BOE Likely to Scale Back Rate Increase in February

1525 GMT - The Bank of England is likely to slow the pace of interest rate increases to 25 basis points at its next meeting in February 2023 as U.K. consumer spending is expected to decline due to increased mortgage rates, says Investec chief economist Philip Shaw in a note. "We suspect that consumer spending will continue to take a hit through next year, particularly as 4m households are forced to refinance their mortgages at higher rates as their fixed terms end," Shaw says, "We expect the Bank rate to rise by 25bps to 3.75%, before an increase to 4.0% in March," he says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)


Companies News: 

Serco Sees 2022 Revenue Slightly Above Views; 2023 Revenue Rising

Serco Group PLC said Thursday that it expects 2022 revenue to rise on year slightly ahead of guidance, and 2023 revenue to marginally increase.

---

Sika-MBCC Proposal to Divest Some Assets After Merger Accepted by UK Antitrust Body

The U.K.'s competition watchdog accepted a proposal from Sika AG and MBCC Group to sell some of MBCC's assets, a move that the regulator says would prevent their merger from harming the British construction industry.

---

Currys Cuts FY 2023 Guidance on Profit Dip After International Market Disruption

Currys PLC said on Thursday that guidance for fiscal 2023 has been downgraded after swinging to a pretax loss in the first half due to the disruption of its international markets and actions taken in face of competitors' heavy discounting.

---

Drax Sees 2022 Ebitda Slightly Above Market Views

Drax Group PLC on Thursday said it expects 2022 earnings to be slightly above the top range of analyst expectations, reflecting strong pumped storage and hydro performance in its second half.

---

STV Group Sees 2022 Advertising Revenue Slipping Slightly; Beating Prepandemic Levels

STV Group PLC said Thursday that it expects total advertising revenue for 2022 to slip 2% when compared with its record prior year, though remaining up 8% on 2019's prepandemic levels.

---

DX (Group) Performance Continues to Meet Management Expectations

DX (Group) PLC said Thursday that performance since its business update in mid-November has continued to be in line with management expectations, and the pipeline of new business opportunities continues to be healthy.

---

Tlou Energy to Raise A$3.1 Mln Toward Lesedi Project in Botswana

Tlou Energy Ltd. said Thursday that it is raising 3.1 million Australian dollars (US$2.1 million) via a share placing which will be used toward its Lesedi power project in Botswana.

---

Biffa Swung to 1H Pretax Profit on Higher Prices

Biffa PLC on Thursday reported a swing to pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2023 as price increases boosted its revenue and said it is well placed to trade through a potentially more challenging second-half.

---

Actual Experience's FY 2022 Revenue Fell on Fewer Contracts

Actual Experience PLC said Thursday that revenue for fiscal 2022 declined due to contracts that weren't renewed during the year.

---

Zotefoams Sees 2022 Adjusted Pretax Profit Beating Market Views

Zotefoams PLC said Thursday that performance since its business update has remained strong, and it now expects 2022 adjusted pretax profit to beat market expectations.

---

Hunting Sees Higher 2023 Ebitda on Strong Order Book

Hunting PLC said Thursday that it is increasing its earnings target for 2023, driven by a strong sales order book.

---

Sistema 3Q Profit Soars Amid Lower Costs

Sistema JSFC said Thursday that net profit for the third quarter has strongly increased after the group booked lower costs.

---

Carclo Shares Fall After Flagging Lower 2H Profit

Carclo PLC shares fell Thursday after it said it expects second-half profit to be materially lower than previously expected after a customer canceled a supply contract.

---

Libertine Holdings Shares Fall on Widened 1H Pretax Loss as Costs Rose

Libertine Holdings PLC shares fell Thursday after it said its first-half pretax loss widened on higher cost of sales and administrative expenses and despite a rise in revenue.

---

Science Group Sees Strong Dollar Boosting 2022 Revenue, Profit

Science Group PLC said Thursday that it sees revenue and adjusted operating profit for 2022 slightly ahead of its board's expectations, boosted by the strength of the dollar.

---

Currys Cuts FY 2023 Guidance After 1H Swing to Pretax Loss -- Update

Currys PLC said on Thursday that guidance for fiscal 2023 has been downgraded after swinging to a pretax loss in the first half due to the disruption of its international markets and actions taken in face of competitors' heavy discounting.

---

Petrotal Shares Rise after Peru River Blockade Removed, Opening Route

Petrotal Corp. shares rose Thursday after the company said a river blockade in Peru has been removed, allowing oil barge transportation access to its operating area and making its Brazilian export route available.

