Daily Stock Market Report (Thur 1 May 2025) - IPF, WJG, TLY, RCH, SAG, CKN, SDR, COG, MGNS, MCON
Good morning - it's officially the start of summer! With rising temperatures, my cooling fan has officially made its return to the office.
Our agenda is still under construction - sorry it will be slower than normal as I'm working on my own today. The agenda is finished now.
I'll be working late through the afternoon on this report - please continue to check back for updates. I appreciate your patience!
5.30pm: thanks again for your patience as I worked my way through some short sections. Roland will take care of the report tomorrow. See you next time!
Companies Reporting
| Name (Mkt Cap) | RNS | Summary | Our view (Author) |
|---|---|---|---|
Rolls-Royce Holdings (LON:RR.) (£64bn) | Strong start. Tariff impact to be offset. Confidence in guidance for £2.7-2.9bn adj. op profit. | ||
London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG) (£62bn) | Strong start. Full year guidance confirmed. Total income +8.7% including M&A, +7.8% organic. | ||
Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) (£44bn) | Q1 profit after tax £1.1bn (LY: £1.2bn). Return on tang. equity 12.6%. Guidance confirmed. | ||
Informa (LON:INF) (£9.6bn) | Q1 underlying revenue growth 7.6%. Full year guidance reaffirmed (revenue growth 5%+). | ||
Schroders (LON:SDR) (£5.3bn) | Net inflows of £1.1bn if we exclude joint ventures/associates. Asset management is neutral, while wealth management saw inflows. But at the same time there were £8.5bn of outflows from JVs/associates. | GREEN (Graham) I was GREEN on Aberdeen yesterday and it's only fair that I go GREEN on this one, too. We have another giant in the UK asset management industry with very modest outflows (or inflows, depending on how you count it). So another demonstration that it's not all doom and gloom in fund management right now. Just like Aberdeen, Schroders is in another league to the smaller fund managers we cover in this report, and is more than just a fund manager. Additionally, I appreciate the history of this company (well over 200 years old) and its continued ownership by the Schroder family. At a P/E ratio of 11x, I think this is quite attractive. | |
Whitbread (LON:WTB) (£4.6bn) | Rev -1%: lower food & beverage revenues. Profit after tax falls 19% to £254m. 5-year plan on track. | ||
Persimmon (LON:PSN) (£4.2bn) | On track for growth in completions to 11 - 11.5k for the full year, assuming a stable housing market. | ||
Hiscox (LON:HSX) (£3.7bn) | No change in estimates for California wildfires. Written premiums +2.4% to $1,558m. | ||
Computacenter (LON:CCC) (£2.6bn) | Q1 in line. No direct tariff exposure. Order backlog healthy in all regions, comfortably up y/y. | ||
Drax (LON:DRX) (£2.2bn) | Full year 2025 adj. EBITDA to be around the top end of consensus (£848 - 896m). | ||
Morgan Sindall (LON:MGNS) (£1.7bn) | Trading so far is better than originally expected. Strong confidence full year in line. The "Fit Out" division is noted to be particularly strong once again. Daily average net cash £369m, including amounts held in jointly controlled operations. | GREEN (Graham) [no section below] Roland reported positively on this in March when this construction and regeneration company raised expectations for 2025. He noted that guidance upgrades for the company were "almost routine". Today we have more of the same - it's not quite an upgrade, but it does say that the year has started better than they expected. This stock does not trade as cheaply as other construction companies but I'll defer to Roland's expertise on it - based on the track record of growth, it does appear to be a cut above for the sector. Additionally it is ranked as a Super Stock by the algorithms. | |
Lancashire Holdings (LON:LRE) (£1.35bn) | Gross written premiums +12.7%. Wildfire estimates unchanged. Still expecting ROE in mid-teens. | ||
Sigmaroc (LON:SRC) (£1.01bn) | Q1 “solid”, rev & underlying EBITDA marginally ahead of exps. Outlook for FY25 unchanged. | ||
