Harwood Wealth report 123pc revenue boost in 2017

Miranda Wadham
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Harwood Wealth report 123pc revenue boost in 2017
Harwood Wealth Management (LON:HW) reported a “strong year of progress” on Tuesday, posting a set of positive figures for the year ended 31st October 2017. The group reported an 81 percent rise in assets under influence to £3.8 billion over the 12 month period, with revenue up 123 percent to £25.9 million. This was up from £11.6 million last year, with Harwood’s new acquisition, Network Direct, contributing £9.8 million of this. Profit after tax rose to £0.7 million, from £0.1 million last year, with total cash balances at the period standing at £19 million.

Commenting, Peter Mann, Chairman, said:

“Harwood has reported another strong year of progress, driven by both organic growth and the contributions of acquisitions, underpinning the strategy of strong financial services advice revenues, good quality investment performance and increasing assets, and completing further acquisitions.

“The Group is highly cash generative and I am pleased to announce that we are recommending the payment of a final dividend of 2.24 pence per share subject to shareholder approval at the Company Annual General meeting on the 18 April 2018. The final dividend will be paid on 11 May 2018 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 27 April 2018.

“Overall, the progress made since the Company’s IPO in March 2016 indicates a strong outlook for the next financial year.”

Shares in Harwood rose 1.59 percent in early trading to 160.00 (0834GMT).

Pets at Home shares boosted by 9pc rise in revenues

Miranda Wadham
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Pets at Home shares boosted by 9pc rise in revenues
Pets at Home (LON:PETS) reported group revenue growth of 9.6 percent during the third quarter of its financial year, pushing shares up over 7 percent in early trading. Revenue for the period as a whole rose to £223.3 million, with merchandise revenue growing 9 percent and services revenue growing 13.6 percent.. Its First Opinion vet practices continued to deliver “strong growth across both new and mature surgeries”, with the company opening two new Pets at Home superstores, two Vets4Pets practices and five Groom Room salons. It confirmed it was on track to deliver full year opening targets of around 10 superstores, 40-50 vet practices and 20-30 grooming salons, and said financial guidance for the full year was unchanged. “I’m happy to report further progress in the third quarter, where trading momentum in our merchandise division built over the Christmas period,” chief executive Ian Kellett said. “In the year since we launched our lower pricing initiatives we have seen a really strong customer response to the investments we have made.” “At the same time, we continued to deliver strong growth in our veterinary business across both first opinion practices and specialist referral centres.” Shares in Pets at Home are currently trading up 7.27 percent at 195.24 (0826GMT).

IG Group shares rise on record revenue and profit figures

Miranda Wadham
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IG Group shares rise on record revenue and profit figures
Trading platform IG (LON:IGG) saw shares rise on Tuesday morning, after reporting a record 10pc revenue increase for the six months to the end of November. Revenue was boosted to £268.4 million over the period, with pre-tax profit up 29 percent to £136.2 million. Operating expenses, excluding variable remuneration, fell by 7 percent to £117.6 million, with the diluted EPS rising 30 percent to 29.3 pence. The group said it had taken action to ensure it remains competitive in the “more restrictive regulatory environment” heading into 2018, adding that the financial impact of the mooted ban on binary options and restrictions on CFDs was not likely to be significant in the current financial year. Peter Hetherington, Chief Executive, said: “As the industry leader, the Company is well placed to respond to regulatory change. The Company will continue to engage fully with regulators, to seek to achieve the best possible outcomes for current and future clients of this industry, and the greatest long term value for shareholders.” Shares in IG Group are currently up 2.50 percent at 803.10 (0820GMT).

