Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 14:43

FTSE 250 movers: CMC gains on update; China-related stocks slide
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,820.48 0.92%

CMC Markets gained as it said net operating income for the first half was expected to have risen 45% on the prior year to £180m and that it expects to have swung to a pre-tax profit of £51m from a loss of £2m.

The FTSE 250 company said that for the six months ended 30 September, it expected net operating income to rise 45% to £180m, compared to £123m in the same period last year.

Operating costs, excluding variable remuneration and non-recurring charges, were expected to decrease by 7% to £113m from £122m a year earlier.

As a result, CMC said it anticipated a profit before tax of around £51m, swinging from a £2m loss in the prior year.

The board said the strong performance reflected the company's focus on expanding its B2B segment and maintaining high levels of client trading activity.

CMC said it continued to enhance its product offerings, including the expansion of cash equities and options, and plans to launch cash ISAs in the UK.

Additionally, it said the onboarding of Revolut clients had begun, with a growing number of users actively trading on the platform.

CMC said its interim results were set to be released on 21 November.

Shares in cruise line operator Carnival also made strong gains, rising 5.64%.

Shares in China-related trusts were lower after a share fall on the Shanghai market overnight as investors worried about the lack of follow-up on government stimulus measures.

Asia Dragon Trust and Fidelity China Special Situations both fell in response.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Carnival (CCL) 1,367.50p 5.64%

IP Group (IPO) 51.10p 4.93%

St James's Place (STJ) 756.00p 4.35%

Genus (GNS) 2,140.00p 3.88%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 667.80p 3.73%

Petershill Partners (PHLL) 213.00p 3.65%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 409.00p 3.57%

Genuit Group (GEN) 480.00p 3.23%

SSP Group (SSPG) 165.30p 3.18%

Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 684.00p 3.01%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pennon Group (PNN) 547.50p -2.06%

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 220.50p -1.56%

PRS Reit (The) (PRSR) 104.60p -1.32%

Asia Dragon Trust (DGN) 431.00p -1.15%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 601.00p -0.99%

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 77.05p -0.96%

Helios Towers (HTWS) 108.00p -0.92%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 270.90p -0.91%

European Opportunities Trust (EOT) 850.00p -0.70%

Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 68.70p -0.58%

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 14:10

DOW

Opening up now 193 points higher

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 12:17

KEEP an EYE

TTG 93.50p ( 93.20 v 93.80p )

Yesterday's large drop and this morning's opening at 92p, most likely the order book gave the signal that the retracement is over and time to move forward.

Yesterday's chart gave 91.81p as the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement, usually the point of bounce back.

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 11:46

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 11:10

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 10:30

Hargreaves Lansdown buyers get deal approval from Switzerland

(Alliance News) - The buyers of Hargreaves Lansdown PLC gained a further regulatory approval for the planned acquisition, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Hargreaves Lansdown, the Bristol-based wealth management platform, in August had accepted a GBP5.44 billion offer from a consortium of private equity buyers.

A consortium, made up of CVC Private Equity Funds, Nordic Capital XI Delta and Platinum Ivy B 2018 RSC Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, agreed to pay 1,140 pence per share cash for each Hargreaves Lansdown share.

This includes a dividend of 30p per Hargreaves Lansdown share in respect of the financial year to June 30.

CVC Advisers Ltd said that on Tuesday, the Swiss Competition Commission unconditionally approved the planned acquisition.

The transaction is still subject to antitrust clearance from Turkish authorities and a receipt of approval of the change in control of some regulated entities within the HL Group by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

Hargreaves Lansdown shares were up 0.2% at 1,083.00 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 10:09

UK government cuts stake in NatWest to just below 16%

NatWest Group PLC - Edinburgh-based bank - The UK government has reduced its shareholding to just below 16% as of Monday from just below 17% previously, NatWest says in a stock exchange filing.

The UK government had owned as much as 84% of NatWest following a taxpayer bailout of what was then known as Royal Bank of Scotland Group during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
As recently as 2018, the government held a 62% stake, but it has been selling this down progressively since. The stake fell below 20% back in July.

