UK Growth Keeps Momentum in November; Price Pressures Intensify, PMI Shows

Business activity in the U.K. continued to expand at a robust pace in November due to an acceleration in the growth of new business, according to a purchasing managers survey compiled by IHS Markit. The flash composite PMI came in at 57.7 in November, broadly unchanged from 57.8 in October. Input price inflation hit a new record-high driven by higher wages and a spike in prices paid for fuel, energy and raw materials, the report says. "An acceleration in growth of new business hints that December should bring a strong end to the year, meaning the fourth quarter should see a welcome pick up in GDP growth after the slowdown seen in the third quarter," IHS Markit's chief business economist Chris Williamson says.


 
Companies News: 

Softcat 1Q Revenue, Operating Profit Rose

Softcat PLC said Tuesday that revenue and operating profit for the first quarter of the new fiscal year has increased as it benefited from good growth from both mid-market and enterprise corporate customers as well as the public sector.

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Transense Appoints Nick Hopkins as COO

Transense Technologies PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Nick Hopkins as chief operating officer with effect from Dec. 1.

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TT Electronics to Report Higher 2021 Adjusted Operating Profit Vs 2020

TT Electronics PLC on Tuesday said that it expects to report an increased adjusted operating profit for the year compared with last year, as it benefited from a rise in demand despite higher costs.

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Knights Group Sees Higher Adjusted 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue

Knights Group Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it expects to deliver an increased pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 backed by higher revenue.

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Mila Resources Shares Rise as LSE Trading Resumes

Shares in Mila Resources PLC rose Tuesday after the stock was re-admitted and resumed trading on the London Stock Exchange.

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Telecom Plus 1H Profit Hit by Costs; Backs FY 2022 Guidance

Telecom Plus PLC on Tuesday reported a fall in pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 after booking a number of costs and backed its full-year guidance.

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Petershill Partners 3Q Performance Was in Line with Expectations

Petershill Partners PLC said Tuesday that its performance for the third quarter of the year was in line with expectations and that the medium-term guidance provided when the company listed remains unchanged.

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Quanta Capital Asset Management Mulls Offer for Yew Grove REIT

Quanta Capital Asset Management Ltd. said Tuesday that it is considering an offer for Yew Grove REIT PLC, but said there isn't any certainty that a takeover will be made.

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Record PLC 1H Pretax Profit Doubled; Increases Dividend

Record PLC said Tuesday that first-half pretax profit doubled as the company benefits from its change in strategy to partner with other third-party specialists, and increased its interim dividend.

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Savannah Energy 10-Month Revenue Rose; Confident About Outlook

Savannah Energy PLC said Tuesday that revenue for the first 10 months of the year was up on a year-on-year basis, and reiterated its full-year guidance as it remains confident in its outlook.

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TinyBuild Buys Versus Evil and Red Cerberus for Up to $31.3 Mln

TinyBuild Inc. said on Tuesday that it has bought U.S.-based publisher Versus Evil and its Brazilian subsidiary Red Cerberus for up to $31.3 million.

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EKF Diagnostics Appoints New CFO

EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Marc Davies as chief financial officer with effect from Jan. 1.

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FIH Group CEO to Depart on April 14

FIH Group PLC said Tuesday that John Foster will leave his role as chief executive officer at the company on April 14.

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Caledonia Investments CEO to Leave Role; Successor Identified

Caledonia Investments PLC said Tuesday that Will Wyatt is retiring as chief executive of the company, adding that he will be succeeded by the current head of Caledonia Quoted Equity, Mathew Masters.

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Nostrum Oil & Gas Says It Won't Seek Authorization to Allot Shares Unless Necessary

Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC said Tuesday that it won't seek authorizations to allot shares unless it is necessary or desirable, and where such proposals have good prospects of being supported by shareholders.

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Grainger PLC Appoints Colin Sherriff as New Chairman

Grainger PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Colin Sherriff as the new chairman of the company following Deborah Shackleton's decision to step down from the position on Sept. 30 after nearly 10 years in the role.

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Sancus Lending Appoints Rory Mepham as Permanent CEO

Sancus Lending Group Ltd. said Tuesday that it has appointed Rory Mepham as its permanent chief executive officer after he served as interim CEO since June 30 following Andy Whelan's departure.


 
Market Talk: 

AO World Shares Slump After Tough 1H

1107 GMT - AO World's stock drops 19% after the online electrical-goods retailer cut full-year financial guidance and warned that current peak trading is significantly softer than expected. A shortage of delivery drivers and supply-chain disruption is hitting its U.K. business and the company is facing increased competition in Germany, it said. The problems have forced the company to increase investment in systems, staff and marketing, affecting earnings and debt, Interactive Investor says. "Nor does the current situation appear to be easing. The company is anticipating poor availability in some categories for the second half as well, alongside ongoing supply issues, an increase in raw material prices and general inflationary pressures," Interactive analyst Richard Hunter says.

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Inflation Is Hurting Severn Trent's Profits

1058 GMT - It is clear that inflationary pressures are negatively affecting results, Citi's Jenny Ping says after Severn Trent reported weaker-than-expected results for the first half of the year. The U.K. water company's operating profit of GBP256 million was below Citi's expectations of GBP269 million, and EPS of 54.4 pence missed the bank's 64.2 pence projection. "Despite the uplift in ODI target, we expect the shares to trade weak on the back of these numbers today. Read across for the other listed water companies--United Utilities tomorrow and Pennon next week--is unlikely to be supportive," Ping says.

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Severn Trent 1H Results Seen as Positive Despite Below-Consensus Profits

1049 GMT - Severn Trent's results for the first half were slightly light versus consensus expectations, but the water company is increasing ODI guidance to an award of at least GBP75 million for the full year ending in March, RBC Capital Markets says. This is up from previous guidance of GBP40 million, as Severn Trent's reinvestment plan continues to drive efficient and more effective methods of operation, the bank says. "Overall, this looks like a positive set of results for SVT; whilst we think that the numbers may be a little lower than consensus expectations for the half year, the announcement of an increase in ODI guidance is likely to be well received by investors."

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Cranswick Had Solid 1H; Shares Are a Buy, Davy Says

1038 GMT - Sausage-maker Cranswick had a solid 1H, with higher profit underpinned by continued progress with strategic growth projects and cost-cutting, brokerage Davy says. Growth moderation through 2Q was as expected, reflecting the re-opening of the U.K. economy and softer exports. Supply-chain issues were well-managed, with Cranswick lifting operating margins 35 basis points through the period. "Management has reiterated its full-year guidance and thus we envisage no material changes to our forecasts," Davy analysts say. "We observe that the operational quality gap between Cranswick and its peers continues to widen and recommend buying the shares." The stock gains 1.2% to 3,676 pence.

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Compass FY In Line, But Costs Look Set to Weigh in 1H

0958 GMT - Shares in Compass Group rise 2% after the contract caterer reported higher annual pretax profit as it booked lower costs and returned to the dividend list. The results for the year to the end of September matched expectations, but management's guidance for 2021/22 looks slightly weak, with higher costs expected to weigh on first-half margins, Citigroup says. "Overall, we expect a marginally negative reaction and slight downgrades to consensus forecasts for FY22 top-line and margins on the back of weaker-than-expected FY22 guidance," Citi analyst James Ainley says.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-23-21 0733ET