Crest Nicholson reports profit fall despite higher revenues
Crest Nicholson reported a fall in profits in its half-year results for the six months to April 30.
The house builder said that revenue rose by £501.9 million, compared to £467.6 million the year before.
However, profit before tax fell 11% to £64.4 million, as flat pricing and building cost inflation impacted margins.
The company’s shift away from the London private property also impacted profitability during the period.
Crest Nicholson has increasingly opted to move away from the capital in light of its increasingly stagnant property market, in part due to political and economic uncertainty.
The company have since focused upon developing joint ventures and partnerships, in a bid to strengthen its balance sheet. The move was credited with increasing forward sales 5% to £625.2 million.
The board has agreed to pay an interim dividend of 11.2 pence per share.
Commenting on the figures, Chris Tinker, the firm’s interim chief executive, said:
“The Group has made good progress on delivering its revised strategy during this period of heightened political uncertainty. Having paused growth and de-risked our open market sales programme through increased pre-sales and partnership working, it is pleasing to report our first half revenues up 7% from this time last year.
Our strategy to reduce forward sales risk through an increased proportion of pre-funded, presold homes has also realised a 15% increase in our total forward sales position. This increased certainty has traded an element of operating margin, which together with generally flat pricing and continuing build cost inflation, has contributed to a reduction in the operating margin.”
Crest Nicholson is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Shares in the company (LON:CRST) are currently trading broadly flat +0.22% as of 11:45AM (GMT).
Sainsbury’s appoints former RBS executive as bank chief
Sainsbury’s announced the appointment of a former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) executive as head of its banking unit.
The UK’s second largest supermarket unveiled Jim Brown as chief executive of its bank.
Brown is set to assume the role on 19th of June, following a short handover with his predecessor, Peter Griffiths.
Alongside RBS, Brown also headed Williams and Glyn and Ulster Bank Group. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
Mike Coupe, chief executive of the supermarket, commented on the appointment:
“Jim has a wealth of experience and a strong track record of leading banks through significant change, which will help him lead Sainsbury’s Bank through the next stage of its journey. I am delighted to welcome Jim to the Sainsbury’s management team.”
Meanwhile, Jim Brown added:
“I’m really excited to be joining Sainsbury’s, which has a very strong brand and is well trusted by its customers. The combination of Sainsbury’s, Argos and Nectar, along with Sainsbury’s Bank, provides a real and unique opportunity to offer customers easy access to digitally-led financial services. I have been impressed by everyone I have met so far and am very much looking forward to joining the team.”
Sainsbury’s was dealt a blow earlier this year after the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked a proposed £7.3 billion merger between the supermarket and rival Asda.
If the deal had gone ahead, it would have seen the creation of the UK’s largest supermarket, surpassing Tesco.
Shares in the supermarket (LON:SBRY) are broadly flat, trading down 0.40% as of 10:56AM (GMT).
Quiz pre-tax profits fall 97%, shares plunge
Quiz reported its preliminary full-year results for the year to March-end, sending shares lower during Tuesday trading.
The fashion firm said that revenue for the year was £130.8 million, up from £116.4 million the year before.
Quiz said that it achieved growth across all its channels, including online, international and concessions.
However, a decline is gross margin meant that pre-tax profits crashed 97% to £0.2 million, compared to £8.5 million a year ago.
Quiz also said that et cash flow before dividend payments of £1.5 million and repayment of borrowings of GBP0.3 million are “essentially neutral”.
Nevertheless, in light of a decline in profits, the board opted to suspend dividend payments.
Tarak Ramzan, Founder and Chief Executive, commented on the results:
“As announced in March, the Board and senior management team have carefully reflected on our business, strategy and prospects to ensure that we are able to navigate what remains a volatile trading environment and restore profitable growth. We have concluded this review process with sharpened focused and a clearer vision of what is required to ensure that QUIZ succeeds in a dynamic retail sector and achieves its strategic objectives.
