Director dealings: Hydrogen pair see value as growth returns

Hydrogen Group's chairman and a fellow director have scooped up some shares in the AIM-listed recruiter, which sit not far from the seven-year lows reached in the summer.

Chairman Stephen Puckett spent £120,000 at a price of 30p and non-executive Richard Green around £50,000 at the same price.

Last month, chief financial officer Colin Adams gave notice he would be stepping down in March, having helped restore the group to profitable growth.

September saw Hydrogen, which focuses on mid- to senior management in the legal, finance, technology, oil and gas, life sciences and power industries, report interim results that showed a stabilisation of the business and a move back into net fee income growth with the exception of the energy and legal sectors.

Group revenue for the period declined by 9% to £59.4m and while NFI declined by 12% to £8.9m, it moved back into growth with a 6% NFI increase compared to the second half of 2015.

"We have started hiring in the areas where we have identified sustainable growth opportunities," said CEO Ian Temple.

"We are implementing a new vision for the business focussing resource on building market leading niche businesses. The roll out will continue into Q3 but is already generating results."

Top Director Buys

Hydrogen Group (HYDG)
Director name: Puckett,Stephen
Amount purchased: 400,000 @ 30.00p
Value: £120,000.00

Hydrogen Group (HYDG)
Director name: Green,Richard A
Amount purchased: 166,666 @ 30.00p
Value: £49,999.80

Henderson Opportunities Trust (HOT)
Director name: Jones,Peter
Amount purchased: 2,500 @ 790.58p
Value: £19,764.50

Science In Sport (SIS)
Director name: Moon,Stephen
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 62.00p
Value: £6,200.00

Town Centre Securities (TOWN)
Director name: Syers ,Duncan Sinclair
Amount purchased: 1,415 @ 274.95p
Value: £3,890.54

Mediclinic International (MDC)
Director name: Meintjes,Danie
Amount purchased: 2,200 @ R1.34
Value: R171.82

Provident Financial (PFG)
Director name: Mullen,Ken
Amount purchased: 6 @ 2,806.00p
Value: £168.36

Aviva (AV.)
Director name: Amin,Nitinbhai
Amount purchased: 33 @ 463.42p
Value: £152.93

Provident Financial (PFG)
Director name: Fisher,Andrew C
Amount purchased: 5 @ 2,806.00p
Value: £140.30

Provident Financial (PFG)
Director name: Crook,Peter
Amount purchased: 5 @ 2,806.00p
Value: £140.30