LONDON (ShareCast) - Matt Davies, the brand new Chief Executive Officer at Halfords Group, the FTSE-250 car and bike parts retailer, purchased 164,056 on his first day on the job.

Davies, who bought the shares for 302.22p each for a total of £495,810, has replaced former CEO David Wild, who abruptly exited the company in the summer.

The news of his appointment came late Wednesday, the day before the company revealed that full-year profits would be at the top end of guidance after a strong second quarter.

The group expects pre-tax profit to be in the region of £40-42m in the first half on the back of its second quarter performance and an acceleration of operating cost investment. The consensus estimate currently stands at just £35.8m.

In the quarter ended September 28th, group revenues rose by 6.2% year-on-year, a sharp contrast to the 5.2% decline seen in the first three months of the year. Like-for-like (LFL) sales fell by 0.1% over the half, after combining the 5.6% fall in the first quarter with the 5.6% increase in the second.


Top Director Buys

Halfords Group (HFD)
Director name: Mr Matt Davies
Amount purchased: 164,056 @ 302.22p
Value: £495,810

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Maarten Bisseling
Amount purchased: 3,671,549 @ 8.50p
Value: £312,082

Vianet Group (VNET)
Director name: Mr James Dickson
Amount purchased: 260,000 @ 100.00p
Value: £260,000

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Willem van den Brink
Amount purchased: 3,031,554 @ 8.50p
Value: £257,682

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Adriaan Reinders
Amount purchased: 724,081 @ 8.50p
Value: £61,547

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Jan-Paul Willem Menke
Amount purchased: 724,081 @ 8.50p
Value: £61,547

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS)
Director name: Mr Christopher H B Mills
Amount purchased: 5,620 @ 1,065.00p
Value: £59,853

Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Mr Peter Woicke
Amount purchased: 792 @ 1,951.20p
Value: £15,454

Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Mr Phuthuma F. Nhleko
Amount purchased: 621 @ 1,951.20p
Value: £12,117

Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Ms Anne Stevens
Amount purchased: 621 @ 1,951.20p
Value: £12,117


Top Director Sells

Abcam (ABC)
Director name: Dr Jonathan Simon Milner
Amount sold: 200,000 @ 395.00p
Value: £790,000

News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA)
Director name: Mr John L Thornton
Amount sold: 1,171 @ $24.55
Value: $28,748

Independent News & Media (INM)
Director name: Mr Leslie Buckley
Amount sold: 100,000 @ € 0.15
Value: € 14,950

NR

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE