FTSE 100 Rises as Oil, Mining Stocks Gain
0909 GMT - The FTSE 100 Index rises, led by miners and oil stocks as crude prices rise more than 1%. London's blue-chip index gains 0.4%, or 29 points to 7473as the price of a barrel of Brent crude advances 1.1% to $81.76. BP, Shell, Fresnillo, BHP, Rio and Antofagasta are all among the biggest risers despite mostly downbeat trading in Asia. "As well as equities, oil is catching a bid on the back of firmer risk appetite after a challenging start to the year," Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor says. "A softer U.S. dollar is also buoying energy prices as the markets await a slew of Fed speakers this week." (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Games Workshop 1H Pretax Profit Slipped; Revenue Rose
Games Workshop Group PLC said Tuesday that pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 fell despite higher revenue.
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Darktrace Raises FY 2022 Expectations After Strong First Half
Darktrace PLC said Tuesday that it delivered significant growth over the first six months of fiscal 2022, leading it to increase its expectations for the full year.
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Electrocomponents Expects 4Q Challenges Due to Pandemic But Sees FY Profit Ahead of Views
Electrocomponents PLC said Tuesday that although it expects external challenges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 to intensify due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, profit for the year is expected to be slightly ahead of consensus estimates.
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M.J. Gleeson 1H Homes Sold Slipped 2%, Remains Above Pre-Covid Levels
M.J. Gleeson PLC said Tuesday the number of homes it sold slipped slightly on-year in the first half of fiscal 2022 but remained above pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, and it expects to meet full-year market forecasts.
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UK Watchdog Could Accept Pennon's Undertakings to Clear Bristol Water Deal
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Tuesday that it believes undertakings provided by Pennon Group PLC in relation to its completed acquisition of Bristol Water Holdings UK Ltd. may be enough to satisfy its concerns over the deal.
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SIG Sees 2021 Revenue Rose, Expects Swing to Underlying Profitability
SIG PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report its revenue rose and that it swung to an underlying operating profit in 2021, and it has strong momentum going into 2022.
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Shoe Zone Swung to Pretax Profit in FY 2021; Says Eligible to Reinstate Dividend
Shoe Zone PLC posted Tuesday a swing to a pretax profit for fiscal 2021, boosted by lower costs and increased online sales, and said that it is now eligible to reinstate dividend payouts.
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Franchise Brands 4Q Was Strong After Increased Sales at Metro Rod
Franchise Brands PLC said Tuesday that the strong trajectory it has experienced in 2021 continued in the fourth quarter, underpinned by significant growth at Metro Rod.
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Robert Walters 4Q Net Fee Income Rose
Robert Walters PLC said Tuesday that net fee income trends rose 39% on a constant-currency basis in the fourth quarter of 2021, and that its performance was now comfortably ahead of current profit expectations.
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Union Jack Oil's Wressle Interest Generates $2 Mln in Revenue Since Restart
Union Jack Oil PLC said Tuesday its interest in the Wressle hydrocarbon development has generated $2 million in revenue since the recommencement of production on Aug. 19.
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GSTechnologies Raises GBP1.3 Mln Toward Strategy
GSTechnologies Ltd. said Tuesday that it has raised 1.3 million pounds ($1.8 million) via a share placing and subscription and will use the money toward its strategy.
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Deltex Medical Group 2021 Revenue Fell Due to the Pandemic
Deltex Medical Group PLC said on Tuesday that revenue for 2021 fell due to the effects of the pandemic and the significant reduction in elective surgical procedures on a global scale.
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Rathbones Group Funds Under Management and Administration Rose 25% in 2021
Rathbones Group PLC said Tuesday that total funds under management at Dec. 31 were up 25% on year, boosted by continued net inflows and the acquisition of wealth manager Saunderson House.
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Unite Group Rooms Sold in Advance Rose; Expects Full Occupancy
Unite Group PLC said Tuesday that the number of rooms sold in advance for the coming academic year has risen, and it guided for full occupancy and rental growth.
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Pure Gold's Mine Output Rate Seen Slightly Lower After Covid-19 Outbreak
Pure Gold Mining Inc. said Tuesday that production is expected to continue at a slightly reduced rate at its PureGold Mine in Canada after an outbreak of Covid-19 among staff.
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Trident Royalties PLC. Completion of Acquisition of Gold Portfolio
TIDMTRR
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Premier Miton Group Assets Under Management Flat for 1Q
Premier Miton Group PLC said on Tuesday that its assets under management in the first quarter of 2022 didn't change compared with the previous quarter, and that will launch a new fund.
