Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 23:44

UPS

RGL 21.65p ( 21.60 v 21.7p ) UT 21.45

A good announcement of maintaining the dividend at 1.20p for the last Q despite large debt, but the company has assets for disposal are in solicitors' hands.. "The value of the portfolio decreased by 5.9% on RNS 3 weeks ago has high-quality tenant base. The ongoing asset disposal programme continues to achieve the latest valuations."
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INDICATORS

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 23:15

DOW

Finished 47 points higher.....

US stocks turned in modest gains on Thursday after a closely watched gauge of inflation showed that price pressures had continued to ease last month, reigniting hopes of a rate cut in the first half of the year.

At close, the Dow Jones was 47.37 points higher, up 0.12% at 38,996.39,
while the S&P 500 advanced 0.52% to 5,096.27
and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.90% firmer at 16,091.92.

According to the Department of Commerce, the so-called price deflator for personal consumption expenditures rose by 2.4% year-on-year in January, in line with forecasts and following a 2.6% annual increase in December. Meanwhile, the core rate eased to 2.8% from 2.9%, matching economists' expectations.

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 23:08

Next month UPS for MARCH Click ....

....

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 22:51

Best performing shares ( UPS ) during February


Share
Mid
Highest
% Change
Rank


HE1
1.325
3.125
135.855
1


HEMO
3.35
6.30
88.06
2


QBT
1.125
1.50
33.33
3


ARB
17.25
22.25
28.99
4


BOOM
247.50
272.00
9.90
5


RGL
23.175
25.35
9.39
6


OPTI
25.00
27.25
9.00
7


GGP
7.60
7.95
4.61
8


EEE
10.65
10.75
0.94
9

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 22:28

DOW

Finished 47 points higher..

US stocks turned in modest gains on Thursday after a closely watched gauge of inflation showed that price pressures had continued to ease last month, reigniting hopes of a rate cut in the first half of the year.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 47.37 points higher, up 0.12% at 38,996.39,
while the S&P 500 advanced 0.52% to 5,096.27
and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.90% firmer at 16,091.92.

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 16:51

Commodities

Gold on the UP is now $2,046+$11 high Silver is trying to follow

Intraday ---- Gold -------------- Silver ---------------- Copper -----


1 month ----- Gold ---------------- Silver --------------- Copper -----

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 16:29

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 16:14

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 16:00

Mortgages and consumer credit grow but recent mortgage rate hikes cloud picture v
Proactive Investors - Improving Bank of England lending and credit data may strengthen the central bank's feeling that the UK's recession is already over, though actions by lenders in recent weeks have muddied the picture.

Data from Zoopla also out today suggested residential housing demand this month rose 11% year-on-year, while the number of sales agreed has increased 15% across the UK.

With both buyers and sellers attracted back into the property market in February, it forecast a 10% boost in the number of home sales for the year.

The BoE figures showed net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 55,200 in January from 51,500 in December, while net remortgage approvals remained pretty much unmoved at 30,900 and individuals repaid a net £1.1 billion of mortgage debt on top of £0.9 billion in December.

The ‘effective’ interest rate, meaning the actual interest paid by homeowners, on newly drawn mortgages fell by 9 basis points, to 5.19% in January. The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages increased by 5 basis points, from 3.36% in December to 3.41% in January.

Net consumer credit borrowing rose to £1.9 billion in January, from £1.3 billion in December, mainly driven by higher borrowing through credit cards, with other forms of consumer credit such as car finance and personal loans increasing slightly to £1 billion from £0.9 billion.

Household cash deposits in bank accounts rose £6.8 billion – up for the second month in a row and the largest monthly increase since September 2022.

Total liquid assets held by households, including deposits with banks, building societies and in National Savings and Investment accounts, increased £6 billion, the same as in December, but above the £4.8 billion average increase in the two years prior to the pandemic.

