FTSE 100 Closes Up 0.2% Lifted by Oil Stocks

The FTSE 100 closed Monday up 0.2% to 7678 points supported by a lift in oil-exposed stocks. Ocado group shares lead the risers, closing up 14.3% after the online grocer and retail-technology specialist won a litigation settlement of GBP200 million over e-commerce patent claims. Vodafone shares rose 4.1% and also outperformed the index after the telecommunications group backed its FY 2024 guidance despite posting a revenue drop in 1Q, followed by BT, up 2.3%.

COMPANIES NEWS:

Ocado to Receive GBP200 Mln in Settlement from AutoStore

Ocado Group said Monday that it has reached an agreement to settle all litigation with Norwegian peer AutoStore over e-commerce patent claims.

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Vodafone Backs Guidance Despite 1Q Revenue Slip; Names New Incoming CFO

Vodafone Group PLC said Monday that revenue in its first quarter declined though it reiterated fiscal 2024 guidance, and named Luka Mucic as incoming chief financial officer.

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M&C Saatchi CEO Moray MacLennan to Retire in September

M&C Saatchi said Monday that Chief Executive Officer Moray MacLennan will retire from Sept. 30 and that it has started the search for his replacement.

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S4 Capital Cuts 2023 Revenue, Earnings Margin Targets Due to Challenging Conditions

S4 Capital said Monday that it has cut revenue growth and operational earnings margin targets for the full year, given challenging macroeconomic conditions and cautious clients.

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Moneysupermarket.com 1H Pretax Profit Rose on Lower Costs

Moneysupermarket.com Group said Monday that first-half pretax profit rose on lower costs, but that it saw headwinds from interest rates hitting loans and mortgage conversion in the period.

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Cranswick Had Strong Start to New Year; Sees FY 2024 Ahead of Views

Cranswick said Monday that the first quarter of the year has started strong with revenue for the 13 weeks ended June 24 up 15% and that the full-year performance is now expected to be ahead of the board's expectations.

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Liontrust Asset Management Waives Exit Condition From GAM Takeover Offer

Liontrust Asset Management said Monday that it will waive an exit condition in its offer to buy Zurich-listed investment manager GAM Holding, and has extended the deadline for the main offer period by three days.

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PayPoint to Report Net Revenue Rise for FY 2023; Adjusted Pretax Profit at Top End of Views

PayPoint said Monday that it expects to report a rise in net revenue for fiscal 2023, and that adjusted pretax profit will be at the top end of the market expectations' range.

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Centralnic Group Sees 2023 in Line With Market Views After Strong 1H Performance

Centralnic Group said Monday that its performance over the first half of the year has been strong with its key metrics all above the comparable period last year and that it expects the full-year to be at least in line with current market forecasts.

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DiscoverIE 1Q Earnings in Line With Views

DiscoverIE Group said Monday that performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 has been good, with earnings in line with its own expectations.

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Inland Homes Names Jolyon Harrison New CEO; Acting CEO, CFO to Retire

Inland Homes said Monday that it has named Jolyon Harrison as new chief executive officer, and that Chief Financial Officer and acting CEO Nishith Malde intends to retire.

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Intelligent Ultrasound 1H Revenue Rose

Intelligent Ultrasound Group said Monday that first-half revenue rose 3% and that it remains on target to reach profitability with its current cash.

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SigmaRoc Expects to Meet Full-Year Market Views After 1H Revenue Rise

SigmaRoc said on Monday that it remains on track to meet full-year market expectations after revenue rose 17% in the first half of the year.

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Somero Sees 1H Revenue at High End of Guidance; Backs 2023 Market Views

Somero Enterprises said Monday that first-half revenue performance should come in at the high end of its guidance range, and that the company is confident 2023 results will meet market expectations.

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Arcontech Sees FY 2023 Turnover in Line With Views, FY 2024 Expectations Unchanged

Arcontech Group said Monday it expects turnover for the year ended June 30 to be in line with market expectations and that expectations for fiscal 2024 remain unchanged.

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Trackwise Designs Puts Itself Up for Sale After Reviewing Options

Trackwise Designs said Monday that it has decided to start a sales process for the company after reviewing funding options.

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Norman Broadbent Swung to 1H Pretax Profit on Net Fee Income Rise

Norman Broadbent said Monday that it swung to a pretax profit for the first half of 2023 as net fee income rose, and that the board was confident of delivering strong results in the second half.

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Itsarm Shares Surge After Deal to Avoid Compulsory Liquidation

Itsarm shares more than doubled Monday after it said it has agreed to various conditions, including replacing its only two directors, as an alternative to the compulsory liquidation proposed in early June.

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Greencoat UK Wind Buys 25% Stake in Orsted Wind Farm

Greencoat UK Wind said Monday that, together with other funds managed by Schroders Greencoat, it has bought a 25% stake in an offshore wind farm from Danish energy company Orsted for total consideration of 717 million pounds ($921.7 million).

MARKET TALK:

Cranswick Shares Rise as Full-Year Outlook Improves

0941 GMT - Cranswick shares rise 1.5% to 3394 pence after the U.K. sausage-maker reported strong first-quarter trading and said the outlook for the year was better than it had expected. The company continues to manage cost inflation well, with the rate of increases starting to slow, brokerage Davy says. "Momentum has continued into 2Q, with the FY24 outlook now expected to be ahead of prior expectations," Davy analysts say in a note, leaving their outperform recommendation and 4000p price target unchanged. "Following our recent forecast upgrades, we now envisage a further approximate low-single-digit percentage upgrade to our current FY24 adjusted earnings-per-share forecasts." ([e-mail])

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SigmaRoc Shares Still Look Good Value With Likely 2H Growth

0939 GMT - SigmaRoc delivered a robust 1H performance, while cash generation and the contribution from the recent acquisitions should increase in the second half, Peel Hunt analysts Clyde Lewis and Sam Cullen write in a research note. The U.K. construction-materials company expects challenging trading conditions to persist in 2H in some markets, but its end-market diversification should limit the impact from softer areas, the analysts say. "The shares have had a reasonable year so far but they continue to offer very good value, in our view, given the growth potential that still looks very likely," the analysts say. SigmaRoc is a corporate client of Peel Hunt, which has a 100-pence price target on the stock. ([e-mail])

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-24-23 1219ET