21st Jan 2016 11:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Thursday.
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COMPANIES
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Pearson said it will miss its previous guidance for calendar 2015 as it outlined plans to cut 4,000 jobs and simplify its business. However, the publisher also edged up its dividend and pledged to maintain it at this level. Pearson also outlined guidance for 2016, saying it expects to report adjusted earnings per share before restructuring costs of between GBP580 million and GBP620 million, down from the approximately GBP720 million it is now guiding for 2015, and earnings per share of between 50 and 55 pence. Pearson cited a loss of operating profits from the high-profile sales it made in 2015, including of the Financial Times Group and of its stake in The Economist, ongoing challenging conditions in its largest markets, and the reinstatement of its employee incentive pool, as well as other operational factors.
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Postal operator Royal Mail said its revenue edged higher in the first nine months of its financial year, helped by a strong performance from its GLS logistics business and a continued pattern in the UK of revenue shrinking from letters but growing from parcels. The company said its group revenue for the nine months to December 27 was up 1.0%. The group said its UK revenue was down 1.0% overall, with a 1.0% rise in parcel revenue offset by a 2.0% fall in letters revenue.
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SABMiller said reported net producer revenue declined in the third quarter of its financial year as the strong dollar continued to harm results, although it grew on an underlying basis, boosted by growth in most of its operating regions. The beer giant, set to be acquired by AB InBev, said group NPR in the third quarter to end-December fell 8% on a reported basis, and by 9% in the nine months of its financial year to date, due to an "adverse translational impact" from the continued depreciation of its key operating currencies against the dollar. On an underlying basis, group NPR grew 7% in the third quarter and 5% in the year to date, while volume rose 4% in the quarter and 2% in the year to date.
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Barclays will shut its cash equities businesses in Asia and will completely exit two markets in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a memo sent to clients and people familiar with the matter. The bank will close its cash equity research, sales and trading units and its convertible bond trading arm in Asia, the letter said, and will exit Taiwan and South Korea. At least 250 jobs will go in the region as a result of the changes.
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St James's Place said it had a strong end to 2015, with net inflows of GBP1.63 billion in the fourth quarter helping the British wealth manager to end the year with higher funds under management in the face of market volatility. Funds under management amounted to GBP58.61 billion at the end of 2015, up from GBP52.01 billion at the end of 2014, as net inflows over the course of 2015 added up to GBP5.78 billion.
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Land Securities Group said it had a solid third quarter across its portfolio, with good footfall in its shopping centres and progress on its developments. The property developer said retailer sales were up 1.2% in the quarter to the end of December on a same-centre basis, as footfall in its shopping centres rose 1.7% year-on-year, bucking the national trend, which saw a 2.3% fall on average, Land Securities. Footfall measures the number of shoppers in stores.
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N Brown Group reported growth in revenue in the third quarter of its financial year, driven particularly by its three 'Power Brands' and over the cyber weekend in November. The online, catalogue and stores retailer, which trades under multiple brands including House of Bath, SimplyBe, Jacamo, and figleaves.com, said group revenue in the 18 weeks to January 2 grew 4.1% on the same period the year before, with like-for-like sales also growing 4.1%.
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Halfords Group reported growth in revenue in the third quarter of its financial year, boosted by a strong performance at its autocentres, a return to like-for-like growth in cycling, and a record day for sales over the Black Friday weekend. The car parts and bicycle retailer said total group revenue in the 15 weeks to January 15 grew 0.4% year-on-year, as 4.1% growth in autocentres offset a 0.3% decline in retail. In the 41 weeks to the same date, total group revenue rose 1.3% as autocentres increased 4.4% and retail was up 0.8%.
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Countrywide said its now expects its underlying earnings for 2015 will be slightly ahead of its expectations and maintained its guidance for 2016, even as it continued to feel pressures from the slowdown in the London property market. The company said it saw an encouraging performance in the fourth quarter of 2015, even as it continued to face pressures from a slowdown of housing transactions, particularly in the capital.
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Laird said it anticipates meeting expectations for 2015, as revenue rose 12%, and it expressed confidence for "another year of growth" in 2016. Laird said its revenue for 2015 rose 12% to GBP630 million from GBP565 million in 2014, with revenue up 1% in its fourth quarter to GBP164 million from GBP163 million.
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NCC Group said it expects to meet market expectations for its full year, as it reported a fall in pretax profit for its first half on exceptional costs, and raised its interim dividend.For the half year to end-November NCC reported a pretax profit of GBP7.5 million, down from GBP10.6 million a year before, as a rise in revenue to GBP93.5 million from GBP62.3 million was offset by exceptional costs of GBP4.2 million related to acquisitions and an intangible asset write down. NCC proposed an interim dividend of 1.50 pence, up 15% from 1.30 pence a year before.
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Safestore Holdings posted a big rise in pretax profit in the year to the end of October, mostly due to a massive gain made on its property values, but also as its revenue grew. FTSE 250-listed Safestore said its pretax profit for the year to October 31 was GBP118.2 million, more than double the GBP52.4 million it made a year earlier, mostly due to the GBP78.9 million gain it made on the value of its investment properties, compared to a GBP24.1 million gain a year earlier.
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Nostrum Oil & Gas detailed plans designed to ensure it can "prosper" whether oil prices remain at depressed levels or move up, with the package of measures including new a new hedging deal and ways of preserving cash. The new hedge currently has a market value of over USD150.0 million. That measured up against the USD92.0 million value of the previous hedge, which was two months from maturity.
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MARKETS
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UK indices were rallying after incurring heavy losses on Wednesday, led by Pearson and Royal Mail. Investors are looking ahead to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's press conference at 1330 GMT, though no changes to monetary policy are expected. Wall Street was pointed to a lower open.
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FTSE 100: up 0.4% at 5,696.01
FTSE 250: up 0.4% at 15,709.55
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 675.25
GBP: down at USD1.4150 (USD1.4210)
EUR: up at USD1.0896 (USD1.0912)
GOLD: down at USD1,097.92 per ounce (USD1,102.90)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD27.65 a barrel (USD27.62)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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The house price balance in the UK ticked up to 50% in December, the latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed. That was in line with expectations and up from 49% in November. The demand for new properties climbed to a three-month high in December, RICS said, which fueled the increase in sellers who were getting their asking price.
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UK manufacturers produced more cars in 2015 than any year since 2005, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Car production grew 3.9% to 1.58 million units in 2015, overtaking pre-recession levels for the first time. A record number of cars, representing 77.3% of total production was exported in 2015. Exports totalled 1.23 million units, up 2.7% on 2014 levels. The US overtook China as UK's largest single export destination, as demand from China declined 37.5%. Meanwhile, EU demand advanced 11.3%, with 57.5% of shipments destined for the continent.
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The European Central Bank is expected to leave interest rates on hold Thursday, but could signal plans for further monetary action in the coming months amid a sharp fall in oil prices and worries about global economic uncertainties. Analysts expect the ECB will announce it will leave its benchmark refinancing rate on hold at 0.05%. Many analysts also believe that Draghi could hint at his press conference at further measures in the coming months, such as expanding the ECB's bond-buying programme or trimming interest rates again if both economic growth and inflation fall short of its forecasts.
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Japan's all industry activity decreased at a faster-than-expected pace in November, after rising in the prior month, figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. The all industry activity index fell a seasonally adjusted 1.0% month-over-month in November, in contrast to a 0.9% increase in October, which was revised up from 0.9% spike reported earlier. Economists had expected a 0.8% drop for the month.
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is to be signed in Auckland on February 4, the New Zealand government said. New Zealand has issued invitations to ministers from TPP member countries to ink the deal. "Signature will mark the end of the TPP negotiating process," said Trade Minister Todd McClay. "Following signature, all 12 countries will be able to begin their respective domestic ratification processes and will have up to two years to complete that before the agreement enters into force," he said in a statement.
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A bill that would have kept the US from accepting Syrian refugees unless they could have been certified not to be a security threat failed to advance in the US Senate Wednesday. The measure failed 55-43 to clear a 60-vote threshold needed for it to advance to consideration by the Senate amid opposition by members of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party.
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More than 50 million people are bracing for a major winter storm predicted to hit the eastern US Friday that could bring large amounts of snow and heavy wind to the region. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch in effect from Friday afternoon to Saturday night in Washington due to the possibility of heavy snow and high winds.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
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