The FTSE 100 closed down 1.75% to 7627 points amid a broader sell-off across global markets while domestic inflation data came in ahead of expectations, indicating further monetary tightening ahead, Interactive Investor head of investment Victoria Scholar says in a note. The U.K. CPI inflation hit 8.7% in April, way above the central bank's 2% target, prompting gilt yields jump across a range of maturities, she highlights. "Housebuilders are under pressure, pricing in the prospect of further increases to mortgage costs," Scholar adds. With the index mostly in red, Prudential lead the top fallers with a 5.94% slip, followed by Aviva and the home builder Persimmon, down 5.88% and 5.5%, respectively.

 

COMPANIES NEWS:

Intertek Four-Month Revenue Grew on Strong Demand, China Reopening

Intertek Group said Wednesday that revenue rose 7.6% at constant currency in the January-April period thanks to growth in products, trade and resources.

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Aviva 1Q General Insurance Sales Rose; Backs Targets

Aviva on Wednesday said its general insurance sales rose 11% in the first quarter of 2023 and backed its targets and dividend guidance.

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Marks & Spencer FY 2023 Profit Rose; To Reintroduce Dividends in November

Marks & Spencer Group reported Wednesday a rise in fiscal 2023 pretax profit and said it will reintroduce dividends at the time of its half-year results.

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SSE Swung to FY 2023 Pretax Loss on Higher Costs; Retains Ownership of SSEN Distribution

SSE said Wednesday that it swung to a pretax loss for fiscal 2023 after booking higher costs, and that retaining 100% ownership of the SSEN distribution business was the right strategy at this time.

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Severn Trent FY 2023 Pretax Profit Fell on Lower Prices, Higher Costs

Severn Trent said Wednesday that pretax profit declined in fiscal 2023 due to lower wholesale energy prices and higher cost pressures, and that it has proposed an increased dividend.

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Kingfisher 1Q Sales Hurt by Poor Weather; Comfortable With Consensus Forecast

Kingfisher said Wednesday that first-quarter comparable sales fell 3.3% on a constant currency basis as poor weather in the U.K. and France hurt its performance, but the board is comfortable with full-year adjusted pretax profit consensus market forecasts.

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LondonMetric Property Swung to FY 2023 Pretax Loss on Adverse Property Valuations

LondonMetric Property said Wednesday that it swung to a pretax loss for fiscal 2023 due to adverse movements in the value of its property portfolio, and that although risks and uncertainty remained the outlook was improving and some confidence was returning.

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LondonMetric Property to Buy CT Property for GBP198.6 Mln in All-Share Deal

LondonMetric Property said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy CT Property Trust for 198.6 million pounds ($246.6 million) in an all-share deal.

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Great Portland Estates Swung to FY 2023 Loss on Negative Property Valuations

Great Portland Estates said Wednesday that it swung to a fiscal 2023 loss after a negative revaluation of its investment portfolio, though revenue rose.

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Playtech Sees Current Growth Rates Moderating Later in Year

Playtech said Wednesday that it expects current growth rates to moderate later in the year after experiencing some first-quarter tailwinds.

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National World Revenue to Date Declined on Print Performance

National World said Wednesday that revenue for the year to date declined 5%, driven by a fall in print revenue, but that full-year performance is expected in line with targets.

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Close Brothers Says It Performed Well in 3Q After Loan Book Growth in Banking Division

Close Brothers Group on Wednesday said it performed well in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 after it saw loan book growth in its banking division and higher net inflows in its asset management segment.

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Empiric Raises Rent Growth Guidance on Higher Revenue Occupancy in 2023-24

Empiric Student Property said Wednesday that revenue occupancy for the 2023-2024 academic year to-date is significantly higher on-year, and raised rental growth guidance.

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XPS Pensions Group Sees FY 2023 Ahead Of Previous Views

XPS Pensions Group on Wednesday said it anticipates its results for fiscal 2023 to be slightly ahead of its previous expectations.

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4imprint Group Year-To-Date Orders Up 22% But Expected to Moderate Over Year

4imprint Group said Wednesday that year-to-date order intake is up 22% but this is expected to moderate over the year given the challenging comparatives since April.

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Bonhill Group Shares Rise on InvestmentNews Sale, Tender Offer

Shares of Bonhill Group rose 21% on Wednesday after the company said that it has agreed to sell InvestmentNews to KM Business Information US for 3.3 million pounds ($4.1 million) and will return the money to shareholders.

