If only...
EU Supply (LSE: EUSP) develops procurement software and systems to facilitate tendering and supply-chain and contract management. It was formed in Sweden in 1999 and listed on Aim in November 2013. It expects to make a pre-tax loss of £0.8m in the year to 31 December 2016, down from £1.4m the previous year, but it recently reported its first profitable quarter and expects its first annual profit in 2017 on the back of an "exceptionally strong" order book. The share price has risen by more than 260% in the last year.
Be glad you didn't
Topps Tiles (LSE: TPT) sells wall and floor tiles to retail and trade customers from more than 350 shops across the UK. The 52 weeks to 1 October 2016 saw "very robust" trading with record sales of £215m, like-for-like sales up by 4.2%, and pre-tax profit rising by 7.8% to £22m. However, with a "notable shift" in consumer confidence in the second half of the year, like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks of the new financial year fell by 0.3%, and the share price has fallen by more than 40% in the last 12 months.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Investors are snapping up gilts thanks to tax incentives – but is your money better off elsewhere?UK government bonds, also known as gilts, are proving popular with investors so far this year, thanks to higher interest rates and the attractive tax incentives they offer. Should you invest in them?
-
Rightmove: Asking prices edge closer to record peakAsking prices have been driven up by the top-end of the market, Rightmove has found. But how does the situation look in your area?
