The FTSE 100 index closed Friday flat, rising only 2 points to 7694, as a drop in mining and oil-exposed stocks offset a positive round of corporate earnings. AstraZeneca was the index's main lifter, with shares rising 3.35% after the pharma company reported a strong 2Q set of results and signed a deal with Pfizer to acquire a portfolio of rare disease gene therapies, CMC Markets U.K. chief market analyst Michael Hewson said in a note. British Airways owner IAG outperformed the index, up 6.6% after reporting a record 1H operating profit and a rise in net profits, Hewson added. Standard Chartered Bank shares closed up 4.0% on the back of a solid 2Q, a share buyback program and a guidance lift.


COMPANIES NEWS:

Rightmove 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose on Continued Customer Usage

Rightmove on Friday reported a 7.5% rise in first-half pretax profit as customers continue to use and upgrade its products to help win business in a more uncertain market.

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Intertek Backs Full-Year View After 1H Profits, Sales Rose; Lifts Dividend

Intertek on Friday backed its full-year guidance after profits and revenue rose in the first half of the year, and it raised its interim dividend payout.

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IAG Swung to 1H Net Profit on Strong Demand, Outperformance of Spanish Business

International Consolidated Airlines Group said Friday that it swung to a net profit for the first half on strong demand and the outperformance of its Spanish business, and that its outlook for summer was encouraging as around 80% of its expected revenue for the period was already booked.

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IMI Backs Full-Year View After 1H Profits Rose

IMI on Friday reported a 15% rise in pretax profit for the first half of the year and backed its full-year view.

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AstraZeneca 2Q Net Profit Rose But Missed Forecasts; Backs Guidance

AstraZeneca on Friday reported a significant rise in second-quarter net profit, but missed market forecasts, and backed its full-year guidance.

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NatWest Lowers 2023 Net Interest Margin Guidance; 2Q Pretax Profit Beat Views

NatWest Group on Friday posted better-than-expected pretax profit for the second quarter of 2023 and trimmed its net interest margin guidance for 2023, though it backed its other targets.

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AstraZeneca's Alexion to Buy Gene Therapies Portfolio for Up to $1 Bln From Pfizer

AstraZeneca said Friday that its Alexion division will buy a portfolio of preclinical rare-disease gene therapies from Pfizer for up to $1 billion, plus tiered royalties on sales.

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Darktrace Investor Sells 20.8 Mln Shares

Jefferies International said Friday that it has now sold 20.8 million Darktrace shares on behalf of Summit DT Equity Holdings 3, as first announced late Thursday and more than planned.

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Vanquis Banking Swings to 1H Pretax Loss

Vanquis Banking Group on Friday swung to a pretax loss for the first half of 2023 given higher expected credit losses from the IFRS 9 impact of strong loan book growth and higher costs from inflation.

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Cineworld Group Expects Share to Be Cancelled on Aug. 1; Suspended From Friday

Cineworld Group said that its shares listing and its admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange will been suspended from 0700 GMT on Friday, and its listing and trading to be cancelled on Aug. 1.

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PayPoint Says FY 2024 Started Well; FY 2023 Profit Slipped on One-Off Costs

PayPoint said Friday that it has had a positive first quarter of fiscal 2024, with further revenue growth and strategic progress, and that fiscal 2023 pretax profit slipped on one-off exceptional costs while revenue rose.

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YouGov Sees FY 2023 Operating Profit, Revenue Meeting Market Views; Appoints New CEO

YouGov said Friday that it expects to report adjusted operating profit in line with market expectations for fiscal 2023 after performing well in the year despite a challenging market environment.

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Inspecs Group 1H Revenue Grew 6%; Says It Is Confident to Meet 2023 Market Views

Inspecs Group said Friday that it had a solid performance for the first half-year with revenue up 6% and that it is confident to meet full-year market forecasts.

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W.H. Ireland Shares Plummet on Discount Share Placing to Avoid Wind-Down

W.H. Ireland Group shares fell Friday after it said it was carrying out a heavily discounted share placing for 5.0 million pounds ($6.4 million) to avoid potentially dissolving the company.

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Rotala 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; 2023 Performance in Line With Views

Rotala said Friday that pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2023 fell after it booked higher costs, and that its performance was in line with the board's expectations for the year as it continues to perform in line with its budget.

