Investec hopeful despite slump in full-year profits May 21, 2009 SOUTH African specialist bank Investec saw 2009 full-year net profit fall by a quarter to £292m, it said yesterday, but added that it expects impairment to level out. The group, led by chief executive Stephen Koseff, saw impairment losses jump from £114m to £256m in 2009, but managing director Bernard Kantor said he expected bad [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 27, 2009 MCBRIDEHaving started the year with conservative margin assumptions for McBride, Investec has upgraded these in light of its strong start to full-year 2010. The broker said that the top line performance is broadly as expected, but that a better mix is driving profits ahead. Investec therefore lifted earnings per share estimates in the region of [...]
Shanks asks for 10 per cent more after offer December 7, 2009 WASTE management firm Shanks Group revealed a £536m buyout approach yesterday, sending its shares soaring, but said its board and key shareholders were looking for at least 10 per cent more. Shanks did not name the company behind the approach but a person familiar with the matter said it was the Carlyle Group, the well-connected [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 16, 2009 TULLETT PREBONNoble downgraded its stance on Tullett Prebon to “neutral” following its interim management statement, in which it said that 81 brokers had been poached by BGC Partners and that foreign exchange rates have started working against it. Noble estimates that these two factors could negatively impact its 2010 operating profit. LANCASHIREKBC Peel Hunt switched [...]
BACK TO THE GREEN HOUSE FOR DE BLONAY February 3, 2010 THE City’s resident “Swiss funds fox”, Guy de Blonay, has barely warmed up his seat after his high-profile return to fund management group Jupiter, but already things are settling comfortably back into their old ways. De Blonay officially took up his new position at the group a week ago, after leaving his first job at [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 17, 2009 BT GROUPJP Morgan downgraded BT to “neutral”, saying that the group delivered on earnings in its first-half, but that there is reduced upside and scope for positive surprises. This and the increased pension liability drove the downgrade to the broker’s valuation, with the target price dropping to 170p. It believes the pending pension review will [...]
DO G4S PROFITS LOOK SAFE? November 9, 2009 GUY HEWETT INVESTEC“The results highlight that there have been no material changes, and the group continues to benefit from growth in new markets. While we expect organic growth to be relatively hard to achieve, given the economic background, security in terms of volumes is relatively defensive.” MIKE ALLEN PANMURE GORDON“Trading remains in line with expectations, [...]
SHOULD THE MARKET BE ENCOURAGED BY VODAFONE’S RESULTS? November 10, 2009 JONATHAN GROOCOCK INVESTECNarrowing declines in Europe margins may indicate some stabilisation, and free cash flow is marginally stronger than forecast. Guidance looks conservative, and we expect to upgrade earnings per share forecasts by around three to five per cent. Vodafone is clearly on-track to deliver.MORTEN SINGLETON COLLINS STEWARTThere was headline operational weakness, but the £4bn [...]
IS THE MARKET REACTION TO THE C&W UPDATE JUSTIFIED? November 5, 2009 MORTEN SINGLETON COLLINS STEWART“The market has reacted to the downgrade for the full year, but we think this is a great opportunity to buy into Cable & Wireless. There will likely be some uplift after the news of the de-merger, albeit small as it was a well-flagged event, though there was scant detail on the [...]
Capita slips as sales fall short of expectations November 18, 2009 CAPITA, Britain’s largest outsourcing company, was the FTSE’s worst performer yesterday on the back of a disappointing update that drew attention to its high trading multiple. The company’s paper lost 5.2 per cent to close the day at 721p after it revealed a slower than expected rate of organic growth. Capita won £1bn of work [...]