Entain Gains After 4Q Gaming Revenue Rises

Entain shares gain 1.1% after the gaming group reported higher fourth-quarter net gaming revenue. A 6% drop in online net gaming revenue was better than analysts expected and retail NGR rose 62% as high-street shops re-opened after lockdowns, Interactive Investor says. While tighter regulation is still an issue for the industry, growth momentum remains and the company's U.S. MGM joint venture business is the number-two operator for sports betting and iGaming across the U.S., the trading firm says. "There are also hopes that the dividend payment will start again soon. In all, and with growth ongoing and sector M&A still a feature, analyst consensus opinion continues to point to a strong buy," Interactive analyst Keith Bowman says. 


 
Companies News:

DS Smith Says Performance Has Remained in Line With Expectations Since Dec. 9

DS Smith PLC said Thursday that its performance since Dec. 9 has been in line with the board's expectations for a "significant improvement" in second-half profit.

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Deliveroo 2021 Gross Transaction Value Growth Was at Top End of Expectations

Deliveroo PLC said Thursday that its gross transaction value growth in 2021 was at the top end of the guidance range.

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AJ Bell's 1Q Total Assets Under Management Rose

AJ Bell PLC said Thursday that total assets under management for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 rose, driven by its platform propositions and investment business.

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Kier Sees 1H Results In Line With Expectations

Kier Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to report results in line with internal expectations for the first half ended Dec. 31.

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Smiths News Says Fiscal 2022 Performance to Date in Line With Views

Smiths News PLC said on Thursday that its overall performance for fiscal 2022 to date was in line with market expectations, and that the uncertainty and restrictions stemming from the Omicron coronavirus variant has only had a limited effect on its markets.

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Hochschild Mining Expects Unit Costs to Rise in 2022

Hochschild Mining PLC on Thursday forecast higher costs for 2022 and reported operational performance in line with expectations for 2021.

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Premier Foods Says 3Q Beat Expectations; Raises FY 2022 Profit Expectations

Premier Foods PLC said Thursday that its third-quarter was ahead of expectations and that it has increased its profit forecasts for fiscal 2022.

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Wickes Group Core Like-for-Like Sales Fell 6.8% in 4Q; Backs 2021 Guidance

Wickes Group PLC said Thursday that core like-for-like sales fell 6.8% of the final quarter of last year, though they were up 26% on a two-year basis, and backed its full-year guidance.

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N. Brown Expects Lower Adjusted Ebitda for FY 2022

N. Brown Group PLC said on Thursday that it expects adjusted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for fiscal 2022 to be at the lower end of previous guidance, and that product revenue from strategic brands grew 5.5% in the third quarter.

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Superdry Swung to 1H Pretax Profit; Sees 3Q Sales Recovery

Superdry PLC reported on Thursday a swing to pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 and said sales have increased in the past few weeks, which helped the group improve its gross margin.

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PensionBee Group Sees 2022 Revenue of More Than GBP20 Mln

PensionBee Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to generate revenue of more than 20 million pounds ($27.2 million) in 2022, boosted by a continued increase in customer numbers, and that assets under management rose 91% last year.

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Associated British Foods 1Q Revenue Rose Despite Omicron Hit to Primark Sales

Associated British Foods PLC said Thursday that revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 rose on year despite Primark sales declining, and left its full-year guidance unchanged.

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Wickes Group Appoints Mark George as New CFO; Julie Wirth to Retire

Wickes Group PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Mark George as its new chief financial officer, replacing Julie Wirth who is retiring.

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PayPoint 3Q 2022 Net Revenue Rose

PayPoint PLC said Thursday that group net revenue from continuing operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 rose 21%, and that revenue from its e-commerce division increased 37%.

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City Pub 2021 Revenue Grew 38% Despite Omicron Hit

City Pub Group PLC on Thursday reported that its revenue grew 38% in 2021 despite a slump in December caused by the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

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Marlowe PLC to Buy Optima Health Group for GBP135M; To Raise GBP130M

Marlowe PLC said Thursday that it is buying Optima Health Group Ltd. for 135 million pounds ($183.7 million), which will be part-funded via a share placing.

