Primary Health Properties announced its acquisition of Strawberry Hill Medical Centre in Newbury today for a total consideration of £7.2 million.
The property is currently fully let to two GP practices, providing 100% government-backed income with an unexpired term of 19 years.
Primary Health Properties added the GP practices served substantial patient lists, and benefited from facilities for carrying out broader medical services, including minor operations and blood tests.
Following the agreement, Primary Health Properties will hold a portfolio consisting of 512 assets with a contracted rent roll of £143 million.
“We are delighted to have acquired this medical centre which acts as a hub for the delivery of primary care and broader medical services in the growing town of Newbury,” said Primary Health Properties CEO Harry Hyman.
“The property also provides accommodation for district nurses, a clinical pharmacy and social prescribing services.”
“We have a strong pipeline of opportunities in the UK and Ireland and are well positioned to continue to grow our portfolio selectively and to support the healthcare systems in these markets through the provision of modern, primary care infrastructure.”
Premier Foods shares gained 3.3% to 116.8p in late morning trading on Monday following the company’s reported acquisition of Indian and South East Asian meal kits producer The Spice Tailor for £43.8 million.
The company confirmed it would acquire 100% of shares in the meal kits firm on a cash and debt-free basis, with additional consideration dependent on a future performance and an earn out structure over a three year term from FY 2023/2024, pending future growth targets.
“We’re very pleased that The Spice Tailor will become part of Premier Foods and are looking forward to unlocking further growth for the brand which we have nurtured since its inception,” said The Spice Tailor co-founders Adarsh and Anjum Sethia.
“We see Premier with their track record of brand investment and strong commercial relationships, as the perfect fit for The Spice Tailor, driving it onto the next stage of its evolution.”
Premier Foods highlighted The Spice Tailor as a high growth premium brand, with a 20% compound annual growth rate over the last four years and a forecast to deliver high sales and profit growth in the coming years.
The meal kits group is expected to generate £17.3 million in revenue for FY 2022/2023.
The acquisition is set to expand Premier Foods’ footprint in the UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland, and complement its Sharwood’s and Loyd Grossman brands.
“We have greatly admired The Spice Tailor business for some time and we’re very much looking forward to it joining our existing stable of strong brands,” said Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse.
“The acquisition is well aligned to our growth strategy and we see a clear opportunity to build on the excellent track record of The Spice Tailor, by leveraging the elements of our proven branded growth model.”
“This acquisition represents a highly complementary geographical fit, and we see significant potential to expand The Spice Tailor’s distribution in all our target markets. We see this as another important milestone for us following the Group’s strong performance over recent years and The Spice Tailor is an important addition to accelerate our future growth plans.”
Sanne Group shares gained 0.5% to 918.9p in late morning trading on Monday after the firm announced strong performance in HY1 2022, including a return to double-digit organic revenue growth of 25.8%.
The company reported record new business wins and continued decent cash generation, with operating cash conversion ahead of the previous 90% management guidance.
Sanne Group reported profit margins within management expectations, including a sharply improved constant currency organic revenue growth rate of 11.2%.
The group added its expansion was also aided by its three acquisitions completed in 2021.
The firm said the annualised value of new business wins in the financial period was up 24.8% to £19.6 million against £15.7 million in HY1 2021, with a healthy business pipeline going forward.
Sanne Group confirmed its technology strategy had been making good progress, with particular success in its data analytics and portal products rolled out to its client base over the last two years.
Meanwhile, the company noted all regulatory clearances for the acquisition by Apex had been cleared, and that the Scheme Sanction Hearing to sanction the scheme has been scheduled to be held in the Royal Court of Jersey on 2 August 2022.
If the Court sanctions the scheme, Sanne Group confirmed it expected it to become effective on 4 August 2022.
“The strong performance in the first half of 2022 is testament to Sanne’s strengths and market reputation as we have seen record levels of new business wins and organic revenue growth return to our targeted double digit levels,” said Sanne Group CEO Martin Schnaier.
