UK Gilt Remit Expected to Decline to GBP246 Bln in FY2023-24
1503 GMT - U.K. gilt issuance in the fiscal year 2023-24 is expected to decline after this week's U.K. public sector finances data showed reduced cash requirements by the government due to higher tax revenue and reduced debt servicing costs, say Citi Research chief U.K. economist Benjamin Nabarro and rate strategist Jamie Searle in a note. The analysts predict gilt remit will fall to GBP246 billion from GBP305.1 billion forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in November. "With current government net cash requirement running GBP15.6 billion below expectations, we see potential for this gap to widen into the end of the fiscal year."(miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Science in Sport 2022 Performance in Line With Views, Optimistic for 2023
Science in Sport PLC said Wednesday that performance for 2022 was broadly in line with expectations despite a challenging economic and supply-chain backdrop.
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Future PLC Appoints Jon Steinberg as Chief Executive
Future PLC said Wednesday that it has appointed Jon Steinberg as chief executive and that he will join the company on April 3 to succeed Zillah Byng-Thorne.
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Gooch & Housego 4-Month Performance in Line After Capacity Progress
Gooch & Housego PLC said Wednesday that its performance over the first four months of the new fiscal year has been in line with expectations as it made good progress in increasing its productive capacity.
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Lloyds Banking 4Q Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Income, Updated Mid-Term Targets
Lloyds Banking Group PLC on Wednesday reported a rise in pretax profit for the fourth quarter of 2022 on higher income and a lower impairment charge and issued 2023 guidance as it updated its mid-term targets.
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RWS Holdings Sees Robust FY 2022 Performance Despite Economic Uncertainty
RWS Holdings PLC said Wednesday that it booked robust results for fiscal 2022 despite continued economic uncertainty and the conflict in Eastern Europe.
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Angling Direct Sees FY 2023 Adjusted Ebitda in Line With Market Views
Angling Direct PLC said Wednesday that it expects to deliver adjusted Ebitda in line with market expectations supported by a resilient performance in the U.K. market.
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Hummingbird Resources to Raise Up to a Further $3.5 Mln for Balance Sheet, Guinea Mine
Hummingbird Resources PLC said Wednesday that it has secured a conditional subscription of around $1.4 million from certain existing institutional shareholders and that it is conducting an open offer to raise up to around $2.4 million.
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Upland Resources Raises GBP1.7 Mln For Sarawak Activities
Upland Resources Ltd. on Wednesday said it raised around 1.7 million pounds ($2.1 million) in an oversubscribed fundraise to fund its activities in Malaysia's Sarawak.
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Amedeo Air Four Plus to Return GBP28 Mln to Shareholders
Amedeo Air Four Plus Ltd. said Wednesday that it will return 28 million pounds ($33.9 million) by way of a partial compulsory redemption of shares and a quarterly dividend increase.
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Applied Graphene to Wind Up Business After $1.3 Mln Disposal
Applied Graphene Materials PLC said Wednesday that it will wind up after agreeing with Universal Matter Inc's subsidiary, Universal Matter UK Ltd, to sell Applied Graphene Materials UK Ltd and Applied Graphene Materials LLC for $1.3 million.
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Avingtrans 1H Revenue, Profit Rose Despite Inflation, Supply-Chain Issues
Avingtrans PLC said Wednesday that revenue and pretax profit rose for the first half of fiscal 2023 as its pinpoint-invest-exit model delivered robust results despite inflationary pressures and supply-chain instabilities.
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Seeing Machines 1H Revenue Boosted by Global Focus on Transport Safety
Seeing Machines Ltd. said Wednesday that it expects revenue for the first half of its fiscal year to rise, thanks in part to a global heightened regulatory focus on transport safety.
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City of London Investment Group 1H Funds Under Management Fell
City of London Investment Group PLC said Wednesday that funds under management for the first half of fiscal 2023 fell amid higher costs, but maintained its dividend payout.
