Card Factory Share News (CARD)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Blue-chip stocks opened lower Tuesday, dragged down by miners and oil companies which were having the same effect on the mid-cap index despite a couple of strong performers.

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 were both dominated by miners and oil companies at the open, as oil prices continued to fall overnight following a weak start on Monday.

Among the mid-cap stocks, however, electronics distributor Electrocomponents was among the biggest risers, up 3.8%, as it said headline pretax profit would hit the top end of market expectations.

It was joined among the risers by cards and gifts retailer Card Factory, up 2.2%, as it posted a nearly-doubling in annual pretax profit and robust like-for-like sales.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.9% at 6,108.96
FTSE 250: down 0.4% a 16,780.42
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 712.33
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Hang Seng: down 1.6% at 20,168.09
Nikkei 225: closed down 2.4% at 15,732.82
DJIA: closed down 0.3% at 17,737.00
S&P 500: closed down 0.3% at 2,066.13
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GBP: flat at USD1.4231 (USD1.4272)
EUR: flat at USD1.1378 (USD1.1382)

GOLD: up at USD1,228.70 per ounce (USD1,218.00)
OIL (Brent): down at USD37.45 a barrel (USD38.03)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

08:45 Italy Markit Services PMI
08:50 France Markit Composite and Services PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Composite and Services PMI
09:00 EU Markit Composite and Services PMI
09:30 UK Markit Services PMI
10:00 EU Retail Sales
13:30 US Trade Balance
13:30 Canada International Merchandise Trade
13:55 US Redbook index
14:45 US Markit Composite and Services PMI
15:00 US JOLTS Job Openings
15:00 US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism
21:30 US API Weekly Crude Oil Stock
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Leaving the European Union would be an "act of economic and political self-harm" which would leave the UK with a "second-rate" trading relationship, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned. Cameron said leaving the single market would be "needless and reckless" and insisted that Brexit would not help the beleaguered British steel industry. Cameron said cutting ties with Brussels would "hit our service industries hard" as he warned that European governments would come under intense pressure to impose tariff barriers to protect their own industries from British competition. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister rejected the suggestion - previously made by Leave campaigners including Boris Johnson - that the UK could strike a trade deal like Canada's.
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Cameron has come under intense pressure to crack down on offshore tax havens after a massive data leak exposed the scale of efforts by the rich and powerful to hide assets. The Prime Minister's late father was reported to be among figures - including six peers, three ex-Tory MPs and political party donors - named in relation to investments set up by Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Downing Street said it was a "private matter" whether the Cameron family still had funds in offshore investments and insisted the PM was in the vanguard of efforts to increase the transparency of tax arrangements. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the revelations were "repulsive" and demanded an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs.
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The UK Business Secretary will travel to Mumbai on Tuesday to meet the chairman of steel giant Tata as efforts to save thousands of jobs are stepped up. Sajid Javid will hold talks with Cyrus Mistry to discuss details of the sales process for the firm's UK steel operations. He will join the Prime Minister in Downing Street in the morning at a meeting with the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones and later is expected to hold talks with union leaders. They are drawing up a plan to keep steelmaking, especially in Port Talbot, the country's biggest steel plant which employs 4,500 workers.
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Greece launched renewed bailout talks with its creditors on Monday in a bid to stave off insolvency, following the weekend publication of comments said to be by a top International Monetary Fund official criticising Europe's failure to agree to cutting Athens' debt level. Financial experts from the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank met with Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos with the task of negotiating deeper cuts in social spending, including Greece's public pensions programme.
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Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said a very shallow funds rate path, such as the one envisioned by the median FOMC participant, is appropriate. "A very shallow path - such as the one envisioned by the median FOMC participant in March - is the most appropriate path for policy normalisation over the next three years," Evans said in Hong Kong. "A faster pace of tightening than the one I envision would lead me to a less optimistic economic forecast," he added. Further, if the public doesn't believe policymakers are trying to hit a symmetric 2% inflation target, it will be all that much harder to reach that policy goal.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BARCLAYS RAISES TESCO PRICE TARGET TO 215 (190) PENCE - 'OVERWEIGHT'
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Liberum Upgrades Babcock To Hold From Sell, Price Target 1,000p
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Credit Suisse Group and HSBC Holdings dismissed suggestions they actively used offshore structures to help clients cheat on their tax, Reuters reported. The report comes after a massive leak of documents nicknamed the "Panama Papers" exposed the offshore holdings of current and former world leaders and celebrities. HSBC said the documents pre-dated a thorough reform of its business model, the report said, while Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam said his bank only looks to manage lawful assets.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Card Factory reported strikingly higher profit in its recently-ended financial year, boosted by revenue growth in both card and non-card offerings. The card and gifts retailer said pretax profit in the year ended January 31 almost doubled to GBP83.7 million from GBP42.7 million the year before, as revenue rose to GBP381.6 million from GBP353.3 million. Like-for-like sales grew by 2.8%, which Card Factory said was driven by improvements in the quality and range of its products, new merchandising initiatives, and further market-share gains as stores mature. During the year, 50 new stores were opened and 10 stores were closed, taking the total estate to 814 stores. Card Factory plans to open a further 50 new stores in the current financial year.
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Roadside assistance company AA added to the dividend paid at the half year and reiterated its intention to pursue a "progressive" dividend policy. Pretax profit fell to GBP17 million in the year ended January 31, the company said, from GBP61 million a year earlier, as the company counted the GBP85 million cost of refinancing its debt. The refinancing paved the way for AA to pay a total dividend of 9.0 pence per share for the year as a whole, including the 3.5p interim dividend paid in October 2015. Revenue, excluding the windscreen repair business sold in September 2015, fell by 0.4% to GBP963 million, AA said, citing pressures in the insurance and driving services markets, as well as in its Ireland business. Roadside assistance revenue rose by 1.8% to GBP724 million, AA said.