“The QUIZ brand continues to gain momentum with a growing customer base. Whilst trading conditions have remained challenging in the year to date, the Board remains confident that underpinned by our flexible business model and an increasing online focus, the Group can return to sustainable profitable growth.”
Back in March, Quiz shares plunged after the retailer issued a profit warning for the year ahead. This was blamed upon an ‘uncertain consumer spending backdrop’.
Shares in the company (LON:QUIZ) are currently down -25.98% as of 10:33AM (GMT).
Bolt re-enters the London ride-hailing app market
The Estonian ride-hailing app Bolt announced that it is live in London rivalling its larger competitor, Uber (NYSE:UBER).
Formerly known as Taxify, the company is based in Tallinn, Estonia.
A post on Bolt’s website reads that as of 11 June, Bolt is live in the nation’s capital city.
“London is more than just a city. It’s a symbol of a cosmopolitan way of life, a life full of choices and opportunities. We believe that the drivers in London deserve to have a choice of higher earnings while the passengers deserve a smarter way to move around the city,” Bolt’s website reads.
One of Bolt’s main methods of competing in London is by promising to take a smaller cut of its driver’s earnings.
Bolt insists that its drivers pay only 15% commission on completed trips, up to 50% less than its competitors. Additionally, Bolt said that it will add £1 to any journey that begins, finishes or travels through the ultra-low emission zone 24/7, to assist in paying congestion charge costs. This £1 contribution will go directly to the driver, the company added.
Moreover, Bolt said that, on average, its passengers will save 5-10% per trip.
Among its features, it’s also offering an in-app SOS-button that directly notifies the emergency services when pressed, as a method of upholding its driver’s and passenger’s safety.
Bolt’s return to London comes almost two years following the revocation of its operating license. Its operating license was suspended in September 2017 after questions emerged concerning how its permit was obtained in the first place.
The London ride-hailing app market is particularly busy, with Uber as Bolt’s larger and global rival.
Uber itself has faced many controversies in the past, from its work place culture to the poor treatment of its drivers. Just last month Uber drivers across the UK took part in strikes against pay and work conditions, ahead of the launch of its IPO.
As of 19:59 GMT-4 Monday, shares in Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) were trading at -3.51%.
Ted Baker warns of “extremely difficult” trading conditions, shares sink
Ted Baker warned of the “extremely difficult” trading conditions on Tuesday that continue to impact the business’s performance.
Shares in the business were trading almost 26% lower on the announcement.
The luxury British fashion brand said that ongoing consumer uncertainty in a number of its key markets and elevated levels of promotional activity across its global markets have lead to “extremely” tough trading conditions during the current financial year.
As a result, the company expects that a few of these external factors will have an impact on its trade, and its trading partners, throughout the rest of the year.
Ted Baker has said that it now predicts underlying profit before tax for the financial year to lie in the range of £50 million to £60 million.
In addition to its warning of the difficult trading environment, the business also announced a 3.8% increase in its revenue for the 19 weeks to 08 June, when compared to the same period a year prior. Ted Baker added that this performance is a reflection of the difficult and uncertain trading conditions, the unseasonable weather to hit North America and the highly promotional retail environment across its global market.
“As a team, we are proactively addressing the challenges we face as an industry. Several of our new product initiatives will commence imminently and we are confident in our collections for the coming season. We are relentlessly focused on achieving cost efficiencies as well as further cost savings throughout the business,” Lindsay Page, Chief Executive Officer of Ted Baker, commented on the announcement.
Indeed, Ted Baker is not the only business to cite the difficult conditions to hit the UK high street, with retail sales dropping by 2.7% in May, according to data from the BRC.
Both in store and online, retailers have struggled to survive the uncertain trading conditions to hit the UK amid store closures and staff cuts.
As of 09:22 BST Tuesday, shares in Ted Baker plc (LON:TED) were trading at -25.78%.
