Pfizer smash market and analyst estimates
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) have seen their third quarter profits beat market expectations and exceed many analyst reports in an impressive trading update.
The Pharmaceutical titan showed higher sales of breast cancer drug Ibrance and subsequently raised its earning forecast for the financial year.
The new leadership of Albert Bourla as Chief Executive has led to more streamlined operations.
Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We reported strong third-quarter 2019 financial results, driven by 9% volume-driven operational revenue growth in our Biopharma business, including growth from key brands such as Ibrance, Xeljanz, Eliquis, Vyndaqel and Inlyta as well as in emerging markets. Upjohn revenues were negatively impacted primarily by the July 2019 loss of exclusivity of Lyrica in the U.S., while Consumer Healthcare revenues declined as a result of the completion of the JV transaction with GSK(1) during the quarter.
Additionally an announcement in July said Pfizer would separate its off-patent branded drugs business and combine it with generic drugmaker Mylan NV (NASDAQ: MYL).
Ibrance sales rose 25% to $1.28 billion in the quarter, ahead of the average estimate of $1.21 billion, according to numbers compiled by brokerage UBS (SWX: UBSG)
The company said it expects to earn between $2.94 per share and $3.00 per share, up from a prior estimate of $2.76 to $2.86. Analysts on average were expecting $2.82 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES.
Net income accountable to Pfizer’s shareholders rose to $7.68 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the quarter, from $4.11 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.
Frank D’Amelio, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Business Operations and Global Supply, stated, “I was pleased with our third-quarter 2019 financial results, which reflect strong momentum in our Biopharma business. We updated our 2019 financial guidance primarily to reflect our financial results through the first nine months of 2019 and our confidence in the business going forward. We raised the midpoint of our 2019 guidance range for revenues by $200 million to a range of $51.2 to $52.2 billion, composed of $400 million of operational revenue improvement, partially offset by a $200 million unfavorable impact from changes in FX rates since mid-July 2019.
The trading report updated by Pfizer shows strong momentum to grow and increase profits in the final quarter of 2019.
This should sustain shareholder’s interest as Pfizer look to increase profits and diversify operations.
Currently, shares of Pfizer are trading at $37.28 per share up 1.39% during Tuesday trading. 29/10/19 12:27BST.
In the pharmaceuticals industry there have been updates. Tissue Regenix (LON: TRX) shares have fallen after warnings of lower revenues, Yourgene Health Plc (LON:YGEN) have hit their ambitious growth target, and Salarius Ltd (NASDAQ: SLRX) have secured a new patent for Microsalt.
Galantas shares sink on Omagh project suspension
Galantas Gold Corp (LON: GAL) have seen their shares sink, this is due to the suspension of operations at their Omagh site.
In a statement this morning, Galantas said operations were suspended due to insufficient supervision arrangements and added that it will seek strategic alternatives due to “economic impingement on the company’s operations.”
As all blasting operations must be supervised by Police Service of Northern Ireland, there was a shortage of resources which halted this operation
Presently police arrangements are not sufficient for the desired level of operations which has caused disruptions to Galantas.
“The current arrangements are not sufficient to allow for the expansion of mine operations as envisaged by the company’s existing mine plan and until changes are agreed, the present inefficiencies caused by those arrangements form an increasing financial burden, which has proved a significant drain on the financial resources of the company,” Galantas Gold explained.
The company said, as a result, it has started consultations to reduce employee numbers at the Omagh mine and save costs. Galantas, however, plans to continue with some some operations at the gold mine.
The fact that Galantas have not seized all operations at the Omagh mine is a positive, as this does show plans to continue operations in the longer term, giving shareholders hope.
Additionally, the benefit of not seizing operations will come as a relief to employees at the Irish mine, where their jobs are secure for the immediate short term.
Since this announcement, Galantas have looked to seek alternatives such as reviewing operations, finding a joint venture partner and alternative financing structures due to the “economic impingement” on its operations.
In order to implement this changes, strategies will have to be conjured in order to raise new capital and funds.
Shares of Galantas Gold are trading at 2.08p per share, seeing a fall of 42.22%. 29/10/19 12:07BST.
In the mining sector, Centamin (LON: CEY) have experienced a output decline, Serabi Gold Plc (LON: SRB) have shown strong production figures in their third quarter, Antofagasta (LON: ANTO) have faced tough political conditions and Europa Metals (LON: EUZ) have gained a boost in their Spanish operations.
Jo Swinson’s short memory could cost the Lib Dems dearly
If you’ve heard of the ’empty centre’, you’ve most likely heard of the party that calls that landscape home. The Lib Dems (Liberal Democrats): centrist and unfulfilled or just moderately shambolic?
