Insurer Admiral saw their shares surge to the top of the FTSE-100 leaderboard in early trade on Thursday after the publication of the company’s half year report. Group profits surged by a third as the company won new customers – up 12% - with more competitive pricing, although the uptick in revenues from allowing motor insurance buyers to pay in instalments over the year was particularly notable. The interim dividend jumped by 39% and within the first hour of trade, the Admiral share price was around 10% higher.
Interim numbers from lenders OSB Group are out today and despite some decent headline figures including more than doubling the underlying profit and an improvement in net interest margins (NIM), investors have been quick to shun the stock. The outlook for NIM is negative – it will be well below levels seen in recent years as the monetary policy cycle develops - and originations are down although this is a consequence of focusing on quality over quantity. So despite the 5% increase in dividend and news of a further £50m share buyback, the stock have been pummelled in early trade, with OSB Group shares down 19% by 9am.
Small cap miner Artemis Resources has provided an operating update this morning which includes assay results from its Titan prospect. Highlights here noted that gold had been found in greater than usual concentrations in some of the tests and that there was the potential for deposits to be significant. The Artemis share price has reacted accordingly, jumping almost 90% shortly after the opening bell and taking it back to levels not seen since April.
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