Consumer expected to spend more this year

"Households have started this year better than they ended 2023, with reviving consumer credit flows supporting January’s rebound in retail sales," said economist Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "That said, consumers continue to manage their finances cautiously."

With mortgage repayments continuing to exceed lending, he noted that households continue to trim their other borrowing.

"The outlook for consumers, however, continues to brighten," he said, adding that the jump in the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases leading to an increase in borrowing flows in two-to-three months when those people move house.

"More broadly, we think households will be willing to spend more this year."

Ashley Webb at Capital Economics said the increase in consumer credit was stronger than expected, probably reflecting recent volatility in retail sales rather than an improvement in underlying demand for unsecured borrowing.

He said: "Overall, real GDP may still contract in Q1 but the signs of life in the housing market suggest that the 'recession' will be over soon, if it’s not already."

Alice Haine, analyst at Bestinvest, noted that the rise in UK mortgage approvals – an indicator of future borrowing – was the fourth consecutive month.

"While borrowing costs remain high, with interest rates still on pause at a 16-year peak of 5.25%, signs of a slightly improving outlook for borrowers can be found in the effective rate on newly drawn mortgages, which dropped for the second consecutive month, falling 9 basis points to 5.19%," she said.

But Emma Cox, managing director of real estate at lender Shawbrook, noted mortgage rates "are beginning to creep back up and cuts to interest rates may not materialise as soon as previously predicted".

This week, Nationwide, Britain’s largest building society, was the latest to raise its mortgage rates, following a double move from Coventry Building Society.

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 15:42

FTSE 250 movers:
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,139.10 0.66%

Power generation company Drax posted a surge in full-year profits on Thursday and lifted its dividend, as Britons struggled to pay their energy bills.

In the year to the end of December 2023, pre-tax profit jumped to £796m from £78m a year earlier, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 66% to £1.2bn.

Drax proposed a final dividend of 13.9p a share, up 10% on the year.

The company said its full-year 2024 expectations for adjusted EBITDA are in line with analysts' consensus estimates of £882m to £1.1bn.

Chief executive Will Gardiner said: "Drax performed strongly in 2023 and we remained the single largest provider of renewable power by output in the UK. We have created a business which plays an essential role in supporting energy security, providing dispatchable, renewable power for millions of homes and businesses, particularly during periods of peak demand when there is low wind and solar power.

"Policy support for our UK BECCS project continues to progress and we remain in formal discussions with the UK Government to ensure Drax Power Station can play a long-term role in UK energy security, creating thousands of jobs during construction and helping the country reach Net Zero.

"We have made further progress in our ambition to be a world leader in carbon removals and have visibility of high-quality, long-term earnings to 2042 and a strong balance sheet which supports returns to shareholders and investment in growth, both in the UK and internationally."

Profits at Howden Joinery fell more than expected last year as a weaker DIY and housing market hit the bottom line.

The company on Thursday reported pre-tax profit for the year to December 30 of £327.6m, down 19%.

"While we are cautious about the macro-economic and geo-political environment, given the encouraging start to the year and the agility of our business model, the board is confident in the outlook for 2024," said chief executive Andrew Livingston.

UK depot revenue fell 0.7% to £2.24bn and the full-year dividend was lifted 1.9% to 21p a share.

"We anticipate that market conditions in 2024 will be broadly unchanged and we are well prepared for the challenges and opportunities that this may present," the company said.

"We aim to maintain a profitable balance between margin and volume and we have aligned our operating costs to expected market conditions. We will work with our suppliers to keep product and input costs well controlled."

Howden added that it planned to open 30 new UK depots this year.

Government contractor Serco said it expected slightly lower revenues this year and a 5% rise in profit as 2023 earnings rose 25%.

The company which runs immigrant detention centres in the UK, said operating profit for the year to December 31 came in at £272m.

It now expects revenue this year to be £4.8bn, compared with the £4.9bn reported in 2023.