As the son of an ex-Liberal councillor, I can’t avoid any mention of the Lib Dems being followed by a remark about the party not being what they once were in their previous incarnation. And perhaps my mum is right. Once upon a time the party were the voice of rights, freedoms and even positive liberty in British society. Today, they seem to be lacking either an effective voice or much to have a voice about.
One interesting insight by Roi Zur of the British Journal of Political Science, stated that it mattered little at this point whether the Liberal Democrats moved either way on the political spectrum, but rather that voters were looking for valence attributes. These attributes, when boiled down to a reductive summary, were mainly constituted by competence and trustworthiness.
Following this logic, I believe Jo Swinson deserves praise for asserting a strong Remain position as the party line. Not only does it display a degree of certainty from a party often found wanting in regard to ideological loyalty, but it sets them apart from their two largest counterparts. The Lib Dems aren’t just identifiable and accountable to this explicit position, but their efforts in furthering this cause gives them a direction and unity that the Conservatives and Labour can only envy.
My optimism for the moderate centre-ground underdogs ended this week, however, with what I viewed as two ill-conceived moves of political chess.
First – and not in order – yesterday’s proposal to back Boris Johnson’s bid for a general election. Some credit is owed to Jo Swinson, not only for her gusto, but for her efforts to make the Lib Dems once again appear like a party not only willing but ready to attempt a position in government. This surefootedness is not only admirable but contrary to the offerings of other UK-wide parties.
I’m afraid that’s where my praise ends. While wishing the Lib Dems the best in their endeavours, I believe pushing for a general election, or more importantly aligning themselves with the Conservatives once again, was more a move of hubris than prudence. Not only does it encourage connotations of 2010, but the subsequent memories of back-tracking and betrayal where there was once such hope. The clamour surrounding the Nick Clegg-Vince Cable machine and ensuing coalition disaster was with no exaggeration the Lib Dem’s most memorable highlight in the modern epoch. Moves such as yesterday’s offer to back a Conservative prime minister hell-bent on undercutting citizen’s rights and social provisions, screams not only of desperation but of a laughable desire to one-up the party’s past misjudgement.
Secondly, I’d cite the party’s decision to abstain from the vote to express regret for Social Care Act 2012. I’d begin by highlighting that the vote was, as sensationally omitted when announced across news and social media outlets, neither to enforce an end to NHS privatisation, nor to end NHS privatisation in its entirety. It was a vote to express regret that the Queen’s Speech had not repealed the Social Care Act 2012.
In response to the party’s decision to abstain, former leader Tim Farron stated, “The amendment talked of stopping privatisation – and if that was all it said, I’d have voted for it… but it also entailed a massive, pointless restructuring of the NHS, which would be extremely daft.”
With this in mind, I think abstaining sent the wrong message if nothing more. Voting in favour of an entirely formative motion would not have forced the party to permanently commit to a policy line, but it would have displayed some regret for past wrongdoings. Like it or not, having a hand in extending the privatisation of the NHS didn’t do any favours for the Lib Dem brand, and showing no remorse allowed the vultures to pounce and knock Jo Swinson’s progress back a couple of steps.
On surface level, a bit of initiative would inform you that most Remain supporters are also likely to support the NHS as a public service, so it would appear little more than poor judgement that the Lib Dems decided not to offer sentimental support for the beliefs of their (now) core demographic. On a more substantive level, supporting the NHS as a public service is entirely within the party’s remit. Despite being a somewhat fluid entity within the centre-ground, the party’s raison d’etre is the preservation of liberty via rights, and I struggle to think of many pillars of decent and civilised society that are more important in modern Britain than our NHS. Protecting it should be a badge of honour for a party which purports to further justice and opportunity. Missing an opportunity to show solidarity behind such an important institution tells me that at best, the party are not yet fully competent, and at worst, if such a disregard was intentional, they should be ashamed.
Elsewhere in political and macro economic news, there have been updates from; new Brexit deal agreed, UK economy looks likely to avoid recession, Hong Kong protester shooting and China’s strategy, the Supreme Court rules against Boris, the collapse of Thomas Cook (LON: TCP), the bid for the London Stock Exchange (LON: LSE), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON: LLOY), Barclays (LON: BARC) and Deutsche Bank (ETR: DBK).
Europa Metals gain boost in Spanish operations
Europa Metals (LON: EUZ) have received a new resource boost at its Toral lead and zinc project in Spain.
The London Stock Exchange listed metal miner said that the new resource will estimate a 30% increase in contained tonnes of zinc to roughly 830,000 tonnes.
