Fitbit shares move upward by 31% amid offer from Alphabet
Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) shares moves upward by 31% following an offer from Alphabet to takeover the company.
John Laing builds on portfolio with new stakes in infrastructure
Responsible infrastructure investor and partner John Laing Group PLC (LON: JLG) today issued two positive updates on new stakes it has acquired in two infrastructure projects.
The first announcement detailed the Company’s acquisition of a 30% interest in the Ruta del Cacao road project in Colombia, for aconsideration of £62 million. The second announcement told investors that it had secured a 35% stake in the Hurontario Light Rail Transit PPP project in Canada, for an interest of £13 million.
In its statement, the Company said that it, “is pleased to announce that further to its announcement on 20 August 2019 regarding the agreed acquisition of 30% of the Ruta del Cacao road project in Colombia, all relevant approvals have now been obtained and the acquisition completed on 28 October 2019 for a total consideration of £62 million.”
Speaking on the second announcement, John Laing added, “Hurontario LRT consists of an 18km line connecting municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and will improve connectivity within and between the two districts. The project builds on John Laing’s successful history of investment and delivery of complex rail schemes, including the Denver Eagle commuter rail in USA and Sydney Light Rail in Australia.”
The Group concluded by saying that its total investment commitments to-date totalled £157 million.The Company’s share price stands at 365.00p per share 29/10/19 15:59 GMT. Analysts from Peel Hunt reiterated their ‘Buy’ stance on John Laing Group stock, the Group’s p/e ratio stands at 5.78 and their dividend yield is 1.48%.
Elsewhere in infrastructure, there have been updates from; Scottish government policy, JLEN (LON: JLEN), Active Energy Group PLC (LON: AEG), Velocys PLC (LON: VLS), AFC Energy plc (LON: AFC), SIMEC Atlantis Energy (LON: SAE), Aquila European Renewables Income Fund (LON: AERI) and PowerHouse Energy Group (LON: PHE).Koovs seems to be in fashion as sales double despite uncertainty
Western fashion experts for online Indian consumers Koovs plc (LON: KOOVS) boasted impressive fundamentals during the second quarter, despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited’s investment into the company.
The Group’s headline figure was its 100% year-on-year gross order value growth, from £2.5 million to £5.0 million.
This was bolstered by additional progress in its trading margin, which increased from 7% to 12% on-year, a 69% spike in website traffic which was up to 27.3 million visits, and conversion rates rising from 1.1% to 1.3%.
The Company said that the latest round of results represents the third consecutive quarter of growth in its core performance metrics, and indicates the strength of Koovs’ underlying business model.
FLFL subscription and near-term strategy
The Company’s statement read, “As announced on 21 October 2019, Koovs was informed by Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited (“FLFL”) that the Reserve Bank of India (the “RBI”) now requires FLFL to reapply for approval prior to completing its outstanding £6.5 million investment into Koovs. FLFL has confirmed to the Company that it is in the process of reapplying for this approval and has confirmed its commitment to honour its investment into Koovs, whether through the existing mechanism (through the issue of compulsory convertible preference shares) or, to the extent available, an alternative route should the approval not be forthcoming.”“The Company is working with FLFL to secure the committed investment, alongside considering other fundraising options available to the Company, in the event the RBI approval process is not completed within the coming weeks.”
“The Board has also determined to implement certain cash conservation measures, primarily in relation to reducing stock purchases and marketing spend, with the intention of ensuring there is the maximum time available for the various options available to the Company to be considered.”
Investor notes
Despite the positive sales figures, the FLFL uncertainty weighed on the Company’s progress during trading today. The Group’s share price dipped 3.04% or 0.092p to 2.93p per share 29/10/19 15:43 GMT. Neither a p/e ratio nor a dividend yield are available for Koovs stock, the Company’s market cap is £11.25 million. Elsewhere in fashion, there have been updates from; Superdry (LON: SDRY) N Brown Group plc (LON: BWNG), Boohoo Group PLC (LON: BOO), Burberry Group plc (LON: BRBY), H&M (STO: HM-B) and Sports Direct International Plc (LON: SPD).Apple announces the release of noise-cancelling AirPods Pro
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is due to release the AirPods Pro on Wednesday.
