In the spotlight: Babcock, Johnson Matthey,Staples, Netflix
November 20, 2014 9:08 am
Babcock and Johnson Matthey Gain After Positive Earnings – Babcock International and Johnson Matthey where two of the big gainers on the FTSE this morning, both firms reaping the benefits of posting positive half-year profits. Johnson Matthey’s pre-tax profit rose by 2% on a year-on-year basis, which was towards the top end of analysts predictions. Meanwhile, Babcock saw an increase in both revenue and pre-tax profits, which jumped by 24% and 32% respectively. EU Auto Regulations helped raise Johnson Matthey’s sales of catalytic converters, while Babcock attributed much of its growth to the acquisition and subsequently successful period for purchased company Avincis.
Staples – Over in the US, Staples saw its share price rise by 9.09% on the NASDAQ yesterday, after reporting a 3.3% rise in quarterly sales in its North America business. The company also raised its full year profits forecast significantly, from $600 million plus to $800 million plus. The company is in the process of implementing a long-term cost savings plan, an element of which involves closing over 150 of its North American branches. Although overall revenues did end up falling, the decline was less than predicted by analysts – revenues came in at $5.96 billion rather than $5.93 billion.
Netflix – Also on the NASDAQ; there seemed to be a distinct lack of enthusiasm yesterday regarding Netflix’s announcement of plans to expand to Australia and New Zealand in 2015, with the company’s shares closing down by 4.71%. The US-based online streaming company rolled out its service to a host of European countries from mid-September onwards; at the same time Netflix stock has dropped by almost 25% since then (from 472.9 on August 20th to 363.10 today) raising the following question; is the company simply sacrificing in the short term in order to ensure long term gains, or has Netflix perhaps bitten of more than it can chew? Netflix may be planning to go down under; investors will be sincerely hoping that the company’s stock price doesn’t do the same.
Babcock and Johnson Matthey Gain After Positive Earnings – Babcock International and Johnson Matthey where two of the big gainers on the FTSE this morning, both firms reaping the benefits of posting positive half-year profits. Johnson Matthey’s pre-tax profit rose by 2% on a year-on-year basis, which was towards the top end of analysts predictions. Meanwhile, Babcock saw an increase in both revenue and pre-tax profits, which jumped by 24% and 32% respectively. EU Auto Regulations helped raise Johnson Matthey’s sales of catalytic converters, while Babcock attributed much of its growth to the acquisition and subsequently successful period for purchased company Avincis.
Staples – Over in the US, Staples saw its share price rise by 9.09% on the NASDAQ yesterday, after reporting a 3.3% rise in quarterly sales in its North America business. The company also raised its full year profits forecast significantly, from $600 million plus to $800 million plus. The company is in the process of implementing a long-term cost savings plan, an element of which involves closing over 150 of its North American branches. Although overall revenues did end up falling, the decline was less than predicted by analysts – revenues came in at $5.96 billion rather than $5.93 billion.
Netflix – Also on the NASDAQ; there seemed to be a distinct lack of enthusiasm yesterday regarding Netflix’s announcement of plans to expand to Australia and New Zealand in 2015, with the company’s shares closing down by 4.71%. The US-based online streaming company rolled out its service to a host of European countries from mid-September onwards; at the same time Netflix stock has dropped by almost 25% since then (from 472.9 on August 20th to 363.10 today) raising the following question; is the company simply sacrificing in the short term in order to ensure long term gains, or has Netflix perhaps bitten of more than it can chew? Netflix may be planning to go down under; investors will be sincerely hoping that the company’s stock price doesn’t do the same.
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