Ian Pollard – WH Smith #SMWH Dividend Up 8% as High Street Slumps Again

WH Smith plc SMWH is rapidly evolving into two separate businesses one of which does not seem to be able to find the management which it seems to need. The problem is the High Street, the traditional business which keeps on trying to make a profit out of selling newspapers, books and pencils. Smiths highlights […]

Ian Pollard – Churchill China #CHH Smashing Export Records

Churchill China CHH has delivered a strong first half performance and is increasing its interim dividend by 18%. Profit before tax and earnings per share both rose by 24% but perhaps the best news of all is that export revenue which grew by 17%, now represent 63% of group revenue, up from last years 57%. […]

Ian Pollard – Saga Blames Profits Fall On Cost Savings

Saga plc SAGA In its preliminary results for the year to 3st January Saga comes out with the statement that the fall of 7.6% in like for like profit before tax is due (inter alia) to cost savings. No wonder the CEO admits that it has been a challenging few months for the company with […]

Petrofac slashes interim dividend by 42%

Petrofac PFC is slashing its interim dividend by 42% to 12.7 cents compared to last years  22 cents, despite what it claims to be a positive start to the year and a rise in net profit from last years US$12m to US$ 70m. for the half year to 30th June. The company is continuing to […]

BATS Cloaks Itself In Secrecy

British Am. Tobacco BATS has a new policy of keeping its shareholders and investors generally less informed about its financial progress or the lack of it and has stopped issuing interim management statement, replacing them instead with short updates twice a year prior to the start of its closed periods. So all it will tell […]

RWS Becomes A Major Global Player

RWS Holdings RWS After a strong first half performance, record revenues of not less than £76m are expected for the six months to 31st March, a rise of 33% on 2016. Adjusted profit before tax is expected to show a rise of 36.7%. Following the acquisition of LUZ in February, integration of which has proceeded […]

WH Smiths Off On The Road to Recovery

Tesco TSCO  The 40% fall in net debt is probably the best item in Tesco’s preliminary results and they are perhaps entitled to boast of a turn round in quarter 4, except in its home markets of the UK and the Republic of Ireland where it still seems to have lost the plot. Group like […]