HSBC, Fever-Tree and 21st Century Technology

“Blue-chips recovered some of last week’s losses in early trading although investors remained focused on the US election and developments on the potential course of Brexit following the High Court ruling,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“HSBC topped the FTSE100 board in early trading with investors encouraged by the bank’s underlying performance in the third quarter. HSBC took a hit on the sale of its Brazilian operations and pre-tax profits plunged by 86% to $843m from $6.1bn a year ago. But adjusted profits, which exclude one-off costs, rose by 7% which beat market forecasts while revenues were up by 2%. HSBC has achieved $2.8bn of annualised cost savings and remains on track to achieve its 2017 cost-saving target.

“Premium drinks mixer Fever-Tree’s shares jumped following a bullish update. The group continues to perform strongly in the second half and is on track to post full-year profits materially ahead of forecasts. Performance in the UK, which is Fever-Tree’s largest market, has been particularly strong as new distribution gains have combined with a continued rate of sales growth.

“CCTV video surveillance specialist 21st Century Technology was a double-digit riser after winning a two-year extension to its contract with Arriva Bus UK. This takes the agreement through until February 2019 with a customer option for an additional year. 21st Century has provided on-board CCTV and related IT technologies to Arriva UK Bus since 2002 and has been a key weapon in the fight against insurance fraud.”

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