Tuesday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 5,935.84, a fall of 172.87 points.
– The FTSE 250 fell by 363.33 points to finish at 16,529.98.
– The FTSE All Share dropped by 89.21 points to 3,276.30.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 730.51, down by 9.31 points.

Soft drinks firm AG Barr (BAG) said bad weather and heavy price competition in the six months ended 31st July was responsible for the company’s falling revenues. Profits before taxation for the period dropped by 11.3% to £16.9 million, but management announced that the interim dividend would be increased by 8% to 3.36p. AG Barr shares fell by 5.69% to 530p.

Shares in Dairy Crest (DCG) dropped by 13p to 612.50p as investor sentiment soured following the announcement that profits in the six months ended 30th September would be lower than in the comparative period of 2015. Full year expectations are unchanged, but the company said that the recent tough conditions in the spreads market had eaten in to its butter brands.

Engineering firm Meggitt (MGGT) has agreed to buy EDAC’s composites division from Greenbriar Equity Group for a cash consideration of $340 million (£221 million). The business produces materials used in the aviation industry and is expected to contribute around $104 million (£67.69 million) to group revenues during 2015. Management believe that the unit will synergise well with the recent acquisition from Cobham and expect it to complete this year. The shares fell by 10.40p to 463.90p.

Keyword Studios (KWS) posted revenues of €23.9 million (£17.35 million) for the six months ended 30th June, a 74.4% increase over the comparable period of the prior year. As a result, pre-tax profits shot up from around €36k (ca. £26,000) to €1.6 million (£1.16 million) and management have attributed the growth to the acquisition of Reverb and Alchemic Dream last year. The shares grew by 5p to 186.50p.

Tomorrow’s news today

Hansard Global (HSD) will publish final results tomorrow, while Gresham House (GHE), Styles & Wood (STY) and Highland Gold Mining (HGM) are among those putting out interims.

Quote of the day

“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”
– Winston Churchill