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Petershill Partners 1Q Aggregate Assets Under Management Rose

Petershill Partners said Wednesday that it had a steady start to 2023 and that aggregate assets under management rose.

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Artisanal Spirits Revenue Returned to Growth in 2Q; On Track to Meet Forecasts

Artisanal Spirits Co. said Wednesday that revenue has returned to growth in the second quarter of the year after a flat start and that it is on course to meet revenue and Ebitda market forecasts.

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Mortgage Advice Bureau 1Q New Lending Fell 21%; 2023 in Line With Views

Mortgage Advice Bureau said Wednesday that new mortgage lending in the first quarter fell 21%, but that despite the challenging conditions its performance for the year remained in line with the board's expectations.

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C&C Group FY 2023 Pretax Profit Jumps on Revenue Rise

C&C Group said Wednesday that pretax profit rose 44% in fiscal 2023, driven by revenue rising on higher volumes and price/mix, and that it plans to adopt a progressive dividend policy.

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Arbuthnot Says Lending, Deposits Grew in January to April

Arbuthnot Banking Group on Wednesday said higher interest rates continue to boost its revenues as it reported a rise in deposits, loan balances and assets under management for the first four months of 2023.

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Zotefoams Sees 2023 in Line With Views After Stong Four-Month Performance

Zotefoams said Wednesday that its performance in the four months ended April 30 was strong as it delivered continued year-on-year revenue growth, and that the board's expectations for the year remained unchanged.

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Lok 'N Store Sees 3Q Stores Revenue Up on Year; Continues Store Portfolio Expansion

Lok 'n Store Group said Wednesday that performance continued to be strong in the quarter ended April with stores revenue up 13%, and disclosed a number of new transactions.

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600 Group to Report FY 2023 Operating Loss

600 Group said Wednesday that it expects to make an operating loss for fiscal 2023 due to lower margins on some contracts because of higher than expected cost inflation.

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PCI-PAL Sees Fiscal 2023 in Line With Views After Strong 2H Performance

PCI-PAL said Wednesday that its performance in the second half of the year ending June 30 has been strong as it achieved a continued positive momentum, and that results for the year will be in line with management's expectations.

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Inchcape Makes Interim Finance Chief Adrian Lewis Permanent

Inchcape said Wednesday that it has appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer Adrian Lewis to the role on a permanent basis, effective immediately.

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Chemring Group Appoints James Mortensen as Chief Financial Officer

Chemring Group said Wednesday that it has appointed James Mortensen as chief financial officer at a date to be decided, replacing Andrew Lewis who announced his plan to retire in January.

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Velocity Composites 1H Sales Rose on Returning Demand

Velocity Composites said Wednesday that sales grew more than expected in the first half of fiscal 2023 thanks to demand returning to prepandemic levels.

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Coral Products to Report Revenue, Adjusted Earnings Rise for FY 2023; Pay Final Dividend

Coral Products said Wednesday that it expects to report a rise in revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation for fiscal 2023--both of which will be ahead of market expectations--and pay a final dividend.

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RM PLC Appoints Simon Goodwin as CFO

RM PLC said Wednesday that it has appointed Simon Goodwin as chief financial officer effective Aug. 29.

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Corcel Acquires 90% Interest in Oil-And-Gas Firm Atlas Petroleum for GBP800,000

Corcel PLC said Wednesday it has signed its first oil-and-gas acquisition with the purchase of a 90% interest in Atlas Petroleum Exploration Worldwide for 800,000 pounds ($993,280) in shares.

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Kingswood 2022 Pretax Loss Narrowed on Organic Growth, Acquisitions and Net Flows

Kingswood Holdings on Wednesday said its pretax loss for 2022 narrowed as it reported higher operating profit driven by organic growth, positive net asset flows and acquisition activity.

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SSE FY 2023 Revenue Rose, Beating Consensus--Earnings Review

SSE reported earnings for fiscal 2023 on Wednesday. Here's what we watched:

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SDX Energy Denies Financial Allegations Raised by Senior Employee

SDX Energy said Wednesday that it denies allegations about certain in-country financial operations raised by a recently suspended senior employee in an email to some stakeholders.

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Megasteel Withdraws From More Acquisitions Deal on Alleged Abusive Shareholder Behavior

More Acquisitions said Wednesday that Megasteel has withdrawn from a takeover deal due to alleged abusive behavior by More shareholders.

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Civitas Social Housing Sell GBP82.7 Mln Worth Shares to Wellness Unity

Civitas Social Housing said Wednesday that Wellness Unity--a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of CK Asset Holdings--has bought a 10% stake in the company, increasing its share to 17%, worth around 82.7 million pounds ($102.7 million).

