London Stocks Trade Flat; Oil Stocks Rise, DS Smith Falls

The FTSE 100 index trades flat at 7062.78 in early trade, outperforming European stock indexes which trade lower, helped by gains in heavyweight oil stocks. Royal Dutch Shell B shares rise 2.4% while BP is up 1.9% as a barrel of Brent crude trades at $74.61, having earlier risen above $75 per barrel to reach its highest since late 2018. Property stocks also rise, though packaging company DS Smith falls 1.8% after saying its pretax profit for fiscal 2021 fell as revenue declined. Pharma giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline are among the biggest fallers, down 1.6% and 1% respectively. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com) 


 
Companies News:

Analytics Group Spectral MD Holdings Trades Higher in Market Debut

Shares in analytics company Spectral MD Holdings, Ltd. traded above the price of their initial public offering in their debut on London's junior AIM market on Tuesday.

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Victorian Plumbing Shares Rise on London Market Debut

Shares of Victorian Plumbing Group PLC rose as much as 17% on Tuesday as the company started trading on London's junior AIM, implying a market capitalization of 993.1 million pounds ($1.38 billion).

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Guaranty Trust Bank Requests Suspension of London-Listed Securities

Trading in Guaranty Trust Bank PLC securities has been temporarily suspended as of Tuesday by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, at the request of the company.

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Trackwise Designs Shares Fall After Warning on Revenue Delays

Shares in Trackwise Designs PLC fell Tuesday after the company warned that some revenue originally expected for this year will be delayed into 2022, but said that it swung to a pretax profit for 2020.

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Equiniti Appoints Andrew Peeler as Incoming CFO

Equiniti Group PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Andrew Peeler as chief financial officer with effect from August 1, succeeding John Stier.

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Software Company itim Group Targets GBP48.1 Mln Valuation in AIM Float

Software company itim Group PLC, which provides technology to store-based retailers, on Tuesday said it will be valued at 48.1 million pounds ($67 million) on admission to trading on London's junior AIM market, based on the price of its initial public offering.

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TomCo Energy Says Oil-Sands Plant Will Require More Than $110 Mln Funding

TomCo Energy PLC on Tuesday said that its Greenfield joint venture will require at least $110 million in funding, mostly debt, for the construction of its first oil-sands plant.

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Kavango Resources Names Ben Turney as CEO After Michael Foster Steps Down

Kavango Resources PLC said Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer Michael Foster has decided to step down and that Ben Turney will replace him.

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Saga PLC Plans GBP250M Bond Issue, Tender Offer and Loan Repayment

Saga PLC said Tuesday that it plans to raise 250 million pounds ($348.4 million) via a bond issue, launch a tender offer for up to EUR100 million of existing bonds and repay a EUR70 million loan.

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MS International Shares Rise on Swing to FY 2021 Profit, Dividend Resumption

MS International PLC shares rose Tuesday after it said that it swung to a pretax profit in fiscal 2021 and declared a reinstated dividend.

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Gear4Music FY 2021 Profit, Revenue Rose Amid Pandemic Boost

Gear4Music (Holdings) PLC said Tuesday that pretax profit and revenue in fiscal 2021 rose due to pandemic shopping trends, and that trading in early fiscal 2022 has been stronger than management expectations.

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Avation Amends, Reschedules Orderbook With Avions de Transport Regional; Sells Aircraft

Avation PLC said Tuesday that it has agreed to amend and reschedule its long-term order book with Avions de Transport Regional for the ATR 72 series aircraft, and that it has sold one aircraft.

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OPG Power Ventures Expects to Meet FY 2021 Market Views Despite Generation Drop

OPG Power Ventures PLC on Tuesday reported lower power generation for the year ended March 31, but forecast that it will meet market expectations.

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Staffline 2020 Pretax Loss Widened

Staffline Group PLC said that its 2020 pretax loss widened after booking higher costs, and that no dividends will be declared until July 2022.

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Frenkel Topping: Early 2021 Trading Met Views, Reiterates Confidence

Frenkel Topping Group PLC said Tuesday that it has continued to trade in line with management expectations in early 2021 and it is confident in its full-year outlook.

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Good Energy Group Reports Improved Year-To-Date Performance, in Line With Views

Good Energy Group PLC said Tuesday that its performance in the year to date has been markedly ahead of 2020, in line with management's expectations.

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Surgical Innovations Says Activity Recovering to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Surgical Innovations Group PLC said Tuesday that activity levels are rebuilding toward 2019 levels, and that it is sees signs of recovery as a number of healthcare markets resume elective surgery.

