FTSE 100 Closes Friday Down on Poor US Finish, Weak Asian Lead

The FTSE 100 stumbled coming out of the blocks Friday, kicking off the month of October by closing down 0.8%. The sharp drop was replicated across European markets, in response to yesterday's poor U.S. finish and a weak lead from Asia, with Chinese markets closed for the next few days, coupled with investor concerns on rising energy prices, CMC chief market analyst Michael Hewson says. "Nonetheless, while we've got off to a poor start, we have pulled off the lows of the day, which suggests that while there is concern about the outlook, it's not significantly higher than it was earlier this week, as markets continue to search for direction," Mr. Hewson says.

 
Companies News: 

ADM Energy Flags Going-Concern Doubt; Reports Widened 1H Pretax Loss

ADM Energy PLC reported Thursday a widened first-half pretax loss and said a short-term funding requirement has cast some doubt on its ability to continue as a going concern.

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Darktrace Shareholders to Sell $225 Mln in Shares

Jefferies International Ltd. said Thursday that four shareholders intend to sell around $225 million worth of shares in Darktrace PLC through a secondary placing to institutional investors.

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Jubilant FoodWorks to Purchase GBP23.7 Mln in DP Eurasia Shares

Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd.'s Netherlands subsidiary said Thursday it intends to purchase 23.7 million pounds ($31.8 million) of shares in DP Eurasia NV, bringing its control up to 49.99% of the company's issued share capital.

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MC Mining FY 2021 Post-Tax Loss Narrows, Revenue Rose

MC Mining Ltd. said Thursday that its post-tax loss narrowed for fiscal 2021 on higher revenue.

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Capita Agrees to GBP62 Mln Sale of Secure Solutions and Services Business

Capita PLC said on Friday that it has agreed to sell its Secure Solutions and Services business to NEC Software Solutions UK Ltd. for a consideration expected to be 62 million pounds ($83.5 million) on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

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Wetherspoon Losses Widened in FY 2021 as Pubs Were Closed Under Covid-19 Restrictions

J.D. Wetherspoon PLC on Friday reported a widened loss for the fiscal year, as its pubs were hurt by coronavirus-related restrictions.

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Fletcher King Swung to FY 2021 Pretax Loss; Won't Declare Dividend

Fletcher King PLC said on Friday that it swung to a pretax loss for fiscal 2021 as revenue decreased, and that the board isn't declaring a dividend for the year.

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Gulf Marine Services Says Performance Remains in Line With Views

Gulf Marine Services PLC said Friday that its performance remains in line with expectations, with revenue, earnings and margins growing in the first half.

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Greencore Sees FY 2021 Revenue of Around GBP1.32 Bln

Greencore Group PLC said Friday that it expects revenue for the year ended Sept. 24 to be around 1.32 billion pounds ($1.78 billion), and that it was encouraged by the progress seen in the final quarter of fiscal 2021.

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AO World 1H 2022 Revenue Up 5% Despite Driver Shortages, Supply Chain Issues

AO World PLC said Friday that growth in the first half of the year has been hurt by a shortage of delivery drivers and continuing supply-chain disruptions but revenue was still up by 5% against strong comparatives during coronavirus-related lockdowns.

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Anglo African Agriculture Says Some Comarco Shareholders Reject Acquisition

Anglo African Agriculture PLC said Friday that certain shareholders of Comarco have decided not to proceed with the reverse takeover process between the two companies.

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Euromoney Expects FY 2021 Adjusted Pretax Profit Significantly Ahead of Views

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC said Friday that it expects adjusted pretax profit for fiscal 2021 to be significantly ahead of analysts' expectations before the impact of the IAS 38 accounting practice.

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Iomart Sees FY 2022 Results Below Views; Shares Drop

Cloud-computing company Iomart Group PLC said on Friday that it expects results for the year ending March 31 to be below current expectations.

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Tintra Shares Rise on Potential Acquisition, AI Software JV, Lottery Business Sale

Shares in Tintra PLC rose Friday morning after the company said that it is progressing an acquisition and a joint-venture deal, and that it has received an offer for its lottery-administration business.

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Malin to Launch Significant Capital Return via Tender Offer

Malin Corp. said Friday that it will launch a tender offer to make a "significant return of capital" to its shareholders, following the sale of its subsidiary Altan Pharma.

 
Market Talk: 

UK Business Confidence Slumped in September

1016 GMT - U.K. business confidence "fell off a cliff" last month amid concerns about rising costs and supply-chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 and the country's EU exit, a survey shows. The Directors' Economic Confidence Index, or DECI, from the Institute of Directors fell to -1% in September from +22% in July 2021, back to levels last seen in February during the third lockdown, the IoD says. "The business environment has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks," IoD Chief Economist Kitty Ussher says. "Following a period of optimism in the early summer, people running small and medium-sized businesses across the U.K. are now far less certain about the overall economic situation and the IoD DECI fell off a cliff in September." ([e-mail])

Greencore Could Benefit From Inflation at Christmas

1010 GMT - Greencore's labor, input and packaging costs have risen around 5% in 4Q, Peel Hunt says. However, the convenience-foods manufacturer is in negotiations with customers to pass these costs on, which, in light of the broad nature of inflation in the economy, should prove more constructive than in previous years, the U.K. brokerage says. Encouragingly, the company has managed labor shortages and supply chain issues reasonably well during its peak period, and inflation--which is generally helpful for food retailers--could be around 5% by Christmas, it says. "We expect to nudge up our 2021 estimate forecast, but see no change to our 2022 estimates." Peel Hunt rates the stock buy. ([e-mail])

AO World Faces Profit Squeeze After Downbeat 1H

0926 GMT - Shares in AO World drop by a fifth after the online consumer-electronics retailer said a shortage of delivery drivers and continuing supply-chain disruption had hit first-half trading and forecast lower full-year earnings. AO's U.K. revenue growth has fallen short of analysts' expectations and its German operations have also slowed, AJ Bell says. "Selling fridges, televisions and washing machines online is a low-margin business and success is down to achieving high sales volumes. With cost pressures intensifying and sales volumes disappointing, AO faces a big squeeze on profits," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says. ([e-mail])

Wetherspoon's Business Model Should Lead to Market Share Gains

0854 GMT - J.D. Wetherspoon's relentless consumer focus, larger-scale pubs, keen pricing and populous locations should lead to market share gains, considering the material capacity reduction across the hospitality sector, Jefferies says. Recent trends show continuing improvement in like-for-like sales, the U.S. bank says. Shares in the U.K. pub chain edge up 0.1% to 1,044 pence after it reported a widened loss for the year ended in July, when sites were closed for 19 weeks due to coronavirus restrictions. Jefferies has a buy rating on the stock with a 1,675-pence target price.

UK Manufacturing Activity Slows as Supply-Chain Strains Constrain Growth

0841 GMT - Expansion of manufacturing activity in the U.K. eased for the fourth consecutive month as supply chain delays, slower new orders and rising material and labor shortages constrained output growth, data from a survey compiled by IHS Markit show. The manufacturing PMI fell to 57.1 in September, down from 60.3 in August. This was its lowest level since February. Growth slowed across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors, the report said. "Companies are facing a growing list of headwinds, which includes declining new export orders, component shortages, delays to air, land and sea freight, staff shortages exacerbated by Covid-19 illnesses, Brexit disruptions, sharply rising costs and now fuel shortages," IHS Markit director Rob Dobson says. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Dow Jones Newswires; [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-01-21 1210ET