UK Could Suffer Labor Shortages

0826 GMT - The number of people on company payrolls in the U.K. rose in June for the seventh straight month, which may soon fuel a debate about a possible shortage of labor if this trend continues, particularly as pandemic restrictions ease, says Jon Hudson, fund manager at Premier Miton U.K. Growth Fund. "Interestingly, the number of job vacancies is back above pre-pandemic levels, suggesting the unemployment rate should continue to fall and it may not be long before talk turns to labour shortages," he says. The unemployment rate for the three months through May was 4.8%, down from 4.7% in April but still down from 5% in the three months through February, official data showed. (lorena.ruibal@wsj.com)


 
Companies News: 

Kingfisher Raises 1H Guidance for LfL Sales, Adjusted Pretax Profit

Kingfisher PLC on Wednesday raised its like-for-like sales and adjusted profit guidance for the first half of fiscal 2022 following continued strong demand in the second quarter to date.

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Severn Trent Says Has Made Good Start to FY 2022; Outlook Unchanged

Severn Trent PLC said Thursday that it has made a good start to fiscal 2022, and that its outlook for the year remains unchanged.

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Hammerson Collects Most of 2021 Rent Due to Date, Footfall Encouraging

Hammerson PLC said Thursday that it has collected around 62% of its 2021 rent due to date, and that footfall trends are encouraging.

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ASOS Four-Month Revenue Rose Significantly, Boosted by UK Retail Sales

ASOS PLC said Thursday that revenue for the first four months of fiscal 2022 rose materially, and that it expects to post a full-year adjusted pretax profit in line with management views.

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Galliford Try Expects FY 2021 Pretax Profit at Upper End of Market Views

Galliford Try Holdings PLC said Thursday that it expects to report fiscal 2021 pretax profit at the upper levels of market consensus ranges and its outlook is positive.

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Darktrace Raises FY 2022 Guidance After Strong 2H 2021

Darktrace PLC on Thursday raised its expectations for fiscal 2022 after a strong second half of fiscal 2021.

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Brooks Macdonald's 4Q Funds Under Management Hit Record

Brooks Macdonald Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to post full-year results in line with market expectations and its own guidance after closing the year with a record funds under management performance.

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STV Group PLC 1H Advertising Growth Exceeded Market Views

STV Group PLC said Thursday that it made a strong start to 2021, with high levels of TV and digital audiences leading to advertising revenue growth ahead of market expectations.

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Bango 1H Earnings, Revenue Grew

Bango PLC said Thursday that earnings and revenue rose in the first half as the number of payments and users increased.

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Immedia Ends Talks to Buy Sprift Technologies; Mulls Sale of Main Unit

Immedia Group PLC said Thursday that it has ended talks to buy Sprift Technologies Ltd. with immediate effect, without giving any further information.

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Costain Group Says 1H Cash Position Ahead of Its Expectations

Costain Group PLC said Thursday that its net cash position was ahead of the company's expectations at the end of the first half while its order backlog was slightly below the level of a year earlier.

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Hays Fourth-Quarter Net Fees Rise 39%

Hays PLC said on Thursday that net fees rose 39% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, and that although it entered fiscal 2022 with a positive trading momentum, a strong pound will likely act as a headwind to operating profit.

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Nuformix FY 2021 Operating Loss Widened on Development Costs

U.K. pharmaceutical development company Nuformix plc said Thursday that its loss widened in the 2021 financial year due to costs related to developing pipeline assets.

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BBGI Global Infrastructure Increases Share Placing to GBP75 Mln

BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. said Thursday that is raising 75 million pounds ($104 million) via a share placing first announced last week, more than initially planed due to investor demand.

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Johnson Service's June Workwear Volumes at 98% of Normal Levels

Johnson Service Group PLC said Thursday that workwear volumes in June were at 98% of normal levels and that it has seen an uptick in sales opportunities in the six months to June 30 as businesses return to more normal trading patterns.

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Glanbia Raises FY Guidance After 1H Revenue Growth

Glanbia PLC said Thursday that revenue rose significantly in the first half of fiscal 2022, which has made the company upgrade its expectations for the full year.

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Gresham House 1H Assets Under Management Rose In Line With Views

Gresham House PLC said Thursday that assets under management rose in the first half of the year, delivering a performance in line with market expectations.