Clarkson (LON:CKN) (£1.01bn) | SP down 9% Profit Warning. At current USD exchange rates profits to reduce by £9.5m vs expectations. There will also be higher fees on Chinese vessels entering US ports. Adjusted PBT to be £85-95m with an H2 weighting. | BLACK (AMBER/RED) (Graham) [no section below] The impact of a trade war on the shipping industry is beginning to bite with the weak dollar being the main issue at the moment. Clarkson reports its numbers in pounds but earns broking revenue denominated in USD. I think this stock could still be a fine long-term hold but in light of this warning I'll cut our stance by one notch. See Roland's detailed coverage in March for analysis of their full-year results, which included a very healthy net cash position. So again this is not one that I'm too worried about long-term, but earnings estimates were already under pressure in early March, several weeks before the trade issue kicked off. So I think it's fair to say that the prospect of earnings growth here in the next couple of years is dim to say the least. | |
Johnson Service (LON:JSG) (£577m) | Q1 rev +6.1%, in line. Organic revenue +2.2%. Debt to peak at £100m. Confident outlook. | ||
Mears (LON:MER) (£335m) | Housing Repairs & Maintenance award from Milton Keynes. £230m value of 5 years. Option to extend. | ||
International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) (£305m) | Strong start. Lending +12%. Confident we will continue to perform against plans for 2025. | GREEN (Graham holds) | |
Reach (LON:RCH) (£242m) | On track to deliver full year expectations. Revenue -3.7% in Q1. Digital +1.6%, print -5.1%. | AMBER/GREEN (Graham) [no section below] More of the same from Reach, weak print revenues while digital revenues are doing ok. The new CEO points out he has been with the company for "over a decade" so is already extremely familiar with its challenges. I love the cheapness here but with my co-writers taking a more cautious stance I'll leave the AMBER/GREEN stance unchanged. It's a remarkable opportunity if it can continue to pump out cash for a few more years than the market is pricing in - P/E ratio only 3.3x on the StockReport! But it will need to make large contributions to its pension deficit for the next few years. | |
Science (LON:SAG) (£196m) | Again criticises Ricardo, and Ricardo’s recent update. Proposes to remove Ricardo chair at GM. | AMBER/GREEN (Graham) [no section below] The attack on the Ricardo board continues with detailed complaints against the company's track record, strategy, updates to the market, etc. For the avoidance of doubt I don't disagree with their complaints. They also criticise the Ricardo board for using too many words to criticise Science Group, but Science Group themselves are not afraid of using a large quantity of words to criticise Ricardo! As I said when this began, my problem with hostile activism is that it can lead to "more heat than light", in Shakespeare's words. Science Group have now spoken with their fellow Ricardo shareholders, and are coming to terms with the fact that these groups have a variety of different views. This leads to a tamer proposal from them: instead of booting out the Ricardo Chair and replacing him with their own, they are content for now merely to boot out the Ricardo Chair, and then see what happens next. | |
Keystone Law (LON:KEYS) (£162m) | 2025 adj. PBT +12.8% to £12.7m. Current trading: positive start, 2026 expected to be in line. | ||
Synthomer (LON:SYNT) (£135m) | Q1 2025 EBITDA and margin ahead of Q1 2024. No change to exp of earnings progress in 2025. | ||
Mincon (LON:MCON) (£67m) | Q1 rev +3%. North America orders lower than expected. Outlook: order books are strong & growing. | AMBER (Graham) [no section below] I'd like to be more positive on this Irish rock drilling company but I'm not sure if the time is right. Today's update is very confident in future prospects but actual revenue growth in Q1 was only 3%, with the company's largest market (North America) disappointing them. The storied "Greenhammer" product is the subject of advanced negotiations, with a contract expected to commence in Q3. Perhaps this will be the game changer, the event that sets the stock alight? But the StockRanks are neutral and I must reluctantly agree that a neutral stance is the most sensible one for now | |
Mkango Resources (LON:MKA) (£59m) | Cash $1.16m as of Dec 2024, then raised £2.34m. 25 million warrants could also be exercised at 7p. | ||
Ten Lifestyle (LON:TENG) (£54m) | Concierge and lifestyle programme for the clients of a Private bank in the Middle East. | ||