“It also reflects the qualities recognised by Apex in acquiring the Group and it should ensure that this transformational combination creates a leading, end-to-end service provider to the alternative assets market, with unmatched capabilities and scale.”
“As we now look forward to joining Apex, we are confident in the benefits that this deal should bring for our clients and our people across the globe.”
Vesuvius shares rose 7.7% to 348p in late morning trading on Monday following stronger than expected trading in HY1 2022, with a revised EBITDA projection of £127.4 million.
The engineering firm attributed its outperformance to the successful implementation of its pricing strategy to recover input costs, alongside market share gains linked to the company’s technological differentiation.
Vesuvius highlighted a remaining uncertainty concerning the strength of its markets in HY2 due to the ongoing geopolitical volatility and potential macro-economic weakness.
In light of its market uncertainty, Vesuvius confirmed its HY2 expectations remained broadly flat, with a material drop in volume against HY1 and challenging cost inflation providing a level of difficulty for the company in the coming financial term.
The company mentioned that while the scale of the potential slow-down remained uncertain, Vesuvius was confident in delivering a resilient performance for the financial year.
Ryanair shares fell 1.8% to 70.9p in early morning trading on Monday after the budget airline reported a post-tax profit of €170 million in Q1 2023 against a Q1 2022 loss of €273 million, however its profit remained below its Q1 2020 pre-Covid profit of €243 million.
The travel firm announced a 602% surge in revenue to €2.6 billion compared to €370 million year-on-year, linked to its recovery in customer levels, which saw a 461% spike to 45.5 million from 8.1 million as Covid restrictions eased and travel recommenced.
“Ryanair is leading its peers in the recovery from COVID and plans to operate its summer 2022 at a capacity 15% higher than 2019 levels. Our experts estimate revenue for this summer could be 20% higher than in 2019,” said Third Bridge senior analyst Allegra Dawes.
However, Ryanair noted its Easter bookings and fares were badly hit by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February this year.
The company’s operating costs rose 253% to €680 million compared to €2.3 billion, and its fuel hedging for FY 2024 increased to 30% compared to 80% for FY 2023.
“The golden age of cheap air travel is over thanks to decade-high oil prices and inflation. However, Ryanair’s fuel hedging policy means they are better positioned to maintain price competitiveness and under less pressure to increase fares over the next 12 months,” said Dawes.
The travel group narrowed its net debt to €400 million from €1.4 billion on 31 March 2022, with a BBB credit rating according to S&P and Fitch. The company mentioned it aimed to reach zero net debt over the next two years.
Ryanair also highlighted the arrival of 73 new B737 ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft, which reportedly include a 4% rise in seats while burning 16% less fuel, with a noise emissions reduction of up to 40%. The travel firm said over 90% of its Gamechanger aircraft were unencumbered.
In terms of operational highlights, Ryanair mentioned the benefits of its decision to cut staff salaries in a move to reduce redundancies over the pandemic, following negotiations with employee unions.
The company have been fully crewed, despite operating at 115% of pre-Covid capacity, and the air firm added it was confident in its ability to operate almost 100% of its scheduled flights.
“The international travel recovery remains fragile due to a worldwide pilot shortage and the problem with labour strikes. However, our experts say that Ryanair has been more successful than others in coping with the crisis because it didn’t significantly reduce its workforce during the pandemic,” said Dawes.
Ryanair confirmed an earnings per share of 16.5 Euro cents against a loss of 24.1 Euro cents the last year.
Vodafone shares were down 0.1% to 128.8p in early morning trading on Monday, after the telecommunications group reported a 2.5% service revenue growth in Q1 2023 from 2% in Q4 2022.
The company announced a service revenue fall of 0.5% in Germany, its largest market, against 0.8% in the previous financial term, reflecting the impact of the new Telecommunications Act.
Vodafone confirmed its European growth was supported by growth acceleration in the UK, with a 0.7% Europe Consumer contract mobile ARPU growth and 215,000 mobile contract customers added against 72,000 broadband customers lost in the period.
