Ocado Share Price Faces Gloomy 2021 After Disrupted 3Q

Online grocer Ocado's share price looks set to continue struggling after a third quarter marked by higher costs and a fire disrupting its operations, CMC Markets says. Ocado is among the 10 worst performing FTSE 100 stocks this year so far, the investment platform says. Third-quarter retail revenue declined 10.6%, falling back from pandemic highs and hit by the fire at the Erith fulfillment center, while higher wages will add another GBP5 million to Ocado's cost base, CMC Markets says. "Any further progress in terms of share price gains could well be hard won," CMC Markets says. Shares trade down 3.1% at 1,828.50 pence. 


 
Companies News:

Tandem Group 1H Profit, Revenue Climbed

Tandem Group PLC said Tuesday that its profit and revenue rose in the first half of 2021.

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Springfield Properties FY 2021 Pretax Profit Rose

Springfield Properties PLC said Tuesday that fiscal 2021 pretax profit and revenue rose, and that it enters the fiscal 2022 with good visibility over full year revenue as it delivers against a significant order book.

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Accesso Technology Says 2021 Revenue Will Rise to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Accesso Technology Group PLC said Tuesday that it expects 2021 revenue to be at least at pre-pandemic levels and improved profitability.

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Colefax Group's Tender Offer: Shares Valued at GBP6.7 Mln Purchased

Colefax Group PLC said Tuesday that it purchased shares valued at 6.7 million pounds ($9.3 million) via its tender offer.

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Sanne Group 1H Profit Fell as Revenue Recovered

Sanne Group PLC said Tuesday that profit ticked down and revenue rose in the first half of the year, as client activity recovered after the Covid-19 hit.

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Peel Hunt to Pursue AIM-Market Listing

Peel Hunt Ltd. said Tuesday that it intends to seek admission of its ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market.

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EKF Diagnostics Raises 2021 Expectations on Strong 1H Trading

EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC said Tuesday that its profit and revenue rose in the first half of 2021 and that it expects full-year results ahead of its previous expectations.

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TP Group 1H Pretax Loss Widened

TP Group PLC said on Tuesday that its pretax loss widened for the first half after booking higher costs.

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Bonhill Group Confirms Narrower 1H Pretax Loss, Lower Revenue

Bonhill Group PLC said Tuesday that its pretax loss narrowed in the first half, although revenue fell amid a lack of live events as previously announced.

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Fiske Swung to FY 2021 Pretax Profit, Shares Rise

Shares in Fiske PLC rose on Tuesday after the company said it swung to a pretax profit for fiscal 2021 as revenue rose, and that it had a good start to fiscal 2022.

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Staffline Shares Fall After Cautious Outlook Despite Narrowed 1H Loss

Staffline Group PLC shares fell on Tuesday despite a narrowed first-half pretax loss, after it said it remains mindful of pandemic-driven economic uncertainty and potential labor shortages.

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BP Taps Renewable Power Specialist in Green Energy Push

BP PLC has hired the former chief executive of one of the world's largest wind power developers to run its gas and low-carbon operations, as the oil giant looks to support its push into renewable energy.

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VP Appointment Lifts BP's Environmental and Gender-Diversity Profile -- ESG Insight

Commentary by Gonçalo Lousada, research analyst, ESG & impact investing

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Kape Technologies Shares Rise on $354M Placing for ExpressVPN Acquisition

Kape Technologies PLC shares rose Tuesday after it said it raised $354 million from a share placing, and $2.5 million via its retail offer on the PrimaryBid platform, to fund the acquisition of ExpressVPN.

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Geiger Counter Issues 1.2 Mln New Ordinary Shares to Meet Market Demand

Geiger Counter Ltd. said Tuesday that it has allotted the issue of 1.2 million new ordinary shares to meet market demand, conditional on admission becoming effective. 


