No joke as quiz dropped by ITV
SHAREHOLDERS of DCD Media did not see the funny side after the independent television producer crashed 107.5p, or nearly 30pc, to 255p after ITV said it would not be recommissioning a key comedy show, triggering a profit warning.
DCD’s Celebrity Squares game show was brought back by the independent broadcaster in September 2014, having been cancelled twice before in 1979 and 1997.
The revived show struggled, and you can understand why.
It had to compete with super bakers Mary Berry’s and Paul Hollywood’s hugely successful BBC series of The Great British Bake-Off, apparently losing 0.7m viewers in its first week alone. After two successive commissions, ITV has now decided to pull the plug.
It is a major blow for DCD Media, which said painfully that its axeing will have a significant effect on the year ahead. ‘While the show may yet be recommissioned in the future, the loss of revenue will impact performance for the group in 2016,’ the company said. Moreover, challenging trading conditions are affecting commissions and are likely to impact earnings in the production division.
Buyers had recently switched on to DCD after it revealed that its production subsidiary Rize Television had won a major commission for CBBC for a new singing contest, Got What It Takes? The show features mothers and their talented 11-14 year old children as they undertake challenges against one another in an Apprentice-style musical boot camp. Sellers were yesterday more than happy to put the boot in.
On the defensive following Wall Street’s overnight fall of 254 points and further early decline yesterday, the Footsie retreated 60.40 points to 6,118.28 and the FTSE 250 dropped 93.87 points to 16,775.63. Comments from New York Fed president William Dudley on Thursday indicating a December US interest rate hike was still very much on the cards kept buyers on the sidelines.
Although Friday’s soft US retail sales report did unearth some concerns about a potential economic slowdown in the world’s biggest economy, the growing consensus is that rates in the States will be increased soon and the UK will then follow suit early in the new year.
The repercussions of Rolls-Royce’s shocking fifth profits warning since February 2014 dragged its shares down another 23p to 513.5p, making a two-day collapse of 153.5p.
Broker Haitong Research slashed its Fair Value price to 490p from 685p and downgraded its earnings per share forecast for 2016 by 31pc and 2017’s by 32pc. It believes it may take another year before Rolls-Royce can present a clear path to rebuilding profitability.
Sporadic bouts of selling in the absence of corporate activity dragged Aberdeen Asset Management 11.6p lower to 323.7p. Recent speculation suggested that the investment manager was up for sale.
Security group G4S lost 8.6p to 227.6p after RBC Capital Markets sent a bearish note to clients entitled: ‘The red pen comes out again.’ The broker has cut its 2016 earnings per share forecast again by 6pc, citing a poor contract win rate and further margin contraction, especially in developed markets. The UK has been stagnant as the group has reputational issues, especially with the Government.
With Bloomberg’s Commodity Index trading at an all-time low of around 82, compared with a pre-2008 financial crisis peak of 238.7, and with no real sign of a meaningful recovery in copper and platinum prices, Glencore cheapened 2.81p more to 93.11p.
Sold down to 877p on growing fears of escalating compensation costs following the collapse of two tailings dams at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil, which it operates in a 50-50 joint venture with Brazil’s Vale, BHP Billiton rallied on bear closing to finish 6.1p better at 883.4p. Broker Investec reckons that given the potential for multiple fines to be levied from various authorities, who may or may not encompass rehabilitation and compensation, the total cost of the disaster is still impossible to assess.
Fundraising concerns left Petra Diamonds down 3.85p further at a low of 55.6p.
Thriving AIM-listed software provider Fusionex International jumped 22.5p to 365p after announcing a strategic partnership deal with technology giant Dell Inc to offer Big Data Analytics services in the Asia Region. The deal will combine Fusionex’s advanced Big Data Analytics software, GIANT, with Dell’s enterprise stock of infrastructure products. George O’Connor at Panmure Gordon said he retains his 722p target price.
Pantheon Resources lost 3p to 80.5p despite WH Ireland initiating coverage with a buy recommendation and target price of 91p. ÷ SHARES in Standard Chartered fell 7.9p to 574.2p after the bank said its Swiss unit will pay a £4.14m penalty as part of a deal with the US Justice Department to avoid possible prosecution for helping Americans evade taxes. StanChart settled under a voluntary programme the US launched in 2013 to allow Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal charges by disclosing cross-border activities that helped US account holders conceal assets.