Mib up slightly; Italy inflation revised

(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari rose slightly in mid-session matedì after Istat revised Italy's April inflation slightly downward and Eurostat reported that Eurozone Gross Domestic Product rose in the first quarter.

Consumer prices in Italy rose 8.2 percent year-on-year in April after rising 7.6 percent in March. Initially, Istat had forecast inflation at 8.3 percent in April. Monthly inflation was revised to 0.4 percent -- in line with the previous month's figure -- from the initial 0.5 percent.

In the first quarter, seasonally adjusted GDP rose 0.1 percent in the eurozone and 0.2 percent in the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat Tuesday morning. In the fourth quarter of 2022, GDP had remained stable in the eurozone and decreased 0.1 percent in the EU.

The FTSE Mib is up 0.1 percent to 27,282.77, the Mid-Cap is down 0.1 percent to 43,144.91, the Small-Cap is down 0.5 percent to 27,916.74, and Italy Growth is up 0.1 percent to 9,120.19.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 is up slightly at 7,421.02, Frankfurt's DAX 40 gains 0.1 percent to 15,939.99 while London's FTSE 100 is up fractionally at 7,779.38.

In Piazza Affari, Interpump Group is doing well, rising 1.9 percent, while only ERG is doing better, up 2.4 percent.

Interpump announced Monday that its board of directors approved results as of March 31, 2023, reporting earnings up to EUR86.0 million from EUR66.1 million. Revenues also rose to EUR592.3 million from EUR488.7 million in the first quarter of 2022. Detailing the group's operating segments, the Oil division grew by 22 percent while the Water division by about 18 percent.

It goes on the bottom Telecom Italia, down 1.7 percent. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Macquarie will not submit an improved bid for TIM's network, leaving KKR as the sole bidder, according to sources close to the two companies reported by Bloomberg News.

CDP and Macquarie, which had offered EUR19.3 billion for TIM's network, have not yet made an official decision. According to some analysts, CDP's withdrawal would pave the way for a joint bid between CDP, Macquarie and KKR but the Australian group does not seem intent on wanting to bid together with KKR.

According to sources close to the dossier, CDP and Macquarie considered their latest bid for the network to be congruous and do not believe TIM's most coveted asset could be worth more than that amount.

On the Mid-Cap, Tamburi Investment Partners -- in the red by 0.7 percent -- on Monday approved its consolidated interim report as of March 31, having closed the first three months with a pro forma profit of EUR19.6 million, compared with EUR3.3 million in like-for-like earnings as of March 31, 2022.

Consolidated shareholders' equity as of March 31, 2023 is approximately EUR1.26 billion, compared to EUR1.17 billion as of December 31, 2022.

The board of directors of GVS -- down 0.9 percent -- approved the interim report as of March 31, 2023, reporting revenues up 28 percent to EUR104.0 million from EUR81.1 million in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to the contribution of the latest acquisitions made during the previous year of the STT and Haemotronic groups. Net income amounted to EUR2.5 million from EUR13.0 million in the same period of 2022.

The board of directors of El.En. - in the red by 0.8 percent - on Monday approved the interim report for the period ended March 31, 2023, with earnings before taxes showing a positive balance of EUR16.6 million or so and registering a decrease of 5.3 percent from EUR17.5 million as of March 31, 2022.

Consolidated sales were EUR161.4 million compared to EUR144.4 million in the first quarter of 2022.

MARR gives up 0.8 percent. On Friday, it announced that it reported total consolidated revenues of EUR426.6 million in the first quarter of the year, up from EUR325.8 million as of March 31, 2022. Profit stood at EUR1.5 million from a loss of EUR2.9 million in 2022.

Cembre is up 0.3 percent after good numbers for the first quarter. The company reported a profit of EUR10.9 million up 32 percent from EUR8.2 million in Q1 2023. Sales revenues amounted to EUR57.8 million up 19% from EUR48.6 million in Q1 2022.

On the Small-Cap, Eurotech - up 4.7 percent - reported that it approved consolidated revenues at EUR24.9 million from EUR17.4 million as of March 31, 2022, up 46 percent.

Profit amounts to EUR100,000 from a loss of EUR2.4 million in Q1 2022.

Class Editori rises 2.5 percent after reporting first quarter revenues of EUR19.6 million, up 13 percent from the first quarter of the previous year.

This improvement is attributable to the development of the digital area and the activities of Gambero Rosso Spa in addition to the partial recovery of advertising sales compared to the same period in 2022.

The board of directors of Esprinet--which cedes about 15 percent--reported that it had approved additional periodic information as of March 31, whereby revenues from contracts with clients in the first quarter amounted to EUR1.01 billion, down 11 percent from EUR1.13 billion in the same period last year.

Net income for the period was EUR5.9 million, down 41 percent from EUR10.1 million as of March 31, 2022. Net income per share is EUR0.12 down 40 percent from EUR0.10 in 2022.

Among SMEs, ReeVo - up 18 percent to EUR17.25 - announced Tuesday that Nebula Aurea BidCo has launched a tender offer to take over the entire capital of ReeVo and aimed at delisting the shares from the stock exchange.

The offer will be EUR17.60 per share, representing a 21 percent premium over yesterday's closing of EUR14.57, for a total consideration if the takeover bid is fully subscribed of EUR86.7 million.

OSAI Automation System falls 1.8 percent after announcing that it has been awarded a contract for a significant project worth a total of EUR6.8 million for an assembly and testing line for a leading European carmaker by a well-established multinational client, a strategic industrial player in the automotive sector.

Eurocommercial Properties listed today on the Milan Stock Exchange-it is already listed in Amsterdam-with a market capitalization of EUR1.1 billion. The stock is up 2.5 percent to EUR21.86.

Lottomatica Group rises 1.2 percent after reporting Tuesday that it closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR63 million, up from EUR46.6 million in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue was EUR7.31 billion in the three months ended March 31, up 33 percent from EUR5.51 billion in the same period in 2022. Online operations benefited from the acquisition of Betflag, which contributed to a significant increase in the group's online gaming offering, generating EUR1 billion in revenue in the first quarter.

Revenues were EUR422 million and up 20 percent from EUR352 million in the same period of 2022.

Also today, the company announced plans to issue and sell bonds with a total nominal amount of EUR1.12 billion, consisting of senior secured notes due in 2028 and senior secured floating rate notes due in 2028.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 0.7 percent at 29,842.99, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6 percent to 3,290.99, and the Hang Seng closed slightly higher at 19,978.25.

In New York last night, the Dow fell 0.1 percent to 33,348.60, the Nasdaq rose 0.7 percent to 12,365.21 and the S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent to 4,136.28.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0895 versus USD1.0874 at Monday's close. In contrast, the pound is worth USD1.2536 from USD1.2523 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD75.51 per barrel, unchanged from Monday evening. Gold, on the other hand, trades at USD2,009.76 an ounce from USD2,017.44 an ounce at Monday's European equities close.

On Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar, at 1430 CEST, retail sales are released from the US while at 1515 CEST the figure from industrial production is due, followed 45 minutes later by manufacturing production.

At 1600 CEST, a speech by ECB President Christine Lagarde is scheduled, while, at 2230 CEST, from the US, the weekly oil stocks figure will arrive.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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