FTSE Falls, Sainsbury’s Grocery Business Reversal Leads to Earnings Upgrades

Sainsbury’s Grocery Business Reversal Leads to Earnings Upgrades

Sainsbury’s 1Q confirms the relevance of the core grocery and Argos businesses in the U.K., Jefferies says. The U.K. grocer’s reversal in the grocery business was more gradual than expected, leading to mid-single-digit earnings upgrades by Jefferies. The company is more confident with full-year earnings delivery and underlying pretax profit guidance for fiscal 2022 of at least GBP660 million compares with consensus of GBP630 million, the U.S. bank says. “This is all encouraging news but we still see better value on offer at Tesco as the sector comes to the fore of investors’ attention,” the bank says. Jefferies rates the stock buy, with a 280 pence target price.

 
Companies News: 

McKay Securities Extends Buyback Program

McKay Securities PLC said Tuesday that it has extended a share-buyback program of up to 6.3 million pounds ($8.7 million) until its 2022 annual general meeting.

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RM PLC’s 1H Pretax Profit Jumped

RM PLC on Tuesday reported a significant rise in pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2021 as a result of a material improvement in revenue during the period.

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Gateley on Track to Meet Expectations FY 2022; Delays FY 2021 Results

Gateley (Holdings) PLC said Tuesday that it is on track to meet market expectations for fiscal 2022, and that publication of its fiscal 2021 results will be delayed.

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FIH Group Shares Fall After It Reports Lower FY 2021 Revenue, Dividend Remains Suspended

Shares in FIH Group PLC fell after the company said revenue for fiscal 2021 fell as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and that it wasn’t declaring a dividend.

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Ilika Pretax Loss Widened in FY 2021

Ilika PLC on Tuesday reported a widened loss for fiscal 2021.

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Caledonia Mining Posts Record 2Q Gold Production; Raises Dividend

Caledonia Mining Corp. said Tuesday that gold production from its Blanket mine in Zimbabwe rose to a record high in the second quarter and that it has declared an increased dividend for the period.

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Totally Swung to Pretax Profit in FY 2021

Totally PLC said Tuesday that it swung to pretax profit in fiscal 2021 as revenue rose, and that after the fiscal year ended its urgent-care division was awarded a number of contract extensions.

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Ridgecrest Shares Suspended Ahead of Reverse Takeover of Romanian Airline Blue Air

Ridgecrest PLC said Tuesday that it has reached a reverse takeover agreement with the owners of Romanian airline Blue Air, and its shares have been suspended from trading on AIM.

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Kinovo’s FY 2021 Pretax Profit Dropped on Lower Revenue

Kinovo PLC reported Tuesday a significant decline in pretax profit for fiscal 2021 as a result of a Covid-19 driven fall in revenue, and said that it is confident about its future.

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Microsaic Systems Says 1H Revenue Recovered

Microsaic Systems PLC said Tuesday that first-half revenue rose sharply and exceeded pre-pandemic levels after a change of business model in early 2021.

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Mulberry to End Paris Lease Early, Return When International Tourism Recovers

Mulberry Group PLC said Tuesday that its wholly owned subsidiary in France has agreed to terminate the lease of its store in Paris and exit the property early for 13.2 million pounds ($18.3 million).

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Mattioli Woods Expects to Report FY 2021 Profit in Line With Views

Mattioli Woods PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report profit in line with management expectations for the year ended May 31.

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Globalworth Mulls Implications of Recent Change of Control

Globalworth Real Estate Investments Ltd. said on Tuesday that it was notified late on Monday by CPI Property Group SA and Aroundtown SA about a number of transactions related to their existing holding, which have resulted in Zakiono Enterprises Ltd. holding a total of 51.5% of shares in the company.

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Building-Materials Distributor Lords Group to Raise GBP30 Mln in AIM Float

Lords Group Trading PLC, a distributor of building materials in the U.K., said Tuesday that it will raise 30 million pounds ($41.5 million) as part of its proposed initial public offering on London’s junior AIM market.

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New Amsterdam Invest Raises EUR49.1 Mln in Amsterdam Listing

New Amsterdam Invest NV said Tuesday that it has listed on Euronext Amsterdam and raised funds in a placing with a total offer value of 49.1 million euros ($58.3 million).

 
Market Talk: 

Ocado Needs to Deliver More Despite Progress

0941 GMT – Ocado Group needs to keep delivering the goods to boost its share price, Interactive Investor says. The U.K. online grocer and retail-technology specialist’s grocery business is doing the heavy lifting, raising revenue while the potentially more lucrative technology arm gradually makes more deals with other retailers, Interactive says. However, the shares have stalled of late, having dipped 1% over the last year compared to a 14% hike for the wider FTSE 100, Interactive says. “While investors have long been inspired by the story, to some extent this remains a ‘jam tomorrow’ stock, even though there are increasing signs of success,” the investment platform says. Shares rise 2.7%.

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Pennon Is Achieving High Returns, But Shares Are Expensive

0914 GMT – Pennon is earning returns on regulated equity of around 10% mainly through underspending its total expenditure allowance, Credit Suisse says. Also, the acquisition of Bristol Water gives it the ability to continue to win total expenditure efficiencies over time, the Swiss bank says. However, the water utility is seen as one of the most expensive stocks in the U.K. regulated sector. Pennon trades at a 33% premium to its regulated asset base, compared with United Utilities on 12% and Severn Trent on 19%, CS notes. The bank has a neutral rating on Pennon.

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Sainsbury Seen as Well-Positioned as Virus Curbs Ease

0758 GMT – J Sainsbury is well-positioned to capitalise on the lifting of most of England’s remaining coronavirus restrictions from July 19 and the return to normality of customers’ shopping patterns, Edison Group says. “Its strong performance in the last year has resulted in an acceleration of its investment plans across its customer offering, focusing on further improving its value proposition,” Neil Shah, director of research at Edison, says. That includes sweeping cuts across every day products totalling GBP50 billion to attract customers, which could lead to another profitable year. Sainsbury’s on Tuesday raised its full-year guidance as it reported an increase in first-quarter comparable retail sales. Its shares rise 0.3%.

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UK July 2031 Gilt’s Scarcity Likely to Boost Demand at Auction

0730 GMT – The U.K. Debt Management Office’s planned sale of GBP2.75 billion in 0.25% in the July 2031 gilt should attract demand due to its scarcity and favorable valuation on certain metrics, says RBC Capital Markets. “Whilst the bond doesn’t look particularly cheap, we have seen concessions on asset swap spreads, on the curve and on micro-relative value over yesterday’s session,” analysts at the Canadian bank say. The scarcity of the bond is likely to boost demand further at the auction. The Bank of England’s Asset Purchase Facility bought GBP1.7bn nominal of the bond since the last tap on June 2, indicating that investors are “likely going into the event short the bond, which should support demand today,” they say.

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Sterling Rises as England to Exit Lockdown

0700 GMT – Sterling’s current gains may be related to the U.K. government’s decision to lift most of England’s remaining coronavirus restrictions from July 19 but this link looks fragile, ING says”Even the Bank of England would admit that the final stage of reopening the economy will have little impact on economic activity,” ING analysts say. Sterling lacks the momentum to fall below the key support level in EUR/GBP at 0.8530 or push above resistance at 1.3930/40 in GBP/USD, they say. GBP/USD rises 0.3% to a one-week high of 1.3899 and EUR/GBP falls 0.1% to 0.8560 after earlier hitting a 12-day low of 0.8549, according to FactSet.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 06, 2021 06:29 ET (10:29 GMT)

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