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(Alliance News) - Distribution and services firm Bunzl on Thursday said it has seen "good overall growth" in its first half.
Revenue for the period ending June 30 is tipped to rise 1% year-on-year, and by around 6% to 7% at constant exchange rates.
"At constant exchange rates, underlying revenue growth is expected to reflect a strong recovery in the base business, including the foodservice and retail sectors, largely offset by the anticipated decline in larger Covid-19 related orders. Underlying revenue over the first half is expected to be approximately 6% higher than the comparable 2019 period," Bunzl added.
The firm in 2020 got a boost from sales of Covid-19 related products such as gloves, masks and sanitisers.
Bunzl left its revenue guidance for 2021 unchanged, but did lift its margin outlook.
"At constant exchange rates, underlying revenue is expected to be moderately higher in 2021 compared to 2019, demonstrating the resilience of the Bunzl business model. The group is increasing its adjusted operating margin expectations for the year to be slightly ahead of historical levels," the company said.
Shares rose 3.3% to 2,462.00 pence in opening dealings in London.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.3% at 7,094.82
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Hang Seng: up 0.2% at 28,887.53
Nikkei 225: closed flat at 28,875.23
DJIA: closed down 71.34 points, or 0.2%, at 33,874.24
S&P 500: closed down 0.1% 4,241.84
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 0.1% at 14,271.73
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EUR: down at USD1.1938 (USD1.1947)
GBP: flat at USD1.3966 (USD1.3965)
USD: flat at JPY110.86 (JPY110.85)
Gold: down at USD1,776.74 per ounce (USD1,788.30)
Oil (Brent): down at USD75.51 a barrel (USD75.65)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
1000 CEST EU European Central Bank economic bulletin
1200 BST UK Bank of England interest rate decision
1200 BST UK Bank of England MPC meeting minutes
0830 EDT US Federal Reserve Board releases latest bank stress test results
0830 EDT US third estimate GDP
0830 EDT US weekly jobless claims
0830 EDT US advance report on durable goods
0945 EDT US Bloomberg consumer comfort index
1030 EDT US EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1100 EDT US Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City survey of manufacturing
1630 EDT US foreign central bank holdings
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UK holidaymakers could be given more options for quarantine-free travel when the government reviews its foreign travel list on Thursday. An update of the lists which determine the quarantine and testing requirements for people arriving in the UK could see Malta and the Balearic Islands added to the green list, according to reports. It comes after the vaccines minister revealed almost half of all adults aged 25 to 29 in England and a third of those aged 18 to 24 had now received their first dose of a coronavirus jab. People arriving in the UK from green list destinations are not required to self-isolate, but there are currently no viable major tourist destinations in that tier. However, Malta and the Balearic Islands, with its popular destinations of Mallorca and Ibiza, are among a "handful" of places being considered for addition to the green list, according to the Times. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that the Government is "working on" plans to allow quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated Britons returning from amber locations.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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DEUTSCHE BANK RAISES GLAXOSMITHKLINE TO 'HOLD' (SELL) - PRICE TARGET 1350 (1300) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS BP TO 'HOLD' (BUY) - PRICE TARGET 360 (365) PENCE
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BERENBERG INITIATES PHOENIX GROUP WITH 'HOLD' - TARGET 790 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Housebuilder Crest Nicholson posted revenue growth of 35% to GBP324.5 million in the six months to April 30, from GBP240.0 million a year earlier. It swung to a pretax profit of GBP36.3 million from a GBP51.2 million loss. It also noted an inventory impairment provision release of GBP7.6 million, swinging from a GBP43.2 million exceptional hit a year earlier, "reflecting confidence in market conditions". Crest declared a 4.1 pence per share payout, having not released a first half dividend last year. The company also lifted its profit guidance. For the year, adjusted pretax profit is now expected to be at least GBP100.0 million, so more than double the GBP45.9 million in financial 2020.
