FTSE 100 Closes Thursday Up 0.2% After ECB -2-

Informa said Thursday that Saudi Arabia's Events Investment Fund has acquired a stake in Tahaluf, its large-scale events joint venture with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, without disclosing further details.

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Hansard Global Shares Slip After FY 2023 New Business Slumped

Hansard Global shares fell Thursday after the company said new business for fiscal 2023 fell significantly, hit by client hesitancy to commit given macroeconomic uncertainty.

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XLMedia Shares Fall as 1H Revenue, Earnings Slip; Backs Outlook

XLMedia shares fell Thursday after the company said first-half revenue and earnings fell, though it still expects adjusted earnings to meet management expectations.

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Frasers Increases Stake in ASOS

ASOS said Thursday that Frasers Group has increased its stake in the company.

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Bodycote 1H Profit, Revenue Rose on Strong Result Across Divisions

Bodycote said Thursday that profit and revenue came in above its expectations in the first half of 2023, and declared an interim dividend higher than the prior-year's.

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Gaming Realms to Report 1H Revenue, Adjusted Ebitda Rise

Gaming Realms said Thursday that first-half revenue and adjusted Ebitda rose due to growth in game content licensing and market expansion, giving the board confidence that the company is on track to meet full-year targets.

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Volex Says 1Q Performance Has Been In Line With Views

Volex on Thursday said performance for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 has been in line with expectations and encouraging trends in the quarter give it confidence that it will make further progress in the year.

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Abrdn Names New CFO

Abrdn on Thursday appointed Jason Windsor as its new chief financial officer, replacing Stephanie Bruce.

MARKET TALK:

Rentokil's 1H Contains Positives and Negatives

0916 GMT - Rentokil Initial gains 3% after the FTSE 100-listed rat-catching and hygiene company reported higher first-half revenue and "excellent" M&A momentum and said it had more good deals lined up. Highlights of the interim results included good early progress by the company in integrating its Terminix acquisition, strong momentum in bolt-on acquisitions and a good pest-control performance outside of North America, non-advisory investment brokerage Wealth Club says. "However, growth in Rentokil's North America pest division is lagging the rest of the group and weakened in the second quarter," the Wealth Club's Charlie Huggins writes. "Weakness in residential and termite services drove this, but the exit of Terminix branches and other integration activities may also have contributed." ([e-mail])

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Informa Looks Set For Earnings Upgrades After Upbeat 1H

0857 GMT - Informa shares are among the biggest FTSE 100 risers, up 4% after the business publisher and conference organizer reported higher first-half revenue, profit and cashflows and forecast full-year results at the top end of guidance. The figures were strong due to good trading in China, some event-scheduling and M&A benefit and overall underlying strength across its business, Numis Securities says. "Expect low single-digit earnings-per-share upgrades with moves to top of guidance range," Numis analyst Steve Liechti says in a note. ([e-mail])

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BOE Likely to Slow Pace of Rate Increase in August

0856 GMT - The Bank of England is likely to slow the pace of interest-rate rises at its next meeting on August 3 to 25 basis points from 50bps previously as recent U.K. economic data has been less strong than data released before the June meeting, say Bank of America analysts in a note. The analysts haven't ruled out a 50bps rate increase in August, but they think this is less likely. U.K. economic data released over the past month has been mixed, showing signs of softening inflation and economic resilience. Markets place a 69% probability of a 25bps BOE rate rise, Refinitiv data show.([e-mail])

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RS Group Edges Lower as 1Q Revenue Falls Short of Hopes

0846 GMT - RS Group shares fall 0.5% to about 760 pence after the FTSE 100-listed electronics distributor blamed factors including a lackluster market for slightly worse-than-expected first-quarter revenue. The latter reflected ongoing tough conditions in electronics and softening in industrials, Numis Securities says. "We make no change to our underlying forecasts, but lower our EPS by 2% for FX," Numis analyst David Brockton says in a note, reiterating the brokerage's buy rating and 1300p price target. "We would expect the equity market to continue to wait for greater confidence in a like-for-like revenue inflection before re-rating the shares, but see significant upside when that materialises." ([e-mail])

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ITV PLC's Shares Look Cheap Given Decent 1H and Business Characteristics