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Aston Martin Appoints Geely CEO Daniel Li as Nonexecutive Director

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings said Friday that Daniel Li, Geely's nominated shareholder representative, has been appointed as a nonexecutive director of the board as per the agreement between the two in May.

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AIB Group Lifts 2023 Guidance After Interest Income Boosts 1H Profit

AIB Group on Friday raised its 2023 guidance as it posted a jump in first-half pretax profit driven by the interest-rate environment and higher average customer loan volumes.

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Limitless Earth Shares Fall on Widened FY 2023 Loss, Lower Total Equity

Limitless Earth shares fell Friday after the company said its fiscal 2023 loss widened, and total equity fell.

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Datalex CEO Sean Corkery to Step Down at the End of the Year

Datalex said Friday Chief Executive Officer Sean Corkery will step down effective Dec. 31, and that an external process to appoint a successor has begun.

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Redde Northgate to Buy Back up to GBP30 Mln of Shares

Redde Northgate said Friday that it will buyback up to 30 million pounds ($38.4 million) of shares, to deliver value for shareholders while keeping leverage at prudent levels.


MARKET TALK:

YouGov Seen Delivering a Strong Result In a Challenging Year

0925 GMT - YouGov showed resilience in a tough market backdrop, as longer sales cycles and protracted client decision making in 1H continued into the second half, Peel Hunt analysts Jessica Pok and Melanie Yang write in a research note. The London-listed research and data-analytics group should deliver 8% organic revenue growth and operating profit margins to expand from 16% to 19%, they say. "We continue to believe the future is bright for YouGov given the strong updated strategy with the launch of YouGov Platform, and also the opportunities brought about by the acquisition of [GfK´s Consumer Panel Business]," the analysts say. Peel Hunt keeps a buy rating and a 1,360-pence price target on the stock. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

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Rightmove Delivers Strong 1H Despite Slip in Site Usage

0925 GMT - Rightmove may have just chalked up its best first-half performance since 2018, but a drop in people using its website says something about the state of the property market, AJ Bell says. The U.K property website made a pretax profit of GBP130.3 million, up from GBP121.2 million, though time on site averaged 1.4 billion minutes a month, down from 1.5 billion, reflecting a slower property market. "It has performed well through previous housing market downturns and arguably estate agents might be even more reliant on their Rightmove subscription if times get tough," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a market comment. Shares are down 2.4% at 539.4 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

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Vanquis Shares Tumble to 30-Year Lows After Mixed 1H

0921 GMT - Vanquis Banking shares sink around 30% after the consumer-finance company posted a swing to pretax loss for the first half on higher impairment charges. A mixed set of results, including strong receivables growth and renewed reassurance on asset quality dynamics, was offset by higher costs and lower net interest income guidance, Goodbody analyst Ronan Dunphy writes in a note. Goodbody rates the stock buy. At around 125 pence, shares in the FTSE 250 company trade at their lowest price since December 1992. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Unilever Shows Signs of Progress With Board Changes

0920 GMT - Unilever's appointment of Ian Meakins as chair was surprising due to other changes on the board but positive, RBC Capital Markets analysts James Edwardes Jones and Emma Letheren say in a note. The Anglo-Dutch retailer's new CEO started this month, while its CFO will be leaving by the end of May 2024, they say. "However, a clean sweep of management is ultimately what Unilever needs given our concerns about its culture and the board's endorsement of its approach to Haleon last year," they add. Shares are up 0.9%. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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IMI Seen as Undervalued

0900 GMT - IMI booked a modest profits beat to consensus and backed its full-year guidance despite foreign exchange headwinds in 1H, while the new through-cycle organic growth target reinforces the view of an undervalued company, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Fielding writes in a research note. The engineering company, which has recently rejoined the FTSE 100, added a 5% through-cycle organic growth target to the existing 20% operating margin target, which "sit with our view of a higher-quality-than-credited business," Fielding says. The company reported Ebita of GBP193 million, slightly ahead of consensus' GBP189 million, with the 17.8% operating margin 50bps ahead of consensus, the analyst says. RBC keeps an outperform rating on the stock, with a 2,150-pence price target. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

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Rightmove Navigating Tough Conditions, Investment Program Looks Interesting

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07-28-23 1207ET