• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

UPDATE 1-Healthcare Locums H1 trading strong

Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:22am EDT

Stocks

   

* Says confident of H2 and beyond

* Says all units showed month-on-month rev growth in H1

* Shares rise as much as 5 pct (Adds details, analyst comments)

July 13 (Reuters) - Healthcare staffing company Healthcare Locums Plc (HLO.L) said on Monday its first-half trading was strong, driven by growing demand for qualified health and social care professionals, sending its shares up as much as 5 percent.

The company, which supplies staff to hospitals and social services, said all its units showed consistent month-on-month revenue growth throughout the first half ended June 30.

"We look forward with confidence to the second half of 2009 and beyond," Executive Vice Chairman Kate Bleasdale said in a statement.

KBC Peel Hunt analyst Andrew Nussey raised his price target on the stock to 225 pence from 215 pence, and reiterated his "buy" rating.

"We believe that this strong revenue performance ought to be manifest in record operating profits," Nussey said in a note to clients.

Healthcare Locums shares were up 4 percent at 183.5 pence at 0812 GMT. They touched a high of 184.17 pence earlier in the session. (Reporting by Kumar Alagappan in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)



More from Reuters

Photo

Personal spending and income rise in November

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending rose for a second straight month in November as incomes recorded their biggest gain in six months, data showed on Wednesday, boosting hopes of a self-sustaining economic recovery.

» More Top News
Malaysians participate in computer attack and defence hacking competition during The 3rd Annual Hack-In-The-Box Security Conference 2004 in Kuala Lumpur on October 6, 2004. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad
Commentary:

Year of the breach

Data security breaches are nasty business and should be avoided at all costs, writes Kevin Prince, a chief technology officer at Perimeter e-Security. Here's a look at the biggest breaches and blunders of 2009.  Commentary 

Technology
man walks past a stock quotation board displaying the Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo June 1, 2009. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Reuters Breakingviews:

Running out of options

Bad news for safety-oriented investors: the AAA debt market is shrinking, and what's left will leave many with less diversification and lower returns than they're used to, writes columnist Agnes Crane.  Commentary 

Reuters Breakingviews