0822 GMT - ITV's first-half results show continued strategic transformation and strong growth in digital and studios, offsetting expected weakness in the U.K. advertising market, Shore Capital says. The British broadcaster's share value looks modest given the company's financial characteristics--including strong cash generation, modest leverage, and a well-covered dividend--along with the growth potential offered by its digital and production operations and its strategic value, Shore analyst Roddy Davidson says in a research note. "On this basis, we reiterate our buy recommendation although we suspect that sustained share price appreciation will require an improvement in the U.K. advertising outlook," the investment group says. Shares are up 3.7% at 72.16 pence. ([e-mail])

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RELX's Good 1H Results and Robust Outlook Should Settle Nerves

0817 GMT - RELX has delivered a solid set of first-half results and, within its divisional outlook, signalled small upward pressure to underlying consensus forecasts, which will be well received, Citi says. The information-and-analytics group could still lose that positive pressure in reported terms to foreign exchange headwinds, but the company still compares well to peers in terms of valuation and growth, Citi analysts say in a research note. "Within [Scientific, Technical & Medical] and Risk, the full-year guidance is totally unchanged, which itself is encouraging especially within Risk given some concern that transactional revenue may come under pressure," the U.S. bank says. Citi retains its neutral rating and 2,600 pence price target on the stock. Shares are up 3.3% at 2,627 pence. ([e-mail])

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BT Delivers Strong 1Q Earnings Beat on Openreach Outperformance

0816 GMT - BT Group's first-quarter update shows a solid start to the year overall, with Ebitda 1.5% ahead of market consensus--mainly driven by a very strong Openreach outperformance, Citi says. The British telecommunications group should see ongoing growth in the coming years driven by increasing revenue, reversal of energy cost inflation and ongoing efficiency measures, Citi analysts say in a research note. "We believe this is an encouraging update which shows better financial and operating trends than peers, and should leave some room for consensus to move higher," the U.S. bank says. Citi reiterates its buy rating and 200 pence price target on the stock. ([e-mail])

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Shell's 3Q Guidance Implies Downside to Consensus

0815 GMT - Shell's 3Q operational guidance, included in the 2Q results, suggest downside to consensus numbers, Jefferies analysts Giacomo Romeo and Alexatrini Tsiknia write in a research note. The energy major posted a fairly disappointing set of 2Q numbers, missing consensus' estimates on lower-than-expected earnings in upstream and chemicals, the analysts say. More positively, the announced $3 billion buyback shows upside to the 2H floor set at the Capital Markets Day of at least $5 billion, they say. Jefferies rates the stock at buy with a 3,100-pence price target. Shares are down 1.9% at 2,350.50 pence. ([e-mail])

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Anglo American 1H Result Unlikely to Drive Estimate Changes

0805 GMT - Anglo American's 1H results are likely to be taken relatively neutral, despite a miss to earning forecasts, considering how the half-year was shaping with seasonal production split, and the better performance in its two largest divisions, RBC Capital Markets analyst Tyler Broda writes in a research note. Additionally, the diversified mining group's new Quellaveco copper-mine is ramping up further, skewing production toward the second half. "We continue to see Anglo American as providing strong relative value and with operations expected to improve in the second half, improved prospects as the year progresses," Broda says. RBC keeps an outperform rating and a 2,600-pence price target on the stock. Shares are up 2.5% at 2,514.50 pence. ([e-mail])

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Frasers Group FY 2023 Sales, Profit Exceed RBC Expectations

0741 GMT - Frasers Group's fiscal 2023 results came in slightly ahead of RBC Capital Markets' expectations, with sales and adjusted pretax profit of GBP5.5 billion and GBP478 million, respectively, analysts say. The U.K. sports-fashion retailer has a strong position in the U.K. market and also has a long-term growth opportunity with its more upscale Flannels format in the U.K. and in omnichannel sports retailing in Europe, RBC analysts say in a research note. " However, we think execution risk is higher than average for Frasers, and it may be challenging to scale its luxury offer outside of regional U.K. cities," the Canadian bank says. RBC retains its sector perform rating and 850 pence price target on the stock. Shares are up 1.8% at 793.0 pence. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-27-23 1206ET