 
Market Talk:

JD Sports' US Bet Is Paying off

1058 GMT - The integration of JD Sports' acquisitions in North America shows positive early signs, and the fashion company looks on track to earn far more in the U.S. this year than it does in its core U.K. market, Freetrade analyst David Kimberley says. "The U.S. is a graveyard of U.K. businesses that have tried and failed to expand there, whether it is Tesco or Arcadia," he notes. However, the company's performance in the U.S. suggests that its strategy of keeping acquired firm's brands along with opening JD stores is paying off, Kimberley says. Shares in JD soared 8.3% after reporting first-half results and raising its 2021 guidance.

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Business Breakup at SSE Could Unlock Additional Value

1038 GMT - There is potential valuation upside for SSE, as a breakup could unlock additional value via greater visibility of two attractive businesses--renewables and networks--or via asset disposals and acquisitions, RBC Capital Markets says, after reports that a shareholder is pushing for a breakup of the FTSE 100 energy company. The bank's analysts estimate a breakup value of more than 2,000 pence a share compared with the current price of 1,638 pence. "SSE and Elliot have not commented on the latest news article and we believe it may be some time before anything potentially materializes from the situation," RBC says.

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Ocado's Robot Fire Damaged More Than Sales

0958 GMT - Online grocer Ocado's latest warehouse accident involving robots has cost it millions at a time when it is also facing considerable extra costs from human labor, particularly delivery drivers, Russ Mould at AJ Bell says. The company's business model depends on signing up more grocery sellers to use its logistic platform, and suffering two fires caused by robots is damaging to more than just one quarter's sales because prospective clients might think twice before signing up with the company given the considerable disruption a small accident can cause, Mould says. "The share price has taken a real beating this year because it has been slow to sign up new grocery partners for its systems, and the second robot fire has hurt its credibility," Mould say

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Sterling Could Rise if Labor Market Remains Strong

0946 GMT - Sterling and some U.K. stocks which are sensitive to interest rates could rise if the unemployment rate continues to decline after the furlough scheme ends, says Emma Mogford, fund manager at Premier Miton Monthly Income Fund. If the unemployment rate continues to fall after a government-backed employee retention scheme ends on Sept. 30, "that should provide a boost to sterling and interest rate sensitive stocks," she says. Official data from the Office for National Statistics showed employee numbers were back at pre-Covid levels in August. Higher consumer prices and a robust labor market could potentially prompt the Bank of England to tighten monetary policy earlier than anticipated. Sterling is last up 0.2% at $1.3860.

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Bunzl's Latest Acquisitions Expected to Be EPS Accretive

0931 GMT - Distribution-and-outsourcing group Bunzl acquired two businesses with combined revenue of GBP77 million, and given the targets' Ebitda profile, they should be low-mid single digit accretive to EPS, analysts at Jefferies say. One of the businesses, McCue, is fast-growth and high-margin and subsequently attracted a higher multiple than usual, but it should create value creation in three years, and the deal opens an appealing new market, the U.S. bank says. The company's spend to date is GBP390 million, compared with GBP134 million at the interims, and this implies the company spent GBP256 million on both of these deals, with the bulk probably going to McCue, the bank says. Jefferies rates the stock buy with a 3,000-pence target price.

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UK Labor Market Showed Strength in Summer; Challenges Ahead in 4Q

0802 GMT - Job creation remained strong over summer in the U.K., Pantheon Macroeconomics says. The number of people employed was 183,000 higher in the three months to July than in the previous three months, according to the Labour Force Survey. "The strength of the employment indicators of Markit's purchasing managers index survey and the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs in August suggest that employment growth will remain brisk throughout the third quarter," Pantheon Macroeconomics' chief U.K. economist Samuel Tombs says. Further growth in employment will likely push down the unemployment rate even further toward its pre-Covid low of 3.8%, he says. However, the winding up of the furlough program will probably lead to an increase in unemployment and underemployment in 4Q, Tombs says.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-14-21 0859ET