Brammer boss retires and gives investors new hope
Brammer shot up after the firm announced that Ian Fraser, who has been chief executive at the business for 18 years, is set to retire. Fraser, who is leaving by mutual agreement, will stay in place until a replacement is found.
It was a welcome boost for the share price, which fell sharply last month after a profit warning. The management services company had warned that sales per working day in May were down 3pc compared with the year before. Yesterday shares were up 16.4pc, or 11.75p to 83.25p. Greencore climbed after purchasing gourmet sandwich maker the Sandwich Factory, owned by Cranswick, for £15m. The Sandwich Factory reported revenues of £42m in the year to March 31. Greencore hopes the purchase will increase its presence in the food-to-go market, where it is currently focused.
Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney said the purchase will extend the firm’s reach into areas such as convenience stores and the travel sector as well as introducing new products to its range.
Shares moved forward 0.7pc, or 2.3p to 321.5p. Cranswick, meanwhile, is backing bangers. In a trading update yesterday it said revenue in the three months to June 30 was up 11pc on the year before, with sausage sales in the Far East up 60pc. Its shares rose 1.2pc, or 28p to 2362p.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that high street spending was down 0.9pc monthon-month in June, largely due to wet weather. It is the biggest monthly fall in six months as experts say consumer confidence was hit by the EU referendum result.
Yet several retailers shook off the news and found themselves among the greatest risers on the FTSe 100 (down 0.30pc, or 20.35 points to 6710.13) in the day. Burberry moved up 1.5pc, or 20p to 1319p after the
firm bought back 51,128 of its own shares and Game Digital gained 6.4pc, or 4.25p to 71p.
Next climbed 2.7pc, or 133p to 5005p while Dixons Carphone advanced 1.6pc, or 5.5p to 344.5p after revealing its latest marketing campaign starring Keith Lemon, which will be shown in cinemas this summer.
Taylor Wimpey ticked up 1.5pc, or 2.2p to 149.1p. The builder’s halfyearly earnings update is due this Wednesday, along with online estate agent rightmove, which was up 1.6pc, or 58p to 3778p.
Those results will largely cover the pre-referendum period but should give an insight into the initial effect of the result on trading for each.
Share price moves seem to suggest investors are feeling confident at least. Rival housebuilder Persimmon leapt 1.9pc, or 30p to 1628p yesterday while Barratt Developments climbed 1.9pc, or 8p to 419p.
That positive outlook gave brick and tile manufacturer michelmersh a boost too. In its results for the six months to June 30 the firm said pretax profit had risen by £100,000 to £2.6m compared with the same period a year ago while average selling prices has increased 2pc. The firm sold 35.7m bricks over the period despite a shortfall following issues at one quarry which caused higher-than-expected waste levels.
A £1m investment into a new kiln in the autumn should further improve output. Michelmersh said operating in the premium part of the market, where quality rather than price is key, had helped performance and the group has forward orders for more than 47m bricks – ahead of expectations. Shares advanced 1.8pc, or 1p to 56.5p.
AIM-listed Image Scan supplies X-ray systems to security and industrial inspection markets.
Yesterday it announced it had received a significant order for its ThreatScan portable X-ray system worth more than £750,000. Added to another mandate of a similar size which the firm announced in June, Image Scan says it now has an order book of more than 100 portable devices.
The group developed the ThreatScan-LS1 after fundraising in August 2014. It allows counterterror teams to investigate suspicious packages quickly and safely. Shares rose 26.3pc, or 0.625p to 3p.