Broadband and calls supplier TalkTalk (TALK) is firmly backed by investors in early trade on Tuesday, the stock rallying around 6% to 116.7p, after the company lays out a promising trading update.
The embattled company has been gripped by an intense price war with big rivals like BT (BT.A), Sky (SKY) and Virgin and has faced other issues, but news today that it has added 80,000 customers, taking it total to 4.2m, offers welcome relief for investors.
TalkTalk chief executive Tristia Harrison also spelled out a full year target of winning at least 150,000 new customers this year.
Trading for the three months until the end of June shows revenue up 4.8% to £383m as churn - the percentage of customers leaving - stayed encouragingly low at 1.28%, offering hope that it can stem the swathe of lost customers to rivals despite the bitter battle for users in the UK.
The company has recently been linked with a possible take private deal, although management remain tight-lipped on such speculation.
UK markets are largely flat overall in early trading on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 index slips half a dozen points lower to 7,595.59, although the midcap FTSE 250 companies index heads marginally the other way, nudging 12 or so points up 20,812.43.
LITTLE LET UP FOR ROYAL MAIL LETTERS
Big dividend-paying Royal Mail (RMG) has maintained its outlook and guidance in a first quarter report on Tuesday, but issued typically cautious commentary on letter volumes.
The group says the number of letters it delivers could fall more than predicted this year due to the potential impact of the new European GDPR privacy rules, and if business uncertainty persists.
In the first quarter, parcel volumes were up 7%, and letter volumes were down 6%. Shares in the group manage to nudge 1% higher in early deals to 485.6p.
Dairy Crest (DCG) admitted that ‘the butter market remains challenging’ in an operating update for the three months to 30 June. The company said revenues at its two largest brands, Cathedral City and Clover, both grew by 10% and that full year expectations ‘remain unchanged’, news that investors largely shrug-off.
The shares trade just 4p, or 0.8%, higher at 472.6p.
Britain’s Arbuthnot Banking Group (ARBB) reported a jump in first half underlying pre-tax profit and said it would set up a specialist secured lending unit to provide short-term secured loans to property businesses and entrepreneurs.
Underlying pre-tax profit rose £1m to £4.2m in the six months to 30 June while the group has also upped its half year dividend from 14p per share to 15p. The shares, which have rallied around 30% since March, stay flat at £16.10.
CYBER FIRM RETURNS TO THE BLACK
Cyber security consultancy NCC (NCC) sees its share price rally 5% to 211.2p as it reports a welcome return to the black in the year to 31 May 2017, and appoints a new finance boss.
The company has been pushing through wide-ranging strategic changes which today appear to show promising signs of progress. The figures include organic revenue growth of 11.8% and pre-tax profit for the year of £11.9m, versus a £44.8m loss in the previous 12 months.
Brent crude prices rose from a three-month low on Tuesday after more oil workers went on strike in Norway, supporting a market that has been dominated by oversupply issues in recent days.
Gold prices were steady on Tuesday, as the US dollar remained largely unchanged ahead of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s first congressional testimony.
