24th Jul 2018 08:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Share prices in London were slightly higher in early trade on Tuesday, following gains in the US and Asia overnight, amid a flurry of corporate news.The FTSE 250 edged higher with IG Group the best performer, despite losses elsewhere in the mid-cap index for Superdry, Drax Group and Spectris. Buoying London's junior AIM market, however, was a 14% jump for Fevertree as it expects to report an annual result comfortably ahead of its expectations.The FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, or 8.10 points, at 7,663.89 early Tuesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.2%, or 47.35 points, at 20,817.73. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.7% at 1,095.85.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 12,988.59, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 18,948.70, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 12,406.98.In the FTSE 100, J Sainsbury was down 0.7%, Ocado down 0.4%, Tesco up 0.1% and Wm Morrison Supermarkets up 0.4%.This was after the latest survey data from Kantar Worldpanel showed Sainsbury's market share dipped by 0.4 percentage point to 16% in the 12 weeks to July 15, while Tesco's fell to 27.6% from 27.9%. Morrisons' market share was steady at 10.5%, and Ocado's edged up to 1.2% from 1.1%. "Football fever" bolstered by hot weather in the UK boosted supermarket sales by 3.6%, Kantar said, the fastest rate of growth so far this year.IG Group was the best performing mid-cap, up 2.7% as it booked record revenue and earnings in its recently-ended financial year.IG said net trading revenue for the year ended May 31 grew 16% to a record GBP569.0 million, as pretax profit jumped to GBP280.8 million from GBP213.7 million last year. The spreadbetting firm hiked its payout for the year by 34% to 43.2p.However, IG reiterated that revenue for the recently commenced financial year will be lower than that just achieved, due to regulatory changes in the UK and EU. The company expects to return to growth after this."The company delivered record revenue, operating profit and earnings in FY18, driven by strong growth across all regions and products, and has continued to make good strategic and operational progress," said Chief Executive Peter Hetherington, adding that IG intends to maintain its 43.2p payout until earnings allow the board to resume "progressive" dividends.Hammerson gained 1.9% after the retail property investor launched a buyback amid a dip in interim rental income and a fall in profit.For the six months to June, Hammerson's net rental income fell 3% to GBP178.5 million, with revenue falling to GBP152.5 million from GBP160.1 million. The company's pretax profit fell to GBP55.8 million from GBP289.7 million.Hammerson is paying an 11.1 pence interim dividend, up 3.7% from the 10.7p paid a year prior, and also will start a share buyback programme worth up to GBP300 million over the next 12 months. At the bottom of the FTSE 250 was Superdry, down 6.0%, with Drax Group down 4.2%.Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton sold 5.5 million shares, representing a 6.7% stake in the high street fashion retailer, via an accelerated bookbuild at a price of 1,285p per share. Dunkerton raised GBP71 million from the sale. Following the placing, Dunkerton holds 15.1 million shares in Superdry, or a 18.5% stake.Renewable energy firm Drax Group said revenue for the six months to June 30 rose to GBP2.08 billion from GBP1.80 billion, as its pretax loss narrowed significantly to GBP11.3 million from GBP103.7 million last year. The company lifted its interim dividend 14% to 5.6p from 4.9p.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, however, dropped to GBP101.6 million from GBP120.8 million the prior year due to unplanned outages.Spectris was 3.0% lower after the precision instruments company said sales in the first half of 2018 rose 3% to GBP728.0 million, up 5% on a like-for-like basis, as pretax profit rose 6% to GBP67.4 million. The company lifted its interim dividend by 8% to 20.5p from 19.0p.The 5% organic growth is expected to ease slightly in the second half, given tougher comparatives, though the company's annual expectations remain unchanged.PZ Cussons was down 1.2% after the consumer products maker's revenue for the year to May 31 fell 5.8% to GBP762.6 million - down 2.3% on a like-for-like basis - as pretax profit slipped to GBP66.6 million from GBP86.5 million. The company maintained its dividend at 8.28p for the year.The company said "very tough trading conditions" in Nigeria was the main contributor to a fall in adjusted operating profit, which was 18% lower on a reported basis and 16% lower on a constant currency basis."We expect macro conditions to remain challenging in most of the markets in which we operate with general elections in Nigeria and Indonesia falling in the second half of the new financial year. Commodity costs and exchange rates are expected to remain volatile," said PZ Cussons.Britvic was 1.0% lower after the soft drinks maker said third-quarter revenue rose 3.4% to GBP366.9 million, up on last year despite a strong comparative. Revenue excluding the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy decreased 0.6% over the third quarter."Whilst the industry-wide shortage of carbon dioxide held back our ability to fully capitalise on the exceptional weather in GB and Ireland, we leveraged the breadth and strength of our portfolio to moderate the impact. Consequently, we remain confident of achieving market expectations for the full year," said Britvic Chief Executive Simon Litherland.Fevertree climbed 14% after it said revenue rose 45% to GBP104.2 million in the first half of 2018, as pretax profit rose to GBP32.7 million from GBP24.1 million. As a result, the premium mixers supplier bumped up its interim dividend up 40% to 4.22p per share.Given the strong first half performance, the company expects its outturn for the full-year will be "comfortably" ahead of its expectations."The first half of 2018 has been one of major progress for Fever-Tree. The group delivered a strong performance, most notably in the UK, as we continue to drive and lead the evolution of the wider mixer category," said Chief Executive Tim Warrillow.In Asia on Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed 2.7% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.2%.In mainland Europe early Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.4%.Still in the economic events calendar on Tuesday there are manufacturing and services PMI readings the eurozone and the US at 0900 BST and 1445 BST respectively.The eurozone PMIs will be in focus ahead of the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy decision this week, said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group."Investors will be keen to see whether the slowdown registered in the first quarter is continuing. Recent data has shown an unevenness in eurozone economic growth and increased trade tensions are expected to have done more damage," said Lawler.Already out, the flash reading of the July manufacturing PMI for Germany was 57.3, up from 55.9 in June. The services PMI came in at 54.4, steady with 54.4 in June. In the UK on Tuesday, the CBI industrial trends survey is at 1100 BST.Related Shares:
TescoBritvicFevertreeOcadoIGSpectrisMRW.LHammersonDraxSainsbury'sPz CussonsSDRY.L