The FTSE 100 Index closed Tuesday down 0.4% to 7666 points, in line with global peers dragged by resources stocks after a disappointing set of Chinese Purchasing Managers Index data weighted on commodity prices, CMC Markets U.K. Chief Market Analyst Michael Hewson says in a note. Beazley was the index's worst performer, with shares closing down 5.1%, followed by gold-and-silver miner Fresnillo, down 4.4% after missing both 1H revenues and earnings expectations, he says. Weir lead the top risers closing up 2.15% after reporting a 1H pretax profit increase and nudged its full-year guidance on operating profit toward the upper end of analyst expectations, while HSBC shares closed up 1.3% after announcing better-than-expected H1 profits and announcing a $2 billion share buyback, Hewson adds.
COMPANIES NEWS:
Diageo FY 2023 Pretax Profit Rose; Backs Medium-Term Guidance
Diageo on Tuesday reported a rise in pretax profit for fiscal 2023, albeit slightly below market expectations, on strong organic net sales growth and price increases, and backed its guidance.
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Travis Perkins 1H Hit by Lower Private Domestic RMI, New Build Volumes
Travis Perkins on Tuesday reported a 37% fall in its first half pretax profit on revenue that slipped due to lower volumes in private domestic repair, maintenance and improvement markets and new build housing as previously guided.
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Fresnillo Backs 2023 Guidance After Higher Costs Hit 1H Pretax Profit
Fresnillo on Tuesday said its pretax profit for the first half of 2023 slumped as higher costs offset a revenue increase and backed its guidance for the full-year.
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BP 2Q Profit Dropped on Lower Prices; Raises Dividend, Launches $1.5 Bln Buyback
BP said on Tuesday its second-quarter profits fell amid weaker oil-and-gas trading, a year after seeing profits supercharged by the rise in commodity prices due to the war in Ukraine, and launched a $1.5 billion buyback program.
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Weir Group 1H Pretax Profit Rose as Revenue Increased; Raises Guidance
Weir Group said Tuesday that pretax profit for the first half rose as revenue increased and met consensus, and raised its guidance for the year.
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Aston Martin Raises GBP216.1 Mln via Share Placing
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings said Tuesday that it has raised 216.1 million pounds ($277.4 million) via the share placing first outlined late Monday, more than originally planned.
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Greggs 1H Profit Rose on Higher Revenue, Exceptional Net Gain; Backs Outlook
Greggs on Tuesday reported a rise in pretax profit on one-off settlement claims and higher revenue for the first half of fiscal 2024, and said management expectations for the full year remain unchanged.
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Man Group 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Lower Performance Fees
Man Group on Tuesday posted a fall in pretax profit for the first half of 2023 as revenue from performance fees dropped given the reversal in markets from the banking crisis in March.
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Domino's UK Pizza Group 1H Profit Rose on Disposal; Raises Shareholder Returns
Domino's UK Pizza Group PLC said Tuesday that it would raise its dividend and launch a new share buyback after pretax profit almost doubled in the first half of 2023 on gains from disposals.
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Robert Walters 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; Performance in Line With Board's Views
Robert Walters said Tuesday that pretax profit fell for the first half after booking higher costs, and that its current performance was in line with the board's expectations.
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Journeo 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Jumped ; Outlines Expectations to 2025
Journeo said Tuesday that it expects to report a significant rise in pretax profit and revenue for the first half, and outlined its performance expectations to 2025.
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Metro Bank Swung to 1H Pretax Profit on Improved Margins, Cost Control
Metro Bank Holdings on Tuesday swung to a pretax profit for the first half of 2023 and backed its return on tangible equity target of a mid-single digit by 2024.
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Staffline 1H Pretax Loss Widens But Backs Guidance; Plans GBP4 Mln Share Buyback
Staffline Group on Tuesday reported a widened pretax loss and a slight slip in revenue in the first half on a challenging macroeconomic environment, but backed guidance and said it plans to buy back up to 4.0 million pounds ($5.1 million) of shares.
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A.G. Barr Expects to Beat Full-Year Market Views After Strong 1H; CEO to Retire
A.G. Barr said Tuesday that it expects to top market views to fiscal 2024 profits after a significant revenue rise in the first half, and that its Chief Executive Roger White will step down.
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Keller Group Backs 2023 View After 1H Pretax Profit Rose
Keller Group on Tuesday said it is positive on its outlook for the second half of 2023 and backed its full-year expectations as it posted a jump in pretax profit for the first half of the year.