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Hammerson Says Accounting Change to Affect 2022 Results
Hammerson PLC said Wednesday that 2022's full year results will be affected by a change in its accounting policy which requires 2021's figures to be restated.
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TBC Bank 4Q Pretax Profit Boosted by Interest Rates; Confirms Mid-Term Guidance
TBC Bank Group PLC said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter pretax profit rose 64% as it benefited from higher interest rates, fee and commission income, and the performance of its foreign exchange operations.
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Boku to Update on Mid-Term Financial Targets at CMD
Boku Inc. said that it will provide an update on its mid-term financial targets to double revenue and increase earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margins to more than 50% at its capital markets day on Wednesday.
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Star Phoenix Shares Surge on Return to Trading After Publishing FY 2022 Earnings
Shares in Star Phoenix Group Ltd. more-than doubled Wednesday after being restored to trading following the publication of the company's fiscal 2022 earnings on Tuesday.
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Corcel Signs Option to Acquire Lithium Rights at Australian Project
Corcel PLC said Wednesday that it has signed a 30-day option with Huntsman Exploration Inc. to fully acquire the lithium rights of the Canegrass project in Australia.
Market Talk:
Lloyds Banking Debate on Peak Net Interest Margin Is Premature
1343 GMT - Debate around Lloyds Banking's 2023 net interest margin guidance of 3.05% implying a peak seems premature, says Citi in a note after the earnings call with management provided more detail. "If anything, commentary seemed to suggest the potential for upside surprise in the second half, based on management's conservative underlying assumptions, and commentary on outer years would seem to imply that discussions of 'peak NIM' may be premature," says analyst Andrew Coombs. He adds that the CFO pointed towards a strong NIM in 1Q, a step down in 2Q and stabilization above over 3.00% for the rest of the year. Shares slowed losses having fallen 3% earlier, slipping 0.5% after the reassuring call. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)
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RWS Holdings' 2H Should See Organic Growth
1337 GMT - RWS Holdings continues to see trading in line with market expectations and its second half should see an acceleration of organic growth driven by growth initiatives, Shore Capital's research analyst Katie Cousins says in a note. The language and intellectual-property support services provider's shares currently trade on a marked discount to its technology service peer group as well as its historical performance, Cousins adds. RWS is well placed to capitalize on multiple demand drivers, she says, including the growing volume of data and content, increased ESG/regulatory requirements, continued innovation, AI development and market globalization. Shore Capital has a buy rating on the stock. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)
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Anglo American Set to Post Weaker Full-Year Results
1325 GMT - Anglo American is expected to post a weaker performance for 2022 than in the previous year when reporting results on Thursday, according to a company-provided consensus forecast. The multinational mining company's underlying Ebitda is expected to come in at $14.35 billion, based on 14 analysts' estimates. This represents a fall from the $20.63 billion reported in 2021, when the group benefited from robust demand, higher prices and resilient operational performance. Revenue is expected to be $36.88 billion, below the previous year figure of $41.55 billion. Looking ahead, the company currently targets 2023 copper production in the range of 840,000 to 930,000 metric tons. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
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InterContinental Hotels to Return Around 15% of 2020 Market Cap via Buybacks, Dividends
1301 GMT - InterContinental Hotels Group 2022 results were in line with EBIT at $828 million versus consensus of $831 million, after booking foreign exchange headwinds of $17 million and Iberostar agreement costs of $5 million, analysts at Deutsche Bank say in a note. Free cashflow was strong at $565 million with system fund and tax payments offsetting higher operating profits, analysts say. Furthermore the company announced a $750-million buyback program. Since 2022 the company will have have returned some $1.7 billion to shareholders in buybacks and dividends, or around 15% of its market cap in January 2020, the analysts say. Deutsche Bank cuts its rating on the stock to hold, from buy, raising its target price to 5,850.0 pence from 5,730.0 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-22-23 1024ET