A 12% boost to contained tonnes of lead to about 570,000 tonnes. In silver, there was an 8% increase in contained ounces to roughly 14 million.
Europa said: “The board views this resource update as being a significant step forwards for the overall project programme from the initial conceptual scoping study based on Europa Metals’ work conducted at Toral in 2017-2018 and the previous inferred-only resource estimate announced on December 10, 2018.
The board also added “The upgraded resource estimate follows the processing of assays from the company’s 2018 and 2019 diamond drilling campaigns into a new resource model. It also reflects the findings from a 2018 surface mapping programme, analysis of faulting structures and increase in bulk density measurements, and incorporated data obtained from the 2018 and 2019 reverse circulation and diamond drilling campaigns, combined with the historic core re-logging.”
Executive Director Laurence Read added: “Today’s resource update containing approximately 2.7 million tonnes of indicated resource at 8.9% zinc equivalent (including lead credits) and a 12% increase in the total resource to 18 million tonnes at 7.4%, using a 4% cut-off, is, in our view, the most significant development for the Toral Project to date.
This new resource could have benefits in supply lines for both zinc and lead production.
Indeed this is an impressive find but how Europa implement this is still yet to be seen, however this could give Europa a strong foothold in the mining market as well as expand Spanish operations.
Read concluded “The results will form a major part of a first mining plan for a pre-feasibility study but will also, importantly, inform our approach to enhancing the current mineable area and selectively assessing new prospective areas for future resource upgrade and expansion.”
Shares of Europa Metals are trading at 0.035p per share, +2.35% during Tuesday trading. 29/10/19 11:52BST.
In the mining sector, Centamin (LON: CEY) have experienced a output decline, Serabi Gold Plc (LON: SRB) have shown strong production figures in their third quarter and Antofagasta (LON: ANTO) have faced tough political conditions.
Goldplat shares jump as profits revealed in third quarter
Goldplat PLC (LON: GDP) have seen their shares soar as a trading update showed strong profit figures in the third quarter period.
Sales were up by almost a third to £4.5 million at its main Goldpat Recovery business after a tough 2018 trading year
In the trading update provided, profits up to 30th September were strong and managed to suffice shareholder appetite.
The AIM listed gold manufacturer said its performance had improved during the period as operations in South Africa was supported by the rise in the price of gold.
Additionally, production levels in Ghana rose due to increases in materials sourced.
For one of its significant operations, Goldplat Recovery business, the firm said sales were up by almost a third to £4.5 million, compared to £3.4 million in the same period last year.
The producer also unveiled plans to increase the life of its near-capacity tailings storage facility by 12 to 18 months at a cost of £250,000.
Alongside this plans were confirmed to start building a new storage facility to be approved, constructed and commissioned during the next year, set to cost between £500,000 to £700,000.
The group said that operations in Ghana had increased to £23,000 profit in the third quarter, while Kilimapesa Gold halved its losses from the previous quarter to £127,000 due to a reduction in costs after it was put on care and maintenance.
Goldplat gave insight for investors into reasons why performance had solidified saying the following:
The following events have contributed to the improved performance during the Quarter –
- The continued production in South Africa was supported by the increase in gold price;
- Increase in production levels in Ghana due to increase in material sourced;
- Reduction in losses at Kilimapesa due to the mine being on care and maintenance, with only artisanal tailings being processed to contribute towards the costs of care and maintenance;
- Cost reductions and improved operational efficiencies throughout the Group over the past year are contributing to profitability, including cost reductions on central group overheads;
- Improvement in certain plant operational efficiencies have not only reduced costs but improved gold recovery;
- Some of the cost savings have been invested into material sourcing initiatives and increasing physical security in South Africa.
i3 Energy shares rocket on ‘groundbreaking’ discovery
i3 Energy Plc (LON: I3E) have seen their shares rocket after a potential groundbreaking discovery made at its Serenity oilfield in the UK central North Sea.
The UK-focused oil and gas firm said the Serenity 13/23c-10 well, located on its completely owned Serenity compound had preliminary well results consistent with i3’s 197 million barrels stock tank original oil-in-place for the Serenity closure in the licence area.
This potential phase one development will target 63 million barrels, through four wells ensuring that i3’s revised expected recoverable reserves stands at 23 million barrels.
Phase two will target 396 million barrels STOIIP via further exploration drilling.
i3 have extended their rig contract with Borgland Dolphin following this discovery.
The two firms have agreed a deferred payment structure, giving right on first refusal on the Borgland Dolphin semi-submersible rig through to the end of January 2020.
