If only...
Renishaw (LSE:RSW) develops and sells high-technology precision measuring and calibration equipment. Over the past 12 months, it almost doubled its market value as results continue to impress. Revenues jumped 17% to £279.5m, while adjusted pre-tax profit leapt 72% higher to £62.3m. It now expects full-year revenues to cross the £600m mark for the first time. However, the shares slipped back in January when David McMurtry the firm's founder, largest shareholder, chairman and chief executive announced he was stepping down as chief executive.
Be glad you didn't
GlaxoSmithKline (LSE:GSK) is Britain's biggest drugmaker. Last July the company said it would offload more than 130 of its non-core brands as it extended a restructuring programme meant to deliver £1bn in annual cost savings by 2020. In October, the chief executive, Emma Walmsley who took over last April announced a 4% rise in third-quarter sales to £7.8bn, helped by demand for new HIV, lung and meningitis products. Operating profit rose 31% to £1.9bn. But investors remain sceptical about the sustainability of the firm's dividend and the shares slid further.
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Activist investor Elliott takes takes a stake in GlaxoNews Elliott, s US hedge fund, took an undisclosed multibillion-pound stake in GSK last week, driving the share price up by 4.6%.
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Profit from Renishaw’s precisionFeatures Few people have heard of Renishaw, but its products and prospects are excellent, says Mike Tubbs.
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GSK: on the mend?Features Glaxo’s chief executive has stepped down after nine years at the top. Has he left the pharma giant in good health? Alex Rankine reports.
