26th Nov 2019 11:23
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Tuesday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
Compass Group said annual organic revenue growth beat its own targets in a strong annual performance, though it warned on the economic environment in Europe. Revenue growth in the year to September was 8.8% to GBP24.88 billion, with organic revenue growth "strong" at 6.4% and above Compass's target of 4% to 6% growth. The market had expected organic revenue growth of 6%, according to company-compiled consensus figures. Compass's pretax profit fell 3.5% on the year before to GBP1.47 billion. The caterer said this was due to a cost action programme bringing a GBP190 million one-off charge, offsetting foreign exchange benefits. Compass is paying a final dividend of 26.9 pence per share, taking the year's total to 40.0p, 6.1% higher than the year before. This eased back from the 13% growth a year before, though Compass has maintained a streak of increased payouts stretching back to 2001.
----------
CRH reported a "strong" performance so far in 2019, with the outlook remaining positive. The building materials firm has guided for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation for 2019 to be above EUR4.15 billion, which would mean at least 23% growth year-on-year. The Dublin-based company credited "positive momentum" in all divisions, contributions from acquisitions, the impact of a new accounting treatment of leases, and currency tailwinds. As a result, CRH expects to report annual pretax profit ahead of 2018's EUR1.9 billion. Revenue in the nine months to September climbed by 9% on the year before to EUR21.8 billion, with CRH delivering like-for-like growth of 4%. Ebitda rose 27%, and 7% like-for-like, to EUR3.2 billion.
----------
Pennon Group hiked its interim dividend after profit jumped on cost-cutting measures, despite revenue dipping. For the six months ended September, pretax profit widened 22% to GBP163.1 million from GBP133.6 million the year prior. This was despite revenue falling 4.6% to GBP712.4 million from GBP746.7 million the year before. Profit was helped by a reduction in costs during the period as well as gains related to its derivative holdings. Pennon proposed a 13.66 pence per share interim dividend, up 6.4% from 12.84p the year before.
----------
Greencore Group raised its annual dividend as profit increased, despite a decline in revenue following a reset of the group's business. For the financial year ended September 27, Greencore made a pretax profit of GBP56.4 million, more than tripled from GBP17.8 million the year before. On a reported basis, the profit included an exceptional gain of GBP55.9 million in profit from the disposal of Greencore's US business, and a GBP25.4 million charge on the restructuring of debt following the sale. Revenue however, declined by 3.5% to GBP1.45 billion from GBP1.50 billion the year before, the drop driven by the impact of site disposals such as in Hull and Evercreech in the UK, and the phasing out of manufacturing of longer-life ready meals at its Kiveton facility. Greencore declared a dividend of 6.20 pence per share, up 11% from 5.56p the prior year.
----------
MARKETS
----------
London shares were higher as investors tracked the latest development in the China-US trade talks. The FTSE 250 touched an intraday high of 20,785.52 in early trade, its highest level in 15 months. The pound was down against the dollar after the latest opinion polls pointed to a tightening gap between the Conservative Party and Labour ahead of the UK general election on December 12. Wall Street was pointed to a flat open after major stock indices hit fresh record highs on Monday.
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.1% at 7,402.81
FTSE 250: up 0.3% at 20,768.65
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 910.65
GBP: down at USD1.2854 (USD1.2906)
EUR: flat at USD1.1019 (USD1.1008)
GOLD: flat at USD1,457.70 per ounce (USD1,457.22)
OIL (Brent): firm at USD63.60 a barrel (USD63.26)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Top US and Chinese negotiators held phone talks on Tuesday and agreed to keep in touch over "remaining issues" for a "phase one" trade deal between the two countries, Chinese state media said. US President Donald Trump had announced last month that the two sides had reached an initial agreement, but the deal is yet to be finalised. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke on the phone Tuesday morning with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the official Xinhua news agency reported. "The two sides discussed solving issues regarding each other's core concerns, reached consensus on properly resolving related issues, and agreed to maintain communication on remaining issues in consultations on the 'phase one' deal," it said, without providing more details. The Chinese government had issued on Sunday a directive to strengthen the protection of intellectual property and increase penalties for violators - a major sticking point in the US-China trade talks.
----------
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam pledged not to give in to protester's demands, even after the city's pro-democracy camp won a landslide victory in district council elections. Some 2.7 million residents cast their vote in a show of overwhelming support for the democracy camp, in an embarrassment for the government and Beijing. The vote transferred control of 17 out of 18 Hong Kong districts to pro-democracy groups for the first time ever, and is widely seen as a referendum on the protest movement and a sign that much of the city still supports demonstrations. Lam told reporters on Tuesday that while "voters wanted to express their views" including dissatisfaction with the government, Hong Kong could "no longer tolerate violence on the streets," signalling that she would continue to resist protest demands.
----------
America's monetary policy is set to continue the good times for workers while nudging inflation back to where officials would like to see it, the US Federal Reserve chief said. The remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell underscored central bankers' view that they are likely to hold their fire for the coming months after cutting interest rates three times this year. "Monetary policy is now well positioned to support a strong labour market and return inflation decisively to our symmetric 2% objective," Powell said in a speech to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce in Rhode Island. In a look back at developments over the year, Powell said that, while the outlook appeared healthy now, there had been some scares during 2019. Weakening global growth and President Donald Trump's trade wars together hit US exports, weakened the manufacturing sector and sapped business confidence, which weighed down corporate investments. "At this point in the long expansion, I see the glass as much more than half full," he said, according to prepared remarks, adding that, with the right policies "we can fill it further".
----------
Copyright 2019 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Compass Group