"Revenue is expected to be lower organically due to our CMS contract now being in its new five-year agreement, the annualisation of our previously announced exit from certain low-margin contracts, and contract mix change in immigration, as we support the UK government's efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels," Serco said on Thursday.

Underlying operating profit is expected to grow by around 5% to £260m, driven by new contracts ramping up, operational efficiency improvements across the existing portfolio and a contribution from acquisitions, Serco added.

Precision instrumentation and controls company Spectris reported record adjusted profits for 2023 on the back of double-digit sales growth and improving margins, though sales came in slightly below forecasts.

Reported pre-tax profit for the full year totalled £263.6m, up 20% on 2022, helped by a 130 basis-point increase in the operating margin to 18.1%.

Adjusted operating profits were up 18% over the year at an all-time high of £262.5m.

Sales were up 9% over the year at £1.45bn, short of the company-compiled consensus forecast of £1.47bn.

Full-year like-for-like sales increased by 10% as strong double-digit growth in the electronics and semiconductor, materials and academic research offset a 9% drop in life sciences and pharmaceuticals, its biggest division.

"The combination of the improved quality of the group, our strong self-help story and the significant opportunities that lie ahead gives me great confidence in our future prospects, with the delivery of further margin expansion in 2024 providing another step towards margins in excess of 20%," said chief executive Andrew Heath.

The company said progress in 2024 was expected to be weighted towards the second half due to the strong performance in the first half of 2023 and an improving outlook in a number of key end markets.

Commenting on the results, analysts at Shore Capital said they were placing their 'buy' recommendation on Spectris under review, "noting the uncertain short-term outlook and the lack of a clear catalyst" following the completion of the company's portfolio rationalisation with the sale of the Red Lion Controls business in December.

The broker said the stock's valuation was "now appearing to be relatively full".

Aston Martin gave up gains made on Wednesday after it narrowed losses on the back of higher prices for its expensive cars.

Ashmore, Diversified Energy, Genus, Hargreaves Lansdown, Hays, HICL Infrastructure and Plus500 were all down on going ex-dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Drax Group (DRX) 467.80p 11.67%

Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 837.60p 8.41%

Energean (ENOG) 1,043.00p 6.48%

Serco Group (SRP) 188.30p 5.08%

Elementis (ELM) 143.40p 4.82%

PZ Cussons (PZC) 102.80p 3.84%

Man Group (EMG) 249.70p 3.52%

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 74.50p 3.19%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 73.00p 2.82%

Primary Health Properties (PHP) 90.95p 2.77%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 171.90p -6.32%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 933.00p -5.18%

Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 226.50p -4.23%

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,735.00p -4.04%

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 729.20p -3.52%

Spectris (SXS) 3,508.00p -2.77%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 28.50p -2.06%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 94.25p -1.82%

C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 143.20p -1.51%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 763.50p -1.29%

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 15:16

CRN 124.4p0 (-3.20 / -2.51%%) / Cairn Homes profit grows on back of jumping house prices; demand high
(Alliance News) - Cairn Homes PLC on Thursday proposed a higher dividend as it reported sound profit growth as demand for new housing in Ireland remains high.

The Dublin-based housebuilder said pretax profit rose 6.4% to EUR99.4 million in 2023, from EUR93.5 million a year prior.

Revenue climbed 8.0% to EUR666.8 million from EUR617.4 million. The average selling price jumped 7.9% to EUR383,000 as at Wednesday from EUR355,000 at March 1, 2023.

The company emphasised that the construction of homes for first time buyers is a core market, citing a delivery of over 500 new starter homes at an average market price of under EUR400,000 last year.

Cairn Homes said that "there is a supportive macroeconomic backdrop with strong exchequer surpluses, falling inflation, record and near full employment, strong consumer spending and a growing population," despite noting the current interest rate environment.

Return on equity edged up to 11.3% in 2023 from 10.8% in 2022.

Cost of sales increased 7.5% to EUR519.2 million from EUR483.1 million.

