- Shares fall on news of disposal and write-off- Sale could generate £1 million future payment- Core business traded well in second half Building products group Alumasc (ALU:AIM) has torn off the plaster and disposed of its struggling solar shading division Levolux for a nominal amount as it seeks to streamline the business.News that the divestment would incur a non-cash impairment charge of £14

The pandemic had a significant impact on the UK income space, with many companies forced to slash and cancel dividends to ensure they survived the crisis. It was the traditional large dividend paying sectors and companies that suffered some of the biggest cuts, with many larger companies using the crisis as an opportunity to reset excessive payouts at more sustainable levels.This means income man

Alumasc (ALU) 171pOriginal entry point: Buy at 174.5p, 9 Feb 2017Management at building products outfit Alumasc (ALU) admit they still have work to do in telling the story of its transformation from an engineering conglomerate to a focused play on niche building products.Speaking to Shares on the publication of full year results (5 Sep), chief executive Paul Hooper and finance director Andrew Ma

Alumasc (ALU) 184.5pGain to date: 5.7%Original entry price: Buy at 174.5p, 9 Feb 2017Niche building products play Alumasc (ALU) is in buoyant mood as its order book hits a record £32.9m (21 Feb).The company's Levolux business has won three new UK contracts to supply bespoke balcony and balustrading systems (with a cumulative value of £5m) in the three weeks since publication of its half year num

The market valuation attached to building products business Alumasc (ALU) does not reflect its earnings potential or inherent qualities.The market doesn't appear to have picked up on the Kettering-based company's transformation from an engineering conglomerate to a pure play on premium building products.The stock trades on 8.2 times forecast earnings for the year to June 2018 which looks far too l

Two more big profit warnings hit the FTSE 350 mid cap index on Thursday as industrial textiles business Berendsen (BRSN) and engineer Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) see their share prices crushed because of weak trading.Updates from Berendsen and Amec were delivered after a weak trading session overnight in the US and Asia though UK stocks opened the day flat at around 6,952 with roughly half the FTSE

Strong order book growth during July and August at construction products specialist Alumasc (ALU) means the company is well placed at the start of its new financial year, says chief executive Paul Hooper.Results for the year to 30 June 2016 show revenue gained 2% to £92.2 million and operating profit roughly flat at £7.6 million. Underlying earnings per share increased 9% to 18.4p.Alumasc's orde

One of the more interesting screening filters on Stockopedia's website is 'Winning Growth and Income', inspired by a strategy from investment analyst Kevin Matras. It screens the market looking for high yielding companies with strong growth characteristics.Stockopedia says the filter looks for companies with an above-average return on equity, a below-average price-to-earnings ratio and where analy

We've been patiently waiting for a recovery in the UK construction industry since the global recession in 2008. At some point it has to arrive; the uncertainty continues to be the point when that event will happen.The industry accounts for around £90 billion or between 6% and 7% of UK economic output. While construction's progress is patchy; some areas such as building materials - and specialty m

London shares tumble lower in early deals on Tuesday as falls among big-ticket resources and financials outweigh a few slim gains among retail and leisure issues. This after a mixed turn on Wall Street overnight and softer Asian markets this morning. Europe is moderately lower.The FTSE 100 index slumps nearly 90 points, or about 1.5%, to 5,970, with small cpas similraly lower, although midcaps do

Markets like the US, the UK and Europe are all warming to the emerging green construction trend and this could insulate Kettering-based Alumasc's (ALU) and its market-leading position in the sustainable building materials space from any stumbles in the wider construction recovery.A recent report on the global green building materials market by Zion Research estimates that this segment was valued a

The building materials segment this year has been characterised by some stand-out performances as evidence of a recovery in construction continues to stack up. This is despite some recent concerns on the merchanting side as a result of stubbornly sluggish recovery in the Renovation Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) space.While third quarter data did little to inspire confidence, particularly in me

Vertu boost for Auto TraderPeel Hunt reckonS the optimistic note sounded by car dealer Vertu Motors (VTU:AIM) alongside its interims (14 Oct) (see Small Caps) is good news for used car digital marketplace Auto Trader (AUTO) at 370p. The broker initiates with an 'add' recommendation and 375p price target. (TS)£500m tech IPOSoftware reseller Softcat has confirmed plans to float on London's Main Mar

A tightening market focus, rewarded by a healthy improvement in its full-year results on 3 September, is seeing analysts upgrade their 2016 forecasts for specialist construction material producer Alumasc (ALU). At 173.1p, shares in the Kettering-based firm are already up 41.3% year to date but look good value based on these new earnings estimates.The £62.2 million cap has reported a 10% improveme

A strong full year performanceat building and engineering products specialist Alumasc (ALU) sees shares in the £60.1 million cap advancing 8.2% to 172.5p.Kettering-based Alumasc reported a 10% increase in revenue to £98.1 million while underlying profit before tax was up 16% to £8.4 million in the year to the end of June.The group's focus on building products - as evidenced by the fact that 92%

The FTSE 100 is trading 1.8% higher at 6,194 on the back of low-cost carrier Easyjet (EZJ) adding 5.4% to £17.63 after a trading update revealed that the group had seen stronger than expected unit revenue performance for August while its September outlook suggests uplift of around 6% in the airline's shorthaul network.Also leading the blue chip leader board was Morrison Supermarkets (MRW), which

Bank of England governor Mark Carney's hint earlier that interest rates could start rising by the 'turn of the year' is unlikely to dampen the attraction of equities as a core source of income for a considerable amount of time.Any rise in the base rate from the 0.5% at which it has been held for more than six years is expected to be modest with some believing it could take three years to reach 2%.

With cash and bonds seemingly unattractive, the market backdrop is ripe for further gains in equities. The stock market remains a better place to generate good returns on your money. The FTSE 100 has certainly had a good run this year and many of the other major indices have delivered positive returns. But that's not going to be enough for some investors, as many people are intent on BEATING the m

UK stocks rally strongly in early trade on Tuesday bolstered by optimism surrounding Greece's proposed debt plan, while rising commodity prices give resource shares a boost. The benchmark FTSE 100 index shoots 82 points higher, or 1.2%, to 6,865, with oil and mining sectors leading the charge.The new government in Greece is hoping to push through a debt swaps deal in exchange for a new wave of gro

Fitbug races aheadFitbug (FITB:AIM) has made another significant step to increase its market profile by becoming official partner of Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. Its Kiqplan health coaching platform will be promoted to the 500,000 women who take part in 300 5Km and 10Km charity races each year. (EP)All eyes on Alumasc Investors will hope half-year results from Alumasc (ALU) on 3 February wi