The FTSE 100 closed up 0.3% on Friday after a strong start to the year, CMC Markets UK's chief market analyst Michael Hewson says in a note. While there may have been some profit taking in the week, Friday saw a modest rebound after setbacks earlier in the week, he says. "The FTSE 100 is lagging behind its European counterparts today, having found itself held back this week by weakness in some of its bigger cap components like Shell, Unilever and AstraZeneca," Hewson says.
Companies News:
UnitedHealth's EMIS Group Acquisition Faces UK Competition Probe
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority will investigate the acquisition of EMIS Group PLC by UnitedHealth Group Inc., it said Friday.
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SSE Raises FY 2023 Adjusted EPS Guidance to More than 150p
SSE PLC said Friday that it has raised fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings per share expectations to more than 150 pence ($1.86) from at least 120 pence, reflecting the strength of its business mix and certainty from strong operational performance.
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Spirent Sees 2022 Revenue Growth, Adjusted Operating Profit Ahead of Market Views
Spirent Communications PLC said Friday that it expects its 2022 results to meet expectations, with full-year revenue growth and an adjusted operating profit slightly ahead of market views.
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TheWorks.co.uk Backs FY 2023 Amid Continuing Economic Uncertainties
TheWorks.co.uk PLC said Friday that pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2023 widened driven by higher costs and despite increased revenue, and that full-year guidance remains unchanged given the challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
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Mirriad Advertising Hangs Up 'for Sale' Sign
Mirriad Advertising PLC said Friday that it has started a strategic review of its options to maximize value, including an equity capital raising and formal sale process.
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Character Group Sees FY 2023 Sales, Profit Missing Market Views
Character Group PLC said Friday that it expects fiscal 2023 sales and underlying pretax profit to marginally miss market views.
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4imprint to Report 2022 Pretax Profit at Top End of Forecasts
4imprint Group PLC said Friday that it expects to report a pretax profit for 2022 at the upper end of analysts' forecasts, with revenue 45% higher after a strong finish to the year.
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TruFin Sees 2022 Performance in Line With Market Views, Boosted by Satago Revenue
TruFin PLC said Friday that it expects to report a full-year adjusted pretax loss in line with expectations, mainly supported by a robust revenue increase at its Satago business.
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Close Brothers Sees Resilient Five-Month Performance But Winterflood Activity Subdued
Close Brothers Group PLC said Friday that performance in the five months to Dec. 31 was resilient, but activity at its Winterflood division remained subdued.
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Circle Property Plans Capital Reduction, at Least GBP30 Mln Capital Return
Circle Property PLC said Friday that it intends to carry out a capital reduction and return capital to shareholders through the issue of B shares, subject to shareholder approval.
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Land Securities Names Ian Cheshire as Chair Designate; Cressida Hogg to Retire May
Land Securities Group PLC said Friday that it has appointed Ian Cheshire as an independent nonexecutive director and chair designate, replacing Cressida Hogg who will retire from the board after five years in the role.
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City of London Investment Group Funds Under Management Rose on Quarter
City of London Investment Group PLC said Friday that funds under management as at Dec. 31 were up on quarter, but were flat when compared with its fiscal 2022 year-end total on June 30.
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Petershill Partners' 2022 Aggregate Assets Under Management Rose
Petershill Partners PLC said Friday that aggregate assets under management as of Dec. 31 rose, and that it is well positioned to navigate the challenging macroeconomic backdrop given its asset diversification.
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Supply@Me Capital Sees Client Company Pipeline Growth in Late 2022
Supply@Me Capital PLC said Friday that it has seen a growth in the pipeline of client companies with warehouse-goods inventories suitable for monetization in the final months of 2022.
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Devro 2022 Adjusted Operating Profit to Beat Board Views; Revenue Grew 11%
Devro PLC said Friday that it expects adjusted operating profit for 2022 to be ahead of the board's expectations, with revenue up by 11% on a constant currency basis.
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Allergy Therapeutics 1H Revenue Fell on Production Pause, Streamlining
Allergy Therapeutics PLC said Friday that revenue fell in the first half of fiscal 2023 due to paused U.K. production and streamlining.
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Croma Security Solutions Finance Director to Stand Down; Appoints Teodora Andreeva to Role
Croma Security Solutions Group PLC said Friday that Finance Director Richard Juett will stand down on March 31 for personal reasons, and that Teodora Andreeva has been appointed to the role on April 1.
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Octopus Renewables Raises 2023 Target Dividend to Match Inflation
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC said Friday that it has increased its target dividend for 2023 to 5.79 pence (7.17 cents) a share.
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DSW Capital Shares Fall After Warning of FY 2023 Expectations Miss
Shares in DSW Capital PLC fell Friday after the company warned that it wouldn't be meeting market expectations for fiscal 2023 as its historically weighted second half was being hurt by "the wider macro-economic conditions and uncertainties.
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EMIS Sees 2022 Revenue, Adjusted Operating Profit in Line With Views
EMIS Group PLC said Friday that it performed strongly during 2022 and expects to report revenue and adjusted operating profit in line with its expectations.
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Australian Competition Regulator Seeks Views on Sika-MBCC Deal
Australia's competition regulator is seeking views on a proposed court-enforced divestment by Sika AG as part of the Swiss chemical company's acquisition of German-based construction chemicals company MBCC Group.
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In the Style Group Shares Drop on Widened FY 2023 Loss View
Shares in In The Style Group PLC fell 24% Friday after the company said that revenue for its third quarter declined 22% on year and that it now sees a bigger loss for fiscal 2023.
Market Talk:
Harbour Energy Needs to Do Deals To Boost Growth
1353 GMT - Harbour Energy needs to do merger & acquisition deals to boost growth, Peel Hunt says, downgrading the North Sea oil-and-gas company to hold from add. In an update for the year to Dec. 31 on Thursday, Harbour reported strong production, material cash flows and lower debt, though reserves are falling, Peel says. "Without meaningful new discoveries to replace reserves, net asset value decline is a one-way bet," Peel analysts say in a note. "Therefore, more M&A has to be on the way if Harbour is to fix its now short- and medium-term growth problem." Peel also cuts its price target to 325 pence from 350 pence on the stock. Shares rise 0.4% to 314 pence. (philip.waller@wsj.com)
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Boohoo's High Return Rates, Delayed Deliveries Seen as Concerning
1400 GMT - Boohoo's competitive business model has raised concerns following the group's latest update, given the high return rates and delayed deliveries, Shore Capital analysts Eleonora Dani and Clive Black say in a note. The U.K. division of the online fashion retailer has been particularly affected by the disruption experienced in the delivery market, which is eroding customer trust, they say. Together with a weak consumer backdrop and inflationary pressures, there is also caution about Boohoo's return rate, they say. On the positive side, there has been a significant increase in advertising, "which might be a sign of the company seeing opportunities for the year ahead," they say. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
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Just Eat Takeaway Looks to Be Delivering Ahead of Time
1409 GMT - Just Eat Takeaway.com looks to be delivering ahead of time and its strong second-half profitability in 2022, coupled with a strong 2023 outlook, more than offsets weaker order trends in the fourth quarter, HSBC says in a research note. "In fact, one could argue that almost a year's worth of adj. Ebitda has been pulled forward thanks to a quicker delivery (pun intended) of cost savings," it says. With a greater investor focus on profitability, not chasing any loss-making order growth, to show growth at any cost, remains the prevailing theme in food delivery in 2023, the U.K. bank says. HSBC reiterates its buy rating on the stock and raises its target price to 2,920 pence from 2,170 pence previously. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-20-23 1242ET