Pulsar (LON:PULS) (£48m) | Rev £62m (2023: £62.4m). Adj. EBITDA £9.3m (2023: £7.3m). ARR growth of £0.6m in 2025 ytd. | ||
Clean Power Hydrogen (LON:CPH2) (£20m) | Loss of £14.4m for 2024 including impairments. Year-end cash £0.3m. Raised £5.7m in new year. | ||
Wynnstay Properties (LON:WSP) (£19m) | Fair value of portfolio £42.9m. Net debt £8m. Rental income £2.7m. Fully let now. | ||
Cambridge Cognition Holdings (LON:COG) (£15m) | SP +6% Rev £10.3m (2023: £13.5m). Opex reduced by £4.4m. Improved adj. EBITDA loss to almost breakeven. | RED (Graham) [no section below] I wish this company well and the market has reacted positively to today's results. However, the company finished last year with net debt of £0.6m (cash of only £1.3m and loans of £1.9m). There is a going concern warning in the footnotes, acknowledging that a fundraising would be needed in a potential downside scenario. Losses have reduced and there are positive indications that the company is doing what it can to avoid needing much more additional equity, but I have to be RED on this as a matter of principle, as I don't think the existing equity is safe. | |
Parkmead (LON:PMG) (£15m) | Parkmead has received £7.3m cash and will receive £7m. Another up to £120m contingent. | ||
Itaconix (LON:ITX) (£14m) | Production costs up but revenues up too. Board expectations for 2025 remain unchanged. | ||
Totally (LON:TLY) (£8m) | SP down 60% | BLACK (RED) (Graham) [no section below] |
International Personal Finance (LON:IPF)
Up 2% to 142p (£310m) - Q1 2025 - Graham - GREEN
At the time of publication, Graham has a long position in IPF.
This is a nice, reassuring update from a company on a P/E ratio of less than 6x and that has a dividend yield of 9%! With a valuation like that, it’s clear that investors are wary of this one.
But trading is good:
A strong start to the year provides an excellent platform for delivering our 2025 operational and financial plan with confidence.
Some highlights for Q1, with growth rates against Q1 last year:
Lending up 12% at constant FX.
Net receivables up 10% to £885m.
Further improvement in the annualised impairment rate to 9%.
My impression is that IPF tends to budget for a higher impairment rate, and they are more often than not positively surprised by their customers’ repayment behaviour. Their impairment rate was 12.2% in 2023 and then 9.6% in 2024, before currently running at 9%.
Their target impairment rate is 14% to 16%, which assumes much higher impairments in their growth market of Mexico.
One slight miss relates to their “revenue yield” (revenue divided by receivables), which is below their target range but which they expect will improve during the year. I don’t think shareholders will compare too loudly about this given that impairments are so low.
CEO comment excerpt:
"We have begun the year with real momentum, which is reflected in the sustained growth we have delivered in customer lending and receivables across the Group…
Both our balance sheet and funding position are in great shape, and with our strong first quarter performance, we are confident in our ability to accelerate growth and increase financial inclusion through the remainder of 2025.
Balance sheet: on the subject of the balance sheet, they have borrowings of £522m with headroom of £122m. I acknowledge that this borrowing figure might be considered scary in the context of a fairly low market cap.
However, IPF remains over-capitalised according to its own targets. It wants to have balance sheet equity that’s equal to 40% of its receivables, but it actually has 55%. This figure has increased again in the first quarter of the year (54%). If they insist on getting this down to 40%, perhaps another buyback will be needed to help make it happen?
Outlook
We have strong growth momentum, excellent credit quality and a very robust funding and capital position. Our strategic progress and track record of operational resilience give us confidence that we will continue to perform successfully against our financial plans for 2025.
Graham’s view
I have long acknowledged the risks here - consumer lending in foreign markets at reasonably high (but competitive) rates is always going to carry uncertainties. But the company is highly profitable and undoubtedly cheap in P/E multiple terms.
