#sugar free irn bru is not worth it

[soapfcrce-a]

 meme: note. 

The care package is the best that Beth can do. Body soap, wet wipes, lip balm, sun-screen, chewing gum. Instant coffee, dried creamer and sugars. Protein bars and a variety of candy both American and British. Hot sauces, water flavour packets, beef jerky, sunflower seeds. Hand sanitizer, high quality socks, and a couple compact sewing kits. There's fresh decks of cards, batteries, a few new books and magazines, a thumb drive with music, pictures, and little voice greetings. These are a king's ransom worth the world in gold for the soldiers far from home. There's one box at the bottom that is specifically addressed to MacTavish. These have many of the same items that were sent to his unit. But there's a picture of the other tenants in the building, taken on the roof with a banner reading "Come Home Soon." Another photo, of her and Houdini this time, in the late afternoon sunlight. She's smiling at him and it's likely that Sebastian took the photo. The other secret item no one else got is some Irn Bru. She's pretty sure wherever he's stationed, it's not an easy access item. Tucked into all the things is a little note. Expensive bone-coloured paper, that signature purple glitter-gel ink. Delicate writing that is as sweet as it is brief. Soap, Thought you and yours needed a little pick-me up, so there's some gifts for everyone, they can feel free to share and trade alike. This particular package is yours. I hope it finds you hale and hearty, and I hope you're doing okay. I also hope you make it back sooner rather than later. I miss having my 'braw man' around the building. See, just trying to hear me say that like one of your country women just made you smile. Mission accomplished. You can't see me wink but I did. Fair winds and following seas, B.

He hears about the box before actually seeing it. Or much of the contents for that matter, half of Credenhill probably nipped most of the stuff as soon as he dragged himself out of his little work hovel. At least the boys had the sensibility to leave him the stuff for him.

Not that Soap had any doubt. When one controlled the explosives kept in the base, one could get just about anything.

A quick thanks to the private that made the delivery, and maybe a quiet prayer to what sounded like two others getting into a fist fight over the Jaffa Cakes, good luck and godspeed to both of them. Into his room the rest of the box had been dragged and onto the sad excuse for a workbench he had and unpacked. It almost reminded him of the first package his mother had tried to send him. Almost.

Eyes quickly reading over the note he had plucked out, eventually stopping to shove the other box back out his door to get its remains plucked over, and he settled back inside. Toying idly with the photo and staring at a bottle, Soap eventually sighed. “Not makin’ this easy, are ye bonnie…”

He eventually set the items down in favor for his phone, punching in the extension for the upper floors. “Aye, it’s me. Know how we’re paying out the lease in a few days for that flush job but… cancel that, yeah? I’ll pay the rent outta pocket.”

It’d be nice to have a home away from home.

[ace-malarky]

I think they de-evil the uncle by taking him home to meet Drassa, who helps bully him. Kitty takes a bit longer but also a different level of bullying. They're rehabilitating now. Jasper has the long-suffering patience for it just by being an older brother lmao

He gets tired enough of Llinos and Kaua's constant "I'm going to marry you some day" that he does in fact organise their wedding I think (if asked he says it's just so he can get some peace while they're on their honeymoon) but I have no thoughts on that

I also have no thoughts for older Jasper either. Like this group are just. They're travellers they're mercenaries they're a menace to each other and occasionally society

He does get nice things, I swear, it's just funny to poke him sometimes. All the time.

OK this could be a little disjointed today bc I am Away and probably Doing Things! (If I'd thought about it, I would've done it yesterday when I was still away but doing Fewer Things)

But anyhow. Character ramb... fuck why do I keep forgetting the tag. Character rambles? Character ramblings! That's the tag to block if you don't wanna keep seeing this lmao

It's Jasper's turn!

I'm going to go have breakfast and then we'll be back.

[jamieclawhorn]

This FTSE 250 stock looks fully valued for now. Here’s where I’ve put my ISA cash instead

Back in January, I came to the conclusion that IRN BRU producer AG Barr (LSE: BAG) was probably a better buy than tonic water specialist (and market darling) Fevertree, thanks mostly to the latter’s lofty valuation. 

This isn’t to say, however, that there aren’t better opportunities for making money elsewhere in the market.

Before giving an example, let’s look through today’s solid (if not astounding) full-year numbers from the Barr business. 

Resilient but pricey

Revenue rose 5.6% to £279m over the 52 weeks to 26 January with the company reporting a “significant increase in volume share” in the UK market. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items rose 2.5% to £45.2m and net cash grew 45% — higher than expected — to £21.8m.

