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I saw Rishi's answer at PMQ's as more defending the principle of the 'investment incentive allowance' (90%) for Oil & Gas companies .. rather than a hint that the WFT wasn't going to be extended. Still good news for Serica - if this (90%) continues unchanged, particularly if the North Eigg drill is positive.
Of course, no further WFT increase would be fantastic news .. particularly for the smaller producers. A revised scheme or an additional, more targeted, 5-10% designed to hit the likes of Shell & BP may well be a compromise and politically acceptable. Over to Jeremy Hunt on the 17th November ..
Excellent interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXZgpOJGUUk
Agree re. Shapps : any which way the wind blows .. and the £ flows ! One to watch.
Therese Coffey to Environment - very much in the pro fracking camp.
Update : Grant Shapps to Business & Energy - a slippery weasel, no doubt 'open to persuasion' on fracking. Interestingly, Therese Coffey to Environment - very much in the pro fracking camp : she (and Mogg) literally manhandled some of her wavering Tory colleagues into voting 'yes' in last week's commons vote.
Mark Harper would be a good replacement for Mogg at Business / Energy - pro fracking & a close political ally of Sunak who was, himself, very much in favour of fracking / UK energy independence, during the leadership contest.
'We continue to anticipate reinstating a full year dividend in respect of FY 2022' .. 28.07.22 - from half year results report.
Topped up on the dip .. 12,000 @ 1.61 - showing as a sell, but a BUY.
Bring on the Q3 update - Thursday 20th October.
Good luck all ..
https://stream.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/630f190eda906b287e9a249c
Also interesting was the outgoing Chief Finance Officer (Chris Davies) purchasing 15,000 shares @ £2.048 in June (RNS 23.06.22) .. there's been a few Director buys in recent weeks - a further sign of confidence in the future prospects of the company, for sure.
Here's the Sunday Times article from 4/9/22 - good read, also picks up on potential of an incoming bid / takeover.
Share Tip : 'National Express is worth a ride' - by Lucy Tobin ..
The pandemic years of staying at home have unleashed pent-up demand on a grateful travel industry, as overstuffed airports and packed motorways have shown this summer. The impending economic gloom is unlikely to smother our collective desire to explore new places and visit far-flung friends and family, but emptier wallets mean many of us will be looking for cheaper ways to get there.
All of which is good news for transport giant National Express. Last year passengers sat on NatEx’s seats for 92 million journeys; the lure of its cheaper bus and coach journeys (relative to rail and plane) could see that surge during a downturn - not to mention ongoing rail strikes that make train travel a nightmare.
The Birmingham-based business won’t offer investors a smooth ride: sharp rises in inflation and the costs of staffing and fuel are squeezing margins and performance. But the stock has already been battered: shares, now about 170p, remain well off the 423p level seen in February 2020 before the reality of Covid was unleashed in the UK, and are down by more than a third this year. The shares look reasonable value, changing hands at about 9 times forecast earnings for 2023, below a 10-year average of 11.
Ruairi Cullinane, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, expects National Express “to be resilient in a weaker macro backdrop” but also flags the UK bus sector in general as set to benefit from “policy and demographics looking more favourable than in the decade following the financial crisis”.
It would be wrong to over-emphasise the British part of the business, though, as some 80 per cent of revenues stem from abroad. These come mostly from the US, where NatEx’s yellow school buses ferry 1.3 million students around each day, but also from Spain, Germany and Morocco.
The outlook away from the UK isn’t entirely rosy - NatEx has already had to raise wages by 12 per cent in the US as it tries to fill a glut of driver vacancies. But almost two thirds of its revenues come from signed contracts that have annual inflation adjustments built in. National Express also has a new business pipeline worth £2.1 billion in annual revenues over the next 18 months, up from £1.5 billion last October.
Another possible boon for investors is the chance of bid action - international buyers have taken a liking to UK transport giants recently, with FirstGroup and Stagecoach both attracting interest. For investors, its journey looks worth embarking on. Buy.
'We have indicated the half year results will be announced in September. The precise date will be notified to the market in due course' .. straight from Sir Martin Sorrell on Friday.
I'm guessing mid September as 2021 was Mon. 13th. Fingers crossed for a positive set of results / statement and a share price rise .. £2+ would be nice.