See what's trending this week...
Companies: FOUR, DEMG, FFHHF, FA/, FCRM, NXT, PHD, TRIN, VTU, XPP
NEXT (NXT)
2% FY 19 PBT Guidance upgrade | Whitman Howard, 10 May
Paid Access
"Overall Next has benefited from weak comparatives as anticipated plus some late period weather effects which have combined to allow full-year PBT guidance to be raised by 2%. The numbers highlight the structural issues facing both Next and UK Retail in total. While the online Full Price sales growth of 18.1% was much better than we expected (+12%) Retail (the shops) were down 4.8% against a very weak comparative of -8.1% despite the weather boost..."
NEXT (NXT)
Acceleration in Q1 | AlphaValue, 10 May
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"Next has released great acceleration in Q1 and has upgraded its full-year guidance. Full-price sales increased by 6% and full-year sales are expected to grow by 2.2%..."
4Imprint Group (FOUR)
Sales and profit ahead of expectations | finnCap, 8 May
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"4imprint has confirmed that trading in the first four months of the year has been ahead of expectations, with sales growth +16% on last year (our full-year forecast was +10%) and order intake +15%. While the comparatives will get harder as the year progresses, we have upgraded our FY 2018E sales forecasts by +2.2% (to give FY 2018E growth of 12.5%) and upgraded EPS and DPS by 3.8%. .."
Fulcrum Utility Services (FCRM)
Sector leading returns and earnings growth | N+1 Singer, 10 May
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"Fulcrum is a leading provider of utility connection services across the UK. It has a strong recent track record, with adj. operating profit growing organically from £1.1m to £6.5m over the last two years. The Group has two segments, Infrastructure Services (high margin utility connections business) and Asset Ownership (recurring revenue at a very high margin as gas and electric flows through installed networks), and it recently acquired an electricity connections business named Dunamis..."
XP Power (XPP)
Rounding out the portfolio | Edison, 10 May
Free Access
"With the acquisition of Glassman High Voltage, XP continues in its quest to expand its product portfolio to include high-voltage and high-power products. The acquisition should help XP to further penetrate key accounts, as well as adding new customers. XP is paying £31.8m in cash, funded by extending the company’s credit facility, and expects the deal to be earnings enhancing in FY18. .."
FFI Holdings (FFI)
Pre-close: 2018 EBIT increased 7% but EPS unchanged due to tax | Liberum, 9 May
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"Pre-close guides to in line with expectations and we increase our low FY 2018 EBIT by 7% but keep EPS unchanged due to tax. FY 2019 and 2020 EBIT estimates unchanged..."
Trinity Exploration & Production (TRIN)
FY17 results | Whitman Howard, 10 May
Paid Access
"Trinity released its FY17 results this morning. Most of the key financials had already been announced in its March trading statement, and 2018 guidance remains unchanged. However, we increase our RENAV from 33p to 35p to reflect strong onshore reserves growth. We remain with our BUY recommendation given the potential for certain overhangs to be removed in 2018 and more confidence around cash flow given strong oil prices YTD..."
Deltex Medical Group (DEMG)
Operational Momentum Improving | Arden Partners, 9 May
Paid Access
"Deltex has reported FY17 results inline with forecasts following the Group’s trading update in January. FY17 Revenue came in at £5.9m, with improved gross margins at 75% (2016: 68%) and operating loss of £1.9m. Net debt at year end was £1.6m albeit with £2.0m new capital raised in 2018 after the year end..."
Vertu Motors (VTU)
Positioned to take advantage | Zeus Capital, 9 May
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"Vertu has delivered a robust set of FY2018A results, which are 3% ahead of our forecasts at the adjusted EPS level. We maintain our headline forecasts at this juncture, following good levels of outperformance in March and April this year despite a tough market backdrop. We believe the asset backing in this Group remains compelling and it remains well positioned to deliver strong levels of shareholder value across a number of different fronts..."
Sprue Aegis (SPRP)
Settlement agreement/results 15 May 2018 | Stockdale, 10 May
Paid Access
"We are encouraged that Sprue has reached an agreement with BRK, which will result in an orderly termination between the parties of both the distribution agreement (DA) and manufacturing & supply agreement (MA). The summary bullet points of the settlement are shown below. We are also encouraged that the £3m of the revolving credit facility (RCF) that was drawn down at the end of March 2018 has subsequently been repaid..."
Proactis (PHD)
Downgrading forecasts but positive stance retained | N+1 Singer, 8 May
Paid Access
"Interim figures on 24 April were in line with the February trading update. However, management signalled a weaker outlook for H2 than the H1 update suggested due to a combination of factors including adverse currency movement, customer losses, weak order intake in early H2 and supplier revenue deferral. We have downgraded our FY 2018 revenue and EBITDA estimates by 9% and 21%, and our corresponding FY 2019 estimates by 11% and 18%..."
