Everyman Media admissions were held back due to closures as a consequence of the pandemic, however with venues reopening and restrictions easing, the group saw a 67% increase to 2m in admissions, ahead of management expectations for the year ended 30 December 2021.

Everyman Media remained closed for 19 weeks, functioned at a reduced capacity for 9 weeks and functioned at full capacity for 24 weeks during 2021.

Revenue was impacted by ticket prices and spending per head on food and beverage.

Ticket prices saw a 3% decrease from £11.81 to £11.44 in 2021. However, spending per head on food and beverage rose 27% to £8.96 compared to £7.08 in 2020.

The group’s revenue increased 102% from £24.2m to £49m in 2021, despite Covid restrictions impacting the operations of the cinema group.

An impairment reversal of £2.5m helped the 88% decrease in operating loss from £18.8m to £2.1m in 2021.

Everyman Media’s market share increased from 4.46% in 2020 to 4.5% in 2021.

The net debt for the cinema group reduced from £8.7m to £8.4m in 2021, however, liquidity is not a problem for the company as cash generation increased from £0.3m to £4.2m in 2021.

In 2022, the company plans to add 4 new venues to its existing 36 venues in Edinburgh, Plymouth, Marlow, and Egham.

Alex Scrimgeour, Chief Executive Officer, Everyman Media Group PLC said, “Despite more twists and turns than Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile”, these last two years have conclusively proved our belief that Everyman has an enduring place at the hearts of the communities we serve.”

“Thanks in no small part to our loyal customers, we have achieved remarkable levels of admissions, profitability, market share and customer satisfaction since government-imposed restrictions were lifted.”

“We continue to invest in our venues, our people and enhancing the Everyman proposition. Off the back of a return to quasi business as usual, our outlook is increasingly optimistic, consequently we will be looking to accelerate our openings strategy in the short and medium term.”

Everyman Media Group shares were rising 2.3% to 132p with admission rates exceeding expectations.

The tech engineering firm, Smith Group saw shares fall 1% to 1,501p on early morning trade on Friday despite the company’s reported underlying operating profits increase of 11.1% to £189m, with higher orders in H1 2022.

Smith Group saw a 3.4% increase to £1.19bn in underlying revenue compared to the first half of 2021, with revenues of £1.15bn.

General industrial contributed 40% to the revenues with safety and security contributing 32% followed by energy and aerospace adding 21% and 7% respectively.

Aerospace saw the largest growth in revenues with an increase of 16.7% as demand for Flex-Tek and Smith Interconnect aerospace solutions remained strong.

The 5.7% growth in revenues of general industrial came from ‘original equipment and aftermarket growth’ in chemical processing, pulp & paper, and mining segments for John Crane.

Safety and security lost 3.5% in revenues between H1 of ’21 and ’22 due to the performance of Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect’s defence related products.

To add to their growth, Smith focused on product development and launched 9 ‘high-impact’ new products, such as space qualified connectors and a new seal for pipelines during H1 2022.

Smith Group gained £1bn through the disposal of Smith Medical to ICU Medical in January 2022, sooner than expected.

With a strong balance sheet, the group managed to pay repay $400m bonds and capital returns and complete over 25% of the £742m share buyback.

The group reported basic EPS of 30.6p compared to 26p in H1 2021. Smith saw ROCE increase from 10.3% to 14%.

Dividend for Smith Group has increased from 11.7p to 12.3p between H1 of 2021 and 2022.

Paul Keel, Group Chief Executive Officer, Smith Group said, “Our performance in the first half demonstrates the meaningful progress we are making against our strategy.  We accelerated Smiths’ organic revenue growth to +3.4% and converted that into even stronger profit and earnings growth, despite supply chain challenges and cost inflation.” 

“Improvement in the first half centred on the levers we are pulling to accelerate our growth and consistently deliver results, underpinned by our focus on continuous operational excellence and investment in our people and culture.” 

“An important milestone for us was completing the sale of Smiths Medical, ahead of schedule.  This has enabled us to simplify our business, focus on our higher-performing, more strategically-aligned industrial technology core, whilst investing for growth, deleveraging and returning surplus capital to our shareholders. ” 

Helios Towers acquired Airtel Africa’s passive infrastructure company in Malawi for $55 million on Friday.

The passive infrastructure company is a telecommunications tower firm that will continue to develop and operate its own equipment on the towers via separate lease agreements with Helios Towers.

