Greggs on a roll in Q3

Dina Caruso
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2
Greggs on a roll in Q3
Greggs said in a Tuesday trading update that it has continued to trade “very strongly” during the third quarter. For the 13 weeks to 28 September, total sales were up 12.4% and company-managed shop like-for-like sales increased by 7.4%. The British bakery chain added that its autumn menu is now available in stores. It features new additions to its hot sandwich range, such as Chipotle Chilli Steak and Hot Peri Peri Chicken Baguettes. Its autumn menu also welcomes the return of its popular Spicy Chicken and Pepperoni Bake, in addition to its Pumpkin Spice Latte. Greggs added that it is preparing for the potential impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union by stockpiling ingredients and equipment. Meanwhile, its expectations for the full year remain unchanged. Earlier in May, the British bakery chain Greggs raised its profit forecasts for the third time this year, driven by the popularity of its vegan sausage roll. “With over 2,000 Greggs outlets now under its belt, the bakery-turned-food on the go chain, is still on a roll and very much on track for a strong year,” Emma-Lou Montgomery, associate director from Fidelity Personal Investing’s share dealing service, commented on Greggs’ third quarter trading update. “On its new autumn menu are some seasonal favourites among Greggs customers, like Pumpkin Spice Latte, alongside new offerings such as hot sandwiches and a post-4pm meal deal, as part of the chain’s expansion into all-day dining,” Emma-Lou Montgomery continued. “Brexit also pops up as an item. But Greggs says it continues to build stores of key ingredients and equipment to ensure its operations aren’t disrupted. This is a company that has its costs under control and its plans in the pipeline, ready to serve up another year of growth.”

Shares in Greggs (LON:GRG) are up heavily over the last year.

The British bakery chain said, however, that it sees food prices going up and sales growth slowed compared to the first half, largely down to the vegan sausage roll being introduced in January. Shares have currently fallen over 5%. Shares in Greggs plc (LON:GRG) were trading at -6.75% as of 11:18 BST Tuesday.

Nationwide: September house price growth remains subdued

Dina Caruso
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1
Nationwide: September house price growth remains subdued
Nationwide said on Tuesday that house price growth remained subdued in September. Indeed, Nationwide’s House Price Index revealed that UK annual house prices grew by 0.2% in September. This marks the tenth consecutive month in which annual price growth has been below 1%. As for the month of September itself, house prices saw a monthly change of -0.2%, after considering “seasonal factors,” Nationwide said. “Indicators of UK economic activity have been fairly volatile in recent quarters, but the underlying pace of growth appears to have slowed as a result of weaker global growth and an intensification of Brexit uncertainty,” Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, commented on the data. Indeed, as the nation has now entered the month of the extended Halloween Brexit deadline, the only certainty that remains now is additional uncertainty. Just last week the Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament was not only unlawful but also ineffective and non-existent. “However, the slowdown has centred on business investment – household spending has been more resilient, supported by steady gains in employment and real earnings,” Nationwide’s Chief Economist continued. “The underlying pace of housing market activity has remained broadly stable, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchase continuing within the fairly narrow range prevailing over the past two years. Healthy labour market conditions and low borrowing costs appear to be offsetting the drag from the uncertain economic outlook.” According to the data, London was the weakest performing region in the third quarter, followed closely by the surrounding Outer Metropolitan region, with annual price declines of of 1.7% and 1.5% respectively. This marks the ninth quarter in a row where prices have dropped in the capital city. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland remained the strongest performing home nation in the third quarter, but Nationwide’s Chief Economist did note that annual price growth moderated to 3.4%.

H&T acquires rival pledge books

Andrew Hore
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0
H&T acquires rival pledge books

Pawnbroker H&T (LON:HAT) is buying the pledge books of one of its major rivals. The existing business is also trading more strongly than expected.
The assets of former AIM-quoted pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond were acquired by Speedloan Finance, but it decided to exit the UK market. H&T is paying £8m for 113 pledge books. This covers more than 35,000 pledges. These pledges can be redeemed through H&T stores.
This deal means that H&T is confirmed as the largest pawnbroker in the UK. The FCA has been fully informed about the deal.
Net debt was £11.6m at the end of June 2019. ...

Homebuyer demand drops in Q3, study finds

Dina Caruso
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0
Homebuyer demand drops in Q3, study finds
New data revealed on Monday that buyer demand dropped in Q3, though Glasgow remains the most highly demanded homebuyer location in the UK. Springbok Properties released its latest Property Hotspots Index for Q3, looking at buyer demand levels across 100 spots in the UK and how this differs from Q2. The data shows that UK homebuyer demand is at 39.5%, dropping by 2.8% since the last quarter, with the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s departure from the European Union continuing to “cloud the market”. Indeed, the nation is just a day away from entering the month of the Brexit deadline and the only certainty that remains is additional uncertainty. Meanwhile, Springbok Properties said that Glasgow remains the hottest spot in the UK for property demand in the quarter at 59.5% Though there has been a wider slowdown across the nation, demand in London has risen slightly from 29.2% to 29.5% in the quarter, the data shows. “In the current political climate, it would seem that the further you move away from Westminster the more appetite there is amongst UK homebuyers and while demand continues to decline, on the whole, the aspiration for homeownership is alive and well in many areas of the UK,” Founder and CEO of Springbok Properties, Shepherd Ncube, commented on the data. “Those areas that will feel a direct consequence as a result of our European departure, such as the City of London, prime central London, and Northern Ireland, are certainly the areas feeling the brunt of market uncertainty at present,” the Founder and CEO continued. “The likelihood is that come the fourth quarter of this year, we will see a further decline in demand levels as a mix of seasonality and a brace for impact cause many to wait until the dust has settled next year before looking to buy.”