Commenting on today’s results, CEO Roger White said its strategy and execution were “fit for purpose and resilient,” even if uncertainty abounds in the UK economy. He went on to say that the robustness of the company’s markets gives it “continued opportunities to grow.”

With 99% of its soft drinks portfolio now exempt, it would also appear clear that the introduction of the sugar drinks industry levy (otherwise known as the ‘sugar tax’) is unlikely to have a significant impact on the mid-cap’s ability to continue growing revenue and profits. 

Despite all this and AG Barr’s well-earned status as a quality stock, I can’t necessarily see many investors jumping to own based on the current valuation.

A price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 23 for the next year is above its five-year average of just under 20 and it’s hard to see why the shares might fizz much higher in the near term.

Income investors are unlikely to be interested either. Today’s final dividend of 12.74p per share gives a total payout of 16.64p per share for the year. That may be 7% more than last year, but it still only gives a trailing yield of 2.2%. 

As mentioned, I think there’s another company that could offer far better returns to investors.

Going cheap

CFD and spread-betting provider IG Group (LSE: IGG) had a shocker last week, falling 10% in value in just a couple of days. That came after revealing a 12% reduction in net trading revenue in Q3 compared to Q2 as a result of increased industry regulation.  

Personally, I see this as a great opportunity to acquire a slice of a company that’s a global leader in what it does. 

On a P/E of just 11 for the year, IG looks cheap considering its history of generating exceptional returns on the money it invests. There’s a truckload of cash on the balance sheet and the firm has also committed to returning 43.2p per share in the current financial year, which translates to a mouth-watering 8.5% at the time of writing.

Even if cash payouts were to be slightly reduced as a precautionary measure in the future, I’m confident the income on offer will still be worth grabbing while IG continues to adapt to the new trading environment. The fact that it still doesn’t attract anywhere near the same interest from short sellers as rival Plus 500 is telling too.  

Is IG in a tricky spot? Yes. Could it get worse? Possibly. Do I expect it recover in time? Absolutely. And that’s why it’s now earned a place in my ISA portfolio.

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Paul Summers owns shares in IG Group. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AG Barr. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

[fitnesswomenshealth-blog]

Free Poppadoms And Prawn Crackers Could Be Banned In Obesity Crackdown

New Post has been published on https://cialiscom.org/free-poppadoms-and-prawn-crackers-could-be-banned-in-obesity-crackdown.html

Free Poppadoms And Prawn Crackers Could Be Banned In Obesity Crackdown

I never know about you, but the very best portion of finding a nicely-deserved (meh) takeaway on a Saturday evening (all right, perhaps Tuesday) is undoubtedly the freebies you get with it.

I can warranty you I’ll shell out an added fiver just so I can get cost-free prawn crackers, a bottle of coke or some poppadoms.

Which kind of defeats the item, but there you go. You are not able to and will not convince me normally.

In any case, I hate to be the bearer of negative information but the days of cost-free sides with your primary meals could be coming to an end…

The Scottish Authorities unveiled strategies yesterday (Oct 2) to ban the promotions, stating:

In in search of to reduce inhabitants-amount intakes of energy, unwanted fat, saturated fat, no cost sugar and salt, we are in search of views on limiting the marketing and marketing of food items and drink higher in unwanted fat, sugar or salt with minor or no helpful nutritional worth in which they are offered to the public.

In accordance to the paper, they are aiming to limit and concentrate on ‘discretionary’ foods, together with confectionary, cakes and savoury treats.

Savoury treats, they say, include but are not restricted to corn treats, wheat treats, prawn crackers and poppadoms.

The information will come soon after it emerged 29 for each cent of people aged 16 or above in Scotland are overweight and a additional 36 for every cent are over weight.

Community Wellness Minister, Joe Fitzpatrick mentioned:

Considerably also quite a few individuals in Scotland deal with serious threats to their wellbeing connected to lousy food plan and unhealthy excess weight. This is unacceptable and it is mostly avoidable.

Scotland has a very pleased background of taking decisive motion on general public overall health and this is the next move in that journey, turning our awareness to the nation’s food plan and weight.

Which, to be reasonable, would make feeling for the reason that obviously there’s an obesity problem which demands to be resolved. But I’m not sure how banning freebies is heading to enable – men and women are still likely to get from takeaways and they’ll almost certainly fork out the additional £1 to purchase a bag of prawn crackers.

