If you'd invested in: Halma and Ophir

published 14 September 2018

If only...

Halma (LSE: HLMA) is a technology group specialising in hazard detection. Its shares have risen 158% in the past five years, allowing the firm to join the FTSE 100 last year. Halma has benefited from solid demand for industrial safety gear and environmental clean-up equipment, particularly in Asia and emerging markets. In full-year results released in June, the firm posted a 10% increase in revenue, while profits rose 9%. It reported net debt of £220m, which is higher than last year, but is a result of acquisitions. Halma also said that the dividend would increase by 7% to 14.6p.

Be glad you didn't buy...

Ophir Energy (LSE: OPHR) is an oil and gas company focused on Asia and Africa. Its share price declined in May, first on news that CEO Nick Cooper, wholed the group's public listing in 2011, would step down with immediate effect. It then plunged again at the end of the month as services group Schlumberger pulled out of the firm's Fortuna deepwater liquefied natural gas(FLNG) project in Equatorial Guinea. The project is regarded as potentially transformational for Ophir, but there have been repeated delays in securing the required $1.2bn financing.

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Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.