Director Dealings

SHARES in military equipment manufacturer Chemring fell sharply last week after it warned delays on a number of contracts would see full-year 2011 operating profits fall below market expectations.

In a trading update the company said that around £37 million of revenue had slipped due to longer than expected customer approvals on a number of product lots.

Although revenue in the fourth quarter grew 16 per cent to £252m, the total figure for the year was 5 per cent lower than the board’s expectations. The company’s order book at the year end rose 9 per cent to £878m from last year.

Shares fell by more than 15 per cent following the update, prompting a number of directors to go into the market to increase their stakes.

Chairman Peter Hickson led the way, buying 25,000 shares at 395p to take his stake up to 65,000.

* Joe Rose, a non-executive director at data capture firm Kofax has bought 25,000 shares at prices between 229p and 249p each. He now holds 70,000 shares.

* John Barton, chairman of telecoms group Cable and Wireless Worldwide, has increased his stake following a profits slump. He bought 100,000 shares at 22.9p each.

The purchase came after the company announced interim pre-tax profits of £35m, down from £64m in 2010.

* John Whittaker, deputy chairman of Capital Shopping Centres Group, owner of the Braehead Centre, has upped his holding in the group. He purchased 50,000 shares at 310.60p per share. Whittaker’s Manchester-based property group Peel is also CSC’s biggest shareholder.

* Jeremy Beeton, a non-executive director at Perth utility group Scottish and Southern Energy, has bought 1,000 shares at 1,325p each.

* Piers Caldecote, non-executive chairman at communications group Tangent, has bought 700,000 shares at 5.25p each and now holds 2.2 million.

* David Miles, chief executive of social housing group Mears, has bought 10,000 shares at 214.37p each. He now has an interest in 110,000 shares.

* Nicholas Rust, head of betting channels for Ladbrokes, has increased his holding in the bookmaker. He purchased 10,872 shares at 134.5p each to take his holding up to 192,872 shares.

* Stacey Cartwright, a director at luxury fashion group Burberry, has sold 80,002 shares at 1351.81p each. The company’s shares have been one of the stock market’s strongest performers in recent years.

* Les Thomas, deputy chief executive of Aberdeen-based Wood Group PSN, has sold 200,000 shares at 650p a share. He retains a stake of 88,732 shares.

* Samuel Kay, founder of restaurant group Tasty, has bought 50,000 shares at 51p each.

Following the purchase, he holds 9.1 million shares, just over 19 per cent of the company.