Koovs, Nichols and GoCompare

“Blue-chips maintained their recent momentum as Asian markets generally firmed overnight and with little in the UK diary to prompt any significant directional change,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Online fashion group Koovs’ shares slumped after gross sales were flat in the six months to the end of September. The group, which targets the young fashion-conscious Indian e-commerce market, has increased its trading margin significantly by focusing on high quality sales and reduced its operating costs by 9%. But it has been a challenging year generally for the market and Koovs has not been immune with sales feeling the impact of India’s demonetisation, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, and heavy discounting and marketing expenditure by its peers. Koovs’ shares were down by more than 31.4% in early trading.

“Soft drinks group Nichols was a double-digit faller as the supply route to its customer in Yemen was blockaded due to the recent escalation of hostilities in the country. Nichols has been unable to send any further Vimto concentrate shipments that were planned for this month into Yemen. Overall, the group’s sales performance has been strong from both its UK and international business. Vimto sales in the UK are up 9% which is significantly ahead of the UK market growth of 2.3%. The group’s shares were down by 10.6% in early trading.

“Price comparison group GoCompare was an early riser following a bullish update and an agreement to acquire The Global Voucher Group, which trades as MyVoucherCodes, from Monitise for £36.5m. MyVoucherCodes complements the services already offered by GoCompare as it aims to become the 'go-to' place for savvy savers to find great deals. The group has continued to take a disciplined approach to trading and expects adjusted operating profits to be at the upper end of market forecasts. GoCompare’s shares were up by more than 5.4%.”

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