FTSE 100 Gains as Retailers, Miners, Oil Stocks Rise
0813 GMT - The FTSE 100 Index rises 1.2%, or 83 points to 7120 as broad-based gains for retailers, miners and oil stocks offset losses for a handful of financial shares. Associated British Foods gains 4% after the Primark owner reported higher third-quarter revenue, driven by store re-openings. Shares in JD Sports Fashion advance 4% after the U.K. clothing retailer forecast better-than-expected full-year pretax profit. Mexican silver miner Fresnillo climbs 4% as the price of the precious metal ticks up 0.9% to $26.43 an ounce. BP and Royal Dutch Shell are both higher as the price of Brent crude increases 0.8% to $75.22 a barrel. At the other end of the spectrum, Admiral Group, London Stock Exchange and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust fall. (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Micro Focus 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed
Micro Focus International PLC said Thursday that its pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2021 narrowed and that its recovery program is progressing as planned.
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AB Foods 3Q Revenue Jumped as Primark Stores Reopened
Associated British Foods PLC said Thursday that revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2021 increased significantly, driven by store reopenings at its Primark retail business, but that it still expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to fall.
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Aveva Reports Good Start to FY 2022; Sets Five-Year Financial Targets
Aveva Group PLC said Thursday that it has achieved 10% revenue growth in the first two months of fiscal 2022, and that it was introducing new financial targets to the year ending March 31, 2026 on an organic constant currency basis.
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C&C Group Achieved Modest Trading Profit in May, Further Improvement in June
C&C Group PLC said Thursday that it achieved a modest trading profit in May with further improvements in June, and that it is cautiously optimistic about a gradual recovery for the hospitality sector as lockdown restrictions ease.
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Rank Group Says Performance Since Reopening Is In Line With Views
Rank Group PLC said Thursday that its performance since the reopening of its venues has been in line with its expectations, and that it expects an improvement as coronavirus-related restrictions are eased further.
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Atlas Mara Requests Trading Halt
Atlas Mara Ltd. said Thursday that it has requested the temporary suspension in the trading of its shares on the London Stock Exchange.
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LXI REIT Raises GBP104 Mln in Share Placing, PrimaryBid Offer
LXI REIT PLC said Thursday that it has raised a total of 104 million pounds ($143.8 million) from an oversubscribed share placing and an offer on retail-investing platform, PrimaryBid.
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AO World FY 2021 Profit, Revenue Rose Sharply
AO World PLC on Thursday reported a sharp rise in pretax profit for fiscal 2021, thanks to higher revenue.
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FinnCap FY 2021 Pretax Profit Rose; Reports Good Start to FY 2022
FinnCap Group PLC reported Thursday a rise in pretax profit for fiscal 2021 and said that its current financial year has started well, with revenue ahead of the previous year.
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SSEN Distribution to Accelerate Investment for Energy Transition
SSE PLC said Thursday that its Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution subsidiary plans to accelerate investment in its networks for the 2023-28 period to power communities to net zero greenhouse-gas emissions.
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Lookers Swung to 2020 Pretax Profit
Lookers PLC said Thursday that it swung to pretax profit for 2020 after booking lower costs, and that there remains some uncertainty driven by the continuing effect of the coronavirus pandemic as it moves into the second half of 2021.
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Cairn Homes 1H Revenue Rose, to Reimplement Dividends
Cairn Homes PLC said Thursday that its first-half revenue rose by 62%, it is on track to hit its 2022 new homes target, and it will reimplement dividends.
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Sasol CFO to Step Down Next Year
Sasol Ltd. said Thursday that its Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director Paul Victor, will step down on June 30, 2022.
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Revolution Bars Sees FY 2021 Revenue Ahead of Expectations
Revolution Bars Group PLC said Thursday that trading since May 17 has improved to 86% of capacity compared with the same period in 2019 and it now expects to report revenue for fiscal 2021 ahead of management's previous expectations.
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PZ Cussons Expects FY 2021 Adjusted Profit Ahead of Consensus
PZ Cussons PLC said Thursday that it expects to report an adjusted pretax profit for fiscal 2021 ahead of consensus forecasts and the prior year, but said it is dealing with cost headwinds.