Topps Tiles commercial target

Andrew Hore
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0
Topps Tiles commercial target

Tiles retailer Topps Tiles (LON: TPT) is set to report on fourth quarter trading on 1 October.
Third quarter like-for-like sales growth was 3.8% with a particularly strong end to the quarter. The comparatives were weak and, because the fourth quarter comparatives are tougher, analysts ae assuming flat like-for-like figures.
If Topps can beat that fourth quarter expectation it would be good news for shareholders.
Commercial
The commercial division continues to provide the growth potential. The progress will be keenly followed by analysts. The target is to generate 5% of group sales in 2020. ...

Lost passport no problem for DX

Andrew Hore
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0
Lost passport no problem for DX

DX (LON: DX.) is on course with its restructuring and recovery. The loss of the UK passport delivery contract will not prevent the parcel and freight delivery company from moving back into profit.
The loss of the UK passport delivery contract will not prevent the parcel and freight delivery company from moving back into profit.
The targets that have been set in the forecasts earlier this year appeared tough, but DX met the forecast last year and is well on the way to getting to this year’s target. The experienced team that came in last year are showing that they have the capabilities to make...

CAA set to launch largest ever ATOL refund programme

Dina Caruso
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2
CAA set to launch largest ever ATOL refund programme
The Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday that it is launching a new process for what is set to be the largest ever ATOL refund programme for Thomas Cook customers. The Civil Aviation Authority added that it will begin focusing on refunding 360,000 ATOL protected holidays booked for the future with Thomas Cook. This is three times greater than any refund programme it has managed in the past. Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority launched the largest peacetime repatriation, “Operation Matterhorn”, to bring over 150,000 people back to the UK following the collapse of Thomas Cook which left thousands of British holidaymakers stranded abroad. Many took to Twitter to send their thoughts to Thomas Cook staff and customers. In the first seven days, 106,000 people were flown back to the UK. Roughly 94% of people have flown back on the original day of their cancelled flight with Thomas Cook. “We are now also turning our attention to the challenge of refunding 360,000 ATOL protected future Thomas Cook holidays that have been cancelled,” Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said in a statement. “This will be three times larger than any refund programme we have managed before, and we are implementing new systems to enable us to process these refunds as quickly as possible,” Richard Moriarty added. “For around 100,000 bookings made by direct debit we hope to refund these within the next 14 days. Refunds of bookings made by other payment methods will take longer as we do not yet have all of the information we need from Thomas Cook.” Consumers will be able to access an electronic refund form and the Civil Aviation Authority hopes to pay refunds within 60 days of receiving a valid refund form. “We have returned over one hundred thousand people to the UK, but there are still over 43,000 people on holiday abroad due to return on or before 6 October. The scale and complexity of this operation will inevitably cause some inconvenience and disruption and I would like to thank holidaymakers for bearing with us,” the Chief Executive said.

S&U keeps up standards

Andrew Hore
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0
S&U keeps up standards

Interim figures from motor finance provider S&U (LON: SUS) were solid, but new business obtained in the first half augurs well for a much stronger performance in the second half and next year.
Lending standards have been tightened and that means that S&U is choosy about the business it takes on. It takes time for new loans to start generating a profit contribution.
Interim pre-tax profit rose by 3% to £17.1m and the dividend was increased by 6% to 34p a share.
Motor finance
Motor finance business Advantage Finance is on course to achieve its 20th year of profit growth. Customer numbers...

Trump distraction tactics and FTSE bouncing on an ailing Pound, a lacklustre Friday

Jamie Gordon
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1
Trump distraction tactics and FTSE bouncing on an ailing Pound, a lacklustre Friday
As the week drew to a close, the populist double-threat both welcomed a weekend of respite following their blunders. On one side of the Atlantic, Donald Trump insisted his innocence, before being incriminated, and responded with yet another hollow promise of trade war progress. A promise which the European indices gladly lapped up and the Dow Jones largely ignored. On home soil, prime minister Boris Johnson shrugged off another defeat imposed by Parliamentary checks and balances, and responded by complaining that checks and balances were undemocratic, before continuing his divide-and-conquer tirade. Thankfully, while the Pound Sterling continued to quake, FTSE seemed to ignore the political fiasco; no doubt bouncing on the back of foreign investors enjoying the UK’s weak currency. Speaking on the market’s movements on Friday, Spreadex Financial Analyst Connor Campbell stated,

“Europe kept a smile plastered on its face this Friday; the Dow Jones, however, was slightly more reticent.”