AirPods Pro
The updated version of wireless headphones detect noise, and cancel it by producing opposite sounds. Noise-cancelling AirPods are appealing to those who work in noisy environments as well as commuters. AirPods Pro will cost £250 in the United Kingdom. Consequently, AirPods Pro come at a much higher price than AirPods which are on sale for £159 in the United Kingdom.Noise-Cancelling Technologies
There is an increasing demand for noise-cancelling technologies as more and more people face the consequences of noise pollution in modern cities. Noise can be particularly disturbing for people who handle complex and time sensitive tasks. Apple incorporated recent developments in noise-cancelling technology into its wireless headphones to meet increasing demand. Furthermore, AirPods Pro come with two microphones. One of the microphones is external. It detects environmental noise. The internal microphone blocks out noise detected by the external microphone. Additionally, this newly developed technology is extremely fast. AirPods Pro updates itself 200 times per second in order to cancel out external noise.Inclusivity
Apple continues to develop products that are customizable to make its products accessible and useful for a wider range of customers. AirPods Pro reflects Apple’s commitment to inclusivity. The newly developed wireless headphones are adjustable in size. The adjustable size of AirPods Pro makes the product appealing to those with larger or smaller ears than the norm.Safety Concerns
Safety concerns linked to the use of headphones have been rising amid an increasing number of traffic accidents. In order to address these safety concerns, AirPods Pro comes with a transparency mode that allows users to hear external sounds while listening to music. The transparency mode targets users who wear AirPods Pro in environments where cancelling noise can lead to potential danger.Growth Potential
Apple remains to be a stable choice for investors. Although Apple announced a 5% decline in its profits earlier this year, the release of AirPods Pro opens up an opportunity for recovery. Upward movement in Apple’s stocks continues as the company reaches new all-time high closing prices five times only in October. If demand for AirPods Pro meets Apple’s expectations, Apple is likely to increase its revenue by the end of this year.Royal Mail urges CWU to cancel Christmas strike
Royal Mail PLC (LON: RMG) has urged trade unions to cancel potential strike plans during the festive period.
Royal Mail have also added they will extend the life of the ballot result by the same amount of time as the pause on industrial action, meaning the union could opt to postpone the strike until the new year.
Members of Communication Workers Union earlier this month voted in favor of a mass walkout, alluding to breaches of legislation involving pay and working conditions.
The motion was passed by more than 97% of the votes following a ballot of roughly 110,000 union members.
This sparked fears that a strike could take place over the critical Christmas trading period, where demand for Royal Mail services is at its busiest across the trading calendar.
Royal Mail national service delivery director Ricky McAulay said: “If the CWU agrees to rule out industrial action for the remainder of the calendar year – a critical time for our customers, we will commit to holding open discussions with no preconditions aimed at resolving the dispute.”
The Communication Workers Union said that the vote to strike represented that largest “yes” vote for national industrial action since the passing of the Trade Union Act three years ago.
This brings about a tough test for the newly appointed chairman at Royal Mail, and a resolution has to be met before Christmas trading begins.
If no agreement is reached, then Royal Mail could face a smeared public image as well as falling revenues and profits, in a time where business has to be captured.
Royal Mail emphasise that the recent ballot result for industrial action does not necessarily mean that industrial action will take place.
Announcing the ballot result, the union had called for the Royal Mail to begin “serious negotiations” with workers.
The question that arises is whether offering no preconditions to the CWU with an extended life of the ballot will be enough for the CWU to remove the threat of strikes over the Black Friday and Christmas period.
Currently, shares of Royal Mail are trading at 210.9p seeing a 5.05% fall since the planned strikes were announced.
In logistics news, there have been updates. Wincanton (LON: WIN) are planning a move for Eddie Stobart (LON: STOB) and Prologis (NYSE: PLD) are set to buy Liberty (NYSE: LPT) in a $12.6 billion deal.
KEFI Minerals awaits full Tulu Kapi go-ahead
Mining company KEFI Minerals PLC (LON: KEFI) announced today that it had made progress in its efforts to gain the full set of approvals needed for it to proceed at its partially owned Tulu Kapi Gold mining project, but that “certain internal administrative matters” were yet to be resolved.
In its statement, the Company stated,
“KEFI confirms the receipt by Tulu Kapi Gold Mines Share Company (“TKGM”) of all the Government permits and independent consultants reports required for closing the Project equity financing and triggering the development of the Project. The only outstanding matter now is for the Ethiopian Government to resolve certain internal administrative matters.”
It went on to say that it had received assurances from its partners and contractors regarding their respective commitments to proceed as and when the government had ameliorated its internal administrative considerations in a way that, “does not impede other shareholders’ protections”.
The Company understand the importance of the Tulu Kapi project and the project’s status as a high-profile public-private joint enterprise. It added that it thought the project had the potential to be single largest export-generator for Ethiopia.
Keen to stress the country’s enthusiasm for the project, Minister for Mines and Petroleum of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr Samuel Urkato, commented,
“The Tulu Kapi project remains of the highest priority for the Government at all levels and that there is just one outstanding administrative matter, internal to the Government, which will be resolved shortly, so that the development may commence.”