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Drax to Increase Stake in Alabama Pellets to 90%
Drax Group PLC said it has agreed to acquire a further 20% interest in Alabama Pellets, LLC --a joint venture which owns the Demopolis and Aliceville pellet plants-- for $29.7 million in cash from The Westervelt Company.
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ReNeuron Appoints New Chairman
ReNeuron Group PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Iain Ross as its new chairman with immediate effect.
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Biome Technologies Shares Fall After Profit Warning
Shares in Biome Technologies PLC fell Thursday after the company warned that revenue for this year and next will be materially below market expectations, and that its underlying loss will be greater than anticipated.
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Grand Vision Media Shares Suspended After Audit Delay
Grand Vision Media Holdings PLC said Thursday that trading of its shares has been suspended pending publication of its annual report, as its audit has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Springfield Properties Says FY 2021 Revenue, Pretax Profit Rose
Springfield Properties PLC said Thursday that it expects fiscal 2021 revenue to have grown 49% and pretax profit to have substantially increased, in line with recently upgraded market views.
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Bacanora Lithium Extends Deadline for Ganfeng to Make an Offer to Buy The Company
Bacanora Lithium PLC said Thursday that it has requested an extension to the deadline by which Ganfeng International Trading (Shanghai) Co., would be able to make an offer for all of its issued share capital.
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IronRidge Shares Rise After $102 Mln Funding Deal for Ghana Lithium Project
Shares IronRidge Resources Ltd. rose Thursday after the company said it has entered into a binding agreement with Piedmont Lithium Inc. to fund the Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana for $102 million.
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Caledonian Trust Terminates Sale of GBP11 Mln Property to Drum Property
Caledonian Trust PLC said Thursday that it has terminated the proposed sale of St. Margaret's House in Edinburgh to Drum Property Group Ltd.
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Resolute Mining Appoints Doug Warden CFO From Sept. 1
Resolute Mining Ltd. said Thursday that Doug Warden has been appointed chief financial officer effective Sept. 1, replacing Stuart Gale, who was recently made chief executive.
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Safestay Completes Sale of Edinburgh Hostel
Safestay PLC said Thursday that it has completed the previously announced sale of its Edinburgh Hostel to A&O Hotels and Hostels for a cash consideration of 16.0 million pounds ($22.1 million).
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Arden Partners Swung to 1H Pretax Profit; 2H Has Been Solid So Far
Arden Partners PLC on Thursday reported a swing to pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2021 and said its second-half performance has continued to be very encouraging.
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Elliott Calls for Board Changes at GlaxoSmithKline Ahead of Separation
Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has called on U.K. pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC to assess its board and management ahead of a long-planned separation of its consumer-healthcare business.
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CPI Property Extends Offer for Globalworth Shareholders a Fourth Time
CPI Property Group SA said Thursday that the 1.57 billion-euro ($1.86 billion) offer deadline it made together with Aroundtown SA for Globalworth Real Estate Investments Ltd. has been extended for the fourth time.
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Polar Capital's Pretax Profit Rose in FY 2021
Polar Capital Holdings PLC reported Thursday a rise in pretax profit for fiscal 2021, and said its outlook is positive.
Market Talk:
Primark Drove AB Foods 3Q, Growth Looks Set to Continue
0724 GMT - Associated British Foods delivered a strong third quarter on the back of a revived clothing division, with Primark on track to achieve further progress, according to Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter. The British conglomerate's retail arm has successfully capitalized on easing restrictions and experienced a 207% sales boost, Hunter says "In addition, there is still more to go for, with tourism travel and opening hours restrictions still in place," he says. Meanwhile, Primark's U.S. business, which is now profitable, continues to expand and should reach 400 shops by this autumn, according to Hunter. Shares are up 2.7% at 2,275 pence. (matteo.castia@dowjones.com)
AB Foods Shares Seem Undervalued
0726 GMT - Associated British Foods is having a difficult time in its grocery division due to tough comparatives but the rest of the business is making significant progress, Shore Capital says. Third-quarter sales for the British conglomerate rose 47% on year, while the group remains well positioned in its markets and continues to leverage its strong brands and a robust balance sheet, Shore says. The current valuation undervalues this well-managed, high-quality business, according to the investment group. Shore has a buy rating on the stock. Shares are up 3.3% at 2,288 pence. (matteo.castia@dowjones.com)
JD Sports Outlook Is Positive Despite Cautious Tone
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
07-01-21 0432ET