It’s up to us to decide if we are comfortable with IPF’s balance sheet and use of leverage - personally, I am satisfied and in fact I would be really keen to see a little more emphasis on buybacks. A £15m buyback is due to begin shortly, and I’d love to see another one after that. I’d love to see IPF materially reduce its share count at this valuation: a PER of less than 6x and at a significant discount to tangible book value (c. £400m).
I think this would be a terrific use of cash, that would permanently benefit long-term shareholders, with an impact that would exceed the impact of using cash for dividends - IPF is currently expected to pay out over £25m in dividends this year.
As I always say with financial stocks, it’s key to diversify as accidents do happen.
That being said, this is definitely one of my favourite financials in the market right now, regardless of whether or not they increase their buyback activity further. See my coverage in the archives including my interview with the CEO and CFO last year. I view this as a responsible lender with a good management team, diversified geographic exposure, a track record of managing regulatory change, and some interesting growth opportunities.
Watkin Jones (LON:WJG)
Down 4% over the last 5 days to 31.7p (£81m) - HY25 Trading Statement (yesterday) - Graham - AMBER/GREEN
Catching up on this in response to a reader request.
Yesterday’s H1 trading update (to March) said:
In what remains a challenging market backdrop, management have continued to focus on delivery, cost management and cash generation. Our strong operational focus is expected to result in a small positive operating profit for the period, with good construction delivery on in-build schemes which have traded in line with our stated margin guidance.
Net cash at 31st March was £73m (a year ago this was £44m, six months ago it was £83m - there are seasonal swings).
They finish by saying:
We are monitoring market volatility and conditions closely, in particular those relating to residential transactional liquidity, but our current pipeline continues to provide the potential to deliver an expected stronger second half.
Estimates
Progressive Research are retained by Watkin Jones to publish research on the company and they published another very detailed report yesterday - but they do not yet provide any estimates for FY September 2025. It’s remarkable that the company is still in the “too difficult” tray, even for the commissioned researcher!
Graham’s view
I note that this share has recovered further since my coverage in January.
A key point is that the cash balance is vulnerable to provisions for remedial works.
The building safety provision according to the last set of full-year results was £48m and was still increasing.
I’ve been moderately positive on WJG, due to the company having tangible net assets of over £120m. That figure is calculated after allowing for the impact of provisions.
I’m inclined to leave that stance unchanged for now. The company is modestly profitable and expects a better second half - how much more could we really expect, given where the stock is trading now?
Provisions for remedial works aren’t the only problem. In the last few years, the higher interest rate environment has made it much more difficult to find institutions who are willing to forward-fund Watkin Jones’s projects (Build-to-rent and purpose-built student accommodation). It's hard to say when this funding model will become popular again. But again, given the big discount to tangible book value, surely this is in the price?
Disclaimer
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53 comments
Don't want to jinx it but is it just me or are things really picking up in the UK small / mid cap market (finally)?
Wonder if a little bit of money is starting to flow in as people try to diversify from super concentrated US exposure?
AIM showing possible signs of life. A neo-bowl? Not miles from the 120-day average.....
Pigs being fed and prepared for lift-off....
Thank you for your comment on WJG Graham, we continue to hold. I'd been monitoring IPF since you met the CEO and we're happy we are now shareholders after reading todays update! I have noted the more cautious comments this morning too but my only regret is I didn't buy on your earlier coverage.
A brief history for the last 10 years in exactly what’s happening in May!
Just to clear some confusion and to provide real time information and facts rather than post ancient sayings.
All the best
But is Mars in retrograde?
I was never good in science
Cohort (LON:CHRT) large new 15 year contract but shares are down.
Eleco (LON:ELCO) final results out today, look ok, market likes them, shares are up 10%.
Currys (LON:CURY) DP Poland (LON:DPP) and 2 more Co's
Are you interested in meeting management teams face to face? Yellowstone Advisory is organising an in person event with 4 listed smaller companies on 21 May and you are invited to attend.
