Molten Ventures PLC said Tuesday that Chairwoman Karen Slatford has decided to retire with immediate effect for health reasons.

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Petra Diamonds Considering Additional Financing Options

Petra Diamonds Ltd. said Tuesday that it is considering additional financing options to provide support during this period, and that it was engaging with the Tanzanian government regarding the sale of a previously blocked and confiscated diamond parcel.

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Ramsdens Holdings Lifts Dividend After FY 2022 Pretax Profit Rose

Ramsdens Holdings PLC on Tuesday said its full-year pretax profit rose significantly as the recovery in international travel benefited its foreign-currency segment, and lifted its dividend payout.

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BlueRock Diamonds Shares Fall on Failed Creditor Talks

BlueRock Diamonds PLC shares fell Tuesday after the company said attempts to reach an arrangement with a creditor have been unsuccessful, and that December production missed targets as its mine closed over the holiday period.

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Diageo to Buy Premium Rum Brand Don Papa -- WSJ

By Joseph Hoppe

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Trending: Ocado FY 2022 Revenue Fell 3.8%; Sees Break-Even Ebitda

1212 GMT - Ocado Group PLC is among the most-mentioned topics across news items over the past four hours, according to Factiva data, after the online grocer and retail-technology specialist said revenue for fiscal 2022 was down 3.8% and that it expects to report break-even Ebita as inflation, investments and higher marketing costs weigh on profit. It also reported lower shopping-basket sales and a fall in the number of items being bought over the fourth quarter of the year ended Nov. 27, and said it expects to see lower basket sizes for the first half of fiscal 2023 compared a year earlier. The news sent the company's shares down 11% to 717.70 pence, leading the FTSE 100 index fallers. Ocado's update showed mixed signs given the mounting number of pressures while its retail revenue continues to have some progress, head of markets at Interactive Investor Richard Hunter said in a note. "The group has yet to turn a sustained profit, and the competitive pressure on the retail business is unlikely to abate," he added. Customers "are increasingly swapping to lower-price products" and this is making margin progression for Ocado more difficult, Sophie Lund-Yates, Hargreaves's lead equity analyst said in a note. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (ian.walker@wsj.com.)


 
Market Talk: 

Standard Chartered CEO Says Aviation Business Needs To Be Scaled

1049 GMT - Standard Chartered's aviation business needs to be scaled and that's why it's examining options for the business, CEO Bill Winters said. Speaking on CNBC at the World Economic Forum, Mr. Winters said the business is relatively small and operates in a consolidating industry, so the big players are getting bigger, which gives them some scale advantage. It's also getting harder to own very long term assets on the balance sheet, as the capital burden is substantial, he said. "The business needs to be scaled, so it's either going to be scaled by us, or scaled by somebody else," Mr. Winters said. "We don't have a for sale sign, we have a 'let's look at what we can do'." (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

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Crest Nicholson Sales Slow, But Balance Sheet is Strong

1051 GMT - Crest Nicholson Holdings looks well-placed to ride out economic uncertainty despite a sales slowdown, Peel Hunt says. The U.K. house-builder's results in the year to the end of October matched expectations, though sales rates have slowed since November and orders have fallen versus a year earlier, Peel Hunt says. Still, the group's balance sheet remains strong, with net cash of about GBP276 million providing flexibility to weather macro-economic uncertainty, Peel says. "Like the rest of the sector, Crest has seen significantly worse trading in the weeks post the mini-budget," Peel analysts write. "The shares trade at a 20% discount to [tangible net asset value] and risk to our numbers remains skewed to the downside." Shares trade flat at 266 pence. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

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Boku Will Continue to Deliver Growth, Berenberg Says

1057 GMT - Boku is a most-own stock in the U.K. small- and mid-cap market, says Berenberg in a note after the mobile payment company shared its full-year expectations. "We expect Boku's organic growth to increase in FY 2023 as it accelerates into local payment methods including e-wallets and real-time payments. This, coupled with the strong operational gearing of its platform, leaves us confident of further upgrades," say analysts at the German brokerage. They flag that despite seeming expensive at 35.9 times forward earnings, the group is fairly valued as it is in line with its peers when the multiple is adjusted for cash and it will continue to deliver mid-teen percentage EPS compound annual growth rate against a tougher macro backdrop. Shares are up 2% at 150.5 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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RELX, Wolters Kluwer Potentially Exposed to Experian Readacross, Citi Says

