Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
MJ Gleeson
Final results from the low-cost house builder MJ Gleeson LON:GLE are out this morning. The COVID-19 lockdown hit the business hard, covering the seasonally critical fourth quarter. Revenues were off by 41% whilst the operating profit slumped by 86%. The dividend has been suspended but the company notes that its core proposition of supplying high quality, low cost homes in the North and Midlands remains in demand. The business is targeting 2,000 completions in 2022, up from the 1529 sold in 2019.
Greencoat Renewables
Greencoat [LON:GRP], the renewable infrastructure company, has published interims for the period to 30th June this morning. The note should reassure investors, with the company stating that production is on target. Energy prices are currently subdued, but income is covered by government subsidies from Paris and Dublin, providing some valuable assurance. That clearly brings with it risk in the longer term, but with 98% of revenues contracted until 2028, that’s still some way off.
JD Wetherspoon
Wetherspoons LON:JDW are also active on the wires this morning with their take on the Government’s latest COVID-19 mitigation measures. Unsurprisingly, the tone is that the government has it wrong and pubs aren’t ‘dangerous’ places to be. Arguably the stand out point being made here is that sales on Saturday were 22.5% below the equivalent Saturday in 2019, which the pub chain is attributing to the public deciding the risk isn’t worth it. Reading this suggests that the hospitality sector could be in for a long winter.
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