Amino Technologies shares plunge after profit warning
Amino Technologies shares (LON:AMO) plunged on Monday morning after the company warned on profits for the year ending 30 November.
Amino said it expects pre-tax profits to come in at $11.5 million, which is said reflected ‘an intensification of external macroeconomic headwinds’.
Specifically, the company said it had been affected by lower volume of orders and higher-than-expected component prices during the second half of the year.
Amino also cited confusion with regards to instability in emerging markets and proposed US trade tariffs, which prompted confusion among its customer base.
Nevertheless, the firm said cash flow remained resilient, with net cash at 30 November 2018 expected to be above that recorded in May.
Keith Todd CBE, Non-Executive Chairman of Amino Technologies, said:
“The Board remains confident in the strength and strategic direction of the Company and has committed to continue its dividend policy for this financial year and maintain this dividend level for at least two years thereafter.
He added: “The diversity and depth of change in our industry this year has created difficult trading conditions in the short term, however the Company remains well positioned to take advantage of the all IP future, and remains profitable and cash generative.”
Amino Technologies is a media and technology solutions company, with over 250 operators in over 100 countries.
The company was founded back in 1997. The firm was added to the AIM-market of the London Stock Exchange back in 2004.
Shares in Amino Technologies are currently trading -29.65 percent as of 11.07AM (GMT).
Elsewhere in the markets, struggling retailer French Connection confirmed that it was exploring options to locate a potential buyer.
French Connection is one of the many high-street retailers feeling the pinch from an increasingly challenging trading environment.
Following the announcement, shares in the brand were up as much as 30 percent during early morning trading.
Facebook tax bill triples to £15.7m
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) paid £15.7 million in UK tax last year, which is triple the amount the tech giant paid in 2016.
Despite profits only increasing by £4 million between 2016 and 2017, the tax paid jumped as tax affairs of tech giants is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Last week, Chancellor Philip Hammond threatened to introduce a new tax on tech companies, which will be called the “digital services tax”.
Hammond said during his speech in Birmingham: “Global internet giants must contribute to funding public services”.
“Just as, in late 19th century America, concerns about the near-monopoly of Standard Oil and the railroad cartels led to the introduction of the world’s first anti-monopolies legislation, so today, the expansion of the global tech giants and digital platforms, while of course bringing huge benefits to consumers, raises new questions about whether too much power is being concentrated in too few global technology businesses,” he said at the party conference.
“That is why I have asked President Obama’s former chief economist, Jason Furman, to lead an expert panel to review the UK’s competition regime, to ensure it is fit for the digital era. And it isn’t just competition policy that needs updating. We can tell them how we have led the debate on reforming the international tax system for the digital economy, insisting that the global internet giants must contribute fairly to funding our public services.”
“And let me be clear today: the best way to tax international companies is through international agreements, but the time for talking is coming to an end and the stalling has to stop. If we cannot reach agreement the UK will go it alone with a digital services tax of its own,” he added.
Following data privacy concerns, Facebook has also come under scrutiny in the UK after it was revealed last week that 50 million accounts had been compromised in a far-reaching cyber attack.
The group has made plans to further invest in the UK, announcing major new office space near Kings Cross.
French Connection confirms sale rumours, shares rise 30pc
After speculation, French Connection has confirmed that it may be up for sale.
The struggling fashion retailer released a statement on Monday saying it is:
“Currently reviewing all strategic options in order to deliver maximum value for its shareholders, which includes the potential sale of the company”.
The group’s chief executive and chairman, Stephen Mark, is looking to offload the 42 percent he owns.
Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct (LON: SPD) and House of Fraser, has a 27 percent stake in the group, close to the 30 percent amount at which it is possible to launch a takeover bid.
Founded by Marks in 1972, the retailer has made losses over the past five years and come under pressure from investors to relinquish control of the business.
The group’s pre-tax loss increased to £5.3 million in 2016 compared with £3.5 million in 2015.
French Connection has almost 400 stores in 50 countries around the world, with 130 stores in the UK.
Shares in the group jumped by over 30 percent to 56p in early trading.
The company market value of £41 million.
The retailer owns brands including YMC and Great Plains. Last month the group reported losses and store closures, despite selling the brand Toast.
In a bid to revive the brand, French Connection launched its FCUK T-shirt slogan from 1997 back in 2016. The campaign created so much advertising that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority requested to see all the company’s poster campaigns in advance.
French Connection has blamed tough trading conditions for the poor results. The group is not the only retailer to suffer amid the high street conditions, many groups have announced store closure and House of Fraser was recently purchased by Mike Ashley after it collapsed.
Shares in the group (LON: FCCN) are currently trading up 27.04 percent at 54,50 (0913GMT).
QUIZ shares plunge on profit warning
Shares in QUIZ have plummeted after the fashion retailer issued a profit warning.