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Deepverge Expects Widened 2021 Pretax Loss
Deepverge PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report a widened pretax loss for 2021, and that unaudited revenue rose in the year.
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Central Asia Metals Beat 2021 Copper Guidance; Unaffected by Kazakhstan Unrest
Central Asia Metals PLC said Tuesday that it has exceeded its 2021 copper guidance, and that it hasn't been affected by Kazakhstan's recent political unrest.
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Vitec Group Sees 2021 Adj Pretax Profit, Revenue in Line With Views
Vitec Group PLC said Tuesday that it expects 2021 adjusted pretax profit, revenue and net debt to be in line with market consensus, and that it entered 2022 with a record opening order book.
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Gresham Technologies Says 2021 Revenue, Adjusted Ebitda Rose Ahead of Views
Gresham Technologies PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report increased revenue and adjusted Ebitda for 2021, ahead of current market expectations.
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Diaceutics Appoints Nick Roberts CFO, 2021 Revenue rose 10%
Diaceutics PLC said on Tuesday that Nick Roberts has been appointed chief financial officer and director of the board, effective mid-March 2022, and that current CFO Philip White will step down to pursue new business opportunities.
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XP Power 2021 Revenue Rose; Sees Adjusted Profit Missing Views
XP Power Ltd. said Tuesday that it expects to miss market expectations for adjusted operating profit, but strong order intake momentum persisted throughout the fourth quarter and its 2021 revenue rose.
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SDI Group CFO to Step Down
SDI Group PLC said Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Jon Abell has decided to step down.
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Bango Sees Increased 2021 Revenue, In-Line Adjusted Ebitda
Bango PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report revenue growth ahead of expectations for 2021 and that adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization should be in line.
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Knights Group Swung to Pretax Profit in 1H
Knights Group Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it swung to a pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022, and that revenue rose.
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Genel Energy CFO Esa Ikaheimonen to Step Down in March
Genel Energy PLC said Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Esa Ikaheimonen intends to leave the company on March 16, the day after its 2021 financial results are announced.
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Electric Guitar Shares Rise in Stock Market Debut
Shares of Electric Guitar PLC rose 8.3% on Tuesday as it started trading on the London Stock Exchange implying a market capitalization of 1.9 million pounds ($2.6 million).
Market Talk:
Flutter, Evolution Shares Gain After Citi Upgrades
1017 GMT - Flutter Entertainment shares rise 4% after Citigroup raised its recommendation on the bookmaker to buy from sell, citing U.S. market opportunities. Citi also upgrades Swedish gaming group Evolution to buy from neutral. Its shares rise 5%. "We're increasingly bullish on the size of the U.S. prize," Citi analysts say. "We now forecast a long-term Ebitda opportunity of $9.3 billion, double what we expected this time last year. Further, we expect Flutter and Entain's dominance to continue, while Evolution's product quality will drive its strong U.S. positioning." (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Croda International Shares Lack Drivers After Rally
1004 GMT - Croda International shares lack drivers after a strong run, says Citigroup, cutting its recommendation on the FTSE 100-listed chemical group to neutral and its target price to 9400 pence. Shares fall 0.4% to 8998p. "Astute acquisitions of Avanti and Iberchem solidified the focus on high-value life sciences and core competency consumer care and the market has rewarded the stock accordingly," Citi analyst Mubasher Chaudhry says. "Re-assessing the immediate outlook, we remain positive on the underlying business, but the next catalyst for share price is unclear to us." (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Sterling Gains on Rate-Rise Bets But Rally Could Lose Steam
1000 GMT - Sterling rises despite the U.K. spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant and post-Brexit issues as investors focus on the prospect of the Bank of England's raising interest rates further, Commerzbank says. The forex market hasn't considered Brexit a problem for some time and Omicron is expected to have a limited economic impact, meaning a BOE rate rise in February would be quite likely, Commerzbank's You-Na Park-Heger says. However, sterling's rally could soon "run out of steam" as rate-rise bets are probably largely priced in, she says. GBP/USD rises 0.3% to 1.3609 after hitting a two-month high of 1.3620 earlier, according to FactSet. EUR/GBP falls 0.1% to 0.8337, having earlier reached a 22-month low of 0.8331. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
UK Retailers Gain as Sales Rise, But Growth Rate Slows
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01-11-22 0537ET
