Sandeep Chadha, chief executive of Supreme (SUP:AIM), the AIM listed batteries, lighting and vaping company bought 500,000 shares at a price of 83.2p for a consideration of £416,800.
Following this share purchase Chadha owns 57.1% of the group’s current issued share capital.
On 5 July Supreme warned that revenues and underlying earnings were likely to be below last year and below previous market expectations for the current year, which runs to 31 March 2023, due to a slowdown in lighting sales.
Supreme also plans to slash its dividend payout ratio from this year onwards from 50% of earnings per share to a minimum of 25%.
The group had previously reduced guidance in April, citing rising raw material costs.
A final dividend of 3.8p per share has been declared for 2022, bringing the overall annual payout to 6p per share for the year, but the lower dividend-to-earnings payout ratio will cap the stock’s attraction for income fans.
The shares have fallen by 28% over the last month, and by 62% on a six-month period.
DIRECTOR BUYING AT REDROW
Nicholas Hewson, independent director of FTSE 250 housebuilder Redrow (RDW), bought 20,000 shares at a price of 519.7p for a consideration of £103,940.
Hewson’s purchase coincides with the announcement of a £100 million share buyback.
‘Having recently reviewed the cash needs of the business to achieve its growth plans, the board has concluded that the company has sufficient funds to enter into a capital return programme of up to £100m,’ it said.
‘Given the current share price, the company has decided to execute this cash return in the form of a share buyback programme.’
At the half-year results Redrow raised its revenue forecast from £2.2 billion to between £2.3 billion and £2.4 billion, and increased its earnings target from 90p per share or greater to 92p per share or greater.
Chief executive Matthew Pratt said the firm had made ‘a positive start’ to the second half and was ‘delivering against our strategy’ with the average private reservation value reaching £367,000 excluding a bulk deal in London against £301,000 in the same period a year ago.
In January, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced it wanted developers to contribute £4 billion to a new fund to remediate what it called life-critical safety issues on buildings over 11 metres high built at any time in the last 30 years.
In early April Redrow confirmed it had signed the pledge and would take an additional provision of £164 million on top of the £34 million it had previously set aside for the work.
