MARKET REPORT: Fever-Tree regains fizz as City breathes sigh of relief

fever boom stocks regained some of their luster as the latest results gave nervous investors a sigh of relief.

After a profit warning in July, the tonic maker said it was still battling a “challenging” global environment.

Staff shortages at one of its bottlers in the US have forced its UK operations to ramp up production to fill the gap.

This has increased freight costs as goods are shipped from across the Atlantic to the US.

The company also warned that there would be a glass shortage in the second half of the year, though it is working to mitigate the impact by 2023.

The company, valued at around £1.1 billion, has seen its shares fall 62 percent this year.

But they rose 4.2 percent, or 39.5p, to 988.5p yesterday, when it reported a 14 percent increase in sales to £160.9 million for the six months to the end of June.

With costs rising, profits fell 30 percent to £17.6 million. Despite this, Fever-Tree stuck to its full-year expectations to give shareholders a boost.

It expects sales of £355 million to £365 million and profits of £37.5 million to £45 million. Liberum said the company’s position in international markets “is still a source of optimism for the stock.”

Equity markets around the world took a turn for the worse as investors wagered another aggressive round of rate hikes to combat rampant inflation.

Stock Watch – Tungsten West

Tungsten West continues plans to develop the Hemerdon mine near Plymouth which he bought in 2019.

The Devon-based mining company has agreed a royalty sale worth approximately £26 million with a global mining royalty investment fund.

Tungsten plans to use this money – along with an additional £5 million to £10 million it hopes to secure – to fund the project it expects to complete before the third quarter of next year.

Shares were up 18.8 percent, or 4.5p, to 28.5p.

Official figures in the United States showed that inflation fell from 8.5 percent in July to 8.3 percent in August, but this was higher than expected and sent shockwaves in financial markets.

After spending much of the day in positive territory, the FTSE 100 fell 1.2 percent or 87.17 points to 7385.86 and the FTSE 250 fell 1.8 percent or 346.66 points to 19167.21 .

Wall Street was also significantly lower. Inflation rates in the US overshadowed better news in the UK, where the unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent, the lowest level since 1974.

In London, BT shares fell despite Deutsche Bank’s view that the telecom giant could benefit from tax cuts abolished, price increases due to rising inflation and a stronger pound sterling.

The broker upgraded its share rating from ‘sell’ from ‘sell’ to ‘hold’, but shares in BT fell 1.2 percent, or 1.75p, to 142.75p.

At the mid-caps, fund manager JTC enjoyed an increase in revenue and profits as it hailed “huge opportunities for the group going forward.”

The company said it is “confident” of delivering sales and profits that exceed market expectations. In the half year results, sales rose 38.8 per cent to £93 million, while profits rose 27.3 per cent to £25.3 million.

Analysts expect sales for the year to be £183 million and profits for £62.6 million.

While the results were in line with their expectations, Shore Capital reiterated its “buy” rating as JTC shares climbed 9.75 percent or 75p to 844p.

Shares in Petra Diamonds sparkled after the mining company more than doubled its profits and posted record full-year results.

Petra reported a 103 percent increase in profits to £229 million ($265 million) for the year to the end of June.

This shattered analyst estimates of £206 million ($239 million) and the company’s previous record of £168 million ($195 million) in 2018.

After improving her cash flow by 91 percent, Petra said she wants to reduce her debt and announced an offer for £130 million ($150 million), which she expects would help raise up to £13 million ($15 million). ) to save on interest costs per year. Shares rose 4.8 percent, or 5p, to 110p.

There were also reasons to applaud investors in Oxford Nanopore following the group’s half-year results.

The gene sequencing company, which supplied Covid test kits, said its sales rose 107 per cent in the six months to the end of June to £122.3 million. Shares rose 4.2 percent, or 11.5p, to 283.5p.