The FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% on Thursday after interest-rate
hikes from both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. "The
FTSE 100 has struggled despite resilience in basic resources and
energy, on the back of firmer commodity prices, notably copper as
well as oil and gas, with gains for Rio Tinto, Glencore, and BP
amongst others. That's been as good as it gets on the positive side
with weakness almost everywhere else," CMC Markets UK's chief
market analyst Michael Hewson says. On a day punctuated by red, JD
Sports led the fallers, down 8.4%, followed by Ashtead Group, down
7.3%, and Intermediate Capital, which ended 7.1% down.
Companies News:
Segro COO Andy Gulliford to Retire in 2023
Segro PLC said Thursday that Chief Operating Officer Andy
Gulliford will retire from the business in 2023.
---
GSK Secures Urinary Tract Infections Treatment License With
Spero Therapeutics
GSK PLC said Thursday that it has signed an exclusive license
agreement with Spero Therapeutics Inc. to commercialize tebipenem
HBr, an antibiotic currently in late-stage studies that may treat
complicated urinary tract infections.
---
Halma PLC Sees Good 1H Progress; Backs FY 2023 Guidance
Halma PLC said Thursday it expects to report good first-half
progress, meeting management expectations, and that its order
intake was ahead compared with the same period last year.
---
Saint-Gobain Cleared by UK Regulator for GCP Takeover
The U.K. competition authority said Thursday that it wouldn't
further its probe into Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA's planned
takeover of GCP Applied Technologies Inc.
---
LXI REIT Exchanges Contracts With Sainsbury's on GBP500M Grocery
Store Portfolio
LXI REIT PLC said Thursday that it has exchanged contracts with
J Sainsbury PLC to acquire a portfolio of grocery stores for 500
million pounds ($563.5 million), and it was in talks with investors
over funding.
---
JD Sports Fashion 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; Sales
Rose
JD Sports Fashion PLC on Thursday reported a decline in pretax
profit for the first half after booking higher costs, though it
said sales increased because of high demand levels for its sports
products.
---
Smiths News Set to Beat FY 2022 Market Views on Strong Levels of
Sales, Demand
Smiths News PLC said Thursday that its performance for the
second half of fiscal 2022 was strong and it expects to end the
financial year beating market views.
---
Polymetal Swung to 1H Net Loss on Lower Gold Sales; Backs
Guidance
Polymetal International PLC said Thursday that it swung to a
first-half net loss as revenue fell on lower gold sales, and backed
its production guidance for the year.
---
PensionBee 1H Pretax Loss Widened; Sales Increased
PensionBee Group PLC reported on Thursday a widened pretax loss
for the first half of 2022 after booking higher costs, though it
said revenue and assets under administration increased
significantly.
---
Playtech 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Strong Comparative Period;
Revenue Rose
Playtech PLC said Thursday that first-half pretax profit for
2022 fell significantly, despite higher revenue, as distribution
costs rose and the comparative period recorded a large one-off
benefit, and backed its full-year outlook.
---
Aquis Exchange 1H Pretax Profit, Sales Fell on Market
Volatility
Aquis Exchange Ltd. reported on Thursday a significant decline
in pretax profit and sales for the first half of 2022 due to market
volatility, but said that its current performance is in line with
market expectations for the full year.
---
Safestyle Swung to 1H Pretax Loss Due to Cyberattack; Shares
Fall
Safestyle UK PLC shares fell after it said on Thursday that it
swung to a pretax loss for the first half due to the costs and
disruption from a cyberattack, and that it was reinstating dividend
payments.
---
Begbies Traynor Sees FY 2023 Profit in Line With Market
Views
Begbies Traynor Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to
achieve pretax profit for fiscal 2023 in line with market
expectations, driven by an increasing demand in insolvency and
restructuring cases.
---
Time Finance FY 2022 Pretax Profit Fell; New Year Starts
Well
Time Finance PLC said Thursday that its fiscal 2022 pretax
profit fell and revenue slipped slightly, though the new year has
started well with an increase in profit.
---
PZ Cussons FY 2022 Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; Raises
Dividend
PZ Cussons PLC said Thursday that pretax profit for fiscal 2022
fell on higher costs, though it raised its dividend payout.
---
Trakm8 Holdings Is Performing in Line With Market
Expectations
Trakm8 Holdings PLC said Thursday that it has continued to
perform in line with market expectations since Sept. 14 and remains
confident to meet the board's views for this year, and an improved
outlook for next.
