Sterling May Fall Vs Euro as BOE Rate Rise Bets Overdone
0843 GMT - Sterling looks set to weaken against the euro this year as interest-rate expectations for the Bank of England look overdone, ING says. While GBP/USD should be supported in the very near-term as long as the dollar momentum remains soft, EUR/GBP is likely to rise over the remainder of the year, ING analyst Francesco Pesole says in a note. "We target [EUR/GBP] 0.89 by the summer, and 0.90 by the second half of the year." EUR/GBP rises 0.2% to 0.8775 after hitting a two-week low of 0.8728 on Tuesday, according to FactSet. GBP/USD falls 0.2% to 1.2479 after reaching a near 10-month high of 1.2525 on Tuesday. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
COMPANIES NEWS:
Entain Buys 365scores for Up to $160 Mln to Add Data-Driven Sports Media Expertise
Entain PLC said Wednesday that it has bought sports-media business 365scores for $150 million, with contingent payments of up to $10 million.
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Topps Tiles 1H Revenue Rose to Record Highs on Robust Sales
Topps Tiles PLC said Wednesday that revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 rose to a record high on the back of improved sales, benefiting from the acquisition of Pro Tiler Tools and the launch of Tile Warehouse in 2022.
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RS Group 4Q Revenue Slowed But FY 2023 Adjusted Operating Profit Beat Views
RS Group PLC said Wednesday that revenue momentum for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 slowed, but that adjusted operating profit for the year was slightly ahead of consensus expectations.
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Futura Medical 2022 Loss Widens But Expects Maiden Revenue Soon
Futura Medical PLC said Wednesday that its 2022 loss widened though it made significant strategic and commercial progress over the year and into 2023 and expects to report maiden revenue soon.
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Lookers 2022 Pretax Profit Fell Against Strong Comparative, Revenue Rose on Higher Selling Prices
Lookers PLC said Wednesday that pretax profit fell in 2022 against a strong comparable year, as revenue rose thanks to growth in most divisions.
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Distribution Finance Sees 2022 Expectations Beat on Net Interest Income, Cost Management
Distribution Finance Capital Holdings PLC said Wednesday that it expects to report 2022 results materially ahead of expectations, mainly thanks to increased net interest income and cost management.
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Home REIT Gets Proposals for New Advisor; Reduces Lender Debt
Home REIT PLC said Wednesday that it has received proposals from six candidates to act as its investment adviser, reduced debt with a lender and received an initial draft of an investigation report.
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Fulham Shore Agrees to GBP93.4 Mln Takeover by Japan's Toridoll Holdings
Fulham Shore PLC said Wednesday that it has agreed to a 93.4 million pound ($116.8 million) takeover by Great Sea Kitchens Ltd., a new company formed by Japan's Toridoll Holdings Corp.
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Speedy Hire Sees FY 2023 Profit in Line With Views; Warns of Worsening Backdrop
Speedy Hire PLC said Wednesday that it expects adjusted profit before tax for fiscal 2023 in line with the board's expectations, but flagged softening demand in recent weeks.
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Northern Bear Shares Jump on Dividends, FY 2023 Adjusted Operating Profit Seen Exceeding GBP2.75M
Shares in Northern Bear PLC jumped 24% on Wednesday after it said that it plans to declare an ordinary dividend of 4 pence a share and a special dividend of 1 pence a share for fiscal 2023 and that adjusted operating profit should exceed 2.75 million pounds ($3.4 million).
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Fulham Shore to Report FY 2023 Revenue Rise on Pandemic Recovery, New Restaurant Openings
Fulham Shore PLC said Wednesday that it expects to report a rise in revenue for the year ended March 26 as its performance benefited from new restaurant openings and the end of pandemic-related closures.
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Shield Therapeutics Appoints Andy Hurley as Chief Commercial Officer
Shield Therapeutics PLC said Wednesday that it has appointed Andy Hurley as chief commercial officer from April 10.
