Spectris annual profit and sales hampered by challenging marketing conditions in China and Europe
27th Feb 2015 11:07
Challenging market conditions in Europe and China weighed on Spectris' annual pre-tax profit and sales, the instrumentation and controls company said on Friday. The FTSE 250 group said its pre-tax profit for the year was £171.1m, a 37% decline year-on-year, while sales fell 2% to £1.17bn as sluggish
Read moreSpectris acquires US-based ReliaSoft for £28m
23rd Jan 2015 07:02
Instrumentation and controls developer Spectris has acquired US-based ReliaSoft for approximately £28m in cash. The FTSE 250 group said the deal for the American firm, a provider of engineering software and consultancy, will be funded from existing cash and bank facilities. The Arizona-based firm w
Read moreLondon midday: BP leads oil stocks higher as crude recovers, FTSE flat
16th Jan 2015 11:41
Decent gains from BP and the wider oil sector helped UK stocks to pare losses by Friday lunchtime, though the mood was still cautious ahead of some key economic figures from the States. BP was on the rise after being handed a smaller-than-expected civil penalty over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2
Read moreSpectris like-for-like sales grow in Q4
16th Jan 2015 08:28
Instrumentation and controls developer Spectris saw full-year reported sales for 2014 fall 2% year-on-year because of acquisitions and strong currency headwinds, but registered underlying growth after a decent fourth quarter. In a trading update released on Friday, the group said like-for-like sales
Read moreLondon open: Stocks open lower ahead of economic data, but BP rises
16th Jan 2015 08:20
Weakness on Wall Street and nervousness ahead of some key US data resulted in a negative start for UK stocks on Friday, though gains from oil major BP limited the decline. BP was on the rise early on after being handed a smaller-than-expected civil penalty over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Read moreBroker tips: Weir, Bellway, Spectris
12th Dec 2014 12:46
After the recent decline in Weir Group's shares on the back of the turmoil surrounding the oil price, the valuation of the engineering stock now looks "compelling", according to Canaccord Genuity. The broker upgraded its rating on the shares from 'hold' to 'buy', but slashed its target price from 2,
Read moreInvestec reiterates 'buy' on Spectris, lifts target price
12th Dec 2014 12:41
Investec has reiterated its 'buy' call on instrumentation and controls firm Spectris after the acquisition this week of Canadian company Engineering Seismology Group (ESG). Spectris said on Thursday that it has acquired ESG, a microseismic monitoring equipment and analysis company primarily working
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to drop after Japanese data, ahead of German inflation, US jobless claims
11th Dec 2014 07:19
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 20 points lower than yesterday's close of 6,500 after Japanese data revealed overnight that its machine orders had dropped after four months of gains. There is also likely to be a good deal of concern ahead of the release of German inflation data, w
Read moreSpectris acquires ESG for £36m
11th Dec 2014 07:07
Instrumentation and controls group Spectris has completed the acquisition of Canada-based Engineering Seismology Group (ESG) for £36m. The takeover will be funded by existing cash and bank facilities, while ESG could receive an additional payment based on the achievement of specified sales growth ta
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
31st Oct 2014 09:36
Afren: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 110p to 105p, leaving its hold recommendation unaltered. Aviva: Barclays ups target price from 397p to 420p and reiterates its equal-weight rating. Barclays: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 300p to 295p and leaves its buy recommendation. Country
Read moreSectors: Tech sentiment improves
29th Oct 2014 14:23
Improving sentiment towards technology companies saw the electronic and electrical equipment sector top the leaderboards in London on Wednesday. Although earnings reports from tech giants stateside have been mixed, with Apple and Facebook pleasing but Amazon and Twitter disappointing, interest in sm
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
27th Oct 2014 10:05
Aquarius Platinum: Deutsche Bank shifts target price from 28p to 30p and maintains a buy recommendation. Dechra Pharmaceuticals: FinnCap ups target price from 800p to 840p and reiterates a buy recommendation. easyJet: Morgan Stanley moves target price from 1650p to 1665p leaving its overweight rati
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks hit by Ebola worries, travel stocks fall
24th Oct 2014 11:33
UK stocks fell on Friday morning after the FTSE 100 hit its highest level in two weeks the previous session, with investors treading cautiously after another reported case of Ebola in the States. The Footsie was down 0.3% at 6,397 by midday, but had pared losses after hitting a low of 6,374.24 early
Read moreSpectris to miss full-year profit expectations as trading weakens - UPDATE
24th Oct 2014 10:25
Electrical engineering firm Spectris has warned that its full-year operating profit will be "modestly below" market expectations of £200m due to little improvement in the economic conditions of its main geographies. Investec analysts, however, said the warning was less severe than they had anticipat
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
24th Oct 2014 10:11
Advanced Medical Solutions: Oriel initiates with a target price of 135p and a buy recommendation. African Barrick Gold: JP Morgan moves target price from 300p to 310p maintaining its overweight rating. Canaccord Genuity reduces target price from 330p to 275p keeping a buy recommendation. Numis moves
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