(Alliance News) - Daily Mail & General Trust said Thursday that first-quarter trading was in line with expectations, with underlying revenue up 1%.
In the Consumer Media division - which houses newspapers the Metro, the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, as well as MailOnline - underlying revenue grew 2%, including a 17% rise in digital advertising and even a 3% rise in print advertising, in what DMGT called a "benign market environment".
Reported revenue was up 2%, as a 3% decline in circulation on a reported basis was offset by a 10% rise in advertising. Reported revenue included one month's trading for recent acquisition, the 'i' newspaper. This purchase in being reviewed by UK competition authorities, so DMGT said it is being operated and managed independently.
DMGT maintained its outlook for the current financial year, expecting revenue to be broadly stable on an underlying basis.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 8.52 points, 0.1%, at 7,563.40
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Hang Seng: down 1.8% at 27,839.61
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.0% at 23,795.44
DJIA: closed down 9.77 points at 29,186.27
S&P 500: closed up 0.96 point at 3,321.75
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GBP: flat at USD1.3139 (USD1.3137)
EUR: firm at USD1.1089 (USD1.1073)
Gold: soft at USD1,554.50 per ounce (USD1,557.45)
Oil (Brent): down at USD62.38 a barrel (USD63.14)
(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
Switzerland - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting continues in Davos
1345 CET EU ECB interest rate decision
1430 CET EU ECB press conference with President Christine Lagarde
1600 CET EU flash consumer confidence indicator
0830 EST US initial jobless claims
1000 EST US leading indicators
1030 EST US EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1100 EST US EIA weekly petroleum status report
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Boris Johnson hailed crossing the "Brexit finish line" after Parliament approved his deal, paving the way for the UK to leave the EU with an agreement this month. The UK prime minister called for the "rancour and division" to be left behind over the UK's departure from the EU after peers ended a legislative battle on Wednesday evening. The Lords had tried to secure additional rights including for unaccompanied child refugees but bowed to the will of MPs after the elected chamber overturned the peers' demands. Now the legislation just needs Royal Assent to be formally granted by the Queen and the agreement to be approved by the European Parliament by Brexit day on January 31. The PM said the nation would "move forwards as one UK", adding: "At times it felt like we would never cross the Brexit finish line, but we've done it."
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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he is willing to enter a confidence-and-supply arrangement with Fianna Fail but has ruled out going into a coalition with Sinn Fein. The Fine Gael leader said he would be open to working with a minority Fianna Fail government if his party failed to secure enough votes in Ireland's February 8 general election. During the first televised head-to-head debate of the campaign, Varadkar said he would be willing to enter into a coalition with any party except Sinn Fein. The figures in an Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI survey published on Monday put support for Fianna Fail on 25%, Fine Gael on 23% and Sinn Fein on 21%.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN CUTS WM MORRISON TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 175 (205) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS COMPASS GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 1915 PENCE
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EXANE BNP CUTS BAE SYSTEMS TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OUTPERFORM') - TARGET 670 (615) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Miner Anglo American has held all production guidance for 2020, after meeting targets for 2019. Anglo American's copper equivalent production for 2019 was 4% higher than the year before, boosted by the Minas Rio iron ore operation in Brazil, which ramped up after being shut down in 2018 due to pipeline leaks. Diamond production from Anglo's De Beers fell by 13% on 2018 to 30.8 million carats. "We have delivered our full-year production targets across the business. Production is up 4% for the quarter led by the continued successful ramp-up at Minas Rio in Brazil," said Chief Executive Mark Cutifani. "Increased production at metallurgical coal in Australia was offset by the drought in Chile impacting water availability at Los Bronces, as well as the anticipated lower production from De Beers as Venetia transitions to underground in South Africa and Victor reached the end of its mine life in Canada."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Computacenter said it remains comfortable with the upper end of current market expectations as it reported growth in revenue for 2019. Total revenue grew 16% in 2019, with organic revenue up 3%. In the UK, revenue was broadly flat, though the company saw strong margin growth in both its Technology Sourcing and Services businesses. Computacenter said it saw good growth in German despite the country's "well-publicised industrial slow-down". France delivered its largest ever profit contribution to the group in 2019, while its US operations recovered strongly in the second half. The company said: "Not only have we recorded our best ever revenue, profit, earnings per share and cash generation from ongoing operations, but we have increased our profitability by the largest absolute amount ever." "The results of 2019 set a high bar for the business as we go into 2020. However, we go into the year with confidence, helped by the strong momentum within the group and the broader market," added Computacenter.
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PPHE Hotel Group said it delivered a "solid" fourth quarter as it reported revenue per available room growth. Like-for-like room revenue for the year grew 6.3% to GBP249 million, while reported room revenue was up 5.9% to GBP250 million. Like-for-like RevPAR - revenue per available room - was up 5.1% to GBP103.7, driven by like-for-like occupancy growth of 130 basis points to 80.7%. Reported RevPAR was up 6.0%. "We are on-course to continue our track record of delivering growth and results in-line with expectations," said President & Chief Executive Boris Ivesha.
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COMPANIES - OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Online retailer ASOS said it delivered an "encouraging" start to the financial year with sales up 20%. For the four months to December 31, retail sales grew 20% to GBP1.07 billion, with revenue up 20% as well to GBP1.11 billion. UK retail sales grew 18% to GBP408.9 million, while international sales were up 22% to GBP666.0 million. Total orders were up 20% to 27.7 million. The group's gross margin, though, was down 170 basis points, reflecting US duty and its investment in customer acquisition. "As we said in October, the focus for this year is to further enhance our capabilities and leverage the investments we have made. It is still early in the year and much remains to be done, but we are encouraged by the progress we have made so far," said Chief Executive Nick Beighton.
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Spread betting platform CMC Markets said its fourth quarter has started well, and net operating income for the current financial year is expected to be ahead of consensus. Net operating income continued to outperform expectations in the third quarter, the contracts-for-difference trading provider said. This was driven by a higher retention of client income which results in an increase in revenue per active client despite lower client income. The final three months of the year have started well, and CMC said it remains confident in its "ongoing strong revenue performance" for the full-year. Net operating income is expected to be ahead of the upper end of the current range of analyst forecasts, it added.
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Digital challenger brand Revolut has entered the UK savings market with a new easy access deal paying 1.35%. Only limited deposits will be accepted at the 1.35% interest rate according to Revolut, which offers a range of money management services which can be operated from a mobile. After the limit is reached, any new deposits will receive a lesser rate.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Dutch semiconductor maker ASML Holding reported sharp growth in the final quarter of 2019 and is planning to buy back up to EUR6 billion from shareholders over the next three years. In the three months to December 31, ASML recorded net income of EUR1.13 billion, up 44% year on year from EUR787.5 million. Total net sales were 29% higher in the final quarter to EUR4.04 billion from EUR3.14 billion the year before. Systems sales were up 29% to EUR3.13 billion. For 2019, net income was flat year on year at EUR2.59 billion. Net sales grew 8.0% to EUR11.82 billion from EUR10.94 billion. ASML has declared a total dividend of EUR2.40 per share, 14% higher than the year before. The firm also announced a new three-year share buyback program, to be conducted from 2020 to 2022. ASML intends to buy back as much as EUR6 billion.
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Thursday's Shareholder Meetings
Countryside Properties
Equatorial Palm Oil
Hyve Group
RDI REIT
Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust
Baring Emerging Europe
Aberdeen Standard Equity Income Trust
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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