KEFI Minerals comments
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Executive Chairman, said, “Whilst it is disappointing we will not be able to close the Project equity funding before the end of October 2019, as we had previously envisaged, we appreciate the enormous importance of the Project to the Ethiopian Government and that they need to complete their internal processes. All stakeholders continue to work very hard and we look forward to this being resolved shortly so that the Project equity funding can be closed and development of the Project started.”Investor notes
The Company’s shares have rallied 4.33% or 0.03p to 0.74p per share 29/10/19 14:01 GMT. The Company’s market cap is £6.03 million, neither their dividend yield nor their p/e ratio are available. Elsewhere in the mining and minerals sector, recent updates have come from; Panther Metals Plc (NEX: PALM), Shanta Gold Limited (LON: SHG), Capital Mining Ltd (LON: CAPD), Griffin Mining Ltd (LON: GFM), Alien Metals Ltd (LON: UFO), Highland Gold Mining Ltd (LON: HGM) and Kavango Resources PLC (LON: KAV).Eckoh payment solutions look secure during first half
Global provider of secure payment products and customer contact solutions Echoh PLC (LON: ECK) posted boosts to its contracted business across its US and UK businesses, which allowed it to declare that it was operating in line with expectations.
The Company reported a year-on-year increase of 8% for the first half in its total contracted business in the UK, up to £7.9 million. Eckoh said that their UK business was being driven increasingly by their recently launched Eckoh Experience Portal (“EXP”) which it said,”enables organisations to purchase our Customer Engagement and Secure Payment solutions in a modular fashion”. More impressive, perhaps, was the 15% jump in its total contracted business in its US operations, which rose to $14.4 million. The Company added that it had secured a contract extension worth a minimum of $3.8 million, for its agent desktop tool Coral, with a Fortune 100 telecom company. It concluded by saying that management remained confident of further progress in the second half, and that its net cash balance had bounced from £3.4 million to £10.9 million on-year.Eckoh comments
The Company’s statement read, “The Board is pleased to announce that trading for the six-month period was in line with expectations. It has been a very strong first half to the year with excellent levels of contracted business and double-digit revenue growth in both the UK and US.” “The US business continues to perform strongly, and total business contracted was $14.4m (H1 2019: $12.5m), an increase of 15% year on year, which was an impressive result given that the prior half year comparator included our largest ever contract valued at $7.4m.” “We continue to have excellent momentum in our US Secure Payments business, with ongoing success in the retail and healthcare sectors and we have recently won our first client in the gaming sector. The pipeline for the second half of the year is encouraging, reflecting the long-term structural drivers for our Secure Payments products: tightening regulation, and the growing risk of data breaches and fraud within challenging parts of our clients’ businesses.”Investor notes
The Company’s shares have rallied 4.18% or 2.02p to 50.27p per share 29/10/19 14:44 GMT. Analysts from Canaccord Genuity reiterated their ‘Buy’ stance on Eckoh stance, the Company’s p/e ratio is soaring at 130.41 and their dividend yield stands at 1.21%. Elsewhere in the tech sector, there were updates from; dotDigital Group plc (LON: DOTD), ProPhotonix Ltd (LON: PPIX), Universe Group plc (LON: UNG), Microsaic Systems PLC (LON: MSYS), Petards Group plc (LON: PEG), SCISYS Group PLC (LON: SSY) and Pebble Beach Systems Group PLC (LON: PEB).Spotify delivers surprising Q3 profit and revenue growth
Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) have gone against market expectations by delivering both profit and revenue growth in their third quarter trading update.
This was caused by an influx of new users and subscribers which drove revenue gains and increasing profits.
The music streaming company posted net profits of €241.0m for the three months ended 30 September, compared with €43.0m for the comparable year-ago period, which was ahead of the loss that analysts had anticipated.
Additionally, revenue increased by 28% to €1.73 billion exceeding the €1.72 billion expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
The rise in revenue was caused by a increase in monthly subscribers, rising by 30% to 248 million users, whilst premium subscribers increased by 31% to 113 million.
In particular, developing economies saw a big increase in users with the rate of increase in the number of Latin American users accelerating for the 2nd consecutive quarter.
Notably, the number of users in India outperformed forecasts seeing a 30% rise following a successful marketing campaign.
The additions of Spotify Family Plan and Student discount helped boost Spotify’s users, and extra features such as including parental controls to filter explicit content seemed to be a hit.
The company has remained confident that it can keep its foot holding in the music streaming software industry following competition from Apple Music (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon Music (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Deezer.
Spotify were also quick to point out that they had added close to twice as many subscribers per month than Apple Music.
The New York-listed company recently announced that chief financial officer Barry McCarthy will step down on January 15th.
Paul Vogel, who is currently serving as vice president of financial planning & analysis, treasury and investor relations will take over from McCarthy.
Spotify have set targets for full year revenues in the range of €1.74 billion to €1.94 billion.
Shares of Spotify are trading at $135.5 USD, seeing a 3.35% drop during Tuesday trading.