Current stock price: 347.70 pence per share, down 0.3% on Wednesday morning in London

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 09:42

Netcall posts strong annual results as cloud solutions revenue soars
(Alliance News) - Netcall PLC on Wednesday announced increased annual profit and revenue, driven by a rising demand for cloud solutions.

Netcall is a customer engagement software provider based in Bedford, England. The company is currently undergoing a transition to a digital cloud business.

Netcall reported a 58% rise in pretax profit to GBP6.3 million for the 12 months that ended June 30 from GBP 4.0 million the year before, as revenue increased by 8.6% to GBP39.1 million from GBP36.0 million.

Netcall attributed this to a growing demand for cloud solutions due to "favourable" long-term macroeconomic trends for cloud computing, automation and customer experience.

Cloud services revenue rose by 19% to GBP19.8 million in the recent year from GBP16.6 million in financial 2023, with cloud subscriptions accounting for 90% of new bookings during the period.

Netcall declared a final dividend of 0.89 pence per share, up 7.2% from 0.83p a year previously. Netcall pays no interim dividend, so the final dividend represents its annual payout.

Netcall shares were up 2.9% at 88.00p each in London on Wednesday morning.

Looking ahead, Netcall remains confident in its success, and said it is "well-positioned" for growth and enhanced profitability.

Chief Executive James Ormondroyd commented: "This year has been another period of strong performance for Netcall. Our cloud services continue to receive growing demand from new and existing customers, driving increased revenue visibility and strong cash flow".

He continued: "Positive sales momentum has continued into the new financial year. Our robust pipeline and product roadmap, together with a growing base of recurring revenue and a healthy cash position, leaves us well-positioned to capitalise on the market opportunities ahead."

Netcall noted that in August it acquired Govtech Holdings Ltd and, in September, Parble. It expects both acquisitions to be "immediately earnings enhancing".

Additionally, the company added that it appointed James Platt as its Independent Non-Executive Director in September. He will join the board on October 24.

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 09:19

IXI 9.25p +0.25p
Ixico raises GBP4 million in equity raise at premium price

Ixico PLC - London-based medical analytics - Raises GBP4.0 million, as planned, from placing and subscription of new shares at 9.5 pence each.
The offer price represents a 5.6% premium to the stock's closing market price 9p on Monday, Ixico notes.
The placing is run by Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd. A separate retail share offer at the same price is targetted to raise up to an additional GBP250,000.
"The net proceeds from the fundraising will be instrumental in accelerating the growth and global commercial reach of our technology platform, ensuring we can meet the increasing unmet clinical need in neurological diseases and further develop and scale our product offerings across rapidly increasing areas of drug development," says Chief Executive Officer Bram Goorden.
Ixico calls a general meeting for October 25 to approve the equity raise.

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 08:34

Informa confirms full-year guidance amid Ascential takeover
(Alliance News) - Informa PLC on Wednesday reconfirmed its 2024 guidance, as it noted the strengthened platform of its live business-to-business events amid its acquisition of Ascential PLC.

The London-based business information publisher and events organiser said, following "growth, focus and reinvestment" in recent years for its Live & On-Demand B2B Events, B2B Digital Services and Academic Markets, it expects to enter 2025 with revenue of GBP4.00 billion, which would be 25% higher than GBP3.19 billion in 2023, which it had reported in March this year.

Further, Informa expects more than 5% underlying revenue growth.

Informa intends to update its business-to-business operating model in 2025 to "take full advantage of future growth opportunities" within the market.

The company's new Informa Festivals business is due to be rolled out on January 1, 2025, which involves experience-led events celebrating business through professional development and personal enrichment. It will also include Ascential's Cannes Lions and Money 20/20 event businesses.

Informa's GBP1.2 billion takeover of Ascential, a London-based organiser of events for marketing and technology sectors, received a court sanction on Tuesday and has begun to be implemented. Ascential shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning.