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Entain Says 4Q Net Gaming Revenue Rose; Narrows 2021 Ebitda Guidance Range

Entain PLC said Thursday that net gaming revenue rose in the fourth quarter, and narrowed earnings guidance range for 2021 as major markets performed well.

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The Gym Group 2021 Revenue Rose 32%

The Gym Group PLC said Thursday that its revenue grew 32% in 2021, and that performance so far in January has been encouraging.

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Revolution Bars Says 1H Sales Rose Despite Christmas Restrictions

Revolution Bars Group PLC said Thursday that it remains confident it will its full-year guidance and that sales on a like-for-like basis for the first half of the year were positive despite pandemic-related restrictions during the Christmas period.

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Spirent Sees 2021 Revenue Growth, Adjusted Operating Profit Ahead of Consensus

Spirent Communications PLC said Thursday that it expects to report revenue growth of 10% for 2021 and adjusted operating profit slightly ahead of market consensus, despite continuing global supply-chain challenges. 


 
Market Talk:

N. Brown Needs Further Visibility on Details For Clearer Forecasts

1111 GMT - Retailer N. Brown's 3Q update confirms that its very strong sales growth in clothing & footwear was broadly offset by a weaker performance in home & gift, Shore Capital says. The company's active customer numbers returned to growth for the first time in almost four years, ending the period at 2.9 million, and it is carrying out major work that will have an important effect in its medium-term earnings, Shore says. Still, it has several notable moving parts and forecasting the company to the extent that Shore Capital's analysts would like remains challenging as visibility still needs to come through. "With much heavy lifting now undertaken [albeit not yet completed], we see significant value in the N. Brown stock," Shore says.

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Entain Dividend Payment Could Restart Soon, Says Interactive Investor

1107 GMT - Entain continues to benefit from growth momentum despite pandemic-fueled prior-year comparatives and there are also hopes that the dividend payment will start again soon, Interactive Investor says. While online net gaming revenue has fallen, ending more than 20 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, retail net gaming revenue has jumped by around 60% as open high-street outlets replace the largely shuttered stores during restrictions, it says. The fall in online NGR is also better than analysts expected. "In all, and with growth ongoing and sector M&A still a feature, analyst consensus opinion continues to point to a strong buy," investment analyst Keith Bowman says. Entain shares trade up 1% at 1,727.5 pence.

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Entain Shares Look Undervalued, Says Shore Capital

1057 GMT - Entain should make further progress in 2022 and this is yet to be reflected in its share price, Shore Capital says. The gambling-and-betting company's shares would better reflect its prospects if they traded at around 2,500 pence, the U.K. investment group says. With restrictions easing across Entain's markets, Shore Capital expects retail to be a significant driver to forecasts. Revenue should rise materially given positive regulatory momentum, with the market potentially reaching toward $30 billion, and the BetMGM joint venture building market share. Shore Capital has a buy rating on the stock. Shares trade up 0.8% at 1,722.5 pence.

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Unilever Sticking to Bid For GSK Unit Seen Positive For Company's Finances

1047 GMT - Unilever's decision not to bump up its GBP50 billion takeover offer for GlaxoSmithKline's consumer products division should be positive for the finances of the British consumer goods multinational, says ING. "[The decision] is positive in the sense that a higher bid without a clear financing plan other than through the banks would not make sense," says ING's analyst Alyssa Gammoudy. This could also be a way for Unilever to graciously walk away from the deal, she says. The potential purchase would have driven Unilever's corporate bond spreads wider across all maturities, she says. While shifting its focus to Home, Healthcare and Hygiene would create value longer-term, Gammoudy says she would first like to see a plan on divestments or spin-offs which could help finance such a transaction. Unilever's shares rise 1.3%.


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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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