Milan maglia rosa; accounts push Iveco up on Mib.

(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European stock markets close in negative territory except for the Milan Stock Exchange, the only one up, after two days in which strong corporate results pushed some of the major stocks.

Thus, the FTSE Mib closes in the green by 0.3 percent to 31,156.06, the Mid-Cap gives up 0.2 percent to 45,174.30, the Small-Cap gives up 0.5 percent to 27,213.46 and Italy Growth ends down 0.5 percent to 8,087.04.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 ends in the red by 0.3 percent, as does Frankfurt's DAX 40, while Paris' CAC 40 ends in the red by 0.2 percent.

"As the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 50 hit new all-time highs, European equity indices struggled to keep up and ended the week down," commented Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG.

"While U.S. natural gas prices suffered a 12 percent weekly decline due to near-record production, oil prices rose more than 5 percent. The rejection of ceasefire proposals between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas has worried investors about possible supply disruptions and led to a surge in prices that is likely to continue if tensions in the region remain high. Inflows on the U.S. dollar last week gave way to some outflows during this week, during which several Fed members reiterated the Fed's cautious stance on rate cuts."

On the Mib, on the day the results were released, Iveco Group did best of all and took the top spot, closing up 7.7 percent. The board approved results for the 2023 financial year, which closed with adjusted net profit of EUR352 million from EUR127 million in 2022.

The board plans to propose to the company's shareholders the payment of an annual dividend of EUR0.22 per ordinary share, totaling about EUR59 million.

Consolidated revenues were EUR16.21 billion, up 13 percent. Net revenues from industrial activities amounted to EUR15.9 billion, up 12.1%, mainly due to better pricing and higher volumes and mix.

Banco BPM does well, in the green by 2.1 percent. The bank reported Thursday that it ended 2023 with a net profit of EUR1.26 billion, up 85 percent from EUR685.0 million a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter alone, the bank posted a net income of EUR321.1 million, which compares with EUR319.0 million in the previous quarter.

Net interest income rose to EUR3.29 billion from EUR2.31 billion a year earlier while, in the fourth quarter alone, it touched EUR867.7 million, stable on a sequential basis.

Among the bearers is Mediobanca, in the red by 1.7 percent. The company reported Thursday that it closed the first half of its 2023-2024 fiscal year with net income up 10 percent to EUR611.2 million from EUR555.5 million in the same period a year earlier.

Net interest and other banking income rose 4.3 percent to EUR1.73 billion from EUR1.66 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022, with net interest income up to EUR996.5 million from EUR842.9 million a year earlier. Costs increased to EUR735.4 million from EUR690.9 million.

On the parity line is Azimut Holding, which reported Thursday that it had recorded positive net inflows of EUR414 million in January 2024. Total assets including assets under administration stood at EUR92.1 billion at the end of January, of which EUR61.3 billion refer to assets under management.

Gross profit marks a 12 percent increase to EUR842.2 million from EUR751.0 million a year earlier.

Doing worse than everyone else were ERG, Hera and A2A, which gave up 2.7 percent, 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

On the cadet segment, Credito Emiliano -- in the green by 2.2 percent -- reported Thursday that it ended 2023 with a net profit of EUR562.1 million, which compares with a net profit of EUR326.1 million in 2022.

The sharp increase in net income prompted the bank's board to propose the distribution of an annual doubled dividend of EUR0.65 compared to EUR0.33 paid last year.

Cementir Holding gives up 8.1 percent after reporting Thursday that it ended 2023 with revenues of EUR1.69 billion, down slightly from EUR1.72 billion in 2022.

Grey, white and clinker cement sales fell to 10.7 million tons from 10.8 million tons in 2022 due to slowdowns in Denmark, Belgium, the U.S., Egypt and Malaysia while there were improvements in Turkey and China.

Buzzi gives up 1.0 percent after sharing on Friday preliminary information for fiscal year 2023, which closed with net revenues of EUR4.32 billion up 8.1 percent from EUR4.00 billion in 2022 despite sales volumes declining, but this was offset by positive price dynamics.

Among smallcaps, Piquadro gave up 1.4 percent after reporting Thursday that revenues for the first nine months rose to EUR131.5 million from EUR126.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Mondo TV--down 2.4 percent--reported Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Yamato Video to distribute some material from its library in Italy.

The board of Banca Sistema - in the red by 4.5 percent - on Friday approved the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, which closed with a net profit of EUR16.5 million compared to EUR22.0 million in 2022.

Net interest income, at EUR67.0 million, was down 22 percent year-on-year.

Among SMEs, Pattern gives up 1.6 percent after announcing Friday that it has appointed Invest Italy Spa as Euronext Growth Advisor.

Invest Italy will replace CFO SIM Spa as of March 1.

EdiliziAcrobatica lost 4.4 percent Friday after announcing that it had signed binding agreements to establish a corporate and commercial joint venture with Italsoft Group and at the same time proceeded to establish Acrobatica Smart Living Srl.

RedFish LongTerm Capital loses 0.4 percent on Friday after it announced that its board of directors has resolved to increase its share capital, for cash and in divisible form, by a total maximum amount of EUR14.9 million including share premium, excluding pre-emptive rights.

The transaction will take place through the issuance of a total maximum of 9.7 million new ordinary shares.

Reway Group gains 1.1 percent after it reported Friday that its subsidiary MGA Srl - Manutenzioni Generali Autostrade, which specializes in the renovation and rehabilitation of tunnels, bridges and freeway viaducts - was awarded, as part of a consortium led by the Webuild Group - in the red by 1.5 percent on the Mid -, a job order worth a share of EUR33 million for the structural rehabilitation of freeway viaducts in central Italy.

In New York, the Dow is in the red 0.2 percent to 38,654.86, the Nasdaq rises 0.9 percent to 15,943.28 and the S&P 500 gains 0.3 percent to 5,015.06.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0785 against USD1.0904 recorded at Thursday's European stock close, while the pound is worth USD1.2631 from USD1.2748 last night.

Brent crude is worth USD81.51 per barrel versus USD80.40 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD2,035.75 an ounce from USD2,013.50.03 an ounce last night.

Monday's calendar -- with the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges closed for Chinese New Year and the Tokyo stock exchange closed for Foundation Day -- includes, at 1100 CET, the Spanish consumer confidence index and from the Eurozone the release of the EU economic forecasts to coincide with the start of the Eurogroup meeting.

At 1700 CET in the US, data on consumer inflation expectations are published.

On the bond front, French BTF auctions with 3-, 6- and 12-month maturities are expected at 1355 CET, while from overseas it is the turn of US Treasury bond auctions with 3- and 6-month maturities.

Among companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, Edison's results are expected.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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