Edison Investment Research

National Grid (NG.); asset growth in the US expected to be over 8%

National Grid announced that the company continued strong growth prospects in the US, where asset growth is anticipated to be over 8% for the medium term.

Moving to a neutral position on global equities

Late cycle but monetary cavalry in sight and profits forecasts now stabilising

Author: Alastair George

We have been cautious of global equity markets since Q219, fearing that global equities had run ahead of a renewed downtrend in 2019 profits forecasts. In addition, political risks remained unresolved. The most recent data for September suggests that while economic activity remains muted the rate of decline has moderated and profits forecasts may have stabilised. As importantly, given the 12-18m lags, the effects of lower interest rates globally on the world economy will shortly begin to show in the data. We believe equity investors should be alert to improving economic momentum at this time. Notwithstanding the still outstanding political risks,  with many large-cap companies now yielding well in excess of the new lows in long-dated government bond yields, we move up to a neutral position on equities.

Cohort (CHRT); order cover strengthens further

The order backlog at 31 August 2019 increased by over 10%

Cohort’s AGM statement indicates the current year has progressed well, with order cover of sales for the year rising to 76% following recent September orders compared to 60% at the same point of FY19.

Keywords Studios (KWS); issued 11,070 new ordinary shares

Keywords Studios announced that 11,070 new ordinary shares have been issued to the vendors of The TrailerFarm (TrailerFarm). Since its acquisition, the shares to be issued relating to TrailerFarm have been fully represented in the reported EPS numbers through the basic and diluted weighted average denominators used.

Tungsten Corporation (TUNG); report revenue at £8.8m for Q1

The company expects no change in its FY2020 outlook

Tungsten Corporation announced its Q1 update for FY2020. This was a reassuring update with the company stating its FY20 outlook is unchanged. Key numbers given were (all ex-Tungsten Network Finance - TNF): revenue up 5% or 2% on a constant currency basis (growth expected to accelerate through the year); adjusted EBITDA £1m vs loss of £0.1m, and net cash of £2.2m vs £2.8m at year end (some seasonality here). The TNF disposal/partnership negotiations are expected to close in Q220.

Keywords Studios (KWS) reports interims

H2 trading has “started well”

Interim results this morning from global online games outsourcer KWS,  where the company has delivered CC LFL revenue growth of 17%, a gross profit margin of 36.1% vs 37.4% in the prior year, adjusted IFRS 16 EBITDA of €22.3m and PBT of €18.4m with EPS of 18.36c.

Pan African Resources (PAF); final dividend announced

Gold production from mining operations increased 54.1% to 172,442oz, exceeding the production guidance of 170,000oz

Pan African’s FY19 results out this morning. Comparison with last year’s results is complicated by the fact that the functional currency of the results has changed from sterling to US dollars. However, suffice it to say that headline EPS for the period was exactly in line with our forecasts at 1.19 US cents (0.99p) per share. This was achieved with only a part-year contribution from Elikhulu, which only started production in the first half of the year, but has (to all intents and purposes) ramped up faultlessly.

Palace Capital (PCA); declares a quarterly dividend of 4.75p per ordinary share

The company became a UK REIT on 1 August 2019

Palace Capital has declared a quarterly dividend of 4.75p per ordinary share for the three months ended 30 June 2019. The dividend will be paid on 18 October 2019 to shareholders on the register as of 27 September 2019.

The Merchants Trust (MRCH); reports NAV per ordinary share of 493.2p

The Merchants Trust announced its half-year report for the six months ended 31 July 2019. NAV total return was 7.4% compared to 10.6% on the FTSE All-Share Index. This was mainly due to the underperformance of the value oriented UK equity portfolio compared to the wider market.

BlackRock Latin Am (BRLA); announces NAV per ordinary share at 732.07c

BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust announced its half-year results for the period ended 30 June 2019. Net PAT rose 2.9% to $3,111,000, and net assets increased 12.6% to $287,409,000. The first quarterly interim DPS stood at 8.56c, while the second quarterly interim DPS increased 20.9% to 9.15c.