The deal will add 723 sites to Helios Towers‘ portfolio and the two companies telecommunications companies have agreed to a 12-year service agreement on the assets exchanged in the transaction.

Helios Towers is set to pay a consideration of $55 million with a 20% contribution from the Old Mutual Infrastructure Investment Trust Fund.

The investment will amount to a local Malawian shareholding worth 20%, in compliance with local telecommunications infrastructure licence requirements.

The deal is expected to bring in revenues of $23 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $8 million over the initial year of ownership.

Helios Towers reportedly anticipates further growth through 60 committed ‘build to suits’ across the coming three years and colocation lease-up.

Helios Towers saw its share price decline 1.1% to 116p in early morning trading on Friday.

The BP share price is up 18.2% year-to-date and is one of the best performers on the FTSE 100 so far in 2022.

The price of oil has been heavily impacted by scarcity fears since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, moving major oil companies such as BP and Shell to suspend their slate of operations in Russia.

The price of oil also jumped 5% on disruption of the Caspian pipeline (CPC) this week, sending scarcity fears surging on the back of yet another layer of complications for global supplies.

The price of Brent Crude hit $119 per barrel in late afternoon trading on 24 March 2022. High oil prices mean BP are currently enjoying the most elevated prices for their products in many years which is likely to lead to a strong set of results for the quarter.

BP Growth Potential

BP shares look primed for further gains in 2022, with shares way off recent highs and current price-to-earnings ratio of 8 and a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.1.

The oil producer reported a swing back to profit of £7.5 billion in 2021, reporting its best results in eight years following a devastating loss of £20.3 billion in 2020.

The company has an extremely generous dividend yield of 4.2%, covered 3x.

BP announced a dividend per ordinary share of 21.6c in 2021, amounting to a decline compared to the company’s 26c payout in 2020. The impact of the pandemic meant payouts were curtailed, but investors should look forward to increased dividends going forward.

BP is reportedly set to increase its dividend 4% year-on-year and buy back $4 billion worth of shares until 2025, based on projected prices of $60 per barrel of oil.

The current climate will most likely see the group flush with a surplus of adequate finances to meet its payment goal.

BP Analyst Consensus

The price of Brent Crude is currently at $119 per barrel, and some analysts predict the commodity might exceed heights of $200 over the coming year.

“I don’t think given the way things are going, this is a temporary problem,” Standard Chartered head of oil and gas Alok Sinha commented at a recent Financial Times summit.

“You now have to deal with this as a long term issue which means you need to find alternative supply growth.”

RCMA Group Chairman Doug King weighed in with an estimated price of $250 by the close of 2022.

“This is not transitory. This is going to be a Crude supply shock,” said King.

The spike in Crude oil prices is anything but bad news for BP shares, as the company will benefit from rising scarcity.

“Brent Crude oil at $122 per barrel is going to be a tough one for businesses to stomach as energy costs go through the roof,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“It isn’t all bad news as a higher oil price is good for BP and Shell on the UK stock market.”

Rosneft Stake

BP took a hit when it sold off its 19.75% stake in Rosneft on 27 February 2022, which the company owned since 2013 and was valued at $14 billion.

However, the the BP share price quickly rebounded, and the sale of its stake in the Russian-owned operation does not appear to have left any lasting damage on its stock in the long run.

The Lloyds share price are is up 4% to 49.55p so far in 2022 having enjoyed a higher interest rate environment, but also facing potential headwinds from a cost of living crisis.

Lloyds shares (LON:LLOY) have had a volatile 2022 so far with shares trading in a range from intraday highs of ~56p to 38p.

This has been the result of expectations around interest rates, actual interest rate changes, and the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine.

Nonetheless, Lloyds posted a very respectable set of results for 2021 which showed the bank was benefitting from a growing mortgage business and were enjoying a higher interest rate environment.

In the latest financials, the banking group made a comeback with underlying profits of £8bn in 2021, compared to £2bn.

Lloyds enjoyed a £1.2bn reversal from unnecessary impairment charges provisioned to mitigate default risks on loans because of the pandemic. This was a significant driver of Lloyd’s higher profitability.

In addition, Net Interest Margin rose to 2.54%, up from 2.52% in 2020. This may not sound a great deal, but this 2 basis point increase will help Lloyds bottomline.

Earlier this month, the Bank of England further increased the rates by 0.25% to 0.75%. This means Lloyds are likely to see additional growth to their Net Interest Margin in 2022.

