- Domino’s Pizza shares up 18% after raised guidance
- 4Imprint shares gain after material upgrade to full year
- DX shares continue to climb after legal settlement
While the major indices have pulled back this week, following weak economic data and the US debt downgrade, the following three shares are bucking the trend and trading close to 12-month highs.
Franchised pizza chain Domino’s Pizza (DOM) served up a tasty first half on 1 August with like for like sales up nearly 10% as it raised full year profit guidance and announced a new £70 million share buyback.
Collection orders increased by 17.3% in the second quarter, suggesting customers are seeking cheaper ways to buy Domino’s products during the cost-of-living crisis. Collections are typically discounted, either by price or deals such as buy one, get one free.
The company has made an encouraging start to the second half with June like-for-like system sales excluding split stores up 7.9% and total orders up 2.3% in the first three weeks since 25 June.
Investors welcomed the news with the shares rallying 18% this week taking the gains over the last month to almost 50%.
Gradual recovery for JD Wetherspoon post pandemic despite fewer pubs
MATERIAL UPGRADE
Shares in promotional products company 4Imprint (FOUR) are up around 18% over the last week after raising full year profit guidance on 1 August. The company said it sees pre-tax profit ‘materially above’ consensus analysts’ forecasts and ‘not less than’ $125 million.
Higher revenues, a higher gross margin and ‘strong’ returns on marketing investment are the key drivers behind the upgrade.
The business has experienced continued encouraging results at the demand level with year-to-date total order intake up 18% in the first six months compared with the same period in 2022.
Delivery services group DX (DX.) has seen a strong rally since 7 June after announcing it has reached a settlement with Tuffnells Parcels Express regarding a claim on confidential competitor information obtained by DX.
In February the company said an internal investigation found that some employees obtained competitor information in exchange of payment. This week the shares gained 6% to 34p, a new 12-month high.
On 18 July the company said second half trading was in line with expectations and it anticipates full year revenues to be around £470 million an uplift of 10% on 2022.
Strong cash flow generation resulted in net cash on 1 July up 39% to £37.6 million, slightly ahead of management’s target.