It appears the men and women of Scotland aren’t delighted about this both – a person offended tweeter wrote:

Very first place a minimum amount value on my @TennentsLager, then they bump up the tax on my @irnbru, now the Scottish Government want to ban my cost-free poppadoms and prawn crackers?!?! [sic]

This is not on!! The No Fun Police that is our governing administration should be stopped!!!!! [sic]

Very first put a minimum amount price tag on my @TennentsLager, then they bump up the tax on my @irnbru, now the Scottish Government want to ban my totally free poppadoms and prawn crackers?!?!

This is not on!! The No Entertaining Law enforcement that is our federal government must be stopped!!!!!

— Calum McDougall (@Calum7McDougall) Oct 3, 2018

Though yet another claimed:

First they arrived for working course fitbaw supporters then the cheap bevvy and even the sugar out our Irn Bru. Now it is our absolutely free prawn crackers & specials on sweeties. [sic]

This Scottish federal government won’t be joyful till we’re aw consuming saltires built of lettuce the *****. Do some real operate. [sic]

And yet another suggested the programs would not function:

when will the govt realise that ‘banning’ totally free prawn crackers from takeaways or going multibuy sections in supermarkets out of visibility will NOT stop folks getting them nor deal with the challenge of obesity!!! [sic]

when will the governing administration realise that ‘banning’ cost-free prawn crackers from takeaways or shifting multibuy sections in supermarkets out of visibility will NOT halt people getting them nor tackle the challenge of obesity!!!

— ellis (@ellis_finniganx) Oct 3, 2018

It seems the Scottish Governing administration have not fully built up their minds on what this policy will entail, as conflicting sights are becoming expressed.

A Scottish Government spokesperson last night claimed poppadoms and prawn crackers would be classed as component of a major meal, and consequently would not be banned – irrespective of there staying no these kinds of point out of an exemption in the session doc.

They mentioned, as per the Mirror:

We’re not looking to make restrictions in relation to primary foods and it is not our intention to limit places to eat from like savoury meals, these types of as prawn crackers or poppadoms, as element of meals.

I say as long as we do not get also absurd and are not ingesting 5 luggage of prawn crackers just about every time we get a takeaway, we’ll be ‘reet.

Every little thing in moderation, surely?

If you have a story you want to tell, mail it to [email protected]

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[jamieclawhorn]

2 FTSE 250 dividend stocks I’d buy and hold for the next 50 years

In a recent article I lauded Britvic as a stock I could buy today with the solid belief that it can deliver titanic returns in the decades ahead.

The FTSE 250 is packed with similarly-stunning dividend stocks that could prove highly lucrative in the medium term and long after. But right now I wish to stay close to Britvic and look at AG Barr (LSE: BAG), another big player in soft drinks.

It’s already proven its mettle as a profits grower even in the toughest of trading conditions. Indeed, even as pressure on consumer spending power has grown and fresh challenges like the UK-implemented sugar tax have reared their head, Barr’s bottom line continues to swell.

Latest trading details in September underlined the company’s resilience, as revenues rose 5.5% in the six months to July, to £136.9m, and underlying pre-tax profits improved to the tune of 4%, to £18.2m.

A high Barr

The greatest weapon in Barr’s arsenal is the terrific customer loyalty that its labels like Irn Bru, Rubicon and Strathmore command. And what a weapon these brands have proven to be — Scotland’s beloved Irn Bru has been a favourite with the thirsty since the turn of the 20th century.

And the company has stepped up investment in innovating, expanding and marketing these sales-driving brands to keep them flying off the shelves. Its ‘Street Drinks’ range under the Rubicon umbrella is the latest to hit the market in recent months.

So it’s no surprise, not in my book at least, to see City analysts predicting that the long record of profits growth is set to continue. Rises of 3% and 5% are forecast for the years to January 2019 and 2020 respectively, meaning that its role as a great dividend booster should remain intact.

Last year’s 15.55p per share payout is predicted to rise to 16p in the current period, and again to 17p in fiscal 2020. There are bigger yields out there than Barr’s, which sit at 2.1% and 2.2% for this year and next respectively, but the capacity for prolonged dividend growth stretching many years into the future still makes it a brilliant share to snap up today, I believe.

Check out this ~6% yielder

Telford Homes (LSE: TEF) is another FTSE 250 dividend hero I’d like to bring to your attention.

