The FTSE 100 closed down 0.5% on Tuesday on a mixed day for some of London's top listed companies, with Rolls-Royce as the worst performer and BP and Shell ending higher following a rebound in crude oil prices. Rolls-Royce received was downgraded by JPMorgan as the profitability of its new-markets unit--which houses the new modular nuclear reactor production--came into question, CMC Markets UK says. ASOS, meanwhile, had an up-and-down day, with shares initially falling after it reported a swing to a first-half pretax loss and a rise in costs, before climbing to finish up 4.8%. Crude prices recovered from three-week lows Monday amid supply-demand worries, with BP ending up 2.4% and Shell finishing up 1.4%. 


 
Companies News:

Deliveroo 1Q Orders, Gross Transaction Value Rose

Deliveroo PLC said Tuesday that growth in orders and gross transaction value accelerated in the first quarter of 2022, and backed its full-year guidance.

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Pennon Sees FY 2022 Performance in Line With Expectations

Pennon Group PLC said Tuesday that its performance for the year ended March 31 was in line with management expectations despite a challenging macro-economic environment.

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Hornby Says Sales Are Being Hurt by Supply Issues But Expects FY 2022 Profit

Hornby PLC said Tuesday that although it expects to report a profit for fiscal 2022 the availability of electronic components and lead times have hurt its ability to increase sales further in the fiscal year.

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Moneysupermarket.com 1Q Revenue Rose Despite Drop in Home-Services Unit

Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC said Tuesday that first-quarter revenue rose 8%, with growth in its money and travel segments offsetting a fall in its home-services unit due to energy-market disruption.

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Electrocomponents 4Q Comparable Revenue Grew 23%; Backs FY 2022 Guidance

Electrocomponents PLC said Tuesday that like-for-like revenue for fiscal 2022 grew 23% over the fourth quarter, and backed its full-year guidance.

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Liontrust FY 2022 Assets Under Management Rose; FY 2023 Sales Strong

Liontrust Asset Management PLC said Tuesday that assets under management and advice increased in fiscal 2022 and said that it has delivered positive sales at the start of fiscal 2023.

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M Winkworth 2021 Pretax Profit Doubled on Rental Performance, High Sales

M Winkworth PLC said Tuesday that its 2021 pretax profit more-than doubled on a good performance in rentals and with sales income exceeding its records.

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Gresham House Says 1Q Fundraising Was Strong

Gresham House PLC said Tuesday that positive fundraising momentum has continued into the first quarter of the year, with the pipeline for the remainder of the year remaining strong.

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Warpaint Sees 2021 Strong Performance Persisting into 2022

Warpaint London PLC said Tuesday that positive momentum from a strong 2021 has continued into the first quarter of 2022, with sales for the first three months up 60% on year.

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EasyJet Expects Narrowed 1H Headline Pretax Loss on Improved Performance

easyJet said Tuesday that it expects a narrowed headline pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2022 as its performance improved, and that its summer plans for capacity to reach near 2019's level are unchanged.

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Plus500's 1Q Revenue Rose; Sees 2022's Ahead of Market Views

Plus500 Ltd. said Tuesday that its performance for the first quarter of 2022 was excellent thanks to strong costumer income, and added that it expects to surpass revenue market views for the whole year.

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Supreme Expects Revenue, Adjusted Ebitda Growth for FY 2022

Supreme PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report improved revenue and underlying earnings for fiscal 2022, and anticipates that profitable growth will continue in fiscal 2023.

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Parsley Box 2021 Pretax Loss Widened on Higher Costs

Parsley Box Group PLC said Tuesday that its 2021 pretax loss widened after booking higher costs as growth in the second half of the year was limited after reducing its marketing spend in the period.

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Nanoco 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed, Revenue Rose; Says Commercialization Progress Made

Nanoco Group PLC said Tuesday that its first-half pretax loss narrowed while revenue rose slightly, and that it has made good progress toward commercializing its products.

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Victoria's FY 2022 Revenue, Underlying Profit Seen Surpassing Views

Victoria PLC said Tuesday that revenue and underlying profits are expected to come in ahead of market views for fiscal 2022 and that demand for its products continues to be strong.