Eco Oil and Gas to spud Jethro Lobe propsect in late June
Toronto based oil and gas drilling and production company Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas Ltd (CVE: EOG) said that they expected to begin drilling (spud) of their Jethro Lobe prospect on approximately the 26th of June.
Jethro Lobe details
The Company stated that it expected the Stena Forth drill ship to arrive at the fimr’s Orinduik Block around the 24th of June and that the ship would spud the Jethro Lobe prospect two days later. Prior to this undertaking, the Stena Forth rig was actively carrying out an existing contract for Tullow Oil Plc (LON: TLW). Immediately following the completion of this contract, the rig began its transition to the Jethro Lobe propsect in offshore Guyana, the company said.— Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas (@EcoAtlantic_OG) June 10, 2019https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The Company added geological detail by commenting that it would be testing the upper and the Jethro venture would also be drilled down to the Cretaceous section.
Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas comments
In the Company’s statement earlier today, Chief Operating Officer Colin Kinley stated, “The Mobilization of the Stena Forth is the final stage of a long, conservative and quality-controlled process to plan and drill the initial two wells on Orinduik. The Block licence was applied for in March 2014 and was awarded to Eco and Tullow in January 2016 with a first well commitment for 2021/2022,” “With 13 discoveries, so far totalling over 5.5bboe on Exxon’s adjacent Stabroek Block in the past three years, and with our strong commitment to Guyana, the Joint Venture partners have since expedited and significantly expanded their work programme far beyond and ahead of the committed requirements.”Trading update
Following the announcement, the company’s shares rallied 1.32% or 0.02p during Monday trading, up to 1.54p a share 10/06/19 11:58 GMT. Published in January, Berenberg initiated their broker rating of Eco Atlantic stock with a ‘Buy’ stance.AfriTin rallies on ‘encouraging’ Uis venture test
After receiving updates from mining companies Ferrexpo (LON: FXPO) and Altus Strategies (LON: ALS) and Kefi MInerals (LON: KEFI) within the last week, today we have been updated by South Africa and Namibia based tin mining company, AfriTin Mining Ltd (LON: ATM), who have received their latest round of updates from their Uis venture.
Uis venture has promise
The Company stated that they were ‘encouraged’ by the second round of drilling results at its Uis venture in Namibia, which yielded; a 30.32 metre intersection at 0.2% tin and 91ppm tantalum, a 109.32 metre intersection at 0.17% tin and 77ppm tantalum, a 53.83 metre intersection at 0.16% tin and 73ppm tatalum and finally a 109 metre intersection of mineralised pegmatite, which indicates the presence of voluminous ore body extension at depth.https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js On its website, the Company state that the Uis project consists of, “three project areas in the Erongo region of Namibia, all with historical production. The subject of the project is a pegmatite hosted tin deposit, one of the largest open castable deposits of its kind.” “Uis was discovered in 1911 and was developed by Iscor of South Africa as the largest hard-rock tin mine in the world. Production started in the 1950s and ended in 1990 as a result of depressed tin prices.” “The project areas are fully permittedes and offer near-term production with low stripping ratios.” The Company initiated its drilling venture with the intent of validating the historic findings of SRK in 1985 for ISCOR.A virtual update of the progress at our Uis tin mine: Have a look at what’s going on here: https://t.co/ezWZUd6ul6 pic.twitter.com/FxYpdT4kbk
— Afritin Mining (@Afritin_Mining) June 6, 2019
AfriTin comments
In its statement on Monday, the company said, “The analytical results indicate a continuity of the pegmatite bodies indicated in the previous five holes. The intersections indicate an increase in the thickness of the pegmatites with depth, a trend that is also reflected in the historic drill programme” AfriTin Mining CEO, Anthony Viljoen, followed by saying, “I am pleased to provide a further update on the confirmatory drilling programme. Of particular interest is a 109m intersection of mineralised pegmatite starting at 51m, indicating the presence of a voluminous ore body extension at depth. While these drilling results are subject to a resource modelling and independent validation process, we are encouraged by these results which remain comparable to the historical data of 1985,’ said Anthony Viljoen, CEO of AfriTin Mining.”Trading update
The company’s shares rallied during trading on Monday, up 1.37% or 0.05p to 3.7p a share 10/06/19 14:59 GMT.Salesforce to buy Tableau Software for $15.7bn
Salesforce have agreed to buy Tableau Software for $15.7 billion in an all-stock transaction, it was announced on Monday.