---
Learning Technologies 1H Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Revenue
From Acquisition
Learning Technologies Group PLC said Thursday that first-half
pretax profit rose as revenue increased due to the contributions
from an acquisition and foreign exchange tailwinds, and that its
performance has continued into the second half.
---
GetBusy ARR Has Grown Since June 30, Backs Full-Year
Guidance
GetBusy PLC said Thursday that annual recurring revenue at Aug.
31 has grown slightly since June 30, boosted by solid new business
and monetization across the group, and backed its full-year
guidance.
---
Petro Matad Shares Fall on Widened 1H Loss, Continued Access
Issues
Petro Matad Ltd. shares fell Thursday after the company said
that first-half pretax loss widened and a land access issue
surrounding its Heron 1 field in Mongolia is yet to be
resolved.
Market Talk:
BOE Lowers Inflation Expectations After Government's Energy
Price Freeze
1121 GMT - The Bank of England has cut its inflation forecasts
due to the government's plan to cap energy bills for households in
the next two years. The peak in inflation is expected at just under
11% in October from the around 13% previously estimated, the bank
said in a statement. "The [Energy Price] Guarantee is likely to
limit significantly further increases in CPI inflation, and reduce
its volatility, while supporting aggregate private demand relative
to the Committee's August projections," the BOE said. "Energy bills
will still go up and, combined with the indirect effects of higher
energy costs, inflation is expected to remain above 10% over the
following few months, before starting to fall back," it said.
(xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com)
Ceres Power Could Grow Earnings if Royalties, Electrolyzer
Business Take off
1054 GMT - U.K.-based fuel-cell manufacturer Ceres Power could
see material upside to earnings if its royalties model succeeds and
its electrolyzer business takes off, analysts at RBC Capital
Markets say in a research note. The bank sees Ceres reaching EBIT
breakeven in 2025 and growing revenues at a more than 50% compound
annual growth rate between 2022 and 2030 provided that the
company's partners successfully scale their solutions in China and
that it develops further partnerships in the electrolyzer space.
The bank initiates coverage at sector perform on the stock, for
which it has a price target of 600 pence.
(maitane.sardon@wsj.com)
Begbies Update Seen as Encouraging as Insolvencies Trend
Upward
0955 GMT - Begbies Traynor reported a positive performance
update driven by buoyant activity across its businesses amid a
difficult backdrop, Shore Capital analysts Vivek Raja and Jamie
Murray say in a research note. The corporate restructuring company
is benefiting from an upward trend in new insolvency appointments,
the analysts note. Furthermore, Begbies's significantly increased
scale and services offering adds to positive trends, the analysts
add. Shares are up 2.7% at 144.8 pence. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
Halma M&A Activity Doesn't Justify Valuation Premium
0942 GMT - Halma edges 0.4% higher after the safety-equipment
supplier flagged first-half progress and said its order intake was
ahead of the same period last year. The trading update matched
expectations and consensus forecasts are unlikely to change, given
a lack of acquisitions apart from a previously noted deal in April,
Jefferies says. "FX is continuing to move in Halma's favor and we
suspect is being held in reserve to help compensate for what's
described as a 'challenging' operating environment," Jefferies
analyst David Farrell says in a note. "We remain underperform on
Halma, with our view being that recent M&A performance fails to
support the circa-95% enterprise value/EBITA premium the stock
trades at relative to the sector." (philip.waller@wsj.com)
UK DMO Expected to Raise Gilt Issuance -- Market Talk
0941 GMT - Citi's rates strategists expect the U.K. Debt
Management Office to increase the gilt remit by around GBP60
billion to GBP191.2 billion in a review on Friday. The increased
issuance is aimed at funding the energy bailout for the winter.
Citi expects more issuance in short- and medium-term gilts, but a
reduction in issuance in long-dated and inflation-linked gilts.
"The next two days, then, will likely underline the misalignment of
monetary and fiscal policy," they say in a note, refering to the
BOE's expected interest rate rise and selling of gilts alongside
the DMO's issuance of record amounts of gilts at higher yields.
Citi's strategists expect 10-year gilt yields to approach 4%. They
last trade more than 3 basis points lower at 3.288%, according to
Tradeweb. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2022 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)
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