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Wishbone Gold Shares Fall on GBP1.4 Mln Discount Fundraise
Wishbone Gold shares fell Tuesday after it said it has raised 1.4 million pounds ($1.8 million) in a discount fundraise to fund exploration programs on the Red Setter and Cottesloe projects in Australia and provide working capital.
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Keywords Studios Division's Growth Hurt by US Entertainment Strikes; 1H Revenue Rose 19%
Keywords Studios said Tuesday that organic growth at its Globalize division, which provides voice-over and translation services for videogames, slowed in the first half as it was hurt by the entertainment industry's strikes in the U.S., but that overall revenue in the period rose 19%.
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Victoria PLC Backs FY 2023 Revenue, Earnings View; Sees 1Q in Line
Victoria PLC on Tuesday backed its guidance for fiscal 2023 and said its first-quarter trading was in line with the board's forecasts and consistent with market views for fiscal 2024.
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Symphony Environmental Technologies 1H Loss Narrowed on Middle East Operations, Lower Costs
Symphony Environmental Technologies said Tuesday that it expects to report that revenue rose in the first half of the year, mainly driven by operations in the Middle East, while its loss is expected to narrow on reduced costs.
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Engage XR 1H Revenue Rose
Engage XR said Tuesday that revenue increased in the first half of the year.
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Me Group Plans Initial Share Buyback of GBP12 Mln, Conditional on Shareholders
Me Group International said Tuesday that it plans to initially buyback up to 2% of its issued share capital, or around 12 million pounds ($15.4 million), in a buyback program, subject to shareholder approval.
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International Personal Finance 1H Pretax Profit Rose; Raises Dividend
International Personal Finance on Tuesday said its pretax profit increased over the first half of 2023 as its three divisions performed well and raised its dividend.
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Chemring Launches Buyback Program of Up to GBP50 Mln
Chemring Group said Tuesday that it was launching a share buyback programs of up to 50 million pounds ($64.2 million), and that this will expedite an improved capital structure and deliver value for shareholders while still maintaining a strong balance sheet.
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Oriole Resources to Raise GBP1.77 Mln in Share Subscription
Oriole Resources said Tuesday that it expects to raise 1.77 million pounds ($2.3 million) through a conditional share subscription, and that institutional investor Lanstead Capital Investors will own a 26.23% stake in the company as a result.
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Predator Oil & Gas Shares Fall on Discounted Share Placing
Shares in Predator Oil & Gas Holdings dropped 16% on Tuesday after the company said that it has raised 10 million pounds ($12.8 million) in a discounted share placing.
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4imprint Group to Beat 2023 Market Consensus After Encouraging 1H Demand
4imprint Group said Tuesday that it has experienced encouraging demand over the first half of the year and now expects group pretax profit to beat market consensus for the year.
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Tirupati Graphite Shares Suspended on FY 2023 Accounts Delay
Tirupati Graphite said Tuesday that its fiscal 2023 accounts won't be published by the required regulatory deadline and that trading in its shares will therefore be suspended.
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4basebio Gets Grant From Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
4basebio said Tuesday that it has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance its synthetic DNA and Hermes nanoparticle platforms to develop thermostable nucleic acid vaccines.
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Pennpetro Energy Shares Suspended on FY 2023 Accounts Delay
Pennpetro Energy said Tuesday that its accounts for the 15 months ended March 31 won't be published by the regulatory deadline and so trading in its shares will be suspended.
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Chariot Signs Moroccan Exploration License; Raises $3 Mln in Open Offer
Chariot said Tuesday that it has signed a petroleum agreement for a new exploration license located onshore Morocco.
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Michelmersh Brick Chairman Martin Warner to Retire Next Year; Tony Morris Named
Michelmersh Brick Holdings said Tuesday that Chairman Martin Warner plans to retire at next year's annual general meeting in May and will be replaced by Nonexecutive Director Tony Morris.
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Hargreaves Services Names Stephen Craigen as Incoming Finance Director
Hargreaves Services said Tuesday that Group Financial Controller Stephen Craigen has been appointed as group finance director designate and a board director.
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C4X Discovery Sells Addicition Treatment Rights to Indivior for GBP16 Mln
C4X Discovery Holdings on Tuesday said it is selling the proprietary rights to its oral Orexin-1 receptor antagonist for addiction to Indivior for 15.95 million pounds ($20.5 million).
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Helium One Global Nonexec Chair Steps Down
Helium One Global said Tuesday that nonexecutive Chair Ian Stalker has decided to step down with immediate effect in order to reduce his nonexecutive roles.
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NWF Group Names Chris Belsham as CEO Designate; Katie Shortland as New CFO
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08-01-23 1217ET