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Pork and poultry producer Cranswick said it will report full-year results in line with expectations after achieving positive a performance in the final quarter. Cranswick said continued positive trading during the final quarter of the year ended March 31 resulted in full-year total sales volume growth of 12%, underlying sales volume growth of 10% and corresponding revenue growth of 5%, each year-on-year. Cranswick said UK consumers continued to benefit from lower pork prices, while export sales also grew strongly in the final quarter reflecting an ongoing robust demand for pork products in Asian markets.
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Pharmaceutical company BTG said it expects revenue for the year to the end of March will hit the top end of its previous guidance. BTG said revenue for the year to March 31 will be around the upper end of its GBP410.0 million to GBP440.0 million guidance range. Revenue for the prior financial year was GBP367.8 million. BTG said revenue growth in its Interventional Oncology business has been in line with its expectations in constant currencies, with sales rising a mid-teen percentage, driven by sales of TheraSphere in the US and the initial impact of selling products through its direct sales force in Europe.
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John Wood Group said it has acquired an Australia-based engineering consultancy business that will enhance the technical expertise of a separate company it acquired last year. The oil and gas services company said it has acquired SVT Engineering Consultants, a Perth-based firm providing piping and rotating equipment vibration, noise, integrity engineering and asset integrity services. John Wood said SVT will expand the technical knowledge that it established through its acquisition of BETA Machinery Analysis back in July 2015, which continues to operate in Southampton in the UK. Wood Group added it also enhances the geographical footprint of its VDN service, otherwise known as vibration, dynamics and noise.
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Electrocomponents said its headline pretax profit for its financial year that ended in March will hit the top end of market expectations after good sales in the UK and Europe. The electronics distributor said headline pretax profit, which removes pension and restructuring costs, will be at the top end of market expectations. For the year to the end of March 2015, headline pretax profit was GBP80.1 million. Overall, Electrocomponents said revenue in constant currencies grew 2.0% in the fourth quarter and will be up around 3.0% for the full year. Electrocomponents said its gross margin continued to stabilise in the fourth quarter and will be down around 1 percentage point for the full year. The group added it is on track to meet its target of taking GBP25.0 million in annual costs out of the business.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Western Gate Private Investments said it has requested the removal of Chris Heath, the chief executive of drinks distributor Stock Spirits Group, as a director of the company and asked the company to start a search for a replacement. Western Gate is the largest individual shareholder in Stock Spirits, holding a 9.7% stake. It also nominated two new independent non-executive directors to stand for election to the board of Stock Spirits at its annual general meeting on May 17. Western Gate said it held a series of meetings and exchanges with Stock Spirits' executive and non-executive directors, none of which addressed the concerns it has with the business.
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Stevia producer PureCircle said improving profit margins will keep the company on track even if not all of its expected sales close before the end of its financial year in June. In a statement, Chief Executive Magomet Malsagov said the "trajectory" of PureCircle's sales growth will be "uneven" and "dependent on the pace of customer roll-outs". "Although the precise level of our short-term growth is uncertain, our operating margins continue to strengthen, which gives us confidence in the increasing future profitability of the group," Malsagov said. Trading in the three months to March 31, the third quarter of PureCircle's financial year, was "strong" with sales growth in line with the first half, the company said.
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NextEnergy Solar Fund said it struck a GBP97.9 million deal to acquire five operating solar plants totalling 84.2 megawatt peak. The portfolio comprises the Great Wilbraham in Cambridgeshire, Branston in Lincolnshire, Bottom Plain in Dorset, Emberton in Buckinghamshire and Berwick in East Sussex plants in the UK, NextEnergy said in a statement. The company expects the deal to complete by mid-April. NextEnergy said it secured a GBP55.0 million project financing facility to back the acquisition, with the rest of the consideration to be covered by its existing cash resources and revolving credit facility.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Shares of Allergan plunged about 22% in late trading Monday after the US Treasury announced new rules to curb corporate tax inversion that could complicate the company's takeover by drug giant Pfizer. Allergan shars fell 22% in after hours trade, while Pfizer shares were up 2.9%. Allergan, which is run from New Jersey but has a legal domicile in Dublin, Ireland, last year agreed to merge with Pfizer in a USD160 billion deal that would give New York-based Pfizer a foreign address and a lower tax rate. Pfizer and Allergan said: "We are conducting a review of the US Department of Treasury's actions announced today. Prior to completing the review, we won't speculate on any potential impact."
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German conglomerate Siemens is among companies that have expressed preliminary interest in Emerson Electric's network power division, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. Emerson, which is exploring a spinoff of the unit, has fielded inquiries from the German industrial company and buyout firms. No final decisions have been made, Siemens may decide against pursuing a deal and Emerson could still go ahead with a spinoff instead of a sale. It couldn't be confirmed whether talks are ongoing.
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Brazilian metals and mining company Vale said that it will sell its 27% stake in Companhia Siderurgica do Atlântico to Thyssenkrupp as part of its initiatives to streamline its asset portfolio. Vale noted that its shares are being sold for a symbolic price, however, there is an earn-out clause valid for a certain period of time, which entitles Vale to a potential future income in the event of a sale of a controlling stake in CSA to a third party. Upon completion of the transaction Vale will have no further responsibility for CSA's outstanding debt.
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Primary Health Properties
EKF Diagnostics Holdings
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By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance

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