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Birmingham-based property investor St Modwen backed a final and improved takeover bid from Blackstone. Blackstone will pay 560p per St Modwen share, a 25% premium to the firm's closing price the day before the offer period began. It values the company at GBP1.27 billion. St Modwen shares closed at 551p on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP1.23 billion. St Modwen's board backed the offer, and should shareholders do the same, the company will delist on August 9.
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Senior will not face an offer from Lone Star, after rebuffing the company for a fifth and final time earlier this week. Lone Star on Thursday confirmed "that it does not intend to make an offer" for the engineering company. Senior on Tuesday rejected a final sweetened buyout offer from US-based Lone Star, saying the deal made a day earlier "still fundamentally" undervalues the company. With 419.4 million shares in issue, the fifth offer of 200p from the private equity firm valued Senior at GBP838.8 million. Senior shares closed at 150.10p on Wednesday, giving it a market value of GBP629.6 million.
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Wise confirmed plans for a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, expecting to begin trading in early July. Wise, which has recently been rebranded from TransferWise, provides money transfer services. "Since announcing our expected intention to float last week, we've had over 60,000 expressions of interest in our customer shareholder programme, OwnWise, which is designed to reward customers who buy Wise shares and stick with us for the longer-term. This direct listing is about further aligning our mission and our shareholder base and I'm enormously proud that customers want to be a part of that," said Chief Executive & Co-Founder Kristo Kaarmann. Upon listing, Wise will have a dual class share structure with 'A' and 'B' shares in order to "support Wise's focus on its mission as it transitions into the public markets". Class 'B' shares hold 9 votes per share, are strictly non-transferable and, amongst other voting right cancellation events, expire on the fifth anniversary of any listing. The 'B' shares will not be listed. The company will not set a price for class 'A' shares, with the price instead to be determined in the opening auction on the day of admission.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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US lawmakers debated into the night Wednesday over details of legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech firms with a sweeping reform of antitrust laws. House Judiciary Committee clashed over a series of bills with potentially massive implications for large online platforms and consumers who use them. The legislation could force an overhaul of the business practices of Alphabet's Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook, or potentially lead to a breakup of the dominant tech giants. But critics argue the measures could have unintended consequences that would hurt consumers and some of the most popular online services. Representative David Cicilline, who headed a 16-month investigation that led to the legislation, said the bills are aimed at restoring competition in markets stymied by monopolies. The bills would restrict how online platforms operate, notably whether tech giants operating them could favor their own products or services.
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Amazon.com's annual "Prime Day" online shopping bonanza racked up more than USD11 billion in sales at the e-commerce platform, market tracker Adobe reported on Wednesday. The event known for discounted prices and quick deliveries from Amazon and third-party retailers hawking goods at its website spanned two days, topping last year's sales total of USD10.4 billion, according to Adobe Digital Economy Index. "This is despite relatively muted discounts across most categories, suggesting that there's a pent-up demand for online shopping as consumers look forward to a return to normalcy," said Adobe digital insights director Taylor Schreiner. Amazon did not disclose sales figures for the Prime Day event that took place Monday and Tuesday, but boasted that small and medium sized businesses using its platform saw unprecedented business during the period.
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German technology firm Siemens will work with BioNTech on the expansion and creation of production capacity for the Covid-19 vaccine. Siemens and BioNTech seek to establish new sites for vaccine production in Singapore, which will be based on the recently built plant in Marburg, Germany. Siemens said it will provide automation and digitalisation technologies for BioNTech at the new production sites, including design, simulation, and engineering software as well as process control technology.
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Thursday's Shareholder Meetings
Argo Blockchain PLC - AGM
Atalaya Mining PLC - AGM
Boston International Holdings PLC - GM
Fresnillo PLC - AGM
Gemfields Group Ltd - AGM
Incanthera PLC - AGM
Itaconix PLC - AGM
Kavango Resources PLC - AGM
NB Distressed Debt Investment Fund Ltd - AGM
Science in Sport PLC - AGM
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC - AGM
Serica Energy PLC - AGM
STM Group PLC - AGM
Tandem Group PLC - AGM
THG PLC - AGM
Westminster Group PLC - AGM
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By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
