20th Jul 2022. 8.55am

Regency View:

Update

Regency View:

Update

Unilever’s India unit beats profit estimates

Unilever (ULVR) released strong numbers for its Indian unit this week…

Hindustan Unilever India’s largest consumer goods maker, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, aided by strong demand for its home care products.

Sales of Hindustan Unilever’s home care products, including brands like Surf Excel and Vim, jumped nearly 30% to 49.31 billion rupees in the quarter, while the beauty and personal care segment grew 17%.

Profit rose to 22.89bn rupees ($286.36m) for the three months ended June 30, higher than analysts’ expectations of 21.93bn rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

It’s worth noting that Hindustan Unilever benefited from a low base of sales in the pandemic-hit year-ago period, but surging inflation in recent months has curbed spending by consumers.

Hindustan Unilever CEO, Sanjiv Mehta commented:

“While there are near-term concerns around inflation, the recent softening of commodities, forecast of a normal monsoon, and monetary/fiscal measures taken by the government augur well for the industry”.

ULVR Daily Candle Chart

ULVR Daily Candle Chart

British power stocks rise as UK says no plans to extend windfall tax

Centrica (CNA) and other UK power stocks rallied last week as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there are no plans to extend a windfall tax on profits of electricity generators.

In May, the UK Government had announced a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers, and power stocks had tumbled after the UK was evaluating scale of extraordinary profits in electricity generation sector.

The news created a catalyst for the shares to retest their trend highs at 89p – putting our position nicely into profit.

Centrica report half year numbers next week Thursday 28th July and we will cover these numbers in our next update.

CNA Daily Candle Chart

CNA Daily Candle Chart

Photo-Me jumps on strong HY, robust FY outlook

Photo-Me (PHTM) released a blockbuster set of half year numbers on Tuesday, prompting the shares to surge 14% higher…

The vending machine said it half-year pre-tax profit surged 66% at £19.9m – ahead of its expectations.

Full-year revenue is expected to grow at least 20% compared to prior year and adjusted pre-tax profit is forecasted to come in at approx. £47m-£50m.

Photo-Me also said that it will change its name to ME Group to “better reflect diversification focus and business strategy”. Please note the stocks new ticker will be MEGP going forward.

Serge Crasnianski, CEO and Deputy Chairman, said:

“We are proud to announce an extremely strong first half performance, ahead of the Board’s expectations. Demand for our machines continues to grow at pace, as economies reopen and confidence returns among consumers globally, and we are working hard to keep up with evolving trends and consumer needs.”

“The Board believes that the Group’s ability to come through the pandemic in such good shape and increase its profitability is testimony to the strong fundamentals of the Group and its resilience in the face of adverse economic headwinds.”

We mentioned in our BUY Photo-Me report last month, that the 7th June bullish price gap was significant as it broke resistance and created a burst of momentum. We are now starting to see this momentum accelerate.   

PHTM Daily Candle Chart

PHTM Daily Candle Chart