Management teams from Currys, DP Poland and 2 other TBC will be presenting and there will be plenty of time after the presentations for informal discussions with the management teams over drinks and canapes.
The event starts at 5.30pm in EC1
Register:
https://www.yellowstoneadvisor...
https://www.wallstreetzen.com/...
Has some interesting seasonality info just click you don't want the five hot tips report and you will go through to the article.
Does seem something in it all be it July seems decent and i'm not sure if above denotes global stocks or purely S&P 500 returns , maybe sell end July back in October possibly.
You generally get poor returns in the Summer for ASX. Similar with .INX
The May Investment Trust-Thoughts has been published here https://www.stockopedia.com/co....
At the bottom of the introduction I have listed PE trusts and renewables trading on large discounts. Maybe the shake up of REIT's will spill over. Worst performers last mont, not surprisingly China and Vietnam. I remain bullish on Vietnam, I hold VietNam Holding (LON:VNH) and VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund (LON:VOF) . Nothing in China at the moment, but the time might be coming for a look. PE funds have huge discounts, my worst performer being Hydrogenone Capital Growth (LON:HGEN) which I hope (in vain) the board might do the decent thing and get the portfolio sold and return the funds to shareholders. Not much chance of that happening.
Sell in May and Go Away.
There are over 300 years of data to support this saying. But every year is different so it is ignored. Curious what readers make of this?
But when does the data say you should buy back !!!
Come back on St.Ledger's day. The last week of September.
It is one of the strategies that does seem to work almost every year I have used it successfully for many years
Morning folks
I posted a note on CVS (LON:CVSG) a few days ago. The shares popped 13% this morning, I can only assume on the publication of the CMA report this morning. The CMA report must be positive given the share price response and well done to the market makers who digested its 162 pages before 08:30. I now have todays reading sorted and will post a summary if anyone has any interest.
The CMA report can be found here for those holding the shares:
Remedies: vets market investigation working paper
Has anyone read this yet?
EDIT: Just read CalvertonOne's post below ... sorry for tediously repeating your post!!
Positive statement from Johnson Service (LON:JSG) this morning ahead of the AGM. It may not be exciting but numbers are steadily improving, a good well covered dividend, and possible move to the main market. I hold.
I notice the CMA have published their 'Vets Market Investigation - Remedies working paper' this morning. This looks positive news for CVS (LON:CVSG) who are up 12% this morning and Pets at Home (LON:PETS) , who were deemed to be less impacted by the CMA recommendations, up 3%.
https://www.gov.uk/government/...
Eleco (LON:ELCO) (I hold) annual results ahead of expectations on revenue, profitability, and cash. ARR increases 18%. CEO states "We remain confident that with the initiatives and investments we are making, Eleco will see a strong growth trajectory going forward, despite the present geopolitical and macroeconomic situation."
Market likes the update as it is up around 10% at the time of writing.
Would be great if you had a chance to have a ramble on 4imprint (LON:FOUR) Graham results look okay given the current macro background would you be tempted at this level or hold off until tariff situation becomes clearer (if it ever does).
Regards
Andy
Graham commented on the results for 4imprint (LON:FOUR) in the 12 Mar report
Hi Andy, sorry this is a very late reply to your request but I don't see any news on 4imprint?
No worries Graham it was my mistake thought something was afoot and then realised its ex dividend today doh
No worries!
Tracsis (LON:TRCS)
The recent interims were poor to say the least and the outlook downbeat, but the company has some impressive technology and the share price keeps ticking up, despite the former.
Currently 445p to sell. Does someone know what I and other private investors don't?
I looked to buy some TRCS first thing last Friday when it was 320p. Checked the Stocko stock report and though "nah". What a miss!
This stock is quite illiquid so price movements can be very jerky on relatvely small volumes. Once the share buyback programme starts I would expect price support barring disasters
Whitbread (LON:WTB)
Nice boring company with sound balance sheet and very modest rating - happy to hold onto these despite the actual numbers being very tepid. Ok they may have real headwinds with "everything" being more expensive in life than it was last year - seemingly every year real cost increases are above inflation. Long term though the buisness model is pretty simple and they have decent liquidity and decent property portfolio.
