Market News 
 
FTSE 100: 7193.23  -26.91 -0.37% 
FTSE 250: 23746.77 -10.06 -0.04% 
FTSE AIM: 1270.39   2.37   0.19% 

The FTSE 100 slipped back Thursday despite an encouraging 4.6% growth rate for the second quarter of 2021. The reopening efforts undertaken in the U.K. have provided the basis for a rapid recovery, with the U.K. hoping to live up to IMF expectations that they will outperform European peers this year--but there is a risk growth will soon begin to taper off, IG Group market analyst Joshua Mahony said. "While the U.S. has the benefit of a free-spending Joe Biden at the helm, the U.K. recovery will be based on the hope that Rishi Sunak and the Bank of England remain highly supportive throughout 2021," Mr. Mahony said.


 
Companies News: 

TUI AG 3Q Returned to Cash Flow for First Time Since Pandemic; 3Q EBIT Loss Halved

TUI AG said Thursday that it returned to cash flow for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic as it reported a near halved loss before interest and taxes.

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Aviva 1H Operating Profit Rose; Launches Share Buyback Program

Aviva PLC reported on Thursday a swing to a net loss for the first half of 2021 and a rise in operating profit, and said that it is launching a share buyback program.

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Entain 1H Pretax Profit Rose; Backs Full-Year View

Entain PLC said Thursday that its first-half profit and revenue rose and backed its full-year earnings guidance.

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Glanbia Launches EUR50 Mln Share-Buyback Program

Glanbia PLC said Thursday it is launching a 50 million euro ($58.7 million) share-buyback program in order to reduce its issued share capital.

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Empiric Student Property Swung to 1H Pretax Profit

Empiric Student Property PLC said Thursday that it swung to a pretax profit in the first half of the year, and it will pay dividends in the fourth quarter.

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Just Group Swung to a 1H Pretax Loss; Adj Operating Profit Rose

Just Group PLC on Thursday reported a swing to a pretax loss for the first half of the year, as well as a rise in operating profit, and said it is confident in its outlook.

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STM Group Names New CFO; Makes COO Redundant in Board Shakeup

STM Group PLC said Thursday that it continues to perform in line with its full-year expectations, and that it is restructuring its board after reviewing its operating model.

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Global Petroleum Raises GBP1 Mln to Part-Fund New Lease Commitments

Global Petroleum Ltd. said Thursday that it has raised 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) via a share placing and will use the money to part-fund new license commitments as well as providing working capital towards new strategic options.

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John Lewis of Hungerford Now Expects FY 2021 Pretax Profit

John Lewis of Hungerford PLC said Thursday that it has beat its own views, as it now expects to report a pretax profit for fiscal 2021 .

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Checkit 1H Revenue Rose 13% on Recurring Revenue Growth, One-Off Project

Checkit PLC said Thursday that its first-half revenue rose 13%, driven by growth in recurring revenue and a one-off project in the first quarter.

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Cineworld 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed; Considers U.S. Listing

Cineworld Group PLC said Thursday that its first-half loss narrowed, although its underlying performance worsened, hit by Covid-19 restrictions; and that it is considering listing its shares in the U.S.

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MJ Hudson 2H Underlying Revenue Grew Significantly

MJ Hudson Group PLC said Thursday that underlying revenue grew in fiscal 2021 year, and added that it expects to post full-year results in line with market expectations.

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Moneysupermarket.com Expects Icelolly.com to Incur Ebitda Loss for Rest of 2021

Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC said Thursday that it expects Icelolly.com to incur Ebitda losses throughout the rest of this year due to the current travel market, but these should be broadly offset by synergies from its merger with TravelSupermarket.

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Mears Group Swung to 1H Profit, Raises 2021 Guidance

Mears Group PLC said Thursday that it swung to a profit for the first half of the year and raised its full-year outlook while restoring dividend payments.

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Hawkwing Raises GBP16.5 Million

Hawkwing PLC said Thursday that it raised 16.5 million pounds ($22.9 million) through the issue of convertible unsecured loan notes.

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Abingdon Health FY 2021 Revenue, Adjusted Loss at Lower End of Guidance

Abingdon Health PLC said Thursday that its revenue more than doubled in fiscal 2021 and that it booked an adjusted earnings loss, in line with the lower end of guidance given in April.