Early this year, Sophie Lund-Yates, Equity Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown said, “Lloyds has the UK’s biggest branch network, meaning it’s a bread-and-butter current account and lending house.”

“That makes recent interest rate hikes especially welcome, as does the better-than-expected macroeconomic backdrop in the wake of Covid.”

Lloyds was one of the first to increase its mortgage rates following the interest rate hike.

After years of recovery from the financial crisis, Lloyd’s investors will be pleased the bank has started to place more emphasis on a diversified source of income with its wealth management and its real estate venture, Citra Living.

Lloyds Valuation

With a Lloyds share price at 49p, the banking group has a market cap of £34bn.

The company’s forward P/E ratio is 8x and in line with peers in the industry, meaning it is difficult to make argument for multiple expansion in line with peers. Rather, one would expect earnings growth across the sector to ‘lift all boats’.

Lloyds real attraction comes from their dividend and the ability to increase this dividend in the future.

Lloyds has a dividend cover of 3.9x and a yield of 4% highlighting the company’s strong financial position which may lead to a rise in future dividends.

Lund-Yates highlighted the potential for further returns to shareholders through dividends, or even a buybacks:

“It’s [Lloyds] sitting on an unimaginably big pile of excess capital. The top slice of which is coming back to shareholders via buybacks.”

This creates a situation where investors should look to the potential for higher Lloyds dividends as the main driver of Lloyds share price in 2022.

The FTSE 250 was down 0.7% shortly after midday on Thursday as major constituents such as Carnival and Weir Group hit the index, and UK domestic facing stocks felt the pressure of rising inflation.

FTSE 250 Risers

Private assets growth investor Bridgepoint Group topped of the FTSE 250 risers in early trade with a 12.8% increase to 324.2p per share, following a 29% rise in pre-tax profits in 2021.

However a late morning rally in Polymetal, gaining 30% to 181p, saw the gold miner take over as the FTSE 250 top riser following its exit from the FTSE 100 this week.

Games Workshop Group saw an increase of 6.9% to £76.1 after the confirmation of 70p dividend to be paid in May 2022 as the company distributes excess cash from a solid trading period.

FTSE 250 Fallers

The Weir Group fell 5.3% to 1,782p after its reported revenue of £1.9 billion missing analyst predictions of £2.1 billion for 2021.

XP Power saw a decline of 4.6% to 3,470p following competitor Comet’s $40 million damages claim in US courts against the group.

SDLC Energy Efficient Income Trust took a hit of 3.5% to 116.7p after the company announced plans to raise £75 million for further investments.

AIM Risers

The AIM market was led by Surface Transformations with an increase of 30.9% to 55p following the confirmation of a lucrative £100 million brake discs contract with OEM 8.

The Tungsten Corporation rose 19.1% to 46.1p after the company received an updated, higher takeover bid from software group Kofax.

Uru Metals saw an increase of 19% to 250p. Uru Metals has a large spread of 200p-300p and small trades can cause dramatic price movements.

Bluejay Mining rose 7% to 8.2p following a successful placing to raise £5.38m at 7p.

Shearwater gained 3% after it announced a c.£620,000 contract win with a leading telecoms and media group.

AIM Fallers

The AIM fallers were led by Mobile Tornado Group with a fall of 31.7% to 0.8p per share following an agreed 12 month extension on a loan which is scheduled to expire in September 2023.

PipeHawk fell 20.5% to 29p after a reported interim pre-tax loss of £457,000.

The i-nexus Global company rounded up the AIM market fallers with a decline of 19.5% to 3.9p.

FTSE 100 gained gingerly to 7,461 on Thursday with rising oil prices as investors awaited the outcome from key NATO and G7 meetings.

Commodity prices are surging with wheat and oil rising on the day. Precious metals gold and silver prices are also gaining.

Brent Crude increased 0.2% to $121 a barrel impacting the mining and energy sectors.

“Brent Crude oil at $122 per barrel is going to be a tough one for businesses to stomach as energy costs go through the roof,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

“The cost of running factories, moving trucks and powering computers will put a squeeze on profit margins which means corporate earnings expectations may have to be reduced unless we see a significant reduction in inflationary pressures.”

With the rising price of oil, BP and Shell gained 1.2% and 0.8% on Thursday.

“It isn’t all bad news as a higher oil price is good for BP and Shell on the UK stock market, thereby giving a lift to the FTSE 100 index, up 0.2% to 7,478,” said Mould.

Russian energy supplies are currently being discussed between President Biden and the G7 which is likely to have a further impact on commodity markets.

