果冻传媒

Smiths Group (SMIN) plans to return a further 拢1.5bn to shareholders by the end of next year, once the current programme ends.

The company returned 拢500mn in buybacks last year and is in the midst of a 拢1bn programme this year but said it would hand back a further 拢1.5bn both through a 鈥渟tructured return鈥� (either a tender offer or special dividend) and further buybacks next year.

Despite this, shares in the engineering group fell by 6 per cent after half-year results came in slightly softer than analysts expected, and revenue and cash flow guidance for the full year were weaker than previously set out.

Smiths Group has undergone major changes over the past 12 months after coming under pressure from activist investors to improve returns.

It has agreed sales of both its Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection businesses for a combined 拢3.3bn. It also plans to offload parts of its Flex-Tek business serving general industrial companies.

The decision hanging over Atlantic Lithium (ALL) has gone its way, after the Ghanaian parliament voted in favour of its mining permit for the Ewoyaa operation.

Shares climbed in the days leading up to the ratification, up 38 per cent between Tuesday morning and close on Thursday, before dropping back almost 5 per cent on Friday. The company also announced a capital raise on Tuesday. Australian investors sent the Australian-listed shares up 14 per cent on Friday.

Parliamentary approval followed an update to the royalties payable to the state last year, introducing a sliding scale from 5 per cent to 12 per cent depending on the lithium price. This compares with the 10 per cent flat rate originally agreed.

Atlantic chief executive Keith Muller said: 鈥淚t is not lost on us that, despite the delays to ratification, we have been able to secure full permitting for the project in a timeframe that would not be possible in many jurisdictions.鈥�

The company had hoped for approval before the December 2024 elections in Ghana, but the final investment decision was held up by the delays.

Atlantic also raised 拢7.7mn this week, issuing new shares at 14.6p per share. Its shares climbed to 18p.

CAB Payments (CABP) has rejected a 拢241mn bid from US competitor StoneX (US:SNEX), arguing that it 鈥渟ignificantly undervalues the company and its prospects鈥�.

StoneX鈥檚 bid of 95p per share was announced on Monday. Its offer trumped an attempt by the group鈥檚 major shareholder, Helios Investment Partners, to take CAB Payments private at a price of $1.15 (86p) per share.

Although StoneX had said its all-cash bid was a premium of around a third higher than the 72p CAB Payments shares were trading at in January before the Helios take-private bid was announced, it is well below the 145p per share that StoneX was offering in late 2024 before it decided to abandon talks.

Helios Investment Partners owns a 45 per cent stake in CAB Payments. It had also secured support for its offer from Eurocomm Holding, which holds a further 5.2 per cent stake. CAB Payments鈥� shares rose by 4 per cent to 93.5p.

A US-based private equity firm which specialises in defence investments has built a stake of more than 8 per cent in Chemring (CHG).

Albion River, which is run by a former undersecretary to the US Department of Defense, Darren Farber, has made the investment through its Ignium II fund.

Ignium is a supplier of components to the US and allied defence industrial base. It owns a portfolio of companies that provide software, missile batteries and fuelling systems. It also owns a competitor to Chemring, Derby-based energetics producer Wescom Group, which it bought in August last year.

Albion River, which raised $300mn for Ignium from investors last month, did not respond to a request to comment.

Despite sales growing at JD Wetherspoon (JDW), rising costs ate into first-half profits and left investors less than impressed, with shares falling 11 per cent in early trading.

The pub group said operating profit fell by 拢12mn to 拢53mn, reflecting a 140bps margin reduction as the industry continues to grapple with rising labour costs, increased business rates and energy price increases. Higher repairs and maintenance charges for existing pubs also impacted the company.

As a result, chairman Tim Martin said that full-year profit may now come in 鈥渟lightly below current market expectations鈥�. However, the company left its forecast for year-end net debt unchanged.

Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson said downgrades to full-year estimates 鈥渁ppear likely鈥� as Wetherspoons鈥� status as the budget offering left it 鈥渦niquely exposed to structural cost pressures鈥�.

In January, the government announced a package of support for pubs, partially reversing the business rate increases from the November Budget after industry outcry. The new business rates bill will be cut by 15 per cent for pubs from April, followed by a two-year real-terms freeze.