Borgland Dolphin have also said they will defer payments into early 2020, giving i3 enough funding for the remainder of its 2019 operations, including the three well drill campaign.
i3 have issued 2.2 million warrants to subscribe for shares priced at 56.85p to GE UK as payment for oilfield services.
i3 Energy Chief Executive Majid Shafiq said: “The discovery of the Serenity oilfield, a potentially very large oil resource, is a transformational event for i3 Energy plc.
He added “We now have proven oil in a second structure on our licenses. It is the culmination of three years of detailed geological and reservoir analysis and validates our regional model for the Liberator and Serenity oilfields and neighboring structures. We will now integrate data from the 13/23c-10 well into our geological modelling as we develop an appraisal and development plan for Serenity, which we believe is connected to the undeveloped Tain oilfield”
Shafiq concluded “This result also adds confidence to our revised mapping of the Liberator field, which utilises the same reprocessed seismic dataset now used to map the Serenity field, and integrates data from the recently drilled 13/23c-9 Liberator well. We now look forward to returning to Liberator where we’ll continue the necessary drilling operations to progress that field towards development.”
Currently, shares of i3 energy are trading at 41.45p per share, seeing a huge rise of 48.04% during Tuesday trading. 29/10/19 11:19BST.
Elsewhere in Oil and Mining sector updates have been provided. Tower Resources have pursued a new joint venture, Baron Oil (LON: BOIL) have seen their share price dip, Nostrum Oil and Gas (LON: NOG) face revenue shrinks and Hunting (LON: HTG) have speculated on lower profits.
Plus500 see revenue and earnings growth in third quarter
Plus500 Ltd (LON: PLUS) have seen growth in revenue and earnings in their published third quarter results, the statement alluded to “good revenue growth” and a notable earnings increase.
For the quarter ending September 30th, the online contracts-for-differetnt trading service reported revenue of $110.6 million, showing a 10% climb from the $100.1 million figure posted a year before.
Notably, there was a significant increase from the second quarter results where revenues increased 18% from the $94.1 million figure in Q2.
There was also consumer gains, where revenue per user increased 1.6% to $997 from 2018’s third quarter figure of $981 and a bigger increment of 15% from the second quarter’s $866.
EBITDA also increased by 39% year-on-year to $70.1 million whilst Ebitda margin widened to 63% from 50% the year before and 57% in the second quarter.
PLUS500 also increased a impressive number of new users, showing an 18% jump to 24,359 from 20,684 the year before.
However, this was down 7.1% from the second 2019 quarter’s new customer figure of 26,234.
“Inevitably, the transition period after any new regulations is challenging, but as seen in Europe, client trading patterns subsequently have adjusted and stabilised and the board therefore expects to see a similar pattern evolve in Australia,” said Plus 500.
The number of active customers, rose 8.7% year-on-year to 110,939 from 102,043, and was up 2.0% from 108,724 in the second quarter.
Chief Executive Asaf Elimech commented on the third quarter, saying: “Underlying operational performance and new customer acquisition metrics remain robust. We are confident we can continue to outperform our peer group in terms of customer acquisition, by maintaining the level of highly targeted marketing investment to exploit market opportunities as they appear, with these new customers expected to provide incremental revenues in due course”
Elimech concluded “Like all operators in the sector, Plus500’s performance for the remainder of the year is dependent, among other things, on financial market conditions providing sufficient trading opportunities for customers. However, we are encouraged by the continued improvement reported in Q3 and we remain on track to meet expectations for the year as a whole.”
Currently, shares of PLUS500 are trading at 835p per share. 29/10/19 11:01BST.
In the technology and trading sector there have been updates. Facebook’s (NASDAQ: FB) Libra currency is still facing stiff scrutiny from legislators, the London Stock Exchange (LON: LSE) reported strong third quarter figures and BP’s (LON: BP) Q3 trading results have taken a hit.
Hunting speculate lower profits after US drilling slowdown
Hunting plc (LON: HTG) have issued a warning speculating lower profits, after they have experienced slower onshore drilling operations and lower production rates.
In a trading update release on Tuesday morning, the FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed energy company said that its third-quarter underlying profits had dropped below the $35 million and $42.4 million it had boasted in the first and second quarters respectively.
Sales had been reduced due to a slowdown in drilling operations in North America, as this happened the manufacturer of pipeline equipment anticipated US drilling will continue to stagnate, affecting results for the second half of the year.
The trading statement said the following “As anticipated, challenging markets continue to be a feature of our industry, negatively impacting trading conditions and results in September. In particular, a slow down within US onshore completions has continued which has been partially countered by ongoing improvements within our offshore and international operations, resulting in a net overall decline for the Group profit in the quarter compared to Q1 and Q2 2019. As a result, the Board anticipates a full year EBITDA result at the lower end of market expectations, given current trading momentum and the overall product mix of results forecast for the balance of the year”
With added supply disruptions, volatile oil prices in the last few months have led to loweer investment and budgets being exhausted in exploration and production companies, Hunting added.
