Nichols (AIM:NICL) and Majestic (AIM:MJW) - a tale of 2 tipples
Two of AIM's 'blue chips', both of whom ironically offer sustenance of one type of or another, issued highly positive trading updates to open the New Year.
First out of the tap on 6th January was Nichols plc (AIM:NICL) whose brands includes the iconic Vimto (sold in over 65 countries), Sunkist and Panda and more recently the Levi Roots brand that rose to fame through BBC’s Dragon’s Den. The trading update confirmed that Group profit was now expected to be ahead of market expectations (Now for pre-tax profit £17.8m, earnings per share of 34.5p). Sales for the year to the 31 December 2011 increased 18% compared to 2010, ahead of the Group’s internal expectations despite the strong prior year comparatives and continued downturn affecting the UK economy.…