FTSE 100 Trades Flat as Investors Wade Through Earnings

0803 GMT - The FTSE 100 trades flat at 7850 points as investors digest a slew of corporate earnings. Barclays leads banking shares higher, rising 4.4%, after reporting first-quarter profit that beat expectations. Unilever gains 1.2% after the consumer goods giant said first-quarter turnover rose ahead of market forecasts. St. James's Place drops 4.2% after the wealth manager reported first-quarter funds under management that missed expectations. Engineer Weir Group falls 3.9% after reporting lower first-quarter orders for its ESCO business due to weaker infrastructure demand. Asset manager Schroders sheds 1.8% after posting a decline in first-quarter assets under management. Supermarket chain J Sainsbury declines 0.4% after reporting full-year profit at the top-end of its guidance but warned of a challenging year ahead. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

COMPANIES NEWS:

Schroders Names Richard Oldfield as New CFO to Replace Richard Keers

Schroders PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Richard Oldfield as new chief financial officer, with effect from Oct. 2.

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WPP Backs 2023 Guidance After 1Q Net Sales Rose 2.9%

WPP PLC on Thursday reported a 2.9% rise in like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs, or net sales, for the first quarter of the year and backed its full-year guidance.

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London Stock Exchange 1Q Total Income Rose on Contributions From All Divisions

London Stock Exchange Group PLC said Thursday that total income for the first quarter rose on an underlying basis, with all divisions contributing to growth.

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Barclays Posts 1Q Beat, Backs 2023 Guidance

Barclays PLC on Thursday backed its guidance for 2023 as it reported first-quarter results ahead of expectations driven by income growth and double-digit returns.

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Weir Group 1Q Orders Up 4%; Backs 2023 Guidance

Weir Group PLC said Thursday that orders in the first quarter rose 4% and backed its guidance for the year.

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Taylor Wimpey Early 2023 Sales Rate Continues Recovery; Backs Guidance

Taylor Wimpey PLC said Thursday that its sales rate has continued to recover along with demand in 2023 to date, supported by good mortgage availability, and backed its 2023 guidance.

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Unilever 1Q Turnover Beat Market Views, Upgrades Full-Year Sales Outlook

Unilever PLC said Thursday that first-quarter turnover rose ahead of market expectations, boosted by higher prices and improving volume trends, and upgraded its sales-growth target for the year.

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AstraZeneca 1Q Profit Rose, But Decline in Covid-19 Drug Sales Hurt Revenue

AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday reported a rise in profit for the first quarter, but said a decline in sales of its Covid-19 medicines hurt revenue.

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St. James's Place 1Q Funds Under Management Rose On Quarter But Missed Views

St. James's Place PLC on Thursday said that its funds under management rose over the first quarter of 2023 but came in short of market expectations.

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RS Group Agrees to Buy Distrelec for EUR365 Mln

RS Group PLC said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire industrial and maintenance, repair and operations product distributor Distrelec B.V. for 365 million euros ($403 million) on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

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J Sainsbury FY 2023 Profit Reached Top End of Views, Sees Challenging Year Ahead

J Sainsbury PLC said Thursday that underlying pretax profit for fiscal 2023 came in at the top-end of its guidance but warned that the year ahead is expected to remain challenging.

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DS Smith to Report FY 2023 Adjusted Earnings Decline

DS Smith PLC said Thursday that it expects to report profitability in line with expectations in the fiscal year ending April 30.

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Lancashire Holdings 1Q Gross Premiums Rose 23%

Lancashire Holdings Ltd. on Thursday posted an increase in its first-quarter gross written premiums on growth in its property insurance and casualty reinsurance segments.

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Capricorn Energy Appoints Randy Neely CEO; Launches $25 Mln Buyback Program

Capricorn Energy PLC said on Thursday that Randy Neely will join the company as chief executive officer on June 1, and that it was launching a share buyback program of at least $25 million.

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HSS Hire 2022 Pretax Profit Rose on Cost Control, Pricing

HSS Hire Group PLC said Thursday that pretax profit rose in 2022 on the back of higher prices and improved cost control.

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Ibstock Early 2023 Earnings Beat Management Expectations Despite Subdued Demand

Ibstock PLC said Thursday that it has made a good start to 2023 with earnings slightly beating its expectations, despite subdued demand in both the residential new-build and the repair, maintenance and improvement markets.

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CT Automotive Shares Tumble on Discounted Fund Raising

Shares of CT Automotive Group PLC fell 20% on Thursday after the company said it plans to raise 7.6 million pounds ($9.5 million) via a discounted share placing and subscription and will use the money toward growth opportunities.