---

Carr's Group Appoints David White as CFO Designate

Carr's Group PLC said Thursday that it has appointed David White as chief financial officer designate with effect on Jan. 3.

---

XLMedia Explores Sale of Its Personal Finance Division

XLMedia PLC said Thursday it is exploring the potential sale of all its personal finance assets as it restructures the division.

---

Town Centre Securities Names Craig Burrow as Incoming Group Property Director

Town Centre Securities PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Craig Burrow as group property director, joining the board with effect from Jan. 1.

---

1Spatial Names Stuart William Ritchie CFO After Andrew Fabian Steps Down

1Spatial PLC on Thursday said it has appointed Stuart William Ritchie as its new chief financial officer after Andrew Fabian resigned from the role.

---

Argos Resources' Shares Fall on Asset Sale, Delisting Plan

Shares of Argos Resources Ltd. fell 21% on Thursday after the company said that it has reached an agreement to sell its PL001 production license interests in the North Falkland Basin and if completed, plans to cancel its trading on London's junior AIM.

---

Mondi to Sell Russian Operations to Gotek

Mondi PLC said Thursday that it has agreed to sell its three Russian packaging-converting operations to Russian packaging producer Gotek Group for 24 million euros ($25.6 million) in cash.

---

Critical Metals PLC Acquisition

TIDMCRTM

---

Future PLC Seeking Shareholder Approval for Capital Reduction

Future PLC said Thursday that it is seeking shareholder approval for a capital reduction in order to create additional distributable reserves in order for any future dividends or share buybacks.

---

Critical Metals Raises GBP1.3 Mln to Take Control of Molulu Project in Congo

Critical Metals PLC said Thursday that is planning to increase its shareholding in the Molulu copper-cobalt project in Congo, which will be funded via a 1.3 million-pound ($1.6 million) share placing.

---

Tronox Names John Srivisal Next CFO Following Tim Carlson Retirement

Tronox Holdings PLC on Thursday said John Srivisal will be the company's next chief financial officer following Tim Carlson's retirement.

---

Currys Swung to 1H Pretax, Cuts FY 2023 Views -- Earnings Review

Currys PLC reported its results for first half of fiscal 2023 on Thursday. Here's what we watched:

---

Cazoo Sells Spanish Subscription Business Swipcar to Renting Finders

Cazoo Group Ltd. on Thursday said it sold its Spanish subscription business Swipcar to Renting Finders S.L.

---

Goldplat Expects Shares to Be Temporarily Suspended Due to FY 2022 Results Delay

Goldplat PLC said Thursday it expects shares to be suspended from trading in London from Jan. 3, as its' annual audit is still in progress, preventing it from publishing its fiscal 2022 results by the Dec. 31 deadline.

---

T42 IoT Tracking Solutions Secures New Financing; Shares Rise

Shares of T42 IoT Tracking Solutions PLC rose 20% on Thursday after the company said it had secured $611,000 of financing to strengthen its balance sheet and support future growth.


 
Market Talk: 

SNB Policy Rate Differential Vs. Fed, ECB, BOE to Widen

1216 GMT - The Swiss National Bank's policy differential vis-a-vis the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will widen further, says Christian Schulz, analyst at Citi, lowering the forecast for the SNB terminal rate to 1.5% from 2%. For the second time this year, the SNB hiked its policy rate by less than Citi had expected--by 50 basis points to 1%--, but "this will be offset by FX asset sales, which could amount to CHF60bn per quarter," Schulz says in a note. "With other central banks hiking in similar step sizes but at a higher frequency, interest rate differentials between Switzerland and other major economies will widen to record levels, which should exert significant downside pressure on the Franc," Schulz says. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

---

UK Real Estate to Remain Strong Investment Despite BOE Rate Hike

1219 GMT - The Bank of England has hiked interest rates again by 0.5% to 3.5%, bringing more weariness and uncertainty across financial markets, and many are already looking ahead to 2023, says Jatin Ondhia, chief executive of Shojin. As the U.K. enters a recession, agility, diversification and foresight will be key in injecting resilience into investment portfolios and minimizing investors' exposure to the current macroeconomic headwinds, says the boss of the real estate investor. "In light of the recent Autumn Statement, it is likely that tax-efficient investments will see greater demand. I would also expect real estate to remain high on investors' wish lists, even as house prices recalibrate, with the latest stamp duty cuts likely to increase the market's resilience," Ondhia says in a market comment. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

---

Sterling Extends Losses After BOE's Split Rate Decision

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

12-15-22 1059ET