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Co-Operative Group 2022 Pretax Profit Rose on Petrol Business Sale
Co-operative Group Ltd. said Wednesday that pretax profit for 2022 rose on the back of selling its petrol forecourt business.
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EnQuest 2022 Earnings, Revenue Rise on Higher Production, Prices
EnQuest PLC said Wednesday that earnings and revenue rose in 2022 as it booked higher production and amid higher oil prices.
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Drumz Shares Fall on Discount Fund Raise; Investee Reverse Takeover
Drumz PLC shares fell Wednesday after it agreed to buy investee Acuity Risk Management Ltd. in a 3.6 million pound ($4.5 million) reverse takeover, hold a discounted fund raising and share reorganization as well as change its name.
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Genuit COO to Step Down, No Replacement Planned
Genuit Group PLC said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer Matt Pullen will step down on April 28, as Martin Gisbourne assumes the duties of chief strategy and sustainability officer.
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Hilton Food 2022 Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs, Appoints New CEO as Philip Heffer Steps Down
Hilton Food Group PLC said Wednesday that pretax profit for 2022 fell on the back of increased expenses, and that it has appointed a new chief executive officer.
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ZOO Digital Buys out ZOO Korea for Around $1.6 Mln in Cash and Stock Deal
ZOO Digital Group PLC said Wednesday that it has acquired the remaining 49% of shares in ZOO Korea in a cash and share deal worth around $1.6 million, following the Korean hub's strong first year performance.
MARKET TALK:
Topps Tiles' Core Brand Growth Remains Robust
0843 GMT - Topps Tiles reported record sales of GBP130.5 million in its 1H, driven by robust 2Q trading, Liberum analysts Adam Tomlinson and Wayne Brown say in a note. The U.K. retailer's core brand growth remains impressive, achieving 2Q like-for-like growth of 3.5%, following a 5.1% growth in 1Q, they say. "It means overall 1H LFLs came in at +4.3%, with a fairly consistent underlying performance across the two quarters," they add. Gross margin also began showing signs of improvement, after having trended down since FY 2019, the analysts say. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
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Entain's Up to $160 Mln 365scores Deal Adds Potential New Customers With Latin America Focus
0832 GMT - Entain's up to $160 million deal for sports media content company 365scores provides a new funnel of potential betting customers with a focus on the Latin America market, Jefferies analysts say in a research note. Revenue synergies from higher-value customer traffic, as well as marketing synergies, for the U.K.-listed gambling-and-betting company should drive an implied lower entry price in due course. Jefferies has a buy rating on the stock with a 1,805 pence price target. Shares trade up 0.4% at 1,259.00 pence. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)
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UK January 2029 Gilt Offers Attractive Relative Value Ahead of Auction
0828 GMT - The U.K. 0.5% January 2029 gilt due to be auctioned by the Debt Management Office on Wednesday has attractive relative value, say RBC Capital Markets analysts in a note. "We expect the bond to perform strongly on relative value terms," they say. The gilt trades at close to year to date cheapest levels and is expected to outperform in the near term, RBC says. The DMO will auction GBP3.5 billion in the gilt. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
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AstraZeneca's Trial Result Is Positive But Competitor Data Needed
0825 GMT - AstraZeneca's disclosed positive top-line data investigating a new combination of Imfinzi on top of Lynparza plus Avastin for first-line maintenance in patients newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, Shore Capital says. The pharma major's news, while positive, will need to be compared against other upcoming combination trials, namely GSK's Zejula plus Jemperli trial and Merck's Lynparza plus Keytruda trial, Shore analyst Sean Conroy says in a research note. "We continue to believe a [share price] premium is warranted based on its industry-leading earnings growth and pipeline prospects," the investment group says. Shore retains its buy rating and fair value of 13,000 pence a share for the stock. Shares are up 1.4% at 11,406 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-05-23 0502ET
