Ocado's Sales Growth, Lack of Profit Will Be in Focus at 1st Half Results

Ocado's Sales Growth, Lack of Profit Will Be in Focus at 1H Results

1002 GMT - Ocado should expect investors to focus on sales growth, its retail business and profits when the reporting 1H results next week, AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson writes in a research note. For the U.K. online grocer and retailer's fiscal 2023, analysts are looking for 11% revenue growth to GBP2.8 billion, which would be a fair benchmark for the first half, Hewson says. At its retail business, order run rates--382,000 a week on average in 4Q--and basket size--GBP117 on average--will be dug into, he says. Profit, or the lack of it, will also be in question as consensus sees the pretax loss narrowing to GBP436 million, Hewson says. ([e-mail])

COMPANIES NEWS:

ITV No Longer Exploring Acquisition of Production Company All3Media

ITV said Friday that although it continued to monitor, it has decided to stop actively exploring the possible acquisition of film production company All3Media.

---

Ninety One Assets Under Management Fall

Ninety One said Friday that its assets under management at June 30 has fallen compared with both the same date last year and the earlier quarter.

---

Burberry Backs Full-Year Guidance as 1Q Retail Sales Met Views

Burberry Group on Friday backed its full-year guidance after first-quarter comparable store sales rose 18%, matching market views, while revenue also grew in the quarter.

---

Ashmore Group 4Q Assets Under Management Fell on Macro Uncertainty

Ashmore Group said Friday that assets under management fell in the fourth quarter to $55.9 billion from $57.7 billion the previous quarter as global macro uncertainty persists, with some investors reducing risk during the period.

---

Liontrust 1Q Assets Under Management Fell

Liontrust Asset Management said Friday that assets under management and advice fell in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, but that its business is in robust shape despite the current market environment.

---

Premier Miton 3Q Assets Under Management Fell

Premier Miton Group said Friday that assets under management declined in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 as investors reduced spending amid higher inflation, higher interest rates and continuing market uncertainty.

---

Johnson Service Group Backs 2023 View After 1H Revenue Rose

Johnson Service Group on Friday backed its full-year guidance after revenue rose in the first half, driven by growth in both its workwear and its hotel, restaurant and catering businesses.

---

MGC Pharmaceuticals Raises GBP650,000 via Heavily Discounted Placing, Subscription

MGC Pharmaceuticals said Friday that it has raised 650,000 pounds ($853,905) via a heavily discounted share placing and subscription, providing it with working capital for its short-term financing commitments.

---

TheWorks.co.uk Expects FY 2023 Earnings to Meet Guidance; Accounts Delayed

TheWorks.co.uk said Friday that it expects to report fiscal 2023 earnings in-line with guidance, though its auditor has requested more time to complete their process, delaying publication.

---

Versarien to Raise GBP650,000 in Discounted Placing

Versarien said Friday it will raise 650,000 pounds ($853,905) via a discounted share placing and that it will use the funds for working capital purposes and as bridge finance ahead of any asset sales.

---

ZOO Digital 1Q Revenue Falling; Expects Growth to Return in 2H

ZOO Digital Group said Friday that it is seeing a fall in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, though growth is expected to return in the second half.

---

Uncertainty weighs on UK managers as Liontrust, Premier Miton, Ashmore, NinetyOne all bleed assets -- Financial News

Listed fund houses are leaking billions as investors remain cautious over geopolitics and monetary policy

---

Dr. Martens to Buy Back Up to GBP50 Mln Shares to Reduce Share Capital

Dr. Martens said Friday that it will buy back up to 50 million pounds ($65.7 million) of shares in order to reduce its share capital.

---

Savannah Resources Raises GBP300,000 More Than Expected

Savannah Resources said Friday that it raised 6.1 million pounds ($8 million) in a share placing and subscription, which is GBP300,000 more than initially anticipated.