The spectacular resilience of the housebuilders has been on display for more than a year now — despite the collapse in broad homebuyer appetite these stocks continue to deliver profits growth. Existing homeowners might be staying put but activity amongst first-time buyers remains healthy, helped by a combination of favourable lending conditions and Britain’s homes shortage.

I’m not expecting this supply/demand imbalance to be solved until many years into the future, if at all, and I’m expecting earnings to keep growing at Telford for one.

City analysts agree — they are predicting profits improvements of 2% and 5% in the years to March 2019 and 2020 respectively, for example, and this lays the base for them to expect dividends to keep rising as well.

Last year’s 17p per share payment is predicted to rise to 17.7p this year and to 18.3p in the following period, resulting in staggering 5.7% and 5.9% yields for these respective years. If you’re looking for a rock-solid, big-yielding stock to buy today, Telford is worth serious consideration today, in my opinion.

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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AG Barr. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

[jamieclawhorn]

Why I’m avoiding Fevertree Drinks plc like the plague

While buying growth stocks can be a successful means of generating impressive returns in the long run, in many cases high valuations reduce the scope for capital gains. In other words, a stock with strong growth prospects often has a valuation that takes into account its bright future. As such, its margin of safety is narrow, which may lead to disappointing returns.

A prime example of such a company could be beverages stock Fevertree (LSE: FEVR). The company released a positive trading update on Wednesday, but does not appear to have an enticing outlook as an investment.

Growing sales

Fevertree’s performance in 2017 was especially strong in the UK. It was able to make further inroads in terms of market share and now occupies the number one position within the mixer category by value in the off-trade channel. Sales in 2017 in the UK were almost double those in 2016, and the business looks set to benefit from increasing consumer demand for premium mixers.

Growth outside of the UK was also strong, with a rise in sales of 39% recorded in the US, 42% delivered in Europe (excluding UK), while sales in the rest of the world were up 57%. This took the company’s total sales growth to 66% for the year, which means that its outcome for the full year is expected to be comfortably ahead of market expectations. As such, the stock increased in value by around 3% following its results. This takes its share price gain to 100% in the last year.

Investment potential

Looking ahead, Fevertree is expected to report a rise in its bottom line of 8% in the current year, followed by further growth of 15% next year. This is clearly an impressive rate of growth and shows that the company continues to benefit from favourable trends within the beverages industry.

However, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 62, it seems to be grossly overvalued. In fact, its price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio stands at over 4, which suggests that it lacks significant upside potential. While the company may be able to beat expectations in 2018 and 2019, it seems as though investors have already priced-in financial performance that may prove to be unachievable over the medium term.

Overvalued sector?

Also operating within the beverages sector is AG Barr (LSE: BAG). The company hit the headlines recently when it announced plans to reduce the sugar content of Scotland’s biggest-selling soft drink, Irn-Bru. This is to avoid the government’s new sugar tax, but caused some controversy as a number of previously happy customers were not particularly positive about the change and their reactions generated plenty of newspaper headlines.

As with Fevertree, Barr trades on what appears to be a high valuation. It has a P/E ratio of 20.3 and yet is forecast to post a rise in earnings of 7% this year and 8% next year. While its business seems to have a more positive outlook after a challenging period for the UK drinks marketplace, its valuation could come under pressure unless it can generate improved performance in future years. As such, now could be the time to avoid it and look elsewhere for high returns over the long run.

Growth potential

While Barr and Fevertree may be worth avoiding, there's another stock that could be a worthwhile buy. In fact it's been named as A Top Growth Share From The Motley Fool.

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Peter Stephens has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AG Barr. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

[jamieclawhorn]

Why I’d sell Fevertree Drinks plc to buy this stock

Investors who took shares in the 2014 flotation of Fevertree Drinks (LSE: FEVR) have seen the value of their stock rise by 1,023% in less than three years. I suspect this company has created a number of new millionaires among UK investors.

The secret to the stock’s rocketing growth is that sales and profits have repeatedly beaten forecasts. This is still happening. Tuesday’s interim results revealed that sales have risen by 77% to £71.9m during the first half of the year. Adjusted earnings per share doubled to 16.7p, up from 8.1p for the first half of 2016.

The board now expects full-year results to be “materially ahead of its expectations”. The shares have risen by 9% to a new high of almost 1,900p. So why would I sell some of this stock today?

The numbers tell a story

This is clearly a great business, with an attractive product, high profit margins and a strong balance sheet. Today’s results make it clear that the group still has significant growth potential by expanding overseas, and moving into the market for dark spirits mixers, like cola.

