De la Rue’s shares have outperformed substantially over the last year. In its interim results it said it was benefiting from a contract to print money for South Sudan, the world’s newest country. Following the problems last year with production that led to a suspension of shipments of banknotes to the Reserve Bank of India, the chief executive Tim Cobbold said the recovery programme outlined in May was on track to meet its target of delivering operating profit of more than £100m by the end of the 2014 financial year. A takeover bid by Oberthur failed earlier this year, but may be revived in due course.
Mitie announced interim results on Monday, saying that it is benefiting from the growing trend towards larger outsourcing contracts. Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO, said that existing public and private sector clients were asking Mitie to provide extra services. New contracts include a 10-year partnership with Essex council to service 350 sites, a deal with the Ministry of Justice to provide facilities management at English courts, and expanded contracts with Diageo, BT Group and Channel Four. Pre-tax profits increased from £36.9m to £43.3m. The shares have risen 20% in the past 12 months.
ICAP reported interim results last week that were broadly in line with the same period last year, but warned of falling activity in the past two months as investment banks avoid risk. While the traditional voice broking business still accounted for 70% of revenue, the mix continued to shift towards its electronic broking operations which increased turnover by 5%. This year it launched iSwap, a platform for trading interest rate swaps. Rivals Tullett Prebon and Tradition have also launched similar platforms. Pre-tax profit rose 30% to £151m, but the rise was only 2% when adjusted for one-off items.
Risk warnings
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