The firm highlighted a total service revenue of €9.5 billion from €9.3 in Q4 2022, of which €2.8 billion was linked to German business operations.
The group reported €1.7 billion in other revenue across the period, remaining mostly flat in Q1 2023 compared to Q4 2022.
Vodafone highlighted a total revenue of €11.2 billion over Q1 from €11.1 billion, representing a reported increase of 1.6% and an organic growth of 2.7%.
The telecommunications firm added its 1.7% business service revenue climb was supported by higher roaming and digital services revenue.
Meanwhile, its growth in Africa was supported by data revenue and financial services growth as its M-Pesa customer base rose to almost 50 million over the term.
The company added its service revenue in Turkey soared 35.8% as a result of higher inflation, impacting group service revenue growth by an additional 0.3%.
Vodafone confirmed it was on track to deliver according to its FY 2023 guidance, with its adjusted EBITDAaL anticipated to hit between €15-€15.5 billion, alongside an adjusted FCF of €5.3 billion.
“We have executed in line with our expectations, delivered another quarter of growth in both Europe and Africa, and seen an acceleration in business growth. Whilst we are not immune to the current macroeconomic challenges, we’re on track to deliver financial results for the year in line with our guidance,” said Vodafone CEO Nick Read.
“Our near-term focus on our operational and portfolio priorities remains unchanged. We’ve made good progress towards stabilising our commercial performance in Germany, and we continue to actively pursue opportunities with Vantage Towers and to strengthen our market positions in Europe.”
Domino’s Pizza (LON: DOM) has tough comparatives for this year’s trading and the delivery market is slowing. The pizza company’s interims are due on 2 August. This should provide some indication of how trading is faring.
Domino’s Pizza has been withdrawing from its overseas businesses so that it can concentrate on its core UK business. It is estimated that like-for-like UK sales could be up to 9% lower in the second quarter
Peel Hunt trimmed its 2022 pre-tax profit forecast to £109.7m, down from £113.9m in 2021. This reflects higher costs and the potential slowing of volumes.
By early May, nin...
The FTSE 100 closed 0.2% higher on Friday trading after a 0.1% retail sales fall in June cast a gloomy outlook on consumer-focused groups, while oil and commodities stocks rebounded on higher prices at the week’s close.
“The FTSE 100 eked out some gains on Friday to provide hope it may finish in positive territory for the week,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“A drop in the pound as retail sales disappointed probably helped since it boosted the relative value of the overseas earnings that dominate the stock index.”
Shell shares gained 0.6% to 2,042p, however BP shares dipped 0.2% to 383.1p.
BT Group shares fell 1.8% to 177.6p, despite the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granting the green light to the company’s sport joint-venture with Warner Bros’ Eurosport UK.
“It’s great news that the CMA has approved the new JV that we are forming with Warner Bros. Discovery, combining the very best of BT Sport and Eurosport UK, to create an exciting new offer for live sport programming in the UK,” said BT Consumer Division CEO Marc Allera.
“Today is a huge milestone, as we now look toward day one of the new business, which we hope to be in the coming weeks.”
Anglo American shares gained 1.4% to 2,665.5p, Antofagasta increased 2.7% to 1,076p, Endeavor rose 1.3% to 1,619p, Glencore saw an uptick of 0.5% to 422.2p and Rio Tinto climbed 1.6% to 4,772p.
Meanwhile, JD Sports defied the gloomy retail sales results after it reported it was on track to reach £1 billion in profits for FY 2022, with sales rising 5% year-on-year.
The company is currently still searching for a new CEO after the departure of Peter Cowgill earlier this month.
Yellow Cake shares gained 2% to 357.4p in late afternoon trading on Friday after the group announced continued market improvement for U3O8, with the spot price increasing 89% from $30.65 per pound on 31 March 2021 to $57.90 per pound on 31 March 2022.