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National World Director David Fordham Reappointment Passed With Low Count

National World said Wednesday that the resolution to reappoint David Fordham as a director received a low count at the annual general meeting, but was still approved.

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Mineral & Financial Investments Raises GBP250,000

Mineral & Financial Investments said Wednesday that its has raised 250,000 pounds ($310,400) before expenses through a placing with investors of around 1.2 million new shares at 21.0 pence a share.

 

MARKET TALK:

LondonMetric's New Acquisition Adds to Appealing Opportunity

1348 GMT - LondonMetric's GBP199 million all-share acquisition of CT Property Trust looks a good fit strategically and should create new shareholder value, Shore Capital says. The real-estate investment trust has a portfolio of leading tenants, is in the best locations to address trends and looks capable of sustaining above-average rental growth that will help drive superior total returns over time, Shore analyst Andrew Saunders says in a research note. "The shares offer an appealing investment opportunity in industrial and logistics and long-income property, offering a fully covered 5% dividend yield for fiscal 2024," the Shore says. The U.K. investment group reiterates its buy recommendation on the stock. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

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C&C Results Contained Many Upsides Despite Profit Warning, Davy Says

1318 GMT - C&C Group's profit warning clearly overshadowed the otherwise positive fiscal 2023 results, but investors should take note of a few key takeaways, Davy Research analysts Cathal Kenny and Gary Martin write in a research note. Among the key points following the FY23 results--which included an 18% revenue and 76% EBIT rise--were reinstated dividends, significant progress on net debt reduction, and flat branded margins despite record cost inflation and brand reinvestment, the analysts notes. Market share gains for Tennent's and Bulmers are also worth noting, they add. Davy acts as broker for the alcoholic drinks-maker. The Irish investment firm has an outperform rating on the stock. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

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Artisanal Spirits Robust 2Q Gives Confidence on Full-Year Targets

1246 GMT - Artisanal Spirits reported a robust 2Q, with membership growth of 10% and revenue accelerating from a broadly flat 1Q, Liberum analysts say in a note. The Edinburgh-based holding company--whose principal operating subsidiary is the Scotch Malt Whisky Society--improving performance provides confidence of achieving 2023 targets as growth trajectory is expected to continue into 2H, they add. Artisanal Spirits is also benefiting from the first year of operations from its Masterton Bond facility, which is considered a key margin driver and expected to support international growth, the analysts add. "With a strong net asset underpin the shares look very cheap for a premium, luxury whisky business that is truly unique," they add. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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Playtech's Ebitda Guidance May Prompt Estimate Upgrades

1246 GMT - Gambling-software company Playtech sees the effect from the World Cup halo continuing to drive momentum through 2023, analysts at Jefferies say in a note. The momentum benefits both the Snaitech B2C business in Italy and its B2B operations, and the company should see strong growth in regulated markets and very strong revenue growth in the higher margin software-as-a-service business, they say. The company expects fiscal 2023 Ebitda ahead of consensus of EUR410 million, which implies a 1% to 3% upgrade to underlying consensus estimates, and after taking into account 1Q tailwinds moderating later in the year, the analysts say. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

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C&C's Reinstated Dividend Beat Views; Margins Could Improve by 2025

1233 GMT - C&C's FY 2023 performance was consistent with previous announcements and its reinstated dividend--which was expected--came in ahead of views, Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson says in a note. The London-listed alcoholic-drink maker proposed a progressive dividend policy, and a 3.79 European cents dividend payout for FY 2023, above Shore's estimate of 2 European cents, the analyst says. C&C's branded businesses is also showing progress as operating profit rose EUR7 million, to EUR42 million, with Tennent's lager and Bulmers cider gaining share in the period, he adds. "We suspect that [branded] margin build will be an FY 2025 story as inflationary pressures abate," Johnson notes. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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UK Medium-Term Inflation Likely to Remain Higher Than in Eurozone

1214 GMT - U.K. medium-term inflation rate is expected to stay stronger than in the eurozone, pushed by faster wage growth in the U.K. due to labor shortage, T. Rowe Price chief European economist Tomasz Wieladek says in a note. Evidence points to a clear labor shortage in the U.K. compared to the eurozone, especially in the services sector, he says. "Given the long-term labor and investment issues posed by Brexit, I think it is much more likely that U.K. inflation will surprise Euro Area inflation to the upside looking ahead," Wieladek adds. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

 

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 24, 2023 12:05 ET (16:05 GMT)

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