I wander if we will ever trend back to low inflation environment worldwide - kinda bored waiting myself.
Yes this is one of Paul's favourites before he left. Not surprised that such a boring update today brings the price back up near 5% whilst a growth company like Morgan Sindall (LON:MGNS) with an exciting update today is lifted a mere 0.1%
While the Whitbread (LON:WTB) update may have been boring, I do think the Premier Inn brand and the depth of experience are strong advantages. There is plenty of room to expand still, they are at the start of a journey in Germany (finally turning profitable) and have real pricing power in the UK, with clever initiatives like 'Premier Plus' rooms at a premium price. It's exceptionally tough for the hospitality sector right now and Whitbread (LON:WTB) have the staying power to emerge unscathed with smaller competitors having left the market. The asset backing provides comfort, they own quite a few of the sites (and are planning to sell less profitable ones and re-invest the capital elsewhere).
My understanding was that Whitbread (LON:WTB) would sell and leaseback hotels rather than sell them if entirely?
Well I will say that I personally hold Whitbread (LON:WTB) for the Shareholder Card, so this is the minimum holding to get the card, but it gives you free breakfast for you and other adult guests staying with you, and 25% of evening meals for all guests (adult and younger persons). This has given a 6% return on purchase since September 2024 by itself.
The holding for benefits is 64 shares, I hold through AJ Bell (SIPP), it took about a week to get the card, I just raised it through the chat function and card was delivered.
So I had sold out of Mum's Pension (ISA) when they sold Costa to Coke, as felt that was the growth of the business and why I had been holding at that point.
Now it is Premier Inn which does what it says on the tin, I like it, my mum likes it, my kids like it. Yes it is always cyclical to consumer spending, but there are still a lot of folks out there with a lot of money, and they know their market and target audience - have you tried booking a room in Keswick (Lake District) during the holidays for example, or Sheffield City Centre during the kids Swimming County Championship at Ponds Forge?
So for me it is manage the debt down, quietly and sensibly keep slowly growing Premier Inn, manage the staffing - always an issue unless you are the only player in the area. This is all stuff they know and do well. So is it going to "one bag in a year" no. Is it going to slowly keep plodding along, giving a dividend, giving me shareholder benefits yes.
Tommy
Hi Tommy
I don't hold, but like Whitbread (LON:WTB). My son, who works for a large multi-national remarked a few years ago that consistency of quality/service is one of the hallmarks of a good business. There are off course many more, but with Premier Inn you know that you are going to get, clean and comfortable accommodation without getting ripped off. In some ways it reminds me of Pizza Express, you know that you will get a decent pizza and usually good service, again without having to take out a mortgage.
On the subject of shareholder cards, I recently bought shares in Fuller Smith & Turner (LON:FSTA) when they were trading close to 500p. Investment thesis; trading well, substantial discount to NAV (most of the estate is freehold), decent yield etc. The cherry on the cake was that I got an 'Inndulgence Card' that entitles one to a 15% discount on food and drink and from memory accommodation at some of their pubs/hotels. The minimum holding is 1000 shares.
All the best
Thanks for the positive feedback re: IPF. Good luck to us all as I'm a shareholder here, too!
Reach (LON:RCH) reassuring first announcement from the new ceo hopefully the market sentiment for this company can now improve.
I really don’t get the market…… dividend day on a c7% dividend re affirming £90m + profit for company with market cap of £250m ish ……. What am I missing
Print circulation is a declining market, but accounts for 75% of revenues. While it has been developing digital revenues, profitability has largely arisen from managing the print decline by cost cutting and efficiencies.
Whilst International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) is making great returns at the moment , we shouldn't forget this is sub-prime lending in developing markets. There's some good diversity by geography but there's still the possibility of blow-ups in low quality lending and the long term track record is poor. Perhaps trading at tangible book value would be fair but not much higher than that imo
International Personal Finance (LON:IPF)
my main question here would be the rate they are paying to borrow money - am i reading it right that they are paying 10% to get finance before they borrow. For any company paying such rates it seems odd to have uber high payouts to sharholders. Perhaps if p/e if under 6 the logic for dishing out money to shareholders short term (so they can buy more) might make sense - but anything above 6% for financing to me seems high. Yes i get it their margins are probably such that this can be tolerated - but thats in normal times. The issue is alwasy in a cruch when customers stop repaying - funding gets harder or regulatory issues issuescheaper competition throw a might spanner in the works.
Are they paying such high rates to borrow money and whay arent the board prioriting long term being in a position they dont need to borrow at 10%. Odds are a competitor who doesnt need to borrow at 10% may turn up.
and the long term track record is poor.
really - the results since 2019 look pretty sound to me ? am i missing something here.
As ever with companies like this - cheap is is good if they can churn out profits for the next five years - but if they debt is expensive i would say behind the scenes we dont know how sustainable real profits are and what risks lie ahead. Just look at Argentex (LON:AGFX) recently and how hard hit many of the car finance companies have been hit too.
As I recall years ago they were known as Provident Financial - a favourite of Woodford - and a 'doorstep' lender so costs high and interest rates to match.
Provident Financial is now known as Vanquis Banking (LON:VANQ). As far as I am aware there is no connection with International Personal Finance (LON:IPF).
I think the presence of Donald Trump is a pretty big turn off for the attractiveness of IPF
I was contemplating increasing my position after reading the results but the overhanging threats in the air hold me back
I think they do need to get a bit more aggressive with buybacks to land the right side of the risk / reward calculation for me to take a bit of a bigger position
Science Group have published an RNS containing a lengthy discussion on options for shareholders in Ricardo Plc. It concludes :
"......Science Group has been left with no alternative but to requisition a general meeting to determine whether Ricardo shareholders have confidence, or not, in the leadership of the Ricardo Board. Science Group, as the second largest Ricardo shareholder, does not have confidence and believes it is in all Ricardo shareholders' interests to make the necessary change at the present time."
Sigmaroc (LON:SRC) I hold
Reassuring AGM statement today reporting solid Q1 trading.
Max Vermorken, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"I reported at the time of our final results that the first two months of the year had started well, and I am pleased to say that this trend has continued in March with trading marginally ahead of our expectations.
Although the political and economic environment is currently volatile, the lime and minerals markets are indispensable to the proper functioning of all areas of the European economy. SigmaRoc remains at the heart of this with the supply of essential products to the industrial, environmental and construction markets."
I'm hoping that end markets will continue to improve and I think that SRC are at the leading edge of self help and decarbonising their operations which bodes well for shareholders.
International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) It’s hard to go wrong when companies keep putting out genuine positive reports. All the indicators are that International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) are going to grow EPS and therefore the SP should respond (they also pay a fabulous dividend). I have to thank Graham for alerting me to International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) several months ago and it’s now my strongest conviction holding.
International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) results met with complete indifference by the market. Up a miserly 1.1%.
This surprised me although something similar happened on last trading update and it turned out to be a buying opportunity as the big boys stepped in a couple of days later. It’s also ex div at the moment.
Looks like picked up a bit since the Americans woke up
As Graham put me onto them, hopefully International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) will make an appearance today. RNS sounds positive with customer lending up 12% and impairment rate down to 9%, with a share buyback yet to start.
International Personal Finance (LON:IPF) update reads well:
· A strong start to the year provides an excellent platform for delivering our 2025 operational and financial plan with confidence.
· Customer lending momentum continued in Q1, up 12% at constant exchange rates (CER) year on year, reflecting continued strong demand.
· Closing net receivables increased by 10% year on year at CER to £885m.
· Excellent customer repayment behaviour and credit quality drove a further improvement in the Group's annualised impairment rate to 9%.
· Strong balance sheet and funding position, including £36m of new bank facilities secured in 2025 and significant headroom of £122m, support our plans to accelerate growth.
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com...
Pinch & a punch!