“The Dow’s unwillingness to do anything more than add 0.1% is perhaps well-founded. Donald Trump is facing impeachment over allegedly seeking aid from Ukraine to impact the 2020 election. That not long after he was claiming a US-China trade deal could arrive sooner than people think stank of distraction tactics, meaning that, after an initial rise following those comments earlier in the week, the Dow hasn’t really moved from 29600.”

“With reports Germany might be open to boosting public spending in order to tackle lacklustre growth, and impending European Commission economic chief Paolo Gentiloni arguing for just that, the Eurozone indices were keen to end a week that began with some disastrous PMIs on a positive note. The DAX rose 0.6%, while the CAC climbed 0.2% (admittedly down on its earlier growth).”

“Though, of course, it helped that its commodity and banking sectors were firmly in the green, it seems only one thing really matters to the FTSE at the moment: watching sterling squirm. The pound remained under pressure on Friday, fears of a general election keeping it at 3-week and 2-week lows against the dollar and euro respectively. In response the UK index jumped 50 points, pushing it past 7400 for the first time in almost 2-months.”

More of the same mess, it would seem. The UK market will be doing smug victory laps as its furniture is being bought up from around it by willing opportunists, Europe’s answer remains ‘throw money at it’, in hopes liquidity in industry will somehow kick-start positive consumer sentiment. Elsewhere in political and macro economic news, there have been updates from; the Supreme Court’s ruling, the collapse of Thomas Cook (LON: TCP), ECB stimulus, the bid for the London Stock Exchange (LON: LSE), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON: LLOY), Jo Johnson quitting, Hilary Benn’s Brexit delay bill, Barclays (LON: BARC) and Deutsche Bank (ETR: DBK).

Anglo African Oil & Gas works toward Tilapia rig contract

Jamie Gordon
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1
Anglo African Oil & Gas works toward Tilapia rig contract
Oil and gas exploration and development company Anglo African Oil & Gas (LON: AAOG) saw good financial progress during the first half, as it worked towards signing a rig contract for sidetrack drilling at the Tilapia licence. It told investors that it would be making efforts to sign the contract based on the prospect in the Republic of Congo, following its drilling of the TLP-103C well, which uncovered 56 metres of oil pay, 26 metres in the Mengo formation and 12 metres in the Djeno discovery. “The operational plan is to re-enter the existing TLP-103C well and drill the new sidetrack just below the Mengo formation to test the Upper Djeno and explore the Middle Djeno formations. The objective is to determine whether the Djeno can be brought into production from either horizon. Depending on the flowrate, some enhancements to topside infrastructure at the Tilapia field will be required.” “Of course, drilling activity is never without risk. However, we believe that the sidetrack operations have an attractive risk/reward profile. TLP-103C has already proven the geological model and confirmed the presence of the Djeno at Tilapia. The fallback plan is to produce TLP-103C from the Mengo formation.” Alongside its operational announcements, the Company’s fundamentals revealed financial progress. In a comparison of H1 2018 and H1 2019, revenues had risen some £67,000, up to £173,524 for the six month period ended 30 June. Despite administrative expenses widening by over half a million pounds to £2.12 million, the Group’s net loss narrowed on-year, from a loss of £279,000 to £86,000. Alongside this, Anglo African Oil & Gas shareholders enjoyed similar progress, with their loss per share narrowing from 2.71p, to 1.03p.

Anglo African Oil & Gas comments

Speaking on the update, Chair of the company, Sarah Cope, said, “After the positive TLP-103C well results at the beginning of the year, the remainder of the review period and subsequently has been centred on drawing up a comprehensive forward plan to monetise the discovery in the Djeno at the earliest opportunity.” “With an operational team in place and a funding package finalised, the team is now concentrating on signing a rig contract for the sidetrack into the Djeno. The company will provide further updates at the appropriate time.” Speaking on its outlook, the Company’s statement read, “After the positive TLP-103C well results at the beginning of the year, the remainder of the review period and subsequently has been centred on drawing up a comprehensive forward plan to monetise the discovery in the Djeno at the earliest opportunity. With an operational team in place and a funding package finalised, the team is now concentrating on signing a rig contract for the sidetrack into the Djeno.”

Investor notes

The Company’s shares are up 1.11% or 0.035p to 3.18p per share 27/09/19 14:03 BST. Analysts from finnCap remained unchanged in their ‘Corporate’ stance on Anglo African Oil & Gas stock. Neither a dividend yield nor a p/e ratio are currently available, the Group’s market cap is £12.39 million. Elsewhere in oil and gas news, there have been updates from; Chariot Oil and Gas Limited (LON: CHAR), Union Jack Oil PLC (LON: UJO), Prospex Oil and Gas PLC (LON: PXOG), IGAS Energy PLC (LON: IGAS), Trinity Exploration & Production PLC (LON: TRIN), Baron Oil PLC (LON: BOIL) and Cabot Energy PLC (LON: CAB).  
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