I’m on my way to Europe to rally the international community in support of Ukraine and ensure Putin pays a severe economic cost for his war of choice. pic.twitter.com/4UJpyitOko

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 23, 2022

FTSE 100 Risers

The possibility of increased sanctions on Russia’s energy exports and rthe ising prices of precious metals are having a positive effect on global miners.

Fresnillo shares strengthened by 2.6% to 744p while Rio Tinto shares gained 1.5%.

M&G shares were trading up 1.7% to 219p as the company started a share buyback programme of £500m.

Similar to M&G, British American Tobacco shares increased 1.3% to 3,233p after the purchase of 485,000 shares at 25p each.

In the banking sector, HSBC was amongst the gainers with a 1.2% increase to 516p.

United Utilities Group shares rose 1.4% to 1,060p with investors seeking defensive shares.

AstraZeneca saw shares gain 0.65% despite unoptimistic results from their CALLA Phase III trial with Imfiniza.

FTSE 100 Fallers

Next saw its shares lose 3.8% to 6,141p as the company reduced its growth outlook for 2022 following the £85m loss expected from the withdrawal of online sales in Russia and Ukraine and rising inflationary pressures impacting consumer spending in the coming months.

Next did however report strong revenue growth of 34% and pre-tax profits increasing 140% to £823m in 2022.

“For a company that has a habit of under-promising and over-delivering, the market has shown disappointment at Next’s downgraded sales guidance for its current financial year,” said Russ Mould.

“Next’s most recent full year period showed a business enjoying significant success. The company put it down to consumers splashing the cash they saved during the various Covid-related lockdowns.

“The key point of disappointment is reduced sales guidance for overseas territories, which is not simply the result of closing its Ukraine and Russian website operations. However, it has lifted guidance for likely sales from UK shops, which is a pleasant surprise given the direction of travel for UK retail – namely so much more business is going online.

“It seems inevitable the coming months may be more challenging given inflationary pressures are intensifying, and household bills are becoming much higher.

IAG was the FTSE 100 top faller as the travel stock continue to feel the pinch from pressures on household spending.

Lloyds Banking Group has announced the closure of a total of 60 more branches across Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds throughout the UK by the end of 2022.

Lloyds Banking Group has decided to cut back their high street network due to increased dependence on online banking noted by record usage in 2022.

During the pandemic, retail branch visitors had to complete their bank errands online, leading to the downward trajectory of retail banking.

Lloyds saw a 12% and 27% increase in users on their online platform over the last 2 years.

The group reported 18.6 million regular online banking customers and more than 15 million mobile app users across its brands

“Just like many other high street businesses, fewer customers are choosing to visit our branches,” said Vim Maru, Lloyds Banking Group’s group retail director.

“Our branch network is an important way for us to support our customers but we need to adapt to the significant growth in customers choosing to do most of their everyday banking online.”

Since June 2021, the business has cut more than 150 branches from its network, including 24 Lloyds Bank branches, 19 Bank of Scotland branches, and 17 Halifax branches.

Around 124 jobs will be lost through the closure of the 60 branches, according to Unite the Union.

Caren Evans, a national officer with the Unite the Union, said, “Lloyds Banking Group must not be allowed to abandon 60 more local communities where bank branches play an essential role.

“The banking sector needs to answer some serious questions about its corporate social responsibilities and the government cannot stand back and allow the relentless closure of banks to continue until no more local banking services remain.”

Nestle has pulled its popular KitKat and Nesquick brands from Russia following extreme backlash against the FMCG giant for dragging its feet under pressure to boycott the country.

Over 400 companies have withdrawn from Russia in protest of its Ukraine invasion in the last two months, including Starbucks, McDonald’s, Unilever and Heineken.

Nestle halted sales of its non-essential products including San Pellegrino water and Nespresso capsules earlier in March, however, it refused to pull the remainder of its bestsellers from Russia.

The company suspended its investment in the embattled nation a couple of weeks ago but ignored calls to pull out of Russia entirely.

“We have a responsibility toward our more than 7,000 employees in Russia – most of whom are locals,” Nestle said in a statement.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal zeroed in on the company and blasted its reluctance to withdraw from Russia in a tweet.

Nestle has pulled most of its major brands from Russia, and will reportedly continue to sell only essential products such as baby food and medical nutrition.

Nestle’s share price was up 0.4% at 199.2 CHF in morning trading on Thursday following the news.