Clarkson to reinstate dividend, ContourGlobal increases distribution
By Josh White
Date: Monday 10 Aug 2020
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 53 points higher on Monday, having closed up 0.09% at 6,032.18 on Friday.
Stocks to watch
Shipping services firm Clarkson said it would reinstate a previously deferred dividend as it reported a "robust" first half with higher profits driven by its broking division. The company on Monday said it would now pay the equivalent of the 2019 final dividend of 53p per share as an interim dividend next month and also declared a further interim payout of 25p per share which would be paid on December 11. Underlying profit before taxation rose slightly to £21.1m from £20.1m a year earlier on revenue of £180.4m, up from £167.8m.
ContourGlobal increased its dividend as the power plant owner and operator reported an 11% increase in first-half profit and no significant effect from Covid-19. Income from operations for the six months to the end of June rose to $158m (£121m) from $143m as revenue increased 10% to $680m. The company increased its second quarter dividend by 10% to 4.0591 cents a share and said it intended to maintain that level of increase.
Both FirstGroup and Go-Ahead issued statements "welcoming" the government's fresh round of regional bus funding on Monday, after the Department for Transport confirmed a further eight-week £218.4m package. After that, weekly funding of up to £27.3m would be available until no longer required. Passenger volumes were returning, albeit nowhere near the pre-Covid levels, with FirstGroup saying volumes were now around 40% for First Bus operations in England, compared to about 10% at their low point.
Newspaper round-up
The travel industry has urged the government to rethink its 14-day quarantine policy for holidaymakers as rising coronavirus cases on the continent - including France and Greece - put more countries within the scope of the blunt approach. Testing at airports and regional quarantine requirements are among alternatives put forward by tourism figures concerned by the impact the policy could have on an already battered sector. - Guardian
The number of footballers investigated by HMRC rose dramatically in the tax year 2019-20, going up from 87 to 246 individuals, according to research by the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. The figures show footballers and their image rights are coming under increasing scrutiny as the UK tax authorities look to clamp down on loopholes in the way players are paid. - Guardian
Landlords, shops and restaurants have joined forces to ask the Government to step in and pay commercial rents to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic. Trade bodies have been in talks with ministers about proposals that would see the Government fund up to 50pc of rent and services charges owed by businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. These "Property Bounce Back" grants would be targeted at businesses worst affected by lockdown. - Telegraph
Twitter has made an audacious attempt to gatecrash Microsoft's talks to buy TikTok with a proposal to acquire the Chinese video-sharing app's US operations. The micro-blogging network has held preliminary talks with TikTok, although it is regarded as a long shot to secure a deal given its market capitalisation of $29 billion is dwarfed by Microsoft's $1.6 trillion value. Twitter's interest was first reported in The Wall Street Journal. - The Times
The AA's biggest shareholder has dismissed the private equity approaches for the breakdown service as "very opportunistic" and told it not to accept too low an offer. Drew Dickson, founder of Albert Bridge Capital, said he was surprised by the AA's response to the approaches, adding that it was "jeopardising negotiating leverage" by emphasising the "dire circumstances" resulting from its £2.6 billion debt burden. - The Times
US close
Stocks on Wall Street finished in a mixed state on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day up 0.17% at 27,433.48.
The S&P 500 eked out gains of 0.06% to settle at 3,351.28, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.87% to 11,010.98.
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