Ian Pollard – Royal Mail #RMG Executives Struck Dumb
Royal Mail plc RMG finds plenty to highlight in its interim results for the half year to the 23rd September. A rise of 1% in revenue is one of the best. Apart from that, underlying adjusted profit before tax was down 27 per cent and· adjusted basic earnings per share fell by about a third […]
Ian Pollard – Housebuilders In Cloud Cuckoo Land
Bovis Homes BVG delivered a total of 1,580 completions in the half year to the 3oth June, slightly ahead of expectations and an increase of 4% on the previous year. Average selling prices for private houses only managed by a whisker to avoid falling into negative territory at £335,000 compared to last years £334,700. The […]
Ian Pollard – WPP #WPP, not a pretty year
WPP plc WPP “Not a pretty year” says Sir Martin Sorrell about his companies performance in 2017.Top line growth was flat and operating margins and profits were either flat or only marginally up. To add to the gloom, 2018 has had a slow start which managed to be above budget but in January like for […]
Bovis Profits And Completions Tumble
Bovis Group BVS It is years since a major house builder produced such an appalling set of results. To do so at a time when the industry is in a long term boom illustrates the depth and severity of the problems which Bovis created for itself and to which management was too inept to find […]
Is Primark Ex Growth ?
Associated British Foods ABF freely admits that it has been a major beneficiary of sterling weakness over the 40 weeks to the 24th June. Group revenue during the period grew at constant currency rates by 10% but on an actual exchange rate basis it was double that at 20%. Third quarter underlying operating performance was […]
Bashful Bovis Rejects Bids
Bovis Homes BVH is in demand by predators if not by investors, with bids over the weekend being announced from Redrow RDW and Galliford Try GFRD, neither of whom knew that the other was interested. Bovis, no doubt delighted that it has found an escape route from its management problems, decided that the bride price […]
Bovis Comes Clean At Last Over Poor Build Quality
Bovis Homes Group BVS is being forced into taking a one off £7m hit because of claims arising from its poor build quality and it is brazen faced enough not to issue an apology either to the shareholders or even more importantly, to its customers. In fact in 2016 it imposed a rise of 10% […]
Bovis – Signs of Trouble Ahead for Housebuilders
The blizzards now raging on the Athenian coast will no doubt keep the weather pundits busy for a day or so and the most popular explanation from the chattering clashes is likely to be that global warming is responsible, which leads us on to the warning signs of storms ahead for the UK’s house builders. […]
Bovis Milks the Boom With 14% Price Rises
Bovis Homes BVS delivered a record number of homes in the 6 months to the end of June, allowing revenue to grow by 18%, profit before tax by 15% and earnings per share by 14%. Shareholders are rewarded with a 9% rise in the interim dividend to 15p per share and net debt has been […]
Bumpy Landing For Easyjet
Easyjet EZJ The chickens have at last come home to roost and Sir Stelios has been proved right. Number crunchers can not run a successful airline and that is why Ryanair and Intercontinental thingummiejigs are two of todays most successful airlines. Easyjet has quietly tried to distance itself from its origins as a budget airline. […]