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Kingspan Sees 1H Sales, Trading Profit Above Pre-Pandemic Levels

Kingspan Group PLC said Tuesday that it expects to report its first-half sales and trading profit rose compared with 2020 and 2019.

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Morses Club Says 1Q Was Strong, New Credit Is Ahead of Plans

Morses Club PLC said Tuesday that its performance was very strong and encouraging in the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

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Novacyt Swung to 2020 Pretax Profit on Covid-19 Testing Boost

Novacyt SA said Tuesday that it swung to a pretax profit for 2020 and ended the year debt-free as sales were boosted by Covid-19 tests, but booked a provision to cover potential costs from a contract dispute with the U.K. government.

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Audioboom Expects 2021 Revenue Ahead of Views on Strong Advertising Demand

Audioboom Group PLC said Tuesday that it expects revenue for 2021 to be significantly ahead of current market expectations.

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National Express Buys Spain's Transportes Rober for EUR13 Mln

National Express Group PLC said Tuesday that it is buying Transportes Rober in Spain for 13 million euros ($15.5 million) as part of its strategy to consolidate regional and urban bus markets.

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DS Smith FY 2021 Pretax Profit Fell

DS Smith PLC said Tuesday that pretax profit for fiscal 2021 fell as revenue declined, and that the volume momentum of the last quarter of the fiscal year has continued into fiscal 2022.

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Aston Martin Files for Legal Proceedings Against Nebula Project

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it is filing civil legal proceedings against Nebula Project AG over failure to pay some customer deposits for cars, which it expects to reduce 2021 earnings.

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Melrose to Return GBP730 Mln to Shareholders After Air Management Disposal

Melrose Industries PLC said Tuesday that it will return 730 million pounds ($1.02 billion) to its shareholders after completing the GBP2.62 billion sale of its Nortek Air Management division to Madison Industries LLC.

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National Express Group PLC Acquisition

TIDMNEX 


 
Market Talk:

Kerry Group's Discount to Peers Seen as Unwarranted

0945 GMT - Kerry Group trades at a discount of around 20% to the average of its European ingredients peers, a situation that is likely to be reversed, UBS says. "We believe this is unwarranted and is likely to unwind as its operational performance improves in line with economies re-opening," UBS analysts say. The Ireland-based company has agreed to acquire Niacet, a provider of preservation technologies which has an Ebitda margin that compares favorably both to Kerry's taste-and-nutrition division and to key ingredients peers, UBS says. Moreover, Kerry said it remains busy in terms of potential further acquisitions, the bank says. (adria.calatayud@dowjones.com)

Morses' Update Bodes Well for Future Profitability

0936 GMT - Shares in Morses Club rise 8.9% after the financial services provider reported an encouraging start to the year, particularly in the digital business, Peel Hunt says. The trading update highlights that the company is benefiting from strong demand and an increasingly strong market position, which bodes well for future levels of profitability. Peel Hunt, a corporate broker for Morses, raises its target price to 100 pence from 75 pence and reaffirms its buy rating on the stock. (jaime.llinares@wsj.com)

Copper Pauses Ahead of Powell Comments

0925 GMT - Copper prices inch higher as the metal stabilizes after concerns about demand prospects prompted several days of weakness. Three-month copper on the LME is up less than 0.1% at $9,182.50 a metric ton. While losses appear to have halted, analysts remain concerned about the prospect of tightening monetary policy, slowing demand, and Chinese efforts to tamp down rising commodities prices. "Underlying fundamentals are pretty much unchanged," said Malcolm Freeman, CEO of brokerage Kingdom Futures. "There is still the real prospect of interest rate rises and the very fast bounce back from shutdown due to Covid is slowing." Investors are looking ahead to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later Tuesday. (william.horner@wsj.com)

DS Smith Is Expected to Make Good Progress in Fiscal 2022

0859 GMT - Fiscal 2022 has started well for DS Smith with volume momentum continuing and an increase in packaging prices which are expected to fully recover cost inflation, Jefferies says. Demand for the packaging company is strong and it expects to make good progress in fiscal 2022 with Ebita estimates of GBP626 million being 4% ahead of consensus of GBP603 million, and fiscal 2023's GBP730 million being 10% ahead of GBP665 million consensus, Jefferies says. "Positioning positive into print, but with robust demand, supportive containerboard [paper] and box pricing, and north America division recovery, we think both consensus move toward our number," the U.S. bank says. Jefferies rates the stock buy with a 480 pence target price. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

DS Smith Outlook Brightens After Tough Year

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

06-22-21 0604ET