Planes and trains help WH Smith’s shares soar

A VOTE of confidence from Barclays sent WH Smith to an 11-month high as the broker called the firm a force to be reckoned with.

It all started when Barclays found a Twitter account dedicated to pictures of shoddy carpets and badly stocked shelves in some of the retailer’s stores.

Not typical grounds for analysts to start upgrading stocks, but Barclays said the idea that problems encountered on the High Street would be the end of the business was wrong.

WH Smith’s turnaround from struggling High Street jack-of-alltrades to airport and train station stalwart has been a major success story in recent years.

Barclays isn’t concerned about cash generation falling in the High Street stores, which account for around 40pc of earnings, because the travel arm is so strong.

Analysts expect more than £100m in international revenue this year and said it could double again in four years. They believe performance could be further boosted as margins improve after pre-opening costs.

Barclays said the group’s international market share could continue to grow for at least a decade. The broker added 110p to its target price, now 1990p. Shares surged 3.4pc, or 57p, to 1755p.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 slipped by 0.2pc, or 8.09 points, to end the week at 7374.26. Cybersecurity specialist Intercede plunged as it revealed that its full-year losses would be worse than expected.

Around £2m of orders that the firm has in the pipeline from US government and defence contractor customers could be scuppered by President Donald Trump’s promise to ramp up military and infrastructure spending and change budgets, the firm said.

If the orders are delayed that could have a big impact this year.

But Intercede said the problems should only be short-term as a cybersecurity is a major part of US IT strategy.

Shares plummeted 18.3pc, or 9.5p, to 42.5p.

Carillion shares recovered after a tough week as the firm announced a £490m deal for its joint venture.

The support services firm saw shares tumble earlier this week as it reported that profits had fallen.

Yesterday, it revealed its joint venue had won a construction contract in Dubai, with work due to start this month and run until mid-2019. Shares climbed 1.3pc, or 2.8p, to 216p.

Recruitment outfit Harvey Nash soared as it said gross profit was up 8pc as the group said that it expects to report results in line with expectation for the year to January 31.

Its shares leapt by 3.4pc, or 2.1p, to 64p.

Online musical instrument retailer Gear4Music saw total sales climb 54pc to £56.1m in the year to February 28.

The group has been on a strong run after a weaker pound made its products increasingly popular overseas. Indeed, sales in Europe and the rest of the world surged by 124pc.

Active customer numbers increased 49pc to 339,800 over the year and profits should be ahead of expectations. But shares slipped 3pc, or 20p, to 655p.

Acacia Mining fell heavily as the president of Tanzania, John Magufuli, issued an export ban on gold and copper.

The metals accounted for around 30pc of group revenue last year.

Acacia has stopped exports but said it is seeking clarification from the government. Shares plunged 13.5pc, or 72p, to 461p.