FTSE 100 Rises as Miners, Banks, Taylor Wimpey Gain
0922 GMT - The FTSE 100 Index rises 0.6%, or 47 points to 7841 as gains for mining and financial stocks and Taylor Wimpey offset losses for tobacco and packaging shares. Glencore, Antofagasta, BHP and Rio Tinto advance after mostly upbeat overnight trading in Asia. NatWest, Abrdn, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Admiral, Standard Chartered and Prudential are also among the biggest top-flight risers. Meanwhile, Taylor Wimpey edges 0.3% higher after the U.K. house-builder said in an end-of-year statement that 2022 met its expectations. Still, other house-builders fall, tobacco stocks BAT and Imperial Brands lose ground and paper-and-packaging companies Mondi, DS Smith and Smurfit Kappa also drop. (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Global Ports Holding Reviewing Capital, Financing Structure
Global Ports Holding PLC said Friday that is reviewing the company's capital and financing structure in light of the "significant and exciting opportunities in its cruise business."
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Premier Miton Group Assets Under Management Rose in 1Q
Premier Miton Group PLC said Friday that its assets under management rose in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
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Taylor Wimpey 2022 Operating Profit Met Views but Sales Rate Fell
Taylor Wimpey PLC said Friday that its 2022 performance met its expectations with higher operating profit, despite lower completions and a lower sales rate on-year.
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Appreciate Group 3Q Revenue Rose, Outlook Remains In Line With Its Views
Appreciate Group PLC on Friday said its third-quarter revenue reflected normal seasonality trends and that its outlook remains aligned with its expectations.
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Card Factory Appoints Matthias Seeger as CFO
Card Factory PLC said Friday that it has appointed Matthias Seeger as chief financial officer with effect expected from May 22.
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888 Holdings 2022 Revenue, Earnings Were In Line; CFO to Leave
888 Holdings PLC said Friday that 2022 revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were in line with expectations and that Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director Yariv Dafna has agreed to step down.
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M.J. Gleeson 1H Homes Sold Slipped 4%, Order Book Fell
M.J. Gleeson PLC said Friday that the number of homes it sold slipped slightly on year in the first half of fiscal 2023 though selling prices remained stable, and its order book fell.
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DFS Furniture 2Q Order Intake Improved; Backs FY 2023 Midpoint Profit Forecast
DFS Furniture PLC said Friday that order intake for the second quarter of the fiscal year rose from the same period a year earlier, but was still down for the first half overall, and backed its midpoint adjusted pretax profit guidance.
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Gulf Marine Services Says 2022 Guidance May Be Adjusted After Client Goes Bankrupt
Gulf Marine Services PLC on Friday said it may need to adjust its 2022 guidance after a client owing it 4 million euros ($4.3 million) for a contract has filed for bankruptcy.
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Alphawave IP 4Q Performance Significantly Improved on Year
Alphawave IP Group PLC said Friday that it booked significantly improved performance in the fourth quarter of 2022, with strong design win momentum and an expanded customer base.
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Wincanton Trades in Line Through 3Q
Wincanton PLC said Friday that it continued to trade in line with expectations in its third quarter, with year-to-date revenue growth of 5.5%.
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Dialight Sees Lower 2022 Core Profit After Weak December
Dialight PLC on Friday lowered its core profit guidance for the year after a weaker-than-expected December revenue.
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Belluscura Sees 2022 Loss in Line With Market Views
Belluscura PLC said Friday that it expects to report an Ebitda loss for 2022 in line with market expectations.
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Celadon Pharmaceuticals CFO To Join Board On Jan. 17
Celadon Pharmaceuticals PLC on Friday said that Jonathan Turner will formally join the group and the board as chief financial officer on Jan. 17.
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Bens Creek Agrees to Take on Second Highwall Miner Unit From Mega Highwall
Bens Creek Group PLC said Friday that it has amended an agreement with the highwall mining contractor Mega Highwall Mining LLC, to confirm the provision and delivery of a second highwall miner unit by the end of January.
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Revolution Beauty Accounts Probe Finds Serious Issues, Affecting FY 2022 Results
Revolution Beauty Group PLC said Friday that an independent investigation into its fiscal 2022 accounts has identified a number of serious issues, which it expects to materially affect financial results.
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Applied Graphene Says Talks Over Sale of Business, Main Operating Subsidiary Continue
Applied Graphene Materials PLC said Friday that discussions with various parties for either the sale of the group's business or of the shares in the company's main operating subsidiary continue.
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ValiRx Targets Up to GBP1.5 Mln via Discounted Placing, Broker Offer
ValiRx PLC said Friday that it seeks to raise up to 1.5 million pounds ($1.8 million) via a discounted share placing and broker offer, and that proceeds will be used to establish a new internal research facility.
Market Talk:
Taylor Wimpey's 2023 to Be Hit by Demand Weakness
0910 GMT - Taylor Wimpey's 2022 update confirms it expects to hit market expectations, but demand weakness could be detrimental to 2023 guidance, Davy Research says. The house builder has a strong land position despite the short-term landbank falling to 83,000 units from 85,000 a year earlier, though the land market has yet to reflect the changing market conditions, Davy analyst Colin Sheridan says. Sales rates remain significantly below levels seen prior to the third quarter of 2022 and the company expects volumes to reduce in 2023, the Irish research firm says. Davy retains its outperform rating on Taylor Wimpey's stock. Shares are down 0.04% at 112.6 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
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UK Economy Likely to Face Recession in 1H
0902 GMT - The U.K. is likely to fall into a recession in 1H 2023, but predictions that its downturn will be greater than in other developed economies look exaggerated, ING's developed markets economist James Smith says in a note. "The U.K. outlook undoubtedly looks bad, but we'd caution against overdoing the pessimism," he says. The economy is expected to shrink by 1.5% overall in 2023's recession, matching closest with the recession of the early 1990s in terms of scale, Smith says. "Despite the U.K.'s many woes, particularly in the jobs market, we aren't convinced Britain will be a serious outlier from the rest of Europe on the hit to GDP this year, even if it probably does sit in the bottom half of the pack," he says. (xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-13-23 0450ET
