1.9%.
The British High street has been suffering for a number of years now, as many established retailers struggle to stimulate business amid tough market conditions.
Established retailers such as Mothercare (LON: MTC) have recently entered administration, whilst Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) collapsed only a few weeks back.
Additionally, it was announced that Marks and Spencer (LON: MKS) would shut as many as 120 high street stores to save costs amid periods of slumping business.
While like-for-like sales have improved in recent weeks, they weren’t at a level previously hoped for by management and the full year performance depends on how the business trades over the next six weeks in the run up to Christmas.
Following the warning, shares of The Works have been left in red sinking 41.44% to trade at 45p per share. 7/11/19 10:37BST.
Sainsbury’s profits take a hit
Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) revealed a decline in profits on Thursday in its half year results.
Shares in the supermarket chain were up during trading on Thursday morning.
Sainsbury’s said that, for the 28 weeks to 21 September, underlying profit before tax declined by 15% to £238 million, compared to the £279 million figure recorded for the same period the year prior.
It blamed the combined impacts of the phasing of cost savings, higher marketing costs and tough weather comparatives for the drop in profits.
Retail sales (excluding fuel) were down 0.6% and like-for-like sales (excluding fuel) were down 1%.
Earlier this year in April, Sainsbury’s £7.3 billion takeover of Asda (NYSE:WMT) was blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority because it would have created a “poorer overall shopping experience”.
The supermarket chain also revealed at the end of September that it will be closing many stores and opening new ones.
Sainsbury’s warned in its half year results that consumer outlook “remains uncertain”.
“We expect profits in the second half to benefit from the annualisation of last year’s colleague wage increase and a normalisation of marketing costs and weather comparatives,” Sainsbury’s, reiterating its September guidance.
“We have created positive momentum across the business through strategic investments in our customer offer,” Mike Coupe, Chief Executive, commented on the results.
“We have lowered prices on every day food and groceries, launched a range of value brands and are more competitive on price than we have ever been. We are investing in hundreds of Sainsbury’s and Argos stores, introducing new products and services and continually improving service and availability. As a result, customer satisfaction has increased significantly year on year,” Mike Coupe continued.
The Chief Executive said: “We have set out our plan to create one multi brand, multi-channel business. This will make the combined Sainsbury’s and Argos offer much more accessible for customers and gives us the opportunity to make our business more efficient.”
J Sainsbury plc shares (LON:SBRY) were trading at +0.15% as of 10:21 GMT Thursday.