Shares tumbled 25.5 percent in afternoon trading after the group said it would miss market forecasts after taking a hit from the House of Fraser collapse.
Full-year earnings are expected to come in at £11.5 million, down from the previous expectations of £15.5 million.
Quiz previously sold items in 11 House of Fraser stores and on the department store’s website.
Chief executive Tarak Ramzon said: “Although online sales through our third-party partners have been disappointing and will impact the Group’s performance for the full year, the changing mix towards increased own-website sales will support profitability growth moving forward.”
“The continued growth of the QUIZ brand in combination with our well-invested infrastructure and flexible business model continue to underpin the Board’s confidence in the Group’s long-term prospects.”
Sales are expected to be hit this year. Whilst previous estimates forecast sales totalling £150.5 million, the new expectation is £138 million.
As well as QUIZ, retailers including Ted Baker have been affected by the House of Fraser collapse.
Ted Baker shares fell earlier this week as the group posted a 3.2 percent fall in pre-tax profits. The House of Fraser collapse cost the retailer £600,000.
David Bernstein, the non-executive chairman, said: “We have a very clear strategy for the continued expansion of Ted Baker as a global lifestyle brand across both established and newer markets. Our flexible business model ensures that our customers have multiple channels to engage with the brand.”
“Our growing e-commerce business, underpinned by stores that showcase the brand, mean that we are well positioned to deal with the structural changes in an evolving retail environment and continue Ted Baker’s long-term development.”
Shares in Ted Baker (LON: TED) are trading at 2.056,00 (1635GMT).
Shares in QUIZ (LON: QUIZ) are trading down 36.72 percent at 93,50 (1709GMT).
May’s ‘end austerity’ pledge to leave £35bn budget shortfall
Theresa May’s party conference speech on Wednesday perhaps adopted a lighthearted tone, but her intentions were anything but. With a desire to consolidate the respect of the public and her party peers, Mrs May set about delivering a speech that both inspired confidence in her leadership and undermined Jeremy Corbyn.
After attacking Corbyn’s character and highlighting his views on military spending, she went about discussing social issues and lamenting that people’s hard work should pay off in the form of ending cuts to public spending.
Post 2010 austerity has come in the form of 7% cuts to non-pension welfare between 2010-2015, with similar cuts being observed in the last three sessions of government. In stark contrast, the prime minister’s speech laid out plans to effectively ‘end austerity’, alongside a model to renew the NHS, increase the rate of new council houses being built and continue the freeze on fuel duty.
The prime minister stated, “a decade after the financial crash, people need to know that the austerity it led to is over and that their hard work has paid off” — even if this was dependent on her government securing, “a good Brexit deal for Britain”.
Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation and a former official in the department, said Mrs May’s pledge, “will have gone down very badly indeed in the Treasury”.
Aside from being arguably more successful than her last major speech, Mrs May’s efforts on Wednesday have potentially done little more than stoke the pre-existing contempt within her party. With little time left before the autumn budget, Philip Hammond’s job of balancing the budget has become nothing short of impossible.
Mrs May’s ‘end austerity’ pledge is rapidly becoming a covenant of irony. After spending the best part of two years condemning Corbyn’s public-revenue-hungry policy package, she is now moving in the same direction in order to swing the electorate away from her opposition. The issue is that for her commitments to come into fruition, she will have to use similarly undesirable mechanisms to those proposed by the opposition leader – raise taxes.
While the prime minister has yet to mention any increases to income tax, such a move is inevitable unless she does something to clamp down on corporations. Her new proposals represent a £35 billion black hole in the annual government budget, and continuing the fuel duty freeze could raise this to £40 billion per annum.
Mrs May’s speech has received a mixed reception on its delivery, but questions should certainly be raised over its promises. Can she realistically view herself as a candidate for strong leadership in light of underwhelming Brexit negotiations and a move toward policies she once criticised her opponents for?
Trump’s Scottish golf resort posts fourth year of losses
Donald Trump’s Scottish luxury golf resort faces its fourth consecutive year in the red.
The resort in Turnberry is one of the US President’s biggest investments, yet made a $4.5 million (£3.5 million) loss in 2017.
Trump said in 2017 that Turnberry was doing “unbelievably” well due to the fall in the pound, which encouraged visitors from the US.
In reality, the business has done poorly since Trump’s presidency.
The US President has invested an estimated $212 million on the property. It cost Trump $67 million to buy the property and an additional $144 million in renovations.
Turnberry’s general manager Ralph Porciani had high hopes for the golf resort for 2017. He said in January last year: “We’ll make a profit this year – it will be the first time we have made a good profit in the 14 years I have worked here.”
After realising this was not likely, Porciani said: “2018 is really our baseline year to start making Turnberry a sustainable business.”
Despite losses, the resort did significantly better than in 2016, where it posted £17.6 million losses following a six-month closure.
