Stocks Drop Ahead of Expected Lower US Open
European markets fall amid ongoing economic uncertainty ahead of an expected slightly lower U.S. open. Brent crude sheds 1.3% to $111.67, though oil stocks rise as plant shutdowns in Libya fuel supply concerns. IG futures show the Dow opening at 34,382, versus Monday’s close of 34,411. “Mixed economic data from China Monday haven’t helped matters,” IG analysts say. “James Bullard, St Louis Fed president, said U.S. rates should reach 3.5% by the end of the year, as inflation remains ‘far too high’. U.S. earnings season’s now in full swing and Netflix, Halliburton and Johnson & Johnson all report today.”
Companies News:
Pearson Reiterates 2022 Guidance; Arizona State University Contract to End in 2023
Pearson PLC said Tuesday that its online program management partnership with Arizona State University will end in June 2023 and that it is reiterating financial guidance for 2022.
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Stanley Gibbons Sees FY 2022 Revenue Rising to GBP12 Mln
Stanley Gibbons Group PLC said Tuesday that revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31 is expected to be around 12 million pounds ($15.6 million).
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JTC 2021 Pretax Profit Soared; Says 2022 Off to Good Start
JTC PLC on Tuesday reported a more-than-doubled pretax profit for 2021, and said it has benefited from a positive start to the year.
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Spectris Sells Omega Engineering for $525 Mln; Plans $390 Mln Share Buyback
Spectris PLC said Tuesday that it has sold Omega Engineering to Arcline Investment Management for $525 million and that it will undertake a 300 million pounds ($390.3 million) share buyback program.
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Inland Homes Plans GBP1 Mln Share-Buyback Program
Inland Homes PLC said Tuesday that it is planning to buy back up to 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) worth of its shares, reflecting the company’s “cash generative ability” and to maintain a sound balance sheet.
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D4t4 Solutions Sees FY 2022 Revenue in Line, Adjusted Pretax Profit at Upper End of Views
D4t4 Solutions PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report revenue for fiscal 2022 in line with market expectations and adjusted pretax profit at the upper end of market expectations after a strong performance in the second half.
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Cake Box 2H Performance Strong; FY 2022 Rev Expected to Rise Significantly
Cake Box Holdings PLC said Tuesday that its performance during the second half of fiscal 2022 continued to be strong across its store estate and online delivery channels, and that it expects significant revenue growth for the year.
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Venture Life Group Delays Publishing 2021 Results Until May; Reiterates Guidance
Venture Life Group PLC said Tuesday that its 2021 results will be delayed until early May, and backed its guidance for the year.
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Kainos Group Expects FY 2022 Revenue, Adj. Profit in Line With Market Views
Kainos Group PLC said Tuesday that it had a strong performance across all business areas in fiscal 2022, and that it expects to post revenue and adjusted profit in line with consensus for the year ended March 31.
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Cerillion Says 1H Revenue, Adj Ebitda Rose Significantly
Cerillion PLC on Tuesday reported strong performance for the first half of fiscal 2022, and said it expects to end the year in line with expectations.
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SysGroup Sees in Line FY 2022 Adjusted Ebitda after Strong Management, Acquisition Synergies
SysGroup PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report in line adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for fiscal 2022 after strong operational management and the full-year benefit of acquisition synergies.
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Serabi Gold Cuts 2022 Gold Production Guidance on 1Q Performance Hit
Serabi Gold PLC said Tuesday that its gold production fell in the first quarter from a year earlier because of continued supply-chain issues, and that it is downgrading its guidance for 2022.
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Crossword Cybersecurity 2021 Pretax Loss Widened as Costs Increased
Crossword Cybersecurity PLC said Tuesday that its pretax loss for 2021 widened as costs increased, as it expanded its headcount and continued to invest in sales and marketing and product development.
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Griffin Mining 1Q Production Fell
Griffin Mining Ltd. said Tuesday that production fell in the first quarter at the Caijiaying zinc-gold mine in China.
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Deepverge’s Shares Rise on Record High 1Q Sales
Shares in Deepverge PLC on Tuesday rose after the company said it closed the first quarter of 2022 with record high sales and that it has signed a manufacturing service framework agreement to improve its Modern Water division.
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X5 Retail Group Net Retail Sales Rose 19% in 1Q
X5 Retail Group NV said Tuesday that net retail sales rose 19% in the first quarter from a year earlier.
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Woodbois 1Q Revenue Rose; Appoints New CEO
Woodbois Ltd. said Tuesday that first-quarter revenue rose 22% and that Paul Dolan has taken the role of chief executive after stepping down as executive chairman.
Market Talk:
D4t4 Solutions Posts Sales Growth as It Transitions to License Model
0935 GMT – D4t4 Solutions’ year-end update shows that revenue met consensus market expectations and confirmed sales growth as it transitions to an annual-term license model, finnCap says. While earnings are down 28% on fiscal 2021, this is due to planned investment in the new fraud data platform, which is opening up a new GBP12 billion market opportunity. That move should boost sales and earnings in the years ahead for the AIM-listed data company, finnCap says. The U.K. investment bank reiterates its 450 pence price target on the stock. Shares are up 5.2% at 242 pence.
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ITV Seen Hurt by Media Cost Inflation
0918 GMT – ITV will be hurt by significant media cost inflation as a rise in the cost of its advertising will hit demand, Berenberg says. The German brokerage says consensus estimates are too high as there is no major international football tournament next year, restrictions are coming into force on advertising high-fat, sugar-and-salt products and the shift out of linear TV is expected to continue. What’s more, Berenberg says management’s assumption that the ITVX online video platform launch later in 2022 won’t negatively affect linear consumption, or ad spend, is unrealistic. Berenberg downgrades ITV stock to sell, with a price target of 64 pence. Shares trade down 2% at 75.46 pence.
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Serabi Falls After Warning of Lower 2022 Gold Production
0903 GMT – Shares in Serabi Gold fall 14% after the Brazil-focused miner downgraded full-year production guidance. Supply of equipment to the mine continues to affect operations, as a new fleet was slow coming to site, Peel Hunt analysts Peter Mallin-Jones and Tim Huff say in a note. The company cut 2022 guidance to 30,000 ounces from 36,000-39,000, which leads Peel Hunt to trim its Ebitda estimate by around 30%. “The requirement to reset from long hole stoping to the more selective open stoping mining method at Sao Chico is likely to limit the high-grade ore from Sao Chico through 2Q and 3Q, before seeing a return in 4Q,” the brokerage says. Serabi is a corporate client of Peel Hunt.
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UK House Price Growth Is Set to Slow in the Months Ahead
0708 GMT – The annual growth in U.K. house prices is set to slow over the remainder of the year due to rising mortgage rates and falling real incomes, Gabriella Dickens, senior U.K. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, says in a research note. U.K. house prices could be supported if consumers used some of the savings accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic to buy a home or if households were willing to dedicate a larger portion of their incomes to housing, but the low confidence level suggests that this is unlikely to happen, Dickens says. “We expect year-over-year growth in the official measure of house prices to slow to around 4.5% in 4Q. Mortgage approvals, meanwhile, likely will drop back to their 2017-to-2019 average of 66,000 in 2H,” she says.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2022 06:37 ET (10:37 GMT)
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