Today I’m looking at two FTSE-quoted giants making the news in midweek business.
Paying off
Shares in Paysafe Group (LSE: PAYS) have taken off during Wednesday’s session, the stock up 9% from the prior close thanks to a positive half-time update.
The payment services play saw sales more than double during January-June, to $486.7m, while adjusted pre-tax profit cantered to $101.4m from $37.3m 12 months earlier. And cash generation was also impressive in the period, with cash and equivalents hitting $160.2m as of June from $117.9m six months earlier.
And Paysafe commented that “[the] positive momentum in the business has continued during July 2016,” adding that “as a result of the exceptional half, the Group announces a further revenue upgrade.”
Paysafe now expects revenues to clock in at $970m-$990m, up from a previous estimate of $960m.
Last year’s €1.1bn acquisition of money transfer specialist Skrill is cause for particular cheer. Integration has come in well ahead of schedule, and the unit helped power revenues at Paysafe’s Digital Wallet division 195% higher during the first half, to $146.7m. And Paysafe expects synergies from the purchase to exceed the $40m target originally expected by the close of the year.
I believe that Paysafe remains an exceptionally-priced stock regardless of recent strength. Indeed, explosive earnings growth is predicted for 2016, resulting in a P/E multiple of 15 times, bang on the historical blue chip average.
I reckon this is a bargain given Paysafe’s growing momentum in a fast-growing sector.
Bouncing back
Security specialist G4S (LSE: GFS) has emerged as the big winner during midweek trading, the share recently dealing 15% higher following the release of bubbly half-year numbers.
G4S saw revenue tick 5.1% higher between January and June, to £3.1bn, a result that propelled pre-tax profit 12% to £149m. This prompted the company to maintain the interim dividend at 3.59p per share.
G4S printed £1.4bn worth of new contracts during the period, and chief executive Ashley Almanza struck a bullish tone looking ahead, commenting that “over the medium term we expect demand for our services to grow by around 4-6% per annum.”
And the company also struck a positive note concerning its extensive restructuring drive, saying: “Our strategy is delivering tangible results with growing revenues, improving profitability and strong cash generation.”
G4S has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent years. But its transformation strategy is clearly bearing fruit, while its heavy international bias is also delivering terrific results — revenues from emerging markets leapt 9.7% during the first half, for example.
While the company still has plenty of work in front of it, many glass-half-full investors will be drawn in by a forward P/E rating of 14 times. And a dividend yield of 4.1% also merits serious attention.