The uranium-specialised company reported a 203% rise in the value of its holding in U3O8 across the financial year to $916.7 million at 31 March 2022 on the back of the increased price of uranium.
Yellow Cake also highlighted the net growth in the volume of uranium held from 9.8 million pounds of U3O8 to 15.8 million pounds.
The firm mentioned a post-tax profit of $417.3 million for FY 2022 from $29.9 million in FY 2021.
Yellow Cake confirmed $236.6 million raised over the period through share placings in June and October 2021, after it raised $138.5 million in March 2021.
The company said it applied the proceeds of the three placings to acquire 8.3 million pounds of U3O8 in FY 2022, along with an additional 0.9 million pounds post-year end.
It noted a NAV of $1 billion, representing 442p per share on 31 March 2022, against a NAV of $421.4 million at 238p per share the last year.
Yellow Cake further reported a completed $3 million share buyback after year-end of 566,833 shares between 4 April and 6 May 2022.
The group also confirmed a 47% increase in the value of its 18.8 million pound holding of U3O8 at 15 July 2022 to $860.4 million, relative to the acquisition cost of $585.1 million.
“I am very pleased to report on another year of considerable progress. We have remained focused on our strategy to buy and hold uranium, providing investors with the opportunity to directly participate in the continued rise in the price of the commodity, which in turn has generated consistent returns for our shareholders,” said Yellow Cake CEO Andre Liebenberg.
“In 2021, we raised approximately USD375 million to acquire 8.35 million lb of uranium during the financial year, which with an additional purchase after year-end, means we now own 18.81 million lb, doubling the amount since the end of the 2021 financial year.”
Yellow Cake commented it was optimistic in its outlook, on the back of strong demand for uranium and an expected price increase as nuclear power potentially grows in popularity.
“The confidence we have in our longer term outlook remains very strong and this is driven by the same supply demand fundamentals that have supported the performance to date,” said Liebenberg.
“We expect to see a sustained increase in uranium demand and price increases in years to come as the global demand for clean energy highlights the need for nuclear energy. We have seen very positive policy developments in the US, the EU and in China as nuclear is increasingly recognised as a core way to urgently address climate change.”
“Yet despite a clear growing demand picture and recent prise rises, supply remains severely constrained, and looks set to get even tighter as utility companies around the world start to address their future uncovered fuel requirements. Yellow Cake is very well placed to capitalise on these market characteristics.”
FRP Advisory Group shares dropped 7.6% to 139.4p in late afternoon trading on Friday following a pre-tax profit slide to £15.1 million in FY 2022 against £16.6 million in FY 2021.
However, the company announced a revenue growth to £95.2 million compared to £79 million in the previous year, with 11% driven by organic increases underpinned by the support offered on several larger projects, and 10% stemming from acquisitions.
FRP Advisory Group also reported an adjusted underling EBITDA of £25.7 million from £23 million.
Meanwhile, the business advisory firm mentioned a basic EPS of 5.3p compared to 6p and an adjusted EPS of 7.5p against 7.1p year-on-year.
FRP Advisory Group noted net cash of £18.1 million at the end of FY 2022 from £16.4 million the last year, along with an undrawn revolving credit facility of £10 million.
“I am pleased to report another year of profitable growth. FRP is a resilient business, with a track record of growth regardless of the economic conditions. The UK M&A mid-market remains active, our Corporate Finance team have an excellent pipeline to help clients realise their strategic ambitions,” said FRP Advisory Group CEO Geoff Rowley.
“Uncertainties still remain over how long troubled businesses can continue in their current form or how proactive key creditors like HMRC and institutional lenders will be on addressing over-due debts. Following the removal of government support, inflationary pressures and other disruptive forces, the Group has seen an increase in the level of enquiries for restructuring services in recent months.”
“The Group has a strong balance sheet and the Board believes the medium-term outlook for all the Group’s markets is positive. Trading since 1 May 2022 is in line with the Board’s expectations.”
FRP Advisory Group announced a total dividend of 4.3p per share against 4.1p the year before.
