MARKET REPORT: AO World shares rocket after shake-up pays off
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MARKET REPORT: AO World shares are up 25% after raising its annual earnings forecast for the third time since November
Shares in AO World rose after it raised its annual earnings forecast for the third time since November.
The Bolton-based online electronics retailer, which sells home appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers, as well as phones and laptops, now expects to report between £37.5m and £45m in profit for the year to March 31. previous range of £30 million and £40 million gave it in January.
AO World attributed its latest upgrade to its success in streamlining its operations. Shares rose 25.2 percent, or 14.15 pence, to 70.4 pence.
Equity boost: AO World now expects to report between £37.5m and £45m in profit for the year to 31 March. This is higher than the previous range of £30m and £40m it delivered in January
The FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent, or 58.83 points, to 7876.28 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.09 percent, or 17.18 points, to 19903.28.
The latest quarterly FTSE rebalancing – based on how companies ranked in terms of value at the close of last night’s trading – is unlikely to change the blue chips.
But there is a lot of movement among the mid-cap stocks with greeting card company Moonpig and gambling giant 888 set to boot out of the FTSE 250 after a slump in their share prices.
Listed on the London stock market in February 2021 to much fanfare, Moonpig was seen as a potential winner of a pandemic as shoppers flocked online to buy cards and gifts for friends and family during lockdowns.
But the stock failed to live up to the hype even at first. And they were further affected when lockdown restrictions ended and shoppers returned to the stores.
Shares fell 0.3 per cent, or 0.3 pence, yesterday to 117.4 pence, leaving them well below their listing price of 350 pence and with a market value of around £400 million, making it eligible for downgrade from the FTSE 250.888, which owns 1,400 William Hill stores in the UK and online brands including Mr Green, is facing tougher gambling rules and an internal investigation into suspected money laundering of VIP customer accounts in the Middle East.
Supply Guard – Safestay
Safestay said things are returning to normal after the turmoil caused by Covid.
The hostel chain saw the average price of a bed at its locations rise from £19.70 a year earlier to £23.70 in 2022.
The occupancy rate of the 16 hostels was 63 percent, compared to 35 percent in 2021.
As a result, turnover appears to have reached £19 million last year.
It also expects to report a profit of £5.9m following a loss of £1m a year earlier.
Shares rose 30 percent, or 6 pence, to 26 pence.
Its shares are down nearly 20 percent so far this year and 85 percent in the past 18 months, putting it on the path to relegation.
The share rose 3.4 per cent, or 3 pence, to 70.65 pence yesterday, making it worth £315 million.
Chemical group Croda International fell 5.3 percent, or 366 pence, to 6,562 pence after sales tumbled at its consumer care division.
This overshadowed a 10.6 per cent increase in sales for the whole group to £2.09 billion in 2022, while profits jumped 89.6 per cent to £780 million.
Meanwhile, Intertek saw its like-for-like revenue rise 4.9 percent to £3.19 billion in 2022.
The quality assurance and product testing division, which advises companies on how to manage risk in their supply chains, said it expects mid-single digit like-for-like sales growth this year. Shares fell 4.6 percent, or 200p, to 4174p.
Serco, the outsourcing giant that does security, transport and immigration work for the government, saw its revenue rise 2 per cent to £4.5 billion in 2022, even though covid-related business fell by £480 million.
The company, which worked on its test and trace program during the pandemic, reiterated its forecasts for this year, with earnings expected to be around the same level as the previous 12 months. Shares gained 4.7 percent, or 7 pence, to 156 pence.
Student housing provider Unite Group cheered when it was fully occupied again in the 2022-2023 academic year.
It said an increasing number of students previously hoping to pin down places meant it now expected rental growth of between 6 and 7 percent for the 2023-24 academic year.
This is higher than the previous target of 5 percent. Shares fell 0.2 percent, or 2 pence, to 983 pence.