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(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Smith & Nephew, up 8.5%. The medical devices maker reported mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2019, but profit slipped due to an increase in costs. The company reported pretax profit of USD743 million in 2019, down 4.9% from USD781 million in 2018, amid higher selling, general & administrative expenses, which rose to USD2.69 billion from USD2.50 billion. Revenue, meanwhile, grew by 4.8% to USD5.14 billion from USD4.90 billion year-on-year. Smith & Nephew declared a 23.1 US cents a share final dividend, taking the total distribution to 37.5 US cents, up 4% year-on-year. Looking forward, Smith & Nephew said it expects its underlying revenue growth to be in the range of 3.5% to 4.5% in 2020. In addition, the company said it expects to deliver a 2020 trading profit margin at or slightly above 2019 level of 22.8%. In 2018, trading margin stood at 22.9%.
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Lloyds Banking Group, up 3.5%. The lender reported a sharp fall in profit for 2019, which was blamed on a significant rise in payment protection insurance provisions, but said it was pleased with its underlying performance. In 2019, Lloyds recorded pretax profit of GBP4.39 billion, which was down 26% on 2018's GBP5.96 billion and 1.8% below the GBP4.47 billion consensus of market forecasts compiled by the company. On an underlying basis, net interest income was GBP12.38 billion, which was in line with market consensus, but 2.6% lower year-on-year from GBP12.71 billion. Net income totalled GBP17.14 billion, again in line with consensus, but down 3.5% from GBP17.77 billion in 2018. The bank upped its total dividend for 2019 to 3.37 pence, 5.0% higher than the 3.21p distributed in 2018. "Concerns about the balance sheet, which had been mounting in recent weeks, appear to have been allayed for now and the bank has committed to capital generation targets which should underpin the dividend and may even allow the resumption of share buybacks suspended last year," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould.
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BAE Systems, up 3.5%. The defence company reported a rise in sales and revenue and said 2019 had been "a year of significant progress for the company". The Farnborough-based company said revenue was GBP18.3 billion, up 8.9% from GBP16.8 million in 2018. Bloomberg consensus, provided by BAE, expected GBP19.8 billion in revenue. The company said good results were underpinned by improving operational performance as governments in key markets continue to prioritise defence and security. Pretax profit was 33% higher at GBP1.6 billion compared to GBP1.2 billion in 2018, while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization was GBP2.2 billion compared to GBP1.9 billion a year ago. BAE proposed a final dividend of 13.8 pence. making a total of 23.2p per share for the year, an increase from 22.2 pence in 2018. Looking ahead, the company said it expects 2020 underlying earnings per share to "grow by mid-single digit percentage".
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Anglo American, up 1.7%. The miner reported an improvement in earnings in 2019 and raised its dividend. Anglo American posted an 8% revenue rise to USD29.87 billion from USD27.61 billion last year. Profit attributable to shareholders for 2019 came in at USD3.54 billion, broadly unchanged from 2018. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 9.2% to USD10.01 billion in 2019 from USD9.16 the year before. Underlying Ebitda at its Platinum Group Metals unit doubled to USD2 billion from USD1 billion. Anglo American upped its dividend by 9.0% to 1.09 cents from 1.00 cents per share. "The benefits of a soaring palladium price are laid out in Anglo American's results where its platinum group metals earnings have nearly doubled in the past year. Strong iron ore prices have also contributed to an overall boost in group earnings," said Aj Bell's Mould.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Imperial Brands, down 6.0%, GlaxoSmithKline, down 1.5%. The stocks went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest payout.
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AVEVA Group, down 2.8%. The engineering and industrial software company said revenue has grown in its financial year to date, but warned that coronavirus is hurting its operations in China. The company said it has achieved high single-digit organic constant currency revenue growth in the ten months to the end of January. AVEVA explained that growth was supported by "strong orders" in Rental & Subscription, partly offset by "significantly" lower Initial & Perpetual licences. On a regional basis, the Cambridge-headquartered company said it has achieved growth across all of its reporting segments, with particularly "good" growth in Asia Pacific. AVEVA said the ongoing disruption in China - caused by the coronavirus - is hurting its sales in that country due to travel restrictions and office closures. China has historically accounted for around 5% of AVEVA's overall revenue.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Moneysupermarket.com, up 13%. The price comparison website reported profit growth and boosted its dividend in what was a "standout" year for it MoneySavingExpert energy UK price site. In 2019, revenue was 9.2% higher at GBP388.4 million from GBP355.6 million, with pretax profit rising 8.5% to GBP116.0 million from GBP106.9 million. Moneysupermarket edged its full-year payout 6.0% higher to 11.71 pence per share from 11.05p. Estimated customer savings, one of the company performance indicators, dipped 4.8% to GBP2.0 billion from GBP2.1 billion in 2018. Another key performance tracker is active users, which rose 1.6% to 13.1 million from 12.9 million. The company said the MoneySavingExpert website attracted "record visitors" in 2019.
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TBC Bank, up 5.0%. The lender reported a double-digit rise in annual profit as the bank's loan book saw strong growth from a sharp rise in Corporate lending. For 2019, the Georgian bank recorded GEL585.5 million in pretax profit, about GBP160.6 million, which is 15% higher compared to GEL510.2 million in 2018. TBC's net interest income rose 3.0% in 2019 to GEL801.5 million from GEL778.0 million the year before. The lender's operating expenses rose 9.7% in 2019 to GEL450.7 million from GEL411.0 million in 2018, and, as a result, its cost-to-income ratio worsened to 39.9% from 37.8%.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Micro Focus International, down 2.0%. UBS downgraded the Newbury-based software firm to Neutral from Buy.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Norcros, down 20%. The UK and South African kitchen and bathroom products firm said it expects underlying profitability for its financial year to March 31 to be below market expectations, as the coronavirus affects its China-based suppliers. Norcros said the coronavirus has had little short-term impact to date, as UK based stock levels have been sufficient to satisfy demand. But slower production at its China-based suppliers is "likely to have some impact on the seasonally important remainder of this financial year and early next year". "The situation however remains fluid and is being closely monitored and actively managed," the company noted. Norcros said it has continued to win market share in its major markets despite conditions remaining challenging since mid-November. The company now expects that underlying profitability for the financial year to March 31 will be below market expectations, albeit ahead of last year. In financial 2019, Norcros reported revenue of GBP331.0 million. Revenue from the UK was GBP228.1 million, while South Africa revenue was GBP102.9.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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