Soggy outlook at Marshalls
6th Jul 2012 07:22
Miserable weather in the second quarter of the year has put a real dampener on sales at hard landscaping products provider Marshalls. Marshalls' revenue for the first six months of 2012 of £167m was 5% lower than last year's first half revenue of £177m. The weather impact has resulted in an estimat
Read moreFriday preview: Rain a pain again for Marshalls
5th Jul 2012 18:05
'Rain, rain, go away' should be the mantra for landscaping products firm Marshalls, which issues a pre-close trading update on Friday. In its interim management statement in May the firm grumbled about the rainfall in April being an important factor in sales being down that month by £5m on April 20
Read moreMarshalls potting profits
9th Mar 2012 11:16
Landscaping products firm Marshalls is looking to re-balance production to meet stronger demand in the south east of the UK, after posting revenue and profit gains that topped market expectations. Continuing revenue for the year ended 31st December 2011 was £334.1m (2010: £308.8m), which represente
Read moreFriday preview: Aggreko, JD Wetherspoon, Marshalls
8th Mar 2012 15:45
Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko has been doing very well out of an increasing number of ever larger spectator events, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, but most of those seem to take place in even numbered years, so 2011 may not be a real bonanza year for the Scottish firm. Neverth
Read moreIntertek chairman sells more shares
20th Sep 2011 16:34
Vanni Treves, chairman of the FTSE 100-listed testing company Intertek, has offloaded a big chunk of shares, netting nearly £200,000. He sold 10,000 shares at 1,980p a time and still has 20,000. The shares have been hit by the general market decline since April, when Treves sold 24,048 shares at 2
Read moreFriday preview: Marshalls, T. Clarke, UK GDP, Bernanke
25th Aug 2011 16:34
Paving slab firm Marshalls' share price fell down a crack in August, and is only 10p or so above its 52-week low. Its markets remain challenging, what with its partial dependence on the public sector, and Panmure Gordon thinks it will be a long, hard slog before the company gets back full on its fee
Read moreFriday preview: Trinity Mirror to report on the 'Murdoch effect'
11th Aug 2011 17:24
Newspaper groups have been struggling recently with the weak advertising outlook seemingly getting worse and this trend is likely to warrant a mention in Trinity Mirror's trading update, particularly with regard to its local papers, where classified advertising business is defecting to the internet.
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Persimmon, Marshalls, Zotefoams
6th Jul 2011 06:38
Persimmon, the country's largest housebuilder, built 4,439 homes in the first half, down 5% on the year, which were sold at an average of £162,000. This price represented a 4% decline because of a higher mix of smaller houses. Yet margins edged up to 9% from 8%. The main bugbear for investors is the
Read moreTuesday preview: Persimmon, Marshalls
4th Jul 2011 18:14
House builder Persimmon is expected to "echo the sentiments issued by Taylor Wimpey last week, and confirm that whilst the market remains challenging, conditions since the start of the year have been broadly stable," according to Panmure Gordon. Paving slab firm Marshalls has been sloping steadily
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Prudential, Northbridge, FirstGroup
12th May 2011 06:54
It's not often a company says it wants to slow down a booming business but that's what Prudential said about its US Jackson Life operation yesterday. Prudential remains a great long-run investment in Asia's economic and demographic strengths but for those with a shorter horizon the US may prove some
Read moreOrders turn up at Marshalls
11th Mar 2011 07:35
Severe weather dented paving slab firm Marshalls' results for 2010, knocking sales at both end of the year by £11m in total, but things are looking better this year. The firm recouped the £6m revenue lost at the start of 2010 but not the £5m lost in December, even so sales rose by 3.7% to £323m.
Read moreLondon close: Lower finish as US jobs disappoint
7th Jan 2011 16:35
Leading shares were in the red heading into the weekend after a weak jobs report in the US. Monthly nonfarm payrolls revealed just 103,000 jobs were added in December. Much less than economists had hoped for. Back over here, miners were mostly lower as commodity prices struggle. Copper specialists
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie still in red
7th Jan 2011 14:58
Leading shares remain in negative territory as a weak jobs report in the US prevents Wall Street from heading higher. The Dow Jones is currently down a couple of points after monthly nonfarm payrolls revealed just 103,000 jobs were added in December. Much less than economists had hoped for. Back o
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 stuck below 6,000
7th Jan 2011 12:13
The top share index has been sitting stubbornly below 6,000 points, but could spring into life when US non-farm payroll figures are released this afternoon. Estimates are for about 150,000 new jobs to have been added in December. Elsewhere, it's a quiet morning so far. There has been a further de
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips lower ahead of jobs data
7th Jan 2011 08:51
London has fallen back below 6,000 as investors sit on their hands ahead of the non-farm payrolls data coming out of the US this afternoon. Estimates are for about 150,000 new jobs to have been added in December. Elsewhere, it's a quiet morning so far. There has been a further development in the s
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