In the retail sector, there have been updates. Tesco (LON: TSCO) are set to trial their Clubcard plus, Dominos Pizza (LON:DOM) are set to quit international operations, and Superdry (LON: SDRY) have a new facilities management supplier.
Argentina rejects austerity measures as centre-left Fernández wins presidency
Argentina has been facing difficulties in enacting successful economic policies following the introduction of austerity measures.
Inflation
Argentina’s inflation rate is one of the highest in the world. Only this year, Argentina’s inflation rate has increased more than 50%. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that Argentina’s GDP will decline by 1.2% by the end of 2019.Austerity Measures
Consequently, Argentina took out a huge loan from the International Monetary Fund amid struggling with economic recession. Moreover, Argentina enacted austerity measures in order to fulfill the conditions of the loan. Austerity measures taken by the previous administration caused resentment among the public.Presidential Election
Earlier this week, Argentina held a presidential election. The result of the presidential election reflects Argentina’s economic struggle. The public protested against the previous administration by electing a new centre-left leader. As a result, Alberto Fernández declared victory in Argentina’s presidential election.Mauricio Macri
Following the election, Argentina’s former President Mauricio Macri accepted defeat to his left wing rival. Replacing Macri was a part of a general attempt to reject the authority measures introduced by Macri’s administration. Former President Macri supported austerity measures in an attempt to end Argentina’s economic crisis. Unlike what Macri has planned, Argentina continued to remain in economic recession for the past year.Fernandez’ Promise
President Alberto Fernández announced that he will prioritise economic recovery during his presidential term. Furthermore, economic instability in Argentina led to a decrease in investment opportunities in Argentina.Investment Opportunities
Investors have been cautious of economic recession and austerity measures in Argentina. An economically stable Argentina is likely to offer fruitful investment opportunities. Argentina has rich natural resources, an export-oriented agricultural sector and a diversified industrial base.Agriculture
Argentina is one of the world’s biggest agricultural producers. For instance, agriculture accounts for approximately 9% of the country’s GDP. Argentina is one of the biggest exporters of grapes, honey, soy beans, squash, sunflower seeds, wheat, wine and yerba mate. If Argentina overcomes its economic recession, investment opportunities in agriculture are likely to increase.Tesco set to trial Clubcard Plus
Tesco Plc (LON: TSCO) will become the first UK supermarket to offer a subscription customer loyalty scheme in an attempt to fend off comeptition from foreign supermarkets.
The Supermarket Titans which include Sainsbury (LON: SBRY), Asda (who are part of Walmart) (NYSE: WMT) and Morrisons (LON: MRW) have seen market share slip as German competitors Lidl and Aldi integrate into the UK market.
On Tuesday, Tesco announced they would launch a scheme which enhances the current loyalty card scheme from November 8th.
19 million Clubcard subscribers will be able to to upgrade to Clubcard Plus for £7.99 per month, which in addition to giving loyalty points redeemable for money-off vouchers will also offer 10% off two in-store shopping trips of up to £200 per month.
Additionally, Clubcard Plus holders will get additional discounts on brands such as F&F, Go Cook, Tesco Pet and Fox & Ivy.
Tesco Mobile has also been included with the new scheme, giving holders of Clubcard Plus double data on all Tesco Mobile plans.
Analysts at Barclays said Clubcard Plus should theoretically appeal to many shoppers. “In practice it’s hard to judge the deterrent effect of the monthly fee, but early membership numbers from Casino’s similar French scheme seem promising,” they said.
The new scheme estimates to boost Tesco sales by 2.5 percentage points, but the impact on profit will be harder to judge until a trading statement is released.
Competitor Marks and Spencer (LON: MKS) have plans to revamp their underperforming Sparks Program.
Additional perks of the new scheme will allow holders to apply for a Tesco Bank credit card with no foreign exchange fees on overseas purchases.
Dave Lewis, the retailer’s chief executive, said Clubcard Plus will give customers benefits and savings across grocery stores, Tesco Bank and Tesco Mobile.
We’ve put together all the benefits that are possible for a customer across Tesco for the first time,” he said on Tuesday.
“It’s about rewarding loyalty,” he said, but added “we will see that in our market share”.
Interestingly, Lewis denied that this scheme was in revolt to the domination of Aldi and Lidl, but it seems that the Big 4 are getting more concerned about the shape of the UK supermarket industry following rising popularity of German counterparts.
Earlier this month, it was reported that CEO Lewis was set to step down.
“We know that our customers are always looking for ways to make their money go further,” said Alessandra Bellini, chief customer officer at Tesco. “That’s why we’re launching Clubcard Plus – so that they can get better value on the products and services that matter most to them, throughout the whole year.”
Tesco remains the biggest UK supermarket, holding 27% market share according to Kantar data.
Shares of Tesco are currently trading at 238p per share. 29/10/19 14:31BST.