1102 GMT - Experian's update may be scrutinized by RELX and Wolters Kluwer investors for potential readacross, Citi says in a note. While there are parallels between U.K. information-and-analytics group RELX and Experian's risk business, the difference in end markets--insurance for the former and consumer credit for the latter--dulls the comparison, the U.S. bank says. Wolters Kluwer, where credit lines is a major revenue driver, could be more exposed, but Citi flags some disconnect in trends between the two groups as the Dutch provider of professional information services also has a significant lien solutions business. "While there is potentially some implication for WK from Experian's commentary about mortgage trends, it is not clear how direct the correlation will be," Citi says. Experian shares fall 0.7%, while RELX and Wolters Kluwer both shed 0.3%. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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THG Sales Slowdown Shows Changing Times for Online Players

1119 GMT - THG issued a profit warning in a period where many retailers are showing a somehow positive performance, mainly due to a slowdown in sales growth, higher raw-material prices, transport disruption and contract timing issues, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a note as shares fall 8%. The U.K. e-commerce company--known as The Hut Group--saw its sales growth rate erode to 4.1% in 2022 from 35.1% in 2021, showing that times are changing for online-pure players. "At the end of the day, it's all about profit and cash flow, and if anything is acting as an impediment then it must change or go," Mould says. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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BOKU Is at Foothills of Opportunity, Peel Hunt Says

1121 GMT - BOKU's momentum is now clear to see and will translate into growth in the current fiscal year and beyond, Peel Hunt says after the mobile payment company shared its full-year expectations. It notes that not many companies delivering more than 30% EPS growth have BOKU's visibility and upside risks to forecasts. The brokerage says BOKU is in a very comfortable position to push forward with its strategy against a competition battered by macro-headwinds in 2023. "The launch of Amazon in 1Q23 will be a big milestone, and as we will learn at the [Feb. 22 capital markets day], we are still only at the foothills of the opportunity," Peel Hunt says, keeping its buy rating on the stock. Shares rise 3% to 152.0 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Sage Group Looks Prepared for Growth Phase

1126 GMT - Sage Group has undergone a period of reinvestment and operational streamlining to prepare the FTSE 100 software company for a period of growth driven primarily by recurring, cloud-based revenue, Peel Hunt analysts say in a research note. A concerted, strategic effort to push cloud-based products--now 66% of revenue--is beginning to pay off via an increasing ARR growth rate, but cloud-driven value isn't yet fully priced in, they say. "We expect that in the coming years the recent decline in free cash flow margin will reverse toward the long-term average of closer to 20%," they say. Peel Hunt reiterates its buy rating on the stock but revises its target price to 962 pence from 1,087 pence. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)

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IntegraFin Shows Resilience Amid Macro Headwinds, RBC Says

1134 GMT - IntegraFin Holdings showed resilient asset gathering in a tough trading environment, says RBC Capital Markets in a note. The financial-platform provider's net flows in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 fell to GBP700 million, a 46% year-on-year decrease but in line with the previous quarter, which the Canadian bank says is a commendable result. "We see the release as supportive to our view that high quality businesses operating in the advisers channel will be able to deliver robust net flows despite the difficult macro," says analyst Ben Bathurst. RBC has a sector-perform rating on the stock. Shares are up 1.3% at 323.2 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Crest Nicholson Likely to Step Up Growth Once Macroeconomic Conditions Improve

1147 GMT - Crest Nicholson's 2022 results didn't bring any major surprises, but like the rest of the sector it has seen significantly worse sales in the weeks after the minibudget, Peel Hunt says. The house builder is unsurprisingly being selective around land acquisitions given the macroeconomic context, but will look to reaccelerate growth ambitions when market conditions allow, Peel Hunt analysts Sam Cullen and Clyde Lewis say in a research note. "The shares trade at a 20% discount to [tangible net asset value], and risk to our numbers remains skewed to the downside," the U.K. brokerage says. Peel Hunt retains its add rating and 250 pence price target on Crest's stock. Shares are down 0.9% at 263.2 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

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Revolution Bars Recovery Potential Is Significant, Peel Hunt Says

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

01-17-23 1256ET