13th Nov 2015 17:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of director dealings reported in London on Friday and late on Thursday.
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Several members of Standard Chartered's board and management team, including Chief Executive Bill Winters and Chairman John Peace, paid a total of GBP1.6 million to buy shares in the Asia-focused bank on Thursday, ahead of an upcoming rights issue.
The purchases, revealed in a stock exchange filing on Friday, come after Standard Chartered said earlier this month that it will raise GBP3.3 billion from its shareholders through a rights issue and cut thousands of jobs to save money. Winters is trying to execute a turnaround strategy that will see the group focus more on affluent retail clients and less on asset-intensive corporate and institutional banking businesses.
"These share purchases by a number of our senior directors and management team reflects their belief in the new strategy and the opportunities for our business, given the long term growth prospects in many of our markets across Asia Africa and the Middle East," a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement.
The timing of the share purchases means that the directors are able to take up the rights attached to the newly acquired shares to buy in the upcoming issuance should they wish to do so.
"All are taking the opportunity afforded by the current share dealing window to strengthen their holdings over and above their commitment made to purchase shares in our forthcoming rights issue," the bank spokesperson said.
Fears about China's economic slowdown have hit investor sentiment towards emerging markets, creating a tough backdrop for a bank that makes most of its money in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Impairments for bad loans have been rising for Standard Chartered, and the bank booked USD1.23 billion of such charges in the third quarter, leading to a USD139.0 million pretax loss in the three months to September 30.
Bill Winters, who took the helm at Standard Chartered in June, bought 168,000 shares at 599.08p each, while long-serving Chairman John Peace bought 50,000 shares at 591.20p. Winters now holds 229,035 shares, while Peace holds 183,111.
Two regional chief executives joined Winters and Peace in buying shares. Sunil Kaushal, who took over the bank's operations in Africa and the Middle East at the start of October, bought 20,000 shares at 598.80p. Kaushal has worked at the bank for 18 years.
Ajay Kanwal, another regional boss appointed at the start of October, when he was named as the leader of the bank's ASEAN and South Asia activities, bought 10,000 shares at 597.4p. Kanwal joined Standard Chartered in 1992.
The group's interim chief risk officer, Pam Walkden, bought 20,000 shares at 589.727p. Walkden has been at Standard Chartered since 1991. Michael Gorriz, the group's Singapore-based chief information officer who joined in July, bought 8,403 shares at 589.946p.
Standard Chartered shares closed down 1.4% to 574.20p on Friday.
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Ceramic and carbon products manufacturer Morgan Advanced Materials said three of its directors bought shares in the company, all on Friday.
Morgan Advanced said Chairman Andrew Shilston's wife, Catherine, bought 40,000 shares for 236.85 pence each. Shilton now is interested in 70,000 shares in the company. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Dangerfield bought 10,000 shares for 223.40p, increasing his total shareholding to 289,933 shares. And Peter Blaustein, director of human resources, bought 1,300 shares for 231,636 per share, his only holding.
On Thursday, Morgan Advanced said trading conditions have weakened in the second half and its earnings for the full year are set to come in at the low end of market expectations. Shares in Morgan closed down 1.6% to 229.40p on Friday, having fallen 13% on Thursday after the profit warning.
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Burberry Group said Non-Executive Director David Tyler sold 14,000 shares in the company for 1,294.0 pence each on Friday, a day after the company lowered its full year profit guidance in its interim results. Burberry did not state what holding Tyler has following the transaction.
On Thursday, Burberry lowered its full year guidance once more for its retail and wholesale profit as it continues to be hit by unfavourable foreign exchange rates and a challenging economic environment for its high-margin Chinese business. Burberry shares ended down 2.2% to 1,284.12 pence per share on Friday afternoon.
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Life sciences company Horizon Discovery Group said seven of its directors bought shares in the company on Thursday, all at 141.00 pence per share.
Chief Executive Darrin Disley bought 7,000 shares, leaving him with a 0.7% stake. Chief Financial Officer Richard Vellacott bought 7,000 shares too, leaving his stake at around 0.01%. Chairman Ian Gilham bought 17,600 shares, giving him a 0.03% stake, while Non-Executive Director Grahame Cook bought 42,250 shares, his first holding in the company and giving him a 0.04% stake.
Non-Executive Director Vishal Gulati bought 14,100 shares, also his first holding and giving him a 0.01% stake, while Susan Searle, also a non-executive director, bought 17,500 shares, raising her stake to 0.04%. Jonathan Milner, a non-executive director, bought 7,500 shares but his stake currently stands at 10%. Milner is the founder of Abcam PLC, the life science research tools business and one of the largest companies on AIM by market capitalisation.
Shares in Horizon Discovery closed up 6.4% to 150.00p on Friday.
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Oil services company Getech Group said Non-Executive Director Peter Stephens and his wife bought shares in the company on Thursday. Stephens bought 9,000 shares, while his wife, Veronica, bought 6,000 shares. Both bought the shares at 36.00 pence per share. Stephens now holds 1.1 million shares in the company, representing 3.2% of the company's issued share capital. Shares in Getech ended down 1.4% at 37.00p on Friday.
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Fund manager Ashmore Group said Chairman Peter Gibbs bought shares in the company on Thursday. Gibbs bought 50,000 shares in the company for 249.39 pence per share, his first purchase of shares and only holding. Gibbs took over the role of chairman in October, taking over from Michael Benson. He was appointed as a non-executive director of the company in April. Shares in Ashmore closed down 1.1% at 244.90p on Friday.
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Phoenix Group Holdings said Fiona Clutterbuck, head of strategy, corporate development and communications, sold 28,712 shares in the company at GBP8.67 per share on Thursday. Following the transaction, worth GBP248,933, Clutterbuck holds a total of 50,000 shares, representing less than a 1% stake in the company. Phoenix shares closed down 0.9% to 855.15 pence per share on Friday.
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Car parts and bicycles retailer Halfords Group said Thursday that Chairman Dennis Millard bought 5,000 shares at a price of 393.55 pence per share. Following this purchase Millard holds 60,000 shares in the company, or a less than 1.0% stake. Shares in Halfords closed down 1.8% at 387.81p Friday.
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By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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