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Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Ladbrokes, Tullow Oil, and Premier Oil Should Lag the FTSE 100 Today

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By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

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LONDON — The FTSE 100 has opened the week poorly, falling 0.61% to 6,490 points by 7:50 a.m. EDT after the latest figures from China saw first-quarter economic growth come in lower than expected. Amid a sell-off of commodities, the gold price fell 5% to its lowest level for two years — it’s now down 25% since its peak of September 2011.

But even with the index falling, there are companies doing worse. Here are three whose share prices are tumbling today.

Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes‘ shares have dropped 8.2% to 190 pence after the bookmaker issued a first-quarter profit warning. Full-year operating profit is now expected to come in at the bottom end of expectations after Q1 was hit by “a significant reduction in profit” from horse racing at Cheltenham and weakness in online gambling. Operating profit for the quarter dropped 13 million pounds to 37.4 million pounds.

Ladbrokes shares are now down more than 20% from a mid-March peak of 245 pence, with the previous six months’ bull run now almost completely reversed.

Tullow Oil
Shares in Tullow Oil have fallen 4.3% to 1,110 pence after the explorer delayed its Sabisa-1 well in Ethiopia, citing “hole instability issues” that require the drilling of a secondary “sidetrack” bore. Exploratory results are now due in late May. But on the upside, initial drilling did reveal hydrocarbon indications.

In other positive news, we were told that the first of the firm’s six well tests at Ngamia-1 in Kenya has demonstrated flows of 281 barrels of oil per day. Further tests should soon reveal the area’s full production potential.

Premier Oil
Premier Oil have also slipped 4.3% today, despite the firm announcing the first oil flows from its Huntingdon field in the North Sea, which commenced last Friday. Chief executive Simon Lockett said: “This marks the first of four U.K. North Sea projects from our development portfolio which will come on-stream over the next few years.”

After ramping up from an initial 30,000 bopd, the field is expected to produce 250,000 bopd to 300,000 bopd when in full flow.

Finally, reliable dividends can more than compensate for the day-to-day ups and downs of share prices. So how about a company that’s offering a 5.7% yield and could be set for some nice share-price appreciation, too? It’s the subject of our brand-new report “The Motley Fool’s Top Income Share For 2013,” which you can get completely free of charge — but it will only be available for a limited period, so click here to get your copy today.

The article Why Ladbrokes, Tullow Oil, and Premier Oil Should Lag the FTSE 100 Today originally appeared on Fool.com.


Alan Oscroft has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/15/why-ladbrokes-tullow-oil-and-premier-oil-should-la/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Premier Oil Reports Record Profit and 5 Pence per-Share Dividend

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By Maynard Paton, The Motley Fool

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LONDON — The shares of Premier Oil have climbed 1.4% as of 10:30 a.m. EDT after the oil company revealed full-year earnings of $252 million.

The FTSE 250 member, which boasts investments and operations around the Falkland Islands, Indonesia, Norway, Mauritania, and Vietnam, said that post-tax profit had improved 47% last year to score the group’s fifth consecutive annual record. Premier also declared a 5 pence per-share dividend, the company’s first payout since 1997. The progress was supported by production rising 43% to almost 58,000 barrels of oil a day, which in turn pushed revenues from $837 million to $1,409 million.

Last year Premier spent $268 million on acquisitions and $772 million on development and exploration projects, which pushed net debt from $774 million to $1.1 billion. Premier also reported that its reserves and resources had expanded by 260 million barrels of oil, or 51%, to 773 million barrels of oil.

Simon Lockett, Premier’s chief executive, said: “Premier has built a strong asset portfolio which will act as a springboard for significant further growth over the medium term. … The next three years will see a further transformation of the business as we increase production and generate significantly greater cash flows.”

Meanwhile, Premier chairman Welton said, “The Board believes that the payment of a sustainable dividend underlines our confidence in rising cash flows, the strength of our balance sheet and the quality of our asset base.” Welton also claimed Premier’s share price had “not kept pace with the growth in value of the underlying assets of the business.”

Of course, you must decide for yourself whether Welton is right and Premier’s share price has some catching up to do. For what it’s worth, the company’s current 2.1 billion pound market cap is equivalent to less than 12 times 2012 profits. Premier also reckons its production could improve at least a further 13% to more than 65,000 barrels of oil a day during 2013, with a rate of 75,000 barrels achievable toward the end of the year.

Premier’s shares have almost tripled since their 2009 low and provide another example of how smart investors can make large sums from quality resources shares.

If you already own Premier shares and are keen to earn wealth-changing returns from other oil and gas explorers, this free Motley Fool report could help you on your way. The report explains the factors you need to consider — and the risks you might encounter — when evaluating potential multibaggers within the oil and gas sector. The report also profiles one part of the industry that looks set to grow considerably. Just click here to download the special oil and gas report today — it’s free.

The article Premier Oil Reports Record Profit and 5 Pence per-Share Dividend originally appeared on Fool.com.


Maynard Paton has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance