30th Apr 2019 07:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Tuesday following another record close in the US overnight, as earnings season continued apace around the world.In early UK company news, BP reported a drop in first-quarter profit, Whitbread will launch a tender offer as pretax profit fell, and Just Group commenced the search for a new chief executive. IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 7.84 points higher at 7,448.50. The blue chip index closed up 12.47 points, or 0.2%, at 7,440.66 on Monday.In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended broadly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average flat, S&P 500 up 0.1%, and Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%. The Nasdaq and S&P reached new record closing highs of 8,161.85 and 2,943.03 respectively.In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.3%. Financial markets in Japan remain closed for Golden Week and the abdication of Emperor Akihito.Oil major BP said it performed well in the first quarter of 2019 in a period of market volatility.Replacement cost profit, BP's preferred metric, fell 12% to USD2.10 billion from USD2.39 billion the same period the year before and USD2.72 billion the previous quarter.On an underlying basis, BP's RC profit was USD2.36 billion, down 8.9% from USD2.59 billion a year ago and 32% from USD3.48 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018.BP nevertheless increased its first-quarter dividend by 2.5% on the year before, paying out 10.25 US cents to shareholders. BP bought back USD50 million worth of shares in the quarter, with buybacks in 2019 to be second half weighted. Miner and trader Glencore cut its 2019 production guidance for a number of key commodities Tuesday after a mixed set of first-quarter output figures.For the three months ended March, copper production fell 7.2% to 320,700 tonnes from 345,400 tonnes a year prior. Nickel production was down 10% to 27,100 tonnes from 30,100 tonnes a year before. For all of 2019, Glencore cut its guidance for a number of commodities. The firm expects copper production of around 1.46 million tonnes, down 40,000 tonnes from previous forecasts due to "safety and smelter outages" as well as a "range of mine plan updates" at its operations. Its nickel output forecast was cut by 10,000 tonnes to 128,000 tonnes as a result of the "weaker start to the year" from its Koniambo operations on the island of New Calendonia. Hospitality firm Whitbread said it saw a robust performance in financial 2019 and planned to return more proceeds from the sale of its Costa Coffee chain.For the financial year ended February 28, revenue came in at GBP2.05 billion, up 2.5% from a restated GBP2.00 billion in financial 2018. However, statutory pretax profit fell almost 40% to GBP259.8 million from GBP426.5 million the year before. The company attributed the fall to GBP178 million of non-underlying items, of which GBP108 million was in relation to disposal costs from the sale of Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola Co. Whitbread declared a total dividend of 99.65 pence, down from 101.15p the year before.The company also said it will launch a tender offer to return up to GBP2 billion in proceeds from the Costa sale to shareholders."In the fourth quarter, we saw a decline in business and leisure confidence, leading to weaker domestic hotel demand. This weakness has increased into March and April particularly in the regional business market, coinciding with an acute period of political and economic uncertainty in the UK. At this stage in the new financial year it is too early to know how business confidence and its impact on the market will evolve. However, it's important to note that our strong balance sheet, ongoing efficiency programme and integrated operating model means we are likely to be more resilient in a weaker market than many of our competitors. In addition, our ability and willingness to continue to invest through this period will place us in an advantaged position in the future," said Chief Executive Alison Brittain. Wealth manager St James's Place reported a rise in assets under management for the first-quarter. For the quarter ended March 31, funds under management reached GBP103.5 billion, up from GBP89.91 billion in the first quarter last year. Net Inflows were lower at GBP2.18 billion from GBP2.60 billion the year before."Whilst uncertainty will inevitably impact investor sentiment from time to time, it does not change the long-term needs of individuals. There remains both a growing market for trusted face-to-face advice in the UK and an advice gap that represents a major opportunity for us. Given the scale and quality of the St. James's Place Partnership we are confident of both the resilience of the business in more difficult times and our ability to continue to grow the business over the medium to long term," said CEO Andrew Croft.Standard Chartered launched a USD1 billion share buyback programme after first-quarter profit and return on equity improved as the emerging markets bank focused on expanding customers numbers and services and legacy issues subsided.For the three months ended March, pretax profit rose 4.2% to USD1.24 billion from USD1.19 billion the year prior. This was despite operating income dipping 1.6% to USD3.81 billion from USD3.87 billion the year before.Packaging firm DS Smith said its financial performance has continued in line with expectations. The company said it has continued to see growth in corrugated box volumes and in market share gains. In addition, all its regions have seen growth, with particular strength in the UK, Italy and Poland, partially offset by some volume weakness in certain export-led markets, including Germany. DS Smith added that group margins are expected to have progressed in the second half of the year. "The acquisition of Europac has significantly enhanced our European operations and the Group has also been strengthened strategically and financially by the agreed disposal of our Plastics division we announced in March. Notwithstanding the current economic uncertainties, this progress, together with our focus on the stable FMCG market, and enhanced cost and efficiency improvements position the business well," CEO Miles Roberts said. Just Group said Chief Executive Officer Rodney Cook decide to retire and has stepped down with immediate effect. He has agreed to stay on until June 30 to ensure a smooth transition. The company has started the search for a successor and in the meantime Deputy Chief Executive Officer David Richardson has assumed the role of interim CEO. The economic events calendar on Tuesday has inflation readings from France, Spain, Italy and Germany at 0745 BST, 0800 BST and 1000 BST and 1300 BST respectively. There also are eurozone GDP and unemployment figures at 1000 BST.Manufacturing production in China rose slightly in April, improving for the second month in a row, the latest data from IHS Markit showed Tuesday.The April increase, however, slowed from the previous month. The headline seasonally adjusted Caixin Purchasing Managers Index decreased to 50.2 in April from 50.8 in March."Although the rate of improvement was only slight, it nonetheless contrasted with the subdued trend seen at the turn of the year," said Markit.The pound was quoted at USD1.2941 early Tuesday, up from USD1.2921 at the London equities close Monday.UK consumer confidence remained stable in April despite weakening personal finances confidence and fewer major purchases being considered, data showed on Tuesday. Data from GfK showed the UK Consumer Confidence in April remained "stubbornly" at negative 13 for the third consecutive month.Still ahead in the US earnings calendar, iPhone maker Apple reports earnings after the market close in New York on Tuesday.
Related Shares:
Just GroupSmith (DS)St James's PlaceWhitbread