Seven Top Performers at the London Stock Exchange

The period of 2018-19 has been a period of turmoil for the British Economy and the companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Pre-Brexit jitters and its anticipated large scale business disruptions caused the average British consumer to be cautious and cut down on his expenditure amidst concerns of contraction in business activity across the country. Many of the small businesses and companies embarked on an elaborate war footing to deal with any eventuality and started to rationalize on their spending which led to the underperformance of some of the leading economic indicators, signaling the onset of an economic slowdown. However, towards the end of October 2019 as greater clarity began to emerge on the modalities of parting ways of the two economic blocks, there is now less confusion and uncertainty leading to restoration of confidence among people, businesses and the investment community.

During this period of turmoil however, there have been a number of companies that have performed exceedingly well. Not only did they experience a growth in their revenues and profits but also distributed record dividends during the year. Below is a list of top seven such companies which not only beat the Brexit blues, but their performance was significant enough to write home about.

3i Group Plc- 3i Group Plc (LON:III) is a London-headquartered international investor and manager which seeks to create value by investing its proprietary capital in a portfolio of mid-market private equity investments, specializing in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America. Combined with its international presence and strong capital position, the company focuses on opportunities where its sector and investment expertise can create material value, with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure. Its areas of operation are categorized into three segments, which are private equity, infrastructure and debt management.

The shares of the company are listed on the London Stock Exchange bearing the ticker name III. There these shares trade on the main market segment of the exchange and also form part of the FTSE 100 index.

For the six-month period ending on 30 September 2019, the company was able to generate Total return of £767 million or 10 per cent on the opening shareholders’ funds at the beginning of the period, whereas for the corresponding period in 2018 the company had generated £728 million which again was 10 per cent of the opening shareholder’s funds at the beginning of that period.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 1,076.50.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON:RDSA) is a Hague, Netherlands domiciled international group company in the energy and petrochemical business. The company engages in exploration, production, refining and marketing of oil, natural gas and petrochemical products. The company explores for natural gas and crude oil globally, in conventional fields and from other sources, such as coal formations, tight rock and shale. The group also produces and markets chemicals. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which is incorporated in England and Wales, is the parent company of the Shell group. The group's operations are differentiated into three operating segments: Integrated Gas and New Energies, Upstream and Downstream. The Integrated Gas business is involved in the activities related to the liquefaction and transportation of gas. All the activities related to conversion of natural gas into liquid energy and other products are also part of Integrated Gas business. The activities related to Upstream includes extraction and exploration of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, and transportation and marketing of gas and oil, Oil Sands, which include the production of synthetic crude oil from bitumen extracted from mined oil sands. All such activities are carried out through the Upstream segment. The activities related to manufacturing, and marketing of oil products and chemicals are engaged through the Downstream segment. The company has an employee base of around 86,000 in over 70 countries globally.

The shares of the company are listed on the London Stock Exchange bearing the ticker name RDSA. There these shares trade on the main market segment of the exchange and also form part of the FTSE 100 index.

The company for the third quarter period ending on 30 September 2019 reported a revenue of US$ 89.541 billion, compared to a third quarter ending period revenue in 2018 of US$ 101.548 billion. However, the basic earnings per share reported by the company for the period was 0.73 cents per share compared to 0.70 cents reported for the corresponding period in 2018.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 2,239.50.

BP Plc - BP Plc (LON:BP) is a United Kingdom based multinational Oil and gas company active in all three streams (upstream, midstream and downstream) of the industry. According to Fortune Magazine’s Global 500 list of the world’s largest companies by revenue, BP Plc stands at the seventh rank. Other than its traditional Oil & Gas verticals the company now has started to invest in renewable energy verticals like wind energy, solar energy and biofuels.

The company’s shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and at the New York Stock Exchange. At the London stock Exchange, the stocks of the company trade with the ticker name BP, at the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker name BP and at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with the ticker name BPE. The shares of the company are components of the FTSE 100 index at the London Stock Exchange.

The company for the third quarter of 2019 reported a loss of US$ 749 million compared to a profit of US $ 3.349 billion reported for the corresponding period in 2018.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 487.84.

SSE Plc - SSE PLC (LON:SSE) is a Perth Scotland domiciled, United Kingdom-headquartered integrated energy utility company, with operations and investments across the UK and Ireland, including regulated electricity networks and renewable sources of energy. The group produces, stores, distributes and supplies gas, and generates, transmits, distributes and supplies electricity, with the bulk of profit coming from regulated electricity networks and renewable sources of energy. The operations of the group are differentiated in three operating segments, namely Retail, Networks and Wholesale.

The shares of the company are listed on the London Stock Exchange bearing the ticker name SSE. There these shares trade on the main market segment of the exchange and also form part of the FTSE 100 index.

For the six-month period ending on 30 September 2019, the company was able to generate Adjusted profit before tax on continuing operations of £263.4 million which is a growth of 15 per cent over last year and adjusted earnings per share on continuing operations of 18.0 pence which is a growth of 10 per cent over last year.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

 Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 1,309.00.

Legal & General Group Plc - Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) is a British holding company engaged in providing products and services related to insurance and investment management. It is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and is one of the world’s largest insurance and investment management groups. The company operates worldwide through its subsidiaries and associates, with the United States and the United Kingdom being the primary markets. The group has five reportable segments that are continuing operations.

The shares of the company are listed on the London Stock Exchange bearing the ticker name LGEN. There these shares trade on the main market segment of the exchange and also form part of the FTSE 100 index.

The company for the six-month period ending on 30 June 2019 had a solvency II surplus of £5.9 billion, whereas for the six-month period ending 31 December 2018 the surplus was £6.9 billion.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 284.6.

DCC Plc - DCC Plc (LON:DCC) is a United Kingdom domiciled specialized sales marketing and distribution company. The company has four business verticals; DCC Energy, DCC Environment, DCC Technology and DCC healthcare. The energy business deals with LPG, Fuel Oils and their distribution and retailing in United Kingdom, Sweden, Austrian Denmark and Ireland. The technology division is engaged in selling consumer and business technology products in Europe. The healthcare division is engaged in providing products and services to different healthcare providers in Europe and the Environment business vertical of the company is engaged in the waste management, recycling and recovery business providing its services to clients in industrial, commercial and public sectors.

The shares of the company are listed on the London Stock Exchange bearing the ticker name DCC. There these shares trade on the main market segment of the exchange and also form part of the FTSE 100 index.

For the six-month period ending on 30 September 2019, the company was able to generate a revenue of £7.312 billion whereas for the corresponding period in 2018 the company was able to generate a revenue of £7.418 billion.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 6,646.00.

Johnson Matthey Plc - Johnson Matthey Plc (LON:JMAT) is a United Kingdom domiciled multinational specialty chemicals company. The company offers fuel cell technologies, battery materials for automotive applications, and battery systems for a range of applications. The group’s operations have been organized into four segments: Clean Air, Efficient Natural Resources, Health and New Markets.

The shares of the company are listed for trading on the London Stock Exchange bearing the ticker name JMAT. There these shares trade on the main market segment of the exchange and also form part of the FTSE 100 index.

For the six-month period ending on 30 September 2019, the company was able to generate a revenue of £6.818 billion which is a growth of 37 per cent over the corresponding period in 2018 when the company was able to generate a revenue of £4.967 billion.

Performance at the London Stock Exchange

Source – Thomson Reuters

At the time of writing of this report on 28 November 2019, the shares of the company were trading on the London Stock Exchange for GBX 2,908.00.