NatWest Falls as Buyback Plans Fail to Inspire

NatWest Falls as Buyback Plans Fail to Inspire Market

1048 GMT - NatWest Group is the top FTSE 100 faller, down 3.3%, even as the U.K. bank announced a share-buyback program of up to GBP750 million. Investors might have been expecting more, given rising interest rates, Hargreaves Lansdown says. "Natwest's tone is one of reserved optimism, despite ongoing uncertainty. Heightened mortgage demand is buoying lending levels and therefore net-interest margins. While the fundamentals of the U.K. housing market remain intact, we may well have passed the demand peak, meaning other areas will have to pick up the slack," Hargreaves says. "Given the disappointing results from the group's non-interest related income, its ability to do this in the short term has been called into question." ([e-mail])

 
Companies News: 

NatWest Swung to 4Q Profit, Plans Share Buyback of Up to GBP750 Mln

NatWest Group PLC reported Friday a swing to an operating pretax profit and net profit for the fourth quarter of 2021, which came in ahead of market views, and said it intends to launch a share buyback program of up to 750 million pounds ($1.02 billion).

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Segro 2021 Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Investment Properties Gains

Segro PLC said Friday that pretax profit for 2021 rose after booking higher gains on wholly-owned investment properties, and that it entered 2022 confident in its outlook for the business and ability to deliver continued growth.

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Cineworld Group Agrees to Payment Deal With Former Dissenting Shareholders of Regal Entertainment

Cineworld Group PLC said Friday that it has concluded discussions with former dissenting shareholders of Regal Entertainment Group, and that an agreement has been reached for the remaining $79.3 million to be paid by June 30.

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Severstal 4Q Net Profit Fell, Revenue Rose on Higher Steel Prices

Severstal PAO said Friday that net profit for the fourth-quarter fell despite revenue rising, and declared a dividend payout.

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TBC Bank Says 4Q Pretax Profit Rose; Is Confident About Outlook

TBC Bank Group PLC reported on Friday a significant rise in pretax profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 and said it is confident about its outlook.

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Kingspan 2021 Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Revenue; Is Cautiously Optimistic About 2022

Kingspan Group PLC said Friday that 2021 pretax profit and revenue rose, and that despite a slower fourth quarter, the board was cautiously optimistic about 2022's outlook given the company's strong order backlog.

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UK Watchdog Could Refer CVS' Acquisition of the Vet for In-Depth Probe

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it may refer CVS Group PLC's completed acquisition of The Vet for a further investigation, as it believes the deal raises competition concerns.

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Pod Point Group Holdings 2021 Revenue Rose, Pretax Loss Widened as Costs Increased

Pod Point Group Holdings PLC said Friday that revenue for 2021 jumped but that its pretax loss widened as costs rose.

 
Market Talk: 

Hargreaves Lansdown Share Price Seems Poised to Increase

1024 GMT - Hargreaves Lansdown shares are being traded at a discount compared with its historical average and are expected to rise in the medium term as interest-rate headwinds seem to have reversed, RBC Capital Markets says. The London-listed retail-investment platform will report its 1H earnings on Tuesday and could boost its medium-term growth ambitions without the need of too much extra investment, RBC says. The Canadian bank upgrades its revenue forecast for Hargreaves Lansdown by 8% for fiscal 2023 and projects a net impact on EPS for fiscal 2023 of 9% and for fiscal 2024 of 11%. RBC has a price target of 1,650 pence. Shares are up 0.7% at 1,297.5 pence. ([e-mail])

NatWest's Guidance Is Expected to Drive Forecast Upgrades

0953 GMT - NatWest Group's new guidance is expected to drive forecast upgrades by Shore Capital. The new forecasts will be due to the higher-than-expected ROTE target of comfortably above 10% in 2023, Shore adds. The metric is ahead of Shore's current expectations of a ROTE of 9.6% against consensus of 9.8%. The U.K. bank's shares are up 6% year to date and currently sit 6% below their 12-month high, Shore says. There are other stocks in the sector that continue to offer better value, such as Barclays and Standard Chartered, according to the U.K. investment group. NatWest shares are down 3.2% at 232.70 pence. ([e-mail]; @sabelaojeaguix)

Segro's 2021 Results Boosted by Strong Demand

0948 GMT - Real-estate investment trust Segro's 2021 results were positive as warehouse demand grew, driven by a combination of structural drivers and limited land supply, UBS says. Strong demand saw new rent commitments rise to GBP95 million from GBP78 million as the company experienced improvements to most metrics, the Swiss bank says. Moreover, its development pipeline remains substantial, with GBP380 million capital expenditure to come on the current development pipeline representing GBP62 million of potential rent, or 60% pre-let, and GBP700 million in capex expected in 2022, UBS says. "With strong rental growth, tenants' rent affordability will be a theme to watch, but does not appear an issue at this stage," the bank says. Shares are up 1.1% at 1,292 pence. ([e-mail])

NatWest Falls on Concerns Over Links to Inflation, Bad Debts

0947 GMT - Expectations are set very high for U.K. banks, which helps to explain why NatWest Group's shares are dropping despite a return to profit in 4Q, AJ Bell says. The U.K. lender's investors might be concerned about the possibility of an increase in bad debts on the effects of inflation, AJ Bell says. An increase in bad debts could outweigh any boost to profitability from higher rates, it adds. "Natwest has slipped a little bit behind target on cost reduction, thanks to higher inflation, which may be adding to some investor nervousness and the company is yet to see any progress on that key measure of profitability--net interest margin," the U.K. brokerage says. Shares fall 3.7% to 231.40 pence. ([e-mail]; @sabelaojeaguix)

Contact: London NewsPlus, [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-18-22 0616ET