London Stocks Fall, Led by Miners, Ocado; JD Sports Jumps
0757 GMT - The FTSE 100 falls 0.6% to 7025.87 as stocks are hit by caution ahead of U.S. inflation figures due at 1230 GMT amid growing worries about rising inflationary pressures while growth stalls. Falls in heavyweight mining stocks as base-metal prices lose ground help to drag the blue-chip index lower, along with losses for financial names. Online grocer Ocado falls by 2.7% after it reported a drop in revenue at its retail unit. Sports retailer JD Sports Fashion bucks the overall trend, however, rising by 7.6% after the company released strong first-half results and provided improved full-year guidance. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Elliott Investment Management Pushing for Breakup of SSE -Bloomberg
Paul Singer's Elliott Investment Management is pushing for a breakup of SSE PLC, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
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Bunzl Agrees to Acquire US Safety Business, Australian Healthcare Distributor
Bunzl PLC said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire a U.S.-based safety business and a medical-supplies distributor operating in Australia and Singapore for undisclosed amounts.
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Ocado Group's 3Q Ocado Retail Revenue Fell
Ocado Group PLC said Tuesday that revenue from its joint venture Ocado Retail declined in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, and that the latest seven weeks of the period were hit by the orders lost in a fire at its customer fulfillment center in Erith, England, in July.
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JD Sports Posts Record-High 1H Earnings, Sees 2021 Headline Pretax Profit of at Least GBP750 Mln
JD Sports Fashion PLC said Tuesday that its first-half profits rose to record-high levels, and that it expects to achieve a headline pretax profit of at least 750 million pounds ($1.04 billion) for the whole of 2021.
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Petra Diamonds FY 2021 Adjusted Ebitda Doubled
Petra Diamonds Ltd. on Tuesday reported that its adjusted earnings doubled in the fiscal year, but missed market expectations.
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Staffline's 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed Materially
Staffline Group PLC on Tuesday reported a significantly narrowed pretax loss for the first half of the year after cutting costs and benefiting from a solid performance by all of its three divisions in the period.
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M.J. Gleeson FY 2021 Pretax Profit Rose Significantly
M.J. Gleeson PLC on Tuesday reported a significant rise in pretax profit for fiscal 2021 despite the pressures affecting the supply of materials and labor within the industry.
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Clayton Dubilier & Rice Reaches Agreement With Morrisons Pension Trustees
Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLP said Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with the trustees of the pension plans of Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC, strengthening its position in a potential bidding war for the U.K. supermarket chain.
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Trainline Expects Return to Profitability in 1H 2022
Trainline PLC said Tuesday that it expects to return to profitability for the first half of fiscal 2022, and that revenue and net ticket sales increased over the period as Covid-19 restrictions eased.
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Chemring Sees FY 2021 Earnings in Line With Market Expectations
Chemring Group PLC said Tuesday that its performance for the year ending Oct. 31 is in line with market expectations.
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BP Hires Former RWE Renewables CEO to Lead Green Transformation
BP PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath as executive vice president for the gas and lower carbon energy division.
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Made.com Group 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed, Backs Guidance
Made.com Group PLC said Tuesday that its pretax loss narrowed for the first half as revenue increased, and backed its guidance for the year.
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Portmeirion Swung to 1H Pretax Profit; To Resume Dividends
Portmeirion Group PLC said Tuesday that it swung to a pretax profit for the first half as revenue increased, and that it expects to resume dividend payments in 2021 based on its strong performance in the period.
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NCC Posts Higher FY 2021 Profit, Sees Stronger Revenue Growth in FY 2022
NCC Group PLC on Tuesday reported an improved profit for fiscal 2021, and forecast higher revenue growth for the current financial year.
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Smart Metering Systems Raises GBP175 Mln Via Discounted Share Placing
Smart Metering Systems PLC said Tuesday that it has raised 175 million pounds ($242.2 million) as expected via a discounted share placing.
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Porvair Performance in 3Q Above Expectations
Porvair PLC said Tuesday that performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2021 has been modestly above expectations, and that although aerospace orders are improving they remain below pre-pandemic levels.
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Kape Technologies Raises $354 Mln, $2.5 Mln Via Share Placing, Retail Offer
Kape Technologies PLC said Tuesday that it has raised $354 million from a share placing, in line with guidance, and $2.5 million via its retail offer on the PrimaryBid platform.
Market Talk:
UK 2026 Gilt Auction Expected to Go Well
0759 GMT - The U.K. Debt Management Office's planned sale of GBP3 billion in the 0.375% October 2026 gilt should go well, as the bond looks cheap on several metrics, says RBC Capital Markets. "Given the recent cheapening of 5-year on outright, cross-market, on the curve versus longer maturities it should go relatively well," analysts at the bank say. Further supporting the auction is the possibility of outperformance against gilts of different maturities. "Whilst the bond doesn't look particularly attractive on micro-relative value, we see room for outperformance even from these levels given the lack of 5-year supply and its popularity in the [Bank of England's] Asset Purchase Facility," they say. (lorena.ruibal@wsj.com)
JD Sports Shares Soar After Strong 1H Results, Guidance Upgrade
0720 GMT - Shares in JD Sports jump 9.0% after the company released first-half results and provided improved full-year guidance. The sports-goods retailer's financials for January-June were very strong, with revenue and earnings ahead of expectations, RBC Capital Markets says. In addition, the integration of recent acquisitions in the U.S. and Eastern Europe is going well, and current trading is encouraging, RBC says. As a result, JD now expects a headline pretax profit of at least GBP750 million, which is 20%-25% ahead of consensus and well above previous guidance of GBP550 million, the Canadian bank says. RBC has an outperform rating on the stock. (jaime.llinares@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus, paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-14-21 0418ET