Weakening sales in its Titan division, which manufactures perforating guns for drilling, was “partially countered” by ongoing improvements in offshore and international operations with a strong quarter for its Electronics business, as demand for downhole measurement tools has remained steady, the group said.
Hunting’s net cash, excluding lease liabilities, at the end of the period was $58.5 million.\
Currently, shares of Hunting are trading at 400p per share seeing a 4.67% fall during Tuesday trading. 29/10/19 10:46BST.
Elsewhere in Oil and Mining sector updates have been provided. Tower Resources have pursued a new joint venture, Baron Oil (LON: BOIL) have seen their share price dip, Cabot Energy (LON: CAB) shares bounced after strong trading figures and Nostrum Oil and Gas (LON: NOG) have faced supply disruptions similar to Hunting Plc.
Nostrum Oil and Gas face nine month revenue shrinks
Nostrum Oil and Gas PLC (LON: NOG) have cut their annual production guidance, leading to increasing likelihood that nine month revenues will shrink.
The Kazakhstan-focused oil & gas firm said revenue for the nine months ended September 30 is likely to exceed $250 million.
As no exact figure was provided in their most recent trading statement, this does suggest a drop in revenue from 2018’s $311.4 million nine month revenue.
Nine month volume sales decreased to 27,515 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 30,523 barrels the year before, showing a significant slow down in production rates.
Additionally, the firm also faced production cuts in liquid petroleum. In this market gas volumes also dropped a less dramatic 5.4% to 3,680 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 3,891 boepd. While dry gas sales volumes fell 1.1% to 14,255 boepd from 14,415 boepd.
Following these poor performance figures, Nostrum have decided to cut their production forecast 6.7% to 28,000 boepd from 30,000 boepd.
This means that a 3.6% sales fall will be experienced totaling 27,000 boepd versus 28,000 boepd previously.
Chief Executive Kai-Uwe Kessel said: “I am pleased to confirm that during October we concluded the 72 hour test of GTU3 and as a result can confirm it is commissioned. I can also report that both Schlumberger and PM Lucas have delivered their analysis of the Biski North East & West and the Tournasian reservoirs to our technical team. We are reviewing the reports and will look to factor them in when determining the 2020 drilling programme and production guidance. Production declined faster than we had anticipated during Q3 resulting in a revision of our full year sales volumes guidance to 27,000 boepd from 28,000 boepd for 2019.”
As of September 30th 2019, the companies cash holdings valued higher than $91 million, down from $120.8 million at the end of the first half of the year.
Shares in Nostrum Oil and Gas currently trade at 21.53p per share, seeing a 5.02% increase during Tuesday trading. 29/10/19 10:30BST.
Elsewhere in Oil and Mining sector updates have been provided. Tower Resources have pursued a new joint venture, Baron Oil (LON: BOIL) have seen their share price dip, Cabot Energy (LON: CAB) shares bounced after strong trading figures.
Freshers break the bank as they misplace valuables
A quarter of all phones taken to university will be smashed or misplaced by the end of students’ freshers year, new data revealed on Tuesday.
The study by Endsleigh Insurance Services involved 2,000 parents of current university students.
Additionally, as many as 16% will also lose house keys.
Almost one in ten students have already lost their purse or wallet this term and 10% have already lost their phone on a drunken night out.
The data shows that, regionally, students who attend universities in London lose the most during their first year, followed by students from Plymouth, Birmingham and Liverpool.
Indeed, according to Endsleigh Insurance Services, students attending universities in London lose as much as £1,094 worth of equipment, whilst those from Plymouth lose £835, Birmingham £655 and Liverpool £604.
“Anything’s possible when you head off for a new life at university, and it can come as a real shock to young students who have been used to living with their parents for their whole lives,” Julia Alpan, head of marketing at Endsleigh Insurance Services commented on the data.
“Whether it’s learning valuable new life skills, looking after finances, or just taking care of personal belongings and valuables, it can take some time to find your feet and adjust to that new-found independence, without the help of mum and dad,” Julia Alpan continued.
Julia Alpan said: “For many students, it’s re-assuring to know that parents or relatives are just a phone call away, and always on hand to offer support and guidance when things go wrong – just like a good insurance policy!”
Earlier this year it was reported that almost half of adults still rely on their parents for financial support. Indeed, over the last year adults have borrowed a total of £708 from their parents, with university fees included as one of the areas the cash is used to assist.