SHRE.L Regulatory News (SHRE)

AIM: SHRE

Share plc

("Share" or "the Group")

Publication of latest "Profit Watch UK" report

Share, which operates The Share Centre Limited, a leading independent UK stockbroker, is pleased to highlight the publication today of the latest quarterly issue of "Profit Watch UK", which analyses the revenues and profitability of the top 350 UK listed companies. A full copy of the report can be found on The Share Centre website at https://www.share.com/experienced-investors/profit-watch-uk.

In its summary, the Profit Watch UK report notes:

· UK Plc sees revenues climb a sluggish 1.3% year on year

· Excluding BHP Billiton (which lost £3.2bn in sales), FTSE 350 sales rise 8.2% with gross profits up 13.9%

· Signs of recovery across UK Plc sectors as housebuilders and those exposed to consumer spending lead charge

· FTSE 250 outperforms FTSE 100, with sales rising 9.2%, versus a 3.2% fall in FTSE 100

The Executive Summary of the report notes that "with [economic] recovery underway, signs of improvement are already apparent in many of the top 350 UK companies who reported between July and September 2013. In particular, sectors sensitive to the consumer have seen strong results. The impressive 0.8% growth of the UK highlights the recovery is accelerating, which will feed through into further improvement in subsequent reporting seasons for many top UK 350 companies' profits and revenues."

Commenting on the findings of the report, Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said,

"The summer is a relatively quiet reporting season, but it's no less relevant for that. Brighter economic skies have begun to appear in a whole range of official data, and it seems patches of blue are showing up in UK company results too. BHP Billiton's results cloud the picture, however increasing signs of health in sectors sensitive to the consumer are a very positive development due to that segment's importance to the overall economy. No doubt government schemes are boosting house builders, and Help to Buy's impact should further bolster future results, but things are improving for a diverse range of sectors. Mid-cap firms are more reliant on the domestic economy so are often a better bellwether for growth than their FTSE 100 peers.

"We should be careful of drawing too many positive conclusions, as problems remain. Company margins are still under pressure. Managers will have to focus on driving profitability higher as sales return. The consumer still faces a brisk headwind in the form of falling real incomes, so a new consumption boom seems some way off. Nevertheless we are hopeful of reporting a steadily improving picture over the coming quarters."

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Notes to editors

Methodology

Raw data from the financial reports of the UK's largest 350 listed firms (provided by Factset, excluding equity investment trusts) was analysed and cross referenced with additional data from the London Stock Exchange. The researchers compiled the data for the whole market and analysed by sector and index.