In the report, the director and son of the President, Eric Trump, said: “The directors believe that in the short to medium terms, the resort will have operating profitability for the first time in 10 years.
“It is expected that revenue will continue to increase in subsequent years as the property is re-established as an industry-leading resort.”
The Turnberry gold resort was a key site in the recent presidential visit to the UK. Trump arrived at the resort on July 13 and stayed two nights.
Assura rallies on latest round of acquisitions
British property healthcare business Assura Plc (LON:AGR) announced on Friday that they had added a further £50 million of property acquisitions to their portfolio for the year.
Most notable among these acquisitions was the Stratford Health Centre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, one of the largest primary healthcare facilities in the UK. The centre stands at 6,000 square metres and set Assura back £30 million, taking their total acquisitions bill for the year to £158 million.
With this latest round of expenditure and expansion, the FTSE 250 listed firm’s rent roll now stands at £7.7 million, though it has not yet named the two other facilities purchased last week.
“We are delighted to have added three more high quality assets to our portfolio, as we continue to deploy capital to grow our rent roll,” chief executive Jonathan Murphy said.
“Stratford, which is now one of the largest properties in our portfolio, is a great example of a medical centre acting as a hub for the community, bringing together a range of services in a primary healthcare setting,”
The company hope to continue making acquisitions on this scale, and today their shares are trading up 1.29% or 0.7p at 55p a share. Analysts from Peel Hunt have retained their ‘Hold’ stance on Assura stock, while Liberum Capital analysts have reiterated their ‘Buy’ stance.
Nonfarm Payrolls show lowest US unemployment rate since 1969
Nonfarm payroll employment figures for September 2018 released today by the US Labor Department indicated a decline in unemployment, which fell to figures unseen since December 1969.
The American unemployment rate declined by 0.2% to 3.7% over September, though the number of involuntary part-time workers in America’s workforce increased by 263,000 to 4.6 million.
Trump celebrates unemployment figures
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to celebrate the statistics, despite the figure falling short of the expected 3.8%.The figures also revealed that job creation in September fell to its lowest level since last year. The US created just 134,000 new jobs over the past month, definitively lower than the expected 185,000 predicted by Refinitiv.Just out: 3.7% Unemployment is the lowest number since 1969!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 5 October 2018
Hurricane impact leads to disappointment
The Labor Department noted that the weaker-than-expected performance may be partly explained by the impact of Hurricane Florence, noting that “Hurricane Florence affected parts of the East Coast during the September reference periods for the establishment and household surveys.” Meanwhile, average hourly earnings increased by 8 cents, representing a 0.3% rise, over September, bringing the year-over-year increase in wages to 2.8%. US stock futures fell deeper into the red after the statistics were announced, whilst the dollar index creeped up by 0.1% to 95.877.Tweet of the Week – 5th October 2018
Theresa May’s attempts in her Conservative Party Conference speech to shed her ‘Maybot’ image and rehabilitate faith in her leadership after a disastrous showing during last year’s speech received a mixed response from the public and online commentators.
Referencing the mockery she received after her awkward and robotic dancing on film during her visit to Nairobi, Kenya in August, Mrs May emerged on stage to the tune of ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’, dancing and laughing in a rare moment of self-deprecation and humour.
Whether you saw the prime minister’s disco dancing as a triumphant show of retaliation against personal attacks on her robotic public personality, a cynical PR move to offset criticism of her speech’s policies in media coverage, or simply the natural extension of a political debate entirely beholden to showbiz-style stunts in a post-Trump era, your Twitter feed was probably buzzing.
Here are this week’s best tweets:
I spent too much time on this. #TheresaMay pic.twitter.com/4aODFe0VLU
— Luke (@Mr_LukeBenson) 3 October 2018
you are the dancing queen lost her seats, now 317 dancing queen feel that heat from the DUP (oh yeah)
— Jonathan (@demarionunn) 3 October 2018
The Imperial March pic.twitter.com/fuJrehX2vw
— Theresa May Dancing to Stuff (@dancingtheresaM) 3 October 2018
Leaked document reveals other songs considered for Theresa May’s conference speech: pic.twitter.com/cu7jjyfEoL
— Have I Got News For You (@haveigotnews) 4 October 2018
Tesla stocks fall after Musk twitter jibe
Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, lashed out at the US Securities and Exchange Commission last night on Twitter, leading to an immediate fall in Tesla’s stock market value.
Mr Musk branded the SEC the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” in a series of tweets which saw the CEO mock the regulator hours after a federal judge ordered him to justify how he and the SEC came up with a legal settlement.
The Tesla founder’s comments come days after he agreed to step down as the company’s chairman and pay a $20m (£15m) fine after the SEC sued him for alleged securities fraud.
The deal also requires that Mr Musk “establish a new committee of independent directors and put in place additional controls and procedures to oversee Musk’s communications.”