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Experian 1Q Total Revenue Rose; Expects to Book FY 2022 Further Growth

Experian PLC said Thursday that revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 rose significantly at constant exchange rates thanks to all regions and segments delivering growth for the period, and said that it expects to report total revenue growth in the range of 13% and 15%.

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W.H. Ireland Swung to Pretax Profit for FY 2021

W.H. Ireland Group PLC said Thursday that it swung to pretax profit for fiscal 2021, its first profit for the last five years.

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Water Intelligence to Raise $10.2 Mln, More than Planned

Water Intelligence PLC said Thursday that it is now raising $10.2 million via its fundraising first announced on Wednesday, more than planned due to demand.

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Capital Ltd. 1H Revenue Rose Sharply, Raises Full-Year Guidance

Capital Ltd. said Thursday that its first-half revenue rose to a record high, up 52% on-year, and that it has raised 2021 revenue guidance.

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Alumasc Group FY 2021 Pretax Profit Expected Above Views as Revenue Grew

Alumasc Group PLC said Thursday that pretax profit for fiscal 2021 will come ahead of its expectations as revenue grew during the period.

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Air Partner Sees 57% on Year Rise in JetCard Bookings for Private-Jets Business

Air Partner PLC said Thursday that its Private Jets business saw a 57% on-year rise in JetCard bookings in the period from Feb. 1 to June 30, and that JetCard members and customer deposits were up globally as travel restrictions stemming from the pandemic eased.

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Jarvis Securities 1H Profit, Revenue Rose

Jarvis Securities PLC on Thursday posted an increased pretax profit and higher revenue for the first half of the year amid favorable trading conditions and growth in the business.

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Nanoco Raises GBP3.2 Mln in Loan Note Subscription

Nanoco Group PLC shares rose Thursday after it said that it has raised 3.2 million pounds ($4.4 million) through a non-dilutive loan note subscription, extending its cash runway.


 
Market Talk: 

Gilt-Bund Spread Expected to Widen on Diverging Central Bank Action

0908 GMT - The spread between U.K. sovereign bonds and comparable German national debt is likely to widen as their respective central banks face diverging economic backgrounds, says Mizuho. "We expect Gilt-Bund to widen on the back of a diverging backdrop for the respective central banks," analysts at the bank say. Bank of England official Dave Ramsden indicated Wednesday that he puts more weight on the U.K. inflationary scenario, with inflation peaking around 4%, but gave no presumption that inflation will remain high, they say. "We were left with the impression that he and others will still be waiting for the coming Monetary Policy Reports to make more informed assessments," they say. A talk on U.K. inflation by policymaker Michael Saunders scheduled for today is likely have a similar dovish tone, they add. (lorena.ruibal@wsj.com)

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Just Eat Still Struggles With Profitability, Citi Says

0904 GMT - Just Eat Takeaway.com NV has benefited from another quarter of orders growth, but adjusted Ebitda loss is expected to widen in the first half, according to Citi. The food-delivery company reported quarterly orders growth of 47% and raised its orders growth forecast for the first half to 45%, Citi says. However, the outlook for adjusted Ebitda implies a larger loss than anticipated, it says. "We expect consensus to upgrade 2021 by 3% but adjusted Ebitda forecasts will likely come down from EUR60 million towards to the guidance of EUR80 million to EUR250 million...Depending on the pace at which Just Eat tracks back to profitability, this may mean limited change to 2022 consensus adjusted Ebitda expectations," the U.S. bank says. (matteo.castia@dowjones.com)

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UK Jobs, Inflation Data Seen as Mildly Positive For Pound

0900 GMT - Solid U.K. employment figures on Thursday and U.K. inflation data on Wednesday were modestly positive for sterling, ING says. That should keep EUR/GBP in the 0.85-0.86 range for the reminder of the week, ING analysts say. EUR/GBP is last up 0.2% to 0.8561. "Based on our short-term financial fair value model, EUR/GBP is trading modestly expensive with our estimate of the short-term fair value at 0.8490," the analysts say. However, the mis-valuation is modest and supports the case for EUR/GBP to hover around 0.85, they say. The number of people on company payrolls in the U.K. rose for the seventh straight month in June, while U.K. inflation accelerated by more than expected in June to 2.5%. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

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ASOS Long-Term Outlook Seems Bright Despite Demand Hit

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07-15-21 0525ET