The move will allow the cloud software company to further its data management and analytics services.
Tableau Software is interactive data visualisation firm with more than 86,000 customers including Verizon and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).
As part of the deal, Tableau shareholders will receive 1.103 Salesforce shares.
The deal values the company at $177.88 per share, marking a premium of 42% on the company’s closing price on Friday.
Co-chief executive Keith Block commented on the acquisition: “Salesforce’s incredible success has always been based on anticipating the needs of our customers and providing them the solutions they need to grow their businesses,”
“Data is the foundation of every digital transformation, and the addition of Tableau will accelerate our ability to deliver customer success by enabling a truly unified and powerful view across all of a customer’s data.”
Both company board’s have agreed upon the terms of the deal. Tableau will continue to operate independently from its headquarters in Seattle once the all-stock deal has been completed.
Shares in Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) are currently down -3.34% as of 14:33AM (GMT).
Distil shares dip despite full-year profit
Premium beverages brand owning firm Distil PLC (LON: DIS) has seen its share price dip sharply despite its latest round of results reporting an incremental growth in profit.
Growth led by marketing
The company attributed the slight growth in profit to an increased focus on marketing, which it said drove annual revenues up by nearly a fifth. The Company’s performance was improved by a 48% rise in spending on advertising and promotion to £0.688 million from £0.465 million on-year. This pushed gross profits up 22% to £1.429 million for the year ended March 31st 2019, with margins following suit, up from 58% to 60% during the year. The revenue spike of 19% to £2.4 million also drove operating profit before tax to increase to £0.160 million from £0.157 million on-year.Distil comments
“I am pleased to report another strong set of results with growth in revenue, profits and gross margins supported by increased marketing investment in our brands,” said Distil Executive Chairman, Don Goulding. “We will continue to invest in our brands through marketing and promotion which will be particularly important as we anticipate UK consumer confidence will naturally remain fragile through this calendar year. The initial response from the on-trade to our new caramelised pineapple spiced rum is very positive and we look forward to its full launch later this year.”Trading update
The Company added to the update that it predicted steady progress in the spirits market in both the rum and gin brackets. Shares are currently trading down 18.42% or 0.35p at 1.55p a share 10/06/19 14:16 GMT.Ocado invests £17m in vertical farming venture
Ocado has invested £17 million in a vertical farming venture, as it looks to diversify its online grocery service.
The funds will go towards acquiring a 58% stake in Jones Food Company, a Scunthorpe-based vertical farming company, which is the largest in Europe.
Vertical farming is the process of producing food in vertically stacked layers. It allows for many factors such as light, humidity and temperature to be controlled.
The practice is considered to be an sustainable alternative to other methods of agriculture, and it also means pesticides and herbicides do not need to be used.
Ocado will be looking to appeal to consumers who are increasingly favouring organic produce and amid growing public awareness about the problematic effects of farming on the environment.
Chief Executive, Tim Steiner commented on the news:
“We believe that our investments today in vertical farming will allow us to address fundamental consumer concerns on freshness and sustainability and build on new technologies that will revolutionise the way customers access fresh produce,” said chief executive Tim Steiner.
Ocado will be hoping to turn around its fortunes, after a series of profit losses in the last few years. In February, the company reported a £44.9 million loss.
Earlier this year the delivery service also announced that it has agreed on a joint food venture with Marks and Spencer’s (LON:MKS).
The deal will see Ocado terminating its current online delivery deal with Waitrose.
Shares in the London-listed firm (LON:OCDO) are currently trading +3.08% as of 13:10PM (GMT).