Fevertree Drinks [LSE: FEVR]
We have preliminary full year earnings from Fever-Tree out this morning. Numbers have again advanced and are largely in line with expectations, although the overshoot in revenues against consensus forecasts when EPS was in line may raise a few eyebrows. The release outlines the company’s recent plaudits too, including the fact it’s the number one mixer drink brand in the UK for the off-trade (i.e. non-pubs/bars) channel. That said, with gin sales increasing dramatically in the UK – some 51 million bottles were sold last year – few companies have been “right place, right time” like Fever-Tree.
Legal & General Group [LSE: LGEN]
Interesting news from Legal & General, who have this morning announced they have completed the purchase of the 52% they didn’t already own of CALA Homes. The housebuilder made a pre-tax profit last year of £91.5million and has been valued at £605million – that’s a phenomenal yield but that – and the fact CALA prides itself on being an “upmarket” home builder seems to rather jar with L&G’s commitment to providing affordable living to the UK’s population.
Antofagasta [LSE: ANTO]
The copper mining giant Antofagasta has today published its full year results, showing strong earnings growth and margin improvements. The company’s fortunes are closely aligned with the underlying price of the metals it digs out the ground so market conditions here have flattered the numbers, even as production volumes have dipped lower. That said, the EPS figure, despite improving dramatically, didn’t quite measure up against consensus expectations.