However, it’s worth noting that Fevertree has accounted for 99% of the value growth in the entire UK mixer retail market over the last 12 months. It now holds a 30% market share. Without stealing huge slices of business from incumbents such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, I find it hard to see how much higher these figures can rise.

After today’s news, I estimate that the stock trades on a 2017 forecast P/E of about 55. The risk for investors is that profits could double again and the shares would still look expensive. Founder Charles Rolls recently sold a quarter of his shares, netting £73m. I’d consider doing the same.

This is what I’d do with the cash

I don’t think the market for soft drinks and mixers is going to disappear in my lifetime. Government plans for a sugar tax have been effectively handled by drinks firms, who don’t seem to expect any impact on sales.

If you’re keen on this sector, what I’d do would be to recycle some cash from Fever-Tree into another high quality company that’s more mature, and offers a decent income. My choice would be A.G. Barr (LSE: BAG), which owns brands including Irn Bru, Rockstar, Snapple and Strathmore. The company also produces drinks for other companies.

These brands trade at a lower point in the market than Fever-Tree’s premium mixers. But Barr’s business has a very long pedigree. Robert Barr started selling soft drinks in 1875. The group recently held its 113th annual general meeting.

Although the shares aren’t cheap on a forecast P/E of 20, they offer a yield of 2.5% that’s covered twice by earnings. Dividend growth has averaged 9.1% per year since 2012. The group’s operating margin has averaged an impressive 15% over the same period.

Investors in Barr won’t double their money next year. But this is a stock I’d buy on the dips, and would be happy to hold through a recession. In my view, buying Barr would be a good way to convert some Fever-Tree profits into a long-term income.

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Roland Head has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AG Barr. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

[jamieclawhorn]

One FTSE 250 stock I’d buy today, and one I’d sell

FTSE 250 soft drinks group A.G. Barr (LSE: BAG) is best known as the maker of Scottish favourite Irn Bru. Sales of the fizzy drink rose by 3.2% last year, helping to lift Barr’s pre-tax profit by 4.4% to £43.1m. Shareholders were rewarded with an 8% hike to the dividend, which rose to 14.4p per share.

Barr reported a strong performance across its portfolio of brands and said that 90% of its drinks will contain less than 5g of sugar per 100ml by this autumn. This should enable the firm to avoid the sugar tax on soft drinks that’s due to take effect from April 2018.

When the sugar tax was first announced, Barr’s share price fell. But the firm’s latest figures suggest to me that its profits probably won’t be affected by this new legislation.

Is Barr a buy?

Indeed, I believe this is a quality business that’s likely to be a profitable and low-risk investment.

Barr’s adjusted operating margin rose by 0.5% to 16.8% last year, highlighting the profitability of its portfolio of brands. The group generates consistently high returns — its return on capital employed has averaged 20% over the last five years, well above the market average.

Recent investment has left the company with modern production facilities with capacity to support future growth. Spending is carefully managed and costs fell by £3m last year. This helped Barr to clear its net debt of £11.7m and end the period with net cash of £9.7m.

Barr’s share price has edged higher following Tuesday’s results. The stock now trades on a P/E of 18 and offers a yield of 2.6%. This may not seem cheap, but I believe it’s worth paying up front for this company’s strong cash flow and stable long-term growth.

I’d ditch this stock

Barr’s popular brands and efficient manufacturing facilities enable the group to generate above-average profit margins. Neither of these advantages applies to online appliance retailer AO World (LSE: AO).

It has increased its sales by an average of 30% each year since 2011. That sounds impressive, but the group has reported a loss in most of these years and is expected to do so again this year.

The problem with this business is that AO’s products are totally commoditised. The same products are available elsewhere, with the same delivery times and warranties. There’s no reason to buy from AO unless it’s cheapest.

This may be good for customers, but it’s not good for shareholders. Broker forecasts suggest that AO will generate an after-tax profit of just £550,000 on revenue of £843m in 2017/18.

AO shares have already fallen by 23% this year, following the firm’s warning in January that it was “cautious about the final quarter [of the year]”. I believe investors need to question this stock’s valuation and ask whether the business can grow fast enough to reach a profitable scale.

AO’s annual sales are still less than 10% of those of its more profitable rival, Dixons Carphone. But Dixons’ market cap is 0.35 times its annual sales. For AO, that figure is 0.9.

AO’s current valuation makes no sense to me. I believe the shares are worth — at best — about a third of their current value.

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Roland Head has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AG Barr. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.