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R.E.A. Holdings Draws Down New Loans After Sealing Agreement With Bankers

R.E.A. Holdings PLC said Thursday that new loans and a working capital facility that its PT REA Kaltim Plantations subsidiary agreed to with bankers have been drawn down after all but one of the conditions were met.

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Tribal 1H Net Profit Rose 17%; Sees 2021 Performance Slightly Above Views

Tribal Group PLC on Thursday reported its net profit rose 17% in the first half of the year, and said it expects full-year performance slightly above market expectations.

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Stock Spirits Shares Jump After Agreeing to GBP767 Mln Takeover

Shares of Stock Spirits Group PLC jumped 43% in early trade Thursday after the company said that it had agreed to a 767 million pounds ($1.06 billion) takeover from Sunray Investments Luxembourg SARL, a company backed by CVC Advisers Ltd.

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Serinus Energy Shares Fall on Romania Well Suspension; 1H Loss Narrowed

Serinus Energy PLC shares fell Thursday after it said it has suspended a Romanian well after attempting a testing program, though it separately said its first-half net pretax loss narrowed.

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Empresaria Shares Rise on Swing to 1H Profit, Improved Full-year Views

Empresaria Group PLC shares rose Thursday after it said that it swung to a pretax profit in the first half despite a slip in revenue, and expects full-year profit to exceed last year and current market expectations.

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MTI Wireless Edge Wins Naval-Antenna Contract

MTI Wireless Edge Ltd. on Thursday said it has secured an agreement to develop and produce naval antennas for Canada-based Ultra Electronics TCS Inc.

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IDE Group CFO Resigns After Less Than Four Months

IDE Group Holdings PLC said Thursday that Chief Financial Officer David Templeman has resigned with immediate effect, after less than four months in the role.


 
Market Talk: 

Entain's Strong Performance Seen as Likely to Improve in 2H

0955 GMT - Entain's good headline interim results masked an exceptionally strong performance from its digital offering, and the second half is likely to benefit from the reopening of retail which has already gotten off to an encouraging start, Shore Capital says. The betting-and-gambling group's strong performance makes the Shore's full-year Ebitda expectation of around GBP950 million look conservative and the investment group says it expects this figure to rise given improving performance and additional cost savings. "Given the underlying momentum across the group we view the current valuation as conservative, especially with MGM Resorts lurking in the background," Shore says. Shore retains its buy rating, with a medium-term price target of 2,500 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

Entain Drops After In-Line 1H; Shares Offer Opportunity

0848 GMT - Entain falls 1% to 1946 pence after the bookmaker reported first-half results in line with expectations and voiced confidence about the second half. RBC Capital Markets says the announcement contained minimal new news, with the owner of Ladbrokes, Coral and Bwin having pre-reported revenue and full-year earnings guidance last month. RBC says it likes Entain's ambition to build a global business of scale backed by flexible, expandable technology, an impressive track record in its core business and experience integrating acquisitions. "The stock trades at a 30% discount to key peer Flutter which, while less than the historical circa-40% discount, we believe still represents an opportunity," RBC says, reiterating its 2200p price target and outperform rating. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

UK Economy Was On Fire in 2Q, Expected to Slow 3Q

0819 GMT - The U.K. economy was on fire through the second quarter and grew 4.8% driven by the reopenings, ING's developed markets economist James Smith says. "We saw a clear increase in optimism among both consumers and businesses through the spring, and that will undoubtedly have helped drive a faster recovery in activity," Smith says. However, the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases through July appears to have stopped the recovery in its tracks, the economist says. Mobility levels have plateaued, while aggregate spending has ticked slightly lower, Smith says. ING forecasts July and August GDP readings will average at roughly 0.2% to 0.3%, which translates into 3Q growth in the region of 1.5%, below the 3% figure the Bank of England expects. (maria.martinez@wsj.com)

Aviva Gains After 1H Profit Rises, Buybacks Announced

0805 GMT - Shares in Aviva rise 2% after the insurer reported higher first-half operating profit and announced a share-buyback program. Plans to return at least GBP4 billion of capital, reduce debt by another GBP1bn and repay a GBP700 million internal loan have all been announced earlier than expected. While the capital return is at least in line with what Citigroup was hoping at FY, the debt reduction goes further, the U.S. investment bank says. "Executing on this should reveal a significantly undervalued company based on on-going free cash-flow, proforma solvency and liquidity and a well-covered dividend. We expect a strongly favourable share price reaction today," Citi analysts say. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; paul.larkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-12-21 1215ET