---

XPS Pensions Agrees XPS Pensions (Nexus) Sale for Up to GBP42.5 Mln

XPS Pensions Group said Friday that it has agreed the sale of its XPS Pensions (Nexus) unit to SEI Master Trust for up to 42.5 million pounds ($55.8 million) cash, and that net proceeds will be used to repay debt.

---

Ex-Goldman Sachs bankers' boutique sees revenue drop 30% amid deal drought -- Financial News

Five London partners shared a pay pot of $14m, down nearly $10m

MARKET TALK:

ITV's Backtrack on Buying All3Media Might Be on Regulatory Issues

1050 GMT - ITV made a U-turn concerning All3Media's acquisition a month after saying it was interested, AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson says in a note. The news comes a day after Channel 4, one of the production company's customers, said it was unhappy about the potential acquisition as it would harm competition in the market, Hewson says. Although there was clear strategic logic in owning All3Media--it would help to beef up ITV's production and content capabilities--perhaps it thought the deal would be too complicated to get past competition authorities, Hewson says. "With the prospect of a downturn in advertising on the horizon, ITV's management already has enough on its plate without the distractions of trying to push through a big acquisition," Hewson says. ([e-mail])

---

Thames Water Contagion Risk Seen As Overdone

1024 GMT - The fall in share prices of U.K. water utilities following the Thames Water debt-crisis offers an attractive entry point for investors, with Severn Trent seen as the best opportunity, Investec analyst Martin Young writes in a research note. "The fervour around the highly geared and underperforming Thames Water has morphed into a wider debate about regulation and ownership, to the detriment of listed valuations," he says. Severn Trent and United Utilities are sector outperformers, and should maintain their leadership into 2025 when the next asset-management plan--AMP8--from the U.K. water regulator kicks in, Young says. Shares in Severn Trent are down 0.9% at 2,443.0 pence, and shares in United Utilities are down 0.7% at 947.80 pence. ([e-mail])

---

ZOO Digital's Profit Warning Drags Down Peer Facilities by ADF With It

1024 GMT - ZOO Digital shares sank Friday on a nasty profit warning linked to disturbance in its end-markets, AJ Bell says. The subtitling and dubbing specialist said it is seeing a fall in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, though growth is expected to return in the second half. "The big wheel has been grinding to a halt in Hollywood as workers go on strike and streaming platforms sharpen their axe as more shows are cancelled in the name of cost-cutting," AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson says in a market comment. As such investors might be watching Facilities by ADF, another U.K.-listed TV/film service provider, Hewson adds. Shares in ZOO and Facilities are down 28% and 11% at 75.5 pence and 45.5 pence respectively. ([e-mail])

---

Johnson Service Continues to Regain Momentum

1001 GMT - Johnson Service Group shares rise 5% to 109 pence after the washroom services group forecast full-year adjusted operating profit slightly ahead of market expectations. The trading update was encouraging and confirms that JSG continues to gain momentum, with 2023 being the first year since 2019 not affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Panmure Gordon says. "While it isn't out of the woods yet with respect to energy costs and the potential impact of high interest rates on consumer spending, JSG continues to regain momentum as evidenced by the year-to-date share-price performance, which is up 7%. We retain our buy recommendation and target price of 150p," Panmure analyst Andy Smith writes.([e-mail])

---

Burberry's 1Q Europe Sales Growth Seen as Encouraging

0957 GMT - Burberry's 1Q performance was lifted by China, which accounts for 25% of its sales, but it also was encouraging to see the double-digit sales growth in Europe as the travel industry recovers, eToro analyst Mark Crouch says in a note. Despite a disappointing performance in the Americas, overall the luxury-goods market seems to have recovered well against a scenario of squeezed household incomes, Crouch says. However, Burberry's short-to-medium-term prospects remain uncertain given the main economies backdrop, he adds. "Europe and the U.S. are not out of the woods yet, economically speaking, with the prospect of anemic growth--or even recession--very much still [in] the cards," he says. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-14-23 0715ET