The company also said it expects its proposed combination of Informa Tech's digital business with New York-listed TechTarget to complete in the fourth quarter of this year. It noted that long-term growth in enterprise technology and use of business-to-business digital services was "strong", despite subdued market momentum.

Taylor & Francis, an academic market division of Informa, is on track to deliver strong double-digit underlying growth, with revenue as a mixture of underlying recurring revenue through to 2027 and "significant" in-year revenue in 2024.

Informa said it remains on track to deliver its previously upgraded full-year guidance for calendar 2024, which included revenue of more than GBP3.50 billion and adjusted operating profit between GBP970 million and GBP1.0 billion. This would be a 9.7% increase from the GBP3.19 billion in revenue reported at the end of financial 2023, and between a 14% to 17% rise from its GBP853.8 million adjusted operating profit in 2023.

Chief Executive Officer Stephen Carter said: "The completion of the Ascential acquisition, creation of Informa Festivals and prospective creation of Informa TechTarget will establish leadership and scale in all our chosen business-to-business market segments, complementing our strength in academic markets and creating a platform for growth from 2025 to 2030.

"Over the last few years, our strategy has been to build further strength and depth in B2B businesses, targeting new growth opportunities as the live B2B events market segments and becomes increasingly sophisticated, and B2B digital services mature."

Shares in Informa were up 1.8% at 815.80 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 07:36

Mondi to acquire packaging assets of Schumacher Packaging

(Alliance News) - Mondi PLC said on Wednesday it has agreed to acquire packaging assets of Schumacher Packaging GmbH for an enterprise value of EUR634 million, expanding its corrugated footprint in Western Europe.

Mondi shares rose 3.4% to 1,450.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. It traded up 3.1% at ZAR333.95 in Johannesburg.

The Weybridge, England-based packaging firm will buy the German, Benelux and UK corrugated converting and solid board operations of Schumacher Packaging. Benelux refers to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

The deal is for an enterprise value of EUR634 million, which will be financed from Mondi's existing facilities.

Mondi said these operations complement its existing network of corrugated plants across Central and Eastern Europe. The acquisition comprises seven corrugated converting plants, two solid board mills and four solid board converting plants.

This acquisition, it said, will expand its corrugated footprint in Western Europe and add complementary fibre-based products.

[master rsi] 09/10/2024 07:17

FTSE

Opening higher with 33 points

[master rsi] 08/10/2024 23:15

3 STOCKS LOSING PLENTY of GROUND

[master rsi] 08/10/2024 22:59

VOLUME AND RISING

[master rsi] 08/10/2024 22:14

US close: Tech stocks lead markets higher

US stocks finished higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq outperforming the other main benchmarks as all Magnificent Seven heavyweights advanced.

The Dow rose 0.3%, rebounding slightly after retreating sharply from a record high the previous session, while the S&P 500 gained 1% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.5%.

Nevertheless, global equity markets were volatile earlier in the day after China's National Development and Reform Commission underwhelmed failed to deliver more stimulus measures at their conference, causing stocks with heavy exposure to China to drop.

Markets in mainland China rose strongly as traders returned to their desks following the Golden Week break, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong - which stayed open during the week-long holiday - tumbled 9.4%.

Oil prices were pulling back sharply on Tuesday after surging to a six-week high the previous session. West Texas Intermediate was down 4.4% at $73.78 a barrel, after topping the $77 mark on Monday on the back of supply concerns amid another escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

[master rsi] 08/10/2024 21:57

SFOR 41p +0.50p
Monks and Hoorah's new partnership promises AI-led growth in Africa - 8 Oct 2024

Full-service digital marketing agency Hoorah announced today that global advertising and marketing services company Monks has acquired a 25% stake in the business, marking a strategic move to expand its presence on the African continent.

Full-suite
Monks, previously known as Media.Monks, the operating brand of UK-listed S4 Capital is a global digital marketing agency that specialises in creating innovative and personalised brand experiences. With a focus on Al-driven solutions, Monks offers a wide range of services, including creative production, content marketing, social media marketing, and data analytics......more