De La Rue plc (DLAR.L)
Shares in De La Rue plunged by over 30% on Wednesday, bringing its one-year loss to around 68% and its 5-year share price decline to more than 92%.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor said drastic change is needed in order to convince shareholders of a rosier outlook.
“De La Rue issued a profit warning with full-year earnings for fiscal 2023 expected to fall short of market estimates. 2023 adjusted operating profit is now seen coming in at a mid-single digit percentage and for fiscal 2024 De La Rue forecasts a figure in the low £20 million range,” she said.
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The British currency and passport maker, headquartered in Basingstoke, has been suffering from weak demand for banknotes, which is languishing at a 20-year low.
“Activist investor Crystal Amber Funds recently said the group’s turnaround plan announced three years ago is failing ‘by every measure’ and the company is ‘failing to control’ various fees paid out. The activist has also been trying to remove Kev Loosemore as chairman but he survived a vote in December,” Scholar added.
De La Rue has also recently struggled with the major loss of its British passport contract after Brexit. Moreover, increased costs, supply chain woes, and a structural decline in demand for physical cash amid the rise of contactless payments and digital banking, has also impacted the group.
Read more: De La Rue shares crash on latest profit warning
Centrica (CNA.L)
Centrica stock climbed 2.03% to 115.19 in early trade on Wednesday – putting it among the top FTSE 100 risers.
Last week, the group, which owns British Gas, announced plans to repurchase up to £300m of its shares as it looks to reduce its capital.
In February, the company posted record profits for 2022, driven by a surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Centrica reported operating profits of £3.3bn for the financial year, up from £948m in 2021. It surpassed the firm’s previous highest ever yearly profit of £2.7bn, posted in 2012.
Following the earnings update, the group announced its chief executive, Chris O’Shea would be getting a salary package worth £4.5m for 2022. The group has come under scrutiny for it as millions of British households continue to struggle with energy bills.
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SSE was also top of the FTSE 100 basket on Wednesday morning with its stock up 1.25% to 1,862.
The energy company, headquartered in Scotland, has green projects consisting of about £20bn of investment waiting in the wings.
It also announced today “the world’s deepest wind turbine foundation” – which it said has been installed at what will be Scotland’s largest offshore windfarm – Seagreen – off the coast of Angus.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said in a statement: “Seagreen is an important part of SSE’s £12.5bn Net Zero Acceleration Plan, through which we’re investing £7m a day in critical low-carbon infrastructure that will help the UK achieve energy independence. By the end of the decade, we have plans to invest over £24bn in Britain alone.”
Phillips-Davies also highlighted how SSE Renewables was building more offshore wind than “anyone on the planet”.
Ocado Group (OCDO.L)
Meanwhile, Ocado was at the bottom of the FTSE basket on Wednesday morning with its shares down 2.79% to 509.30.
It comes just days after its shares were assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” by several brokerages.
“Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 830.20 ($10.31),” Marketbeat reported.
The group also announced last week that it had appointed a new chief financial officer. It said Mat Ankers will oversee the businesses finance, operations, IT and insights when he joins in the autumn.
Ankers was the finance director at Poundland’s clothing brand, PEP&CO, as well as its transformation director from 2019 to 2021.
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