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Kerry Group 1Q Revenue Rose on Strong Foodservice Growth

Kerry Group PLC said Thursday that revenue rose in the first quarter of 2023, and backed its full-year guidance.

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Naked Wines Expects In-Line Pretax Profit for FY 2023

Naked Wines PLC said Thursday that it expects to report pretax profit in line with consensus expectations for fiscal 2023, and that it confirmed its near-term outlook of modestly declining revenue.

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Spectris Backs 2023 Views After 1Q Sales Grew

Spectris PLC said Thursday that 2023 has started strongly and backed its full-year targets.

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Inchcape 1Q Revenue Rose 50%; Sees FY Results in Line

Inchcape PLC on Thursday said it sees full-year results in line with views as it posted a 50% on-year rise in its first-quarter revenue.

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Driver Group Shares Rise After 1H Profits Increase

Driver Group PLC shares rose on Thursday after the group said that it expects underlying pretax profit for first half of fiscal 2023 to improve following a positive performance in the first quarter.

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Hotel Chocolat Shares Fall as It Guides for FY 2023 Sales Below Market Views

Hotel Chocolat Group PLC shares fell Thursday after it said it expects fiscal 2023 sales to slightly miss market expectations and to breakeven on a pretax profit basis, as it navigates a transitional year.

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PPHE Hotel Group 1Q Revenue Doubled on UK, Netherlands Performance

PPHE Hotel Group Ltd. said Thursday that revenue grew significantly in the first quarter of 2023 due to strong performance in the U.K. and Netherlands, and that it remains on track to meet full-year market expectations.

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Taylor Maritime Investments 4Q Net Asset Value Rose; Declares Interim Dividend

Taylor Maritime Investments Ltd. said Thursday that its net asset value in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 rose on quarter and declared an interim dividend for the period.

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Engage XR Shares Rise After 1Q Revenue Growth

Shares in Engage XR Holdings PLC rose 11% on Thursday after the group said its first-quarter revenue grew 40% on-year.

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Kelso Group 2022 Pretax Loss Widened on Higher Costs

Kelso Group Holdings PLC said Thursday that its 2022 pretax loss widened after booking higher costs related to the scoping of a potential acquisition, listed company fees and other operating costs.

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Inspecs Group 2022 Pretax Loss Widened on Tough 2H

Inspecs Group PLC said Thursday that its pretax loss widened on a slowdown in the second half-year in its European markets, but that it sees a recovery in the markets near-term.

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Yourgene Health FY 2023 Revenue Slipped But Beat Market Views

Yourgene Health PLC said Thursday that it expects to report fiscal 2023 revenue exceeding market expectations, though it will still fall on year, and guided for its adjusted loss to meet market views.

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Telecom Plus Sees FY 2023 Profit in Line With Views; Confirms Higher Dividend

Telecom Plus PLC said Thursday that it expects fiscal 2023 adjusted pretax profit to be in line with guidance, and confirmed its intention to increase its dividend payout.

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Dalata Sees 1Q Revenue-Per-Available-Room to Top Expectations

Dalata Hotel Group PLC said Thursday that it expects first-quarter revenue-per-available-room to exceed expectations, and that growth looks to continue during the year.

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Graft Polymer Shares Fall on Widened 2022 Pretax Loss Due to Higher Costs

Shares in Graft Polymer (UK) PLC in fell after the company said that its 2022 pretax loss widened after booking higher costs, and that it was in a position to take on "larger orders, with higher margins, at a time when demand for polymer solutions is high."

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Gulf Keystone Targets Cost Reductions Following Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Shut-in

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. said Thursday that it is focused on preserving liquidity and is targeting cost reductions across the business, following the shut-in of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline on March 25.

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Quixant Sees Good Start to 2023 With Strong Demand; Proposes Name Change to Nexteq

Quixant PLC said Thursday that it has made a good start to the new year, with strong demand across both its gaming and Densitron divisions, and proposed it change its name to Nexteq PLC.

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4Global Expects to Report FY 2023 Revenue Rose on Strong Performance

4Global PLC said Thursday that it expects to report a 56% revenue rise for fiscal 2023 on a strong second half-year performance.

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X5 Retail 1Q Net Profit Rose on Increased Sales, Retail-Space Expansion

X5 Retail Group NV said Thursday that net profit rose in the first quarter supported by increased sales and retail-space expansion.

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Byotrol Sees FY 2023 Meeting Market Views; Names Trevor Francis as Chairman

Byotrol PLC said Thursday that it expects fiscal 2023 results to meet market expectations, and named Nonexecutive Director Trevor Francis as its new nonexecutive chairman.

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EnSilica Shares Rise on Guidance for FY 2023 Earnings to Beat Market Views

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04-27-23 0500ET