THE DAILY BRIEFING
DIVI GROWTH Britain’s oldest trust has announced a dividend increase for the 46th year in a row. Foreign & Colonial investors will get a total annual dividend of 9.85p per share, for 2016 up 2.6pc on the previous year. Shares in the £3.4bn fund rose 0.5pc or 3p to 579.5p.
POSITIVE TESTS Cairn Energy said its SNE-5 appraisal well off the shore of Senegal has been drilled and tested ahead of schedule and results are in line with expectations. And it will also start drilling its next target, the Vega-Regulus well, soon. Shares climbed 3pc or 6.7p to 224.2p.
STORES SHUT A chain of Budgens stores have closed after failing to find a buyer, with 800 jobs lost. Food Retailer Operations, which operated 34 stores across the UK under the Budgens brand, had bought the stores from the Co-op in July last year. Budgens shops not owned by FRO will not be closing.
EURO PAIN Shares in Sports Direct slid nearly 5pc after it warned margins would be hit by the devaluation of the euro against the dollar. Run by tycoon Mike Ashley, the firm said its euro/dollar exchange rate was hedged at 1.46, and expires at the end of the year. Shares fell 4.7pc or 14.1p to 285.3p.
STEPPING DOWN UK based technology and software group Servelec’s non- executive director Bernie Waldron is stepping down at the group’s AGM on April 26 due to an ‘ increase in his private equity commitments’. Shares fell 2.7pc or 7.88p to 283p.
DRILL RENTAL Oil and gas group Cadogan Petroleum has re-started drilling at two wells in its Monasty-retska licence in West Ukraine rented from Ukrainian firm Ukrnafta.
HOT AIR Air purification firm May Air’s profits for the year will be lower the expected, likely to come it at £53.8m. The firm was unable to fulfil a £5.8m contract before the year end. Sales from it will be recognised in the first quarter of 2017 instead.
SPEEDY SALES Cambria Automobiles has posted strong results despite fears over the new car market in the UK. The car dealer said used vehicle sales were up 0.6pc.
ON TARGET Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone has said it’s on track to meet full-year expectations with half year sales expected to be around £238m, down from £250m in 2016.