Easyjet shares rise 5pc on strong revenue and passenger growth

Miranda Wadham
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Easyjet shares rise 5pc on strong revenue and passenger growth
Budget airline Easyjet (LON:EZJ) reported a growth in both revenue and passenger growth during the first quarter of 2018, pushing shares up over 5 percent in early trading. Total revenue in the first quarter increased by 14.4 percent to £1,140 million, aided by the company adding 1.4 million passengers during the period. The figure represents a 6.6% increase in revenue per seat at constant currency. The number of passengers carried increased by 8 percent in total, to 18.8 million, driven by a growth in capacity of 5.5 percent to 20.4 million seats The airline’s main costs in the quarter were a 2.1 percentage point increase in year on year load factor, severe adverse weather driving increases in de-icing and disruption costs and costs relating to the industrial action in October. Commenting, Johan Lundgren, easyJet Chief Executive said: “easyJet delivered a strong start to the financial year with a significant growth in revenue in part driven by an increase in passengers flown and strong growth in inflight and ancillary sales as we offer more and better quality options for our passengers easyJet also completed the acquisition of part of Air Berlin’s operations at Berlin Tegel airport during the quarter, successfully started its flying programme there at the start of 2018. “We expect to reach a series of milestones in 2018 including the roll out of our full summer schedule at our newly established base at Berlin Tegel, an increase in passenger numbers from 80 million to around 90 million, ‘Worldwide by easyJet’ will be expanded to around half of easyJet’s network allowing customers to connect to long-haul services, our fleet will increase to over 300 aircraft by spring 2018 and we will take delivery of our first A321neo aircraft. There’s a lot to look forward to.” Shares in easyjet are currently up 5.60 percent at 1,651.00 (0811GMT).

Amazon open its first checkout-free supermarket

Nicole Jeary
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Amazon open its first checkout-free supermarket
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to open its first checkout-free supermarket location in the U.S on Monday, as it looks to revolutionize retail. The online giant is opening its first AmazonGo location in Seattle, with staff having tested out the concept over the course of the last year. Gianna Puerini, head of Amazon Go, said the store testing phase had gone well: “This technology didn’t exist – it was really advancing the state of the art of computer vision and machine learning.” Through the use of ceiling cameras and electronic sensors to identify each customer, their purchases are tracked and they are billed accordingly. Shoppers who have downloaded the AmazonGo can immediately make use of the Seattle store. Purchases are billed to customers’ credit cards once they have left the store. As of yet, Amazon has yet to announce the opening of any further AmazonGo locations. Amazon has also moved to open more physical stores, with 13 bookstores across of U.S since 2015. Back in october, Brian Olsavsky, Amazon chief financial officer, suggested that customers should expect to see more Amazon shops in months ahead. “You will see more expansion from us – it’s still early, so those plans will develop over time,” he said last year. Last year the company confirmed its plans to buy organic grocer Whole Foods, which it now sells online on its website. However, Whole Foods customers have been complaining as of late, with food shortages at its locations across the U.K. Whole Foods have pointed to its newly implemented inventory-management system called order-to-shelf, or otherwise referred to as OTS. The retailer has said that OTS reduces unnecessary waste, lowers costs, and frees up employees to focus on customer service. However, the service has led to the adverse effect of empty shelves and out of stock items, much to shoppers dismay. Shares in the company are currently trading up marginally by 0.097 percent as of 12.38AM (GMT).  

Headlam Group shares up as pre-tax profits rise

Miranda Wadham
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Headlam Group shares up as pre-tax profits rise
Pre-tax profits at flooring company Headlam Group (LON:HEAD) are expected to be 6 percent higher than the previous year, despite weaker markets in the second half of 2017. In an update to markets given on Thursday, the group confirmed that underlying pre-tax profits for the year ended 31 December would be comfortably in-line with market forecasts of £42.5 million. The group’s update at the beginning of December warned that there had been weaker-than-expected demand in the second half of 2017, but that performance had picked up towards the end of the year. This left the group with an overall positive result for the year, with total revenue growth of 2.1 percent. Shares in Headlam are currently trading up 0.35 percent at 572.00 (0930GMT).