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EasyJet Expects Summer Capacity to Near Prepandemic Level

easyJet said Tuesday that it expects summer flight capacity to near prepandemic levels this year, and that it has recovered well since the U.K. government said in January that it was removing pandemic travel restrictions. 


 
Market Talk:

UK Labor Market Isn't Likely to Tighten Further in Months Ahead

0939 GMT - U.K. jobs data for February and March point to a tight labor market, but also signal that the trend isn't likely to gain momentum, Citi says. After many months of falling unemployment and accelerating labor demand via record-high vacancies, both indicators showed signs of stabilizing, the U.S. bank says. "These data re-affirm a picture of the U.K. labor that is 'very tight', but we think no longer getting tighter," Citi says. As for wage growth, Citi expects that continued pay increases will push the Bank of England toward a further rate increase in May. However, as wage growth doesn't offset the hit from higher inflation, the squeeze to incomes is larger than expected by the BoE, it says.

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Asos 1H Was Broadly Positive Despite Cautious Outlook

0920 GMT - Asos's half-year results didn't contain any nasty shocks despite a cautious outlook, Barclays says, keeping its equal-weight rating on the online fashion retailer. The company's results and full-year guidance matched expectations, but it sounded caution, saying it faced greater risk in H2 than normal as the full impact of recent inflationary pressure on consumers and the potential impact on discretionary spend are yet to be felt, Barclays says. Still, it pointed to a significantly better second-half stock position and a return to event-driven demand. "Overall, this remains a 2H-weighted story--there remain plenty of reasons to stay cautious here, but equally H1 results don't appear to provide many incremental negatives," Barclays says. Shares rise 4%.

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Vodafone Spanish Network Sale Seen to Make Sense

0916 GMT - A sale of Vodafone Group's fixed infrastructure network in Spain makes sense, Citi says. A report in Spanish business newspaper Expansion said the FTSE 100 telco is looking for potential investors for at least part of the business. "A possible sale of the Spanish network may not be game changing for the group, but it should help to either reduce exposure by taking off more capital from Spain or reinvest in the business," Citi says. The development of a third fiber-to-the-home network looks sub-optimal, Citi says, instead suggesting bids from either Telefonica or Orange. Vodafone shares are down 0.5% at 130.18 pence.

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Warpaint's 1Q Results Lead to Big 2022 Upgrade

0906 GMT - Warpaint has issued a stunning update for its first quarter, leading to big full-year upgrades, Shore Capital says. The cosmetics company's total sales growth was 60%, noting some lockdown tailwinds, with growth achieved across all group brands, Shore says. "Whilst the outlook for the remainder of 2022 will be provided in the forthcoming [2021] results, the scale and the broad-based nature of the first quarter outperformance leads to a double-digit upgrade to our 2022," Shore says, raising its adjusted pretax profit forecasts for the year by 12% to GBP8.5 million. The U.K. investment group has Warpaint as a house stock. Shares are up 13% at 141.0 pence.

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Deliveroo's 1Q Update Fails to Impress, Jefferies Says

0836 GMT - Deliveroo's first-quarter update was disappointing, failing to buck market expectations, with total order growth of 18%, Jefferies says. The food-delivery company's 1% constant-currency growth in orders and gross transaction value in the U.K. and Ireland are indicative of tough competition and lower consumer appetite, the U.S. bank says. While Deliveroo's international markets prop up the group's growth, it isn't by much, Jefferies says. "We expect a neutral impact on the price today, as the stock is still too depressed for any further shocks," Jefferies says, retaining its buy rating on the stock with a 240-pence price target. Shares are down 2.4% at 106.85 pence.

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UK 10Y Gilt Yield Climbs to Six-Year High

0814 GMT - Ten-year U.K. government bond yields rise to their highest level in more than six years as the selloff in gilts intensifies amid expectations that global central banks may move harder to stamp down on inflation. The 10-year gilt yield climbs further, to 1.880%, its highest level since January 2016 after official data Tuesday showed a tighter labor market in March. Gilt yields have been largely mirroring their U.S. counterparts, as investors ditch U.S. government debt in anticipation of a possible 50 basis-point rate rise at the May 3 and 4 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The BOE is expected to lift its key borrowing rate by 25 basis points to 1% in May.


Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-12-22 1301ET