Thursday tips round-up: Capital Shopping, Logica, Galliford Try

24th Feb 2011 06:35

Capital Shopping Centres is back in the black with a £446.2m profit after a £150m loss the year before and it increased its net asset value by 15% last year. But the company has challenges ahead. Its Metro Centre in Gateshead is 25 years old next year and about half of the centre's rent is from leases due to expire then. It has 1.4m sq ft of expansion planned, which still needs planning consent. Hold, says the Times.Full-year results from the IT outsourcer Logica yesterday were a mixed bag. Revenues were up by 1% to £3.7bn for the year to December. And although operating profits more than tripled to £211m, adjusted operating profits were flat at £272m when the impact of last year's exceptional charges were stripped out. The market for IT outsourcers is starting to improve as economic recovery breathes life back into schemes put on hold during the recession. And Logica's fourth-quarter revenue growth of 4% points the way ahead. Hold, the Independent says.In September 2009 housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try raised £119.2m after expenses to fund an aggressive plan to double its business in three years. Bullish interim results published yesterday indicated that the chief executive Greg Fitzgerald made the right call. The company has looked on as prices have increased by 1.2 per cent since the start of the year and is employing more people than during the last boom. The Times says buy.As one of few listed accountancy firms, RSN Tenon offers a window into how bean-counting is progressing when there are fewer beads on the abacus. The half-year results announced yesterday, while not disastrous, did not provide the resounding return to form that the market was looking for. Shares are trading at less than seven times 2011 earnings, which is undemanding, although deservedly so for the moment. Hold, says the Times.The Independent thinks that although it may struggle to reach the heights that were once predicted for it, RSM Tenon now seems rather undervalued, meaning that at this price there could be a decent opportunity. Buy, the paper says.Travis Perkins, the builders' merchant and DIY retailer, is up more than 35% since the beginning of September, despite mounting evidence that the sector remains firmly lodged in the doldrums. But Travis, it turns out, has been doing well out of an uptick in repair and maintenance work that was put off during the recession. The stock continues to trade on multiples of about 12.4 times forward earnings for this year, and less than 11 times forward earnings for next year. That argues against a sell stance. But our concerns about the wider economy make us wary. Hold, the Independent advises.Cyril Sweett is a quantity surveyor and property consultant. The company employs more than 1,200 staff in 44 offices globally. Domestic markets remain challenging, but Sweett's global footprint and its involvement in some of the most dynamic economies in the world are helping to offset any trading pressures at home. Buy, says the Scotsman.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.