Profits accelerate at Halfords
19th Nov 2009 07:18
Bike and car parts chain Halfords has upped the interim divided by a fifth after increasing first half profit by 24%, and remains confident that business over the next six months will beat the previous year. Profit before tax for the 26 weeks to 2 October jumped to £60.9m from £49.1m in 2008 thank
Read moreThursday preview: Morrisons, SABMiller, Halfords, National Grid
18th Nov 2009 16:33
The timing of the interim management statement from supermarket chain Morrisons is intriguing, given that it comes one day after the news that its chief executive is to jump ship to take up a similar role at Marks & Spencer. In common with the other supermarkets, Morrisons is expected to report tha
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Amec, Halfords, Aveva
18th Oct 2009 11:46
At the half-year stage, Amec confirmed that its average weekly net cash position for 2009 would be in the order of £700m. The Telegraph's Questor expects some of this to be used to make some complimentary acquisitions should any good opportunity appears. The shares are trading on a December 2012 ea
Read moreLondon close: Footsie highest in over a week
8th Oct 2009 16:33
Stocks ran out of steam mid-afternoon, trading as near to Wednesday's close as they had done all day, but strength on Wall Street inspired a late rally here. The top stocks were still mining companies as metal prices continued their march higher. Gold futures neared $1,060 an ounce as the dollar co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities in consolidation phase
8th Oct 2009 14:42
London's leading shares continued to trade sideways over the lunchtime session, consolidating the morning's gains. Mining stocks are responsible for much of the Footsie's buoyancy with Xstrata, ENRC, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Anglo American and BHP Billiton all going well. Vedanta is also on the u
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Halfords sets the pace
8th Oct 2009 14:05
Car and bike accessories retailer Halfords is pedalling ahead after it saw the rate of like for like (LFL) sales growth pick up in the second quarter of its financial year. Support services and construction company Carillion is higher after it said it continues to perform well and remains on track
Read moreBroker tips: Halfords, Pendragon, Carluccio's
8th Oct 2009 13:03
Thursday morning's second quarter trading update from car and bike parts seller Halfords is likely to trigger full year earnings upgrades of around 8% or 9%, Singer Capital Markets reckons. Halfords' management said it expects to beat half-year consensus expectations of a pre-tax profit of £54.5m w
Read moreBroker snap: Halfords moves up a gear
8th Oct 2009 13:00
Thursday morning's second quarter trading update from car and bike parts seller Halfords is likely to trigger full year earnings upgrades of around 8% or 9%, Singer Capital Markets reckons. Halfords' management said it expects to beat half-year consensus expectations of a pre-tax profit of £54.5m w
Read moreLondon midday: Updates please investors
8th Oct 2009 11:46
Footsie is still in the blue as investors give a warm reaction to company announcements, though the leading share index is off its earlier highs. Vedanta leads the mining sector higher. The Indian giant said zinc, copper and aluminium operations were at full capacity during the second quarter as it
Read moreLondon open: Buoyant miners lift Footsie
8th Oct 2009 08:17
Buoyant mining shares are giving London's blue chips a lift in early dealings the day after gold hit a new record high. Nine out of the ten top FTSE 100 performers are miners. Lonmin is leading the way, closely followed by Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, An
Read moreLondon pre-open: London set to get off to a flyer
8th Oct 2009 07:38
After yesterday's pause for breath leading shares are back at the races today, with dealers predicting the FTSE 100 will open just under 50 points higher. Attention is certain to focus on part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group which is proposing to raise around £25bn in capital by means of a r
Read moreBike and leisure sales boost Halfords
8th Oct 2009 07:02
Car and bike accessories retailer Halfords saw the rate of like for like (LFL) sales growth pick up in the second quarter of its financial year. With sales and margins improving the board said it expects full-year profit before tax to be in the range of £59m to £61m. Sales in the three months to 2
Read moreHalfords director doubles stake
28th Sep 2009 16:20
Nigel Wilson, a senior independent director at the car parts and bicycle retailer Halfords, has nearly doubled his stake in the firm, spending just less than £70,000 on shares. He took 20,000 at 349p a time and now has 41,000. Wilson, who is also chief financial officer at the business publisher U
Read moreWebb pumps £100k into Autonomy
30th Jul 2009 17:05
Autonomy's non-executive chairman Robert Webb has decided its time to dip in and pick up a stake in the data search software specialist. The shares have tumbled 23% since hitting 1,538p at the end of May, a level not seen since the tech bubble began to burst in 2000. Webb, who only took up his pos
Read moreThursday tips round-up: BG, Inchcape, Halfords
30th Jul 2009 06:04
Recent fluctuations in BG's share price, from 1162p in early June to 979.5p earlier this month (it has recovered since) suggest it is time to buy. The rating, at 14.3 times next year's earnings, is not overly demanding, although this stock, with its 1.3 per cent yield, is not for income seekers. G
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