Cairn proposed a final dividend of 3.2 euro cents per share, bringing the total to 6.3c, up 3.3% from 6.1c in 2022.

The company indicated a busy year ahead, with a closed and forward sale order book of 2,473 units as at Wednesday, up 65% from 1,503 at March 1 last year. The closed and forward sale order book value jumped 77% to EUR946 million from EUR534 million over the same period.

Looking ahead with confidence, the company said: "Ireland entered 2024 with one of the strongest performing economies in the EU."

It added: "There continues to be a significant structural demand for new homes and despite the delivery of 32,695 new home completions in 2023, the highest since 2008, the [Irish] Housing Commission estimates that around 42,000 – 62,000 new home completions are required per annum."

In Dublin, its shares fell 3.0% to EUR1.45 each.

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 14:48

DOW

On the up with 77 points

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 14:23

CleanTech Lithium to publish Laguna Verde PFS in 3rd quarter

CleanTech Lithium PLC - Chile-focused lithium exploration and development company - Expects to publish its pre-feasibility study for the Laguna Verde project in the third quarter of 2024. Says that the current drilling programme at Laguna Verde is designed to produce the first JORC compliant reserve estimate for the project. The drilling programme will also produce a hydrogeological model to design the extraction and reinjection wells to maximise the recovery of the lithium resource, it adds.

Chief Executive Officer Aldo Boitano says: "The [PFS] for the Laguna Verde project will be a significant milestone on our path to lithium production. It is the company's aim to produce the highest quality PFS to ensure the strongest possible platform for discussions with strategic partners."

Current stock price: 16.00 pence, up 4.5%

[sunshine today] 29/2/2024 13:56

This is why OPTI could, in my opinion, fly for the next decade.

OPTI has developed a :

Sugar substitute, in a natural form, made from fibre, with few, if any calories.

No after taste, no chemicals.

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[master rsi] 29/2/2024 13:46

By the look of losses by some stocks on the AIM market, one has to conclude some institutions are selling or MMs are behaving badly.

[sunshine today] 29/2/2024 13:36

OPTI moving higher.

From this weeks update :

“The Company believes that the business is now at a strategic inflection point with first generation products gaining widespread acceptance in international markets with large partners and the imminent launch of second generation products affording potential for future sales growth and uplifts in shareholder value.“

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 12:45

The one's on the know were selling or shorting the stock for the last couple days, too much corruption on this market...

HEMO 1.92p -0.60p Placing to Raise US$4.2 million @ 2p
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE: HEMO), the biopharmaceutical group developing new therapies and treatments for blood diseases, is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised US$4.2 million (£3.325 million) before expenses through the allotment and issue of 166,250,000 new ordinary shares at 2 pence per share (the "Placing", "Placing Shares").

The net proceeds from the Placing will be used to facilitate the development of the Company's Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells ("HEMO-CAR-T") for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia ("AML"). As announced on 9 February 2024, the Company was informed by the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") that it had lifted the clinical hold on the Investigational New Drug ("IND") application for HEMO-CAR-T for the treatment of AML. The funds have been raised to allow the Company to progress HEMO-CAR-T to phase 1 clinical trials.

An application is being made to the London Stock Exchange Main Market and admission of the Placing Shares to trading is expected on or around 6 March 2024 ("Admission"). The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares in the Company.

Dr Vladislav Sandler, CEO & Co-Founder of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals, commented:

"We are extremely pleased to have raised these funds to allow us to progress our lead asset, HEMO-CAR-T, to clinical trials. This is a key development that represents the progression of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals to become a clinical stage company and the fundraise was crucial to enable us to progress toward clinical trials, the essential next step for the development of HEMO-CAR-T. I would like to thank new and existing shareholders for their support and for contributing to this sizeable fundraise in difficult market conditions. The recent lifting of the clinical hold by the FDA on our HEMO-CAR-T programme followed a great effort from everyone at Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals for which I am very grateful."

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 12:28

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 29/2/2024 12:07

How the UPS are performing today