Halfords enjoys strong Christmas trading after record Black Friday

Raymond Jones
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Halfords enjoys strong Christmas trading after record Black Friday
Halfords released their Christmas trading statement on Thursday and pointed to a record Black Friday and a 3.2% increase in sales for the 15 week period to January 12th. One of the strongest areas of growth was the retail sales of services such as bulb fitting and window blade fitting, up 8%. Online sales jumped 13% as many customers choose to order online and pick up in store so they could still benefit from the advice given my Halfords staff. Halfords also gave an update on there corporate strategy pointing to 40 refurbished stores and the growth of their Cycle Republic stores to 19. CFO Jonny Mason commented on the results: “We are pleased with the overall performance of the Group in the 15 week period given the difficult UK retail environment. We achieved record sales for Black Friday and Christmas thanks to great planning and execution and compelling product and service offers. Particular highlights included the growth in fitting services for car parts, cycle repair and increased sales of bikes, electric bikes and dash cams.” Shares in Halfords were flat on Thursday morning up 0.06% at 350.2p. The stock hit highs of 361.8p on the 1st January 2018. Graham Stapleton started his tenure as Halfords’ CEO on 15th January having left his post at Dixon Carphone’s Honeybee.

China growth hits 6.9 percent in 2017

Miranda Wadham
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China growth hits 6.9 percent in 2017
China’s latest economic growth figures have topped expectations, with the economy growing at 6.9 percent in 2017. This was above a government target of 6.5 percent, according to official figures released on Thursday, and an improvement on 2016’s figure in which the world’s second largest economy expanded by 6.8 percent. This will come as a pleasant surprise to analysts, who have been concerned over the financial risks in China as the government underwent a restructuring programme. The government is aiming to keep its growth at 6.5 percent in 2018.

Whitbread released strong year-to-date figures, despite weakness in Q3

Miranda Wadham
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0
Whitbread released strong year-to-date figures, despite weakness in Q3
Costa and Premier Inn owner Whitbread (LON:WTB) released their third quarter trading update on Thursday, recording strong sales growth despite warning that the environment would be “tough” in the coming year. The group reported a total sales growth of 6.8 percent in the year to date, and confirmed it was on track to meet full year expectations. Their hotel chain, Premier Inn, achieved total hotel sales growth of 5.5 percent in the quarter after investment in new hotel capacity, despite weak performance in the third quarter and a lack of demand in London. This was reflected in a flat like-for-like sales figure for the hotels during those three months. Its coffee chain, Costa, has continued to deliver strong results, with a total sales growth of 7.2 percent. in the quarter. However the markets have reacted badly to its like-for-like sales figure, which fell 1.5 percent in the 13 weeks to 30th November, and could account for why Whitbread shares are currently trading in the red.   The group confirmed that business at its High Street cafes has declined and is likely to remain “subdued”, with Alison Brittain, Whitbread’s CEO, saying that the group “expects the tough UK high street environment and inflation in our sector to continue to pose challenges in the year ahead.” However she added, “we have good momentum in the delivery of our plan to enhance our UK market leadership positions, create an international business of scale in Germany, China and Costa Express, and develop a more efficient infrastructure.” Shares in Whitbread are currently down marginally, at 3,853.00 (0815GMT).

Adept4 shares rise as 2017 revenues double

Miranda Wadham
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0
Adept4 shares rise as 2017 revenues double
IT service provider Adept4 (LON:AD4) saw shares rise on Wednesday, after reporting strong preliminary results for the year to September 2017. The group reported revenues of £10.3 million, up from £4.9 million last year, with a gross profit margin of 60 percent. Recurring revenues came in at £7.3 million, up from £3.2 million the previous year, representing 71 percent of total revenues. The group’s losses before tax also shrunk, to 0.8 million from £1.4 million the year before. Simon Duckworth, Adept4’s chairman, commented: “The creation of a single operating platform for future growth has been at the heart of everything that we have sought to do in the last 12 months. The successful establishment of an integrated business with a single brand, proposition, structure and platform was imperative, and I am pleased to report our success in achieving this objective. We look forward to success in the future with this business model.” Adept4 shares are currently trading up 1.41 percent at 3.60 (1020GMT).
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