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(Alliance News) - UK CEOs came, went and were confirmed in their role on Wednesday.
Moneysupermarket.com said CEO Mark Lewis will leave to pursue his career in a "new direction", while Metro Bank confirmed interim CEO Dan Frumkin as its permanent boss.
Auto dealer Pendragon picked Non-Executive Director Bill Berman is its new CEO.
Moneysupermarket and Pendragon shares both were down 1.1% early Wednesday. Metro Bank was down 0.5%.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.6% at 7,423.48
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Hang Seng: up 0.4% at 27,641.90
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.9% at 23,400.70
DJIA: closed down 165.89 points, 0.6%, at 29,232.19
S&P 500: closed down 0.3% at 3,370.29
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GBP: down at USD1.2999 (USD1.3021)
EUR: down at USD1.0802 (USD1.0817)
Gold: up at USD1,604.25 per ounce (USD1,602.83)
Oil (Brent): up at USD58.26 a barrel (USD57.08)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
0930 GMT UK consumer and producer price indices
0930 GMT UK house price index
1000 CET EU euro-area balance of payments
0700 EST US MBA weekly mortgage applications survey
0830 EST US producer price index
0830 EST US housing starts and building permits
0855 EST US Johnson Redbook retail sales index
1000 EST US advance quarterly services
1630 EST US API weekly statistical bulletin
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Flood-hit communities in Britain were braced Wednesday for further heavy rain as river levels continue to threaten to breach barriers. Hundreds of properties have been flooded and at-risk properties evacuated across England and Wales after the downpours brought to the UK by Storm Dennis. The Environment Agency has warned that levels on the Rivers Wye and Severn will remain especially high into the weekend, after both broke records this week. The River Severn was continuing to rise on Tuesday night, threatening homes and properties in the Midlands, with fears barriers would be overtopped.
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Hundreds of relieved passengers disembarked a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship in Japan Wednesday after testing negative for the disease that has now claimed more than 2,000 lives in China and spread panic worldwide. The Diamond Princess has proved a fertile breeding ground for the COVID-19 virus with at least 542 positive cases, and Japan has faced mounting criticism for its quarantine arrangements as the passengers disperse. Yellow-dotted city buses, plus a dozen or so taxis, were lined up to whisk away the passengers, many of them dragging their luggage behind them and waving to former ship-mates on balconies. The ship is the biggest cluster outside China, where new figures showed the death toll surging beyond 2,000 with more than 74,000 infected. Hundreds more cases have been reported in two dozen countries.
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Japan's exports slipped in January, but at a more moderate pace than the month before in a positive surprise for analysts. The Ministry of Finance said exports were down 2.6% year-on-year in January to JPY5.430 trillion, or USD49.31 billion. In December, though, exports had fallen 6.3%, and the month before that they were down 7.9%, meaning January's result marked an improvement in fortunes. Consensus, according to FXStreet, had seen exports falling 6.9% in January. Meanwhile, imports were down 3.6% following a 4.9% fall the month before. This brought January's trade balance to a deficit of JPY1.312 trillion, narrowed from JPY1.417 trillion a year ago.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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HSBC RAISES BERKELEY GROUP TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 6620 (4540) PENCE
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PEEL HUNT INITIATES HALMA WITH 'ADD' - TARGET 2350 PENCE
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PEEL HUNT INITIATES CRODA INTERNATIONAL WITH 'ADD' - TARGET 5500 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Qatar Airways said it has increased its stake in British Airways parent in International Consolidated Airlines to 25.1%. This was from the 21.4% stake held by the Qatari government-owned airline previously. "Our investment to date has been highly successful, and the announced increase in our shareholding is evidence of our continued support of IAG and its strategy," said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker. "Qatar Airways continues to consider opportunities to invest in airlines and support management teams that share our vision to enhance travel opportunities for airline passengers across the globe," he added.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Moneysupermarket.com said CEO Mark Lewis has indicated he intends to step down from the role and pursue his career in a "new direction". No date for his departure has been set, but Lewis has said he wishes to ensure a "smooth" transition to his successor. The company has started a formal search process for his replacement, looking at both internal and external candidates. He, along with Chief Financial Officer Scilla Grimble, will present the price comparison site's results for 2019 as scheduled on Thursday, and the group will announce that these met market expectations.
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COMPANIES - OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Lender Metro Bank confirmed Dan Frumkin as CEO with immediate effect. Frumkin has been working as Metro's interim CEO since the start of the year, having joined in September 2019 as chief transformation officer. Prior to this, he spent eight years at Bermuda-based Bank of NT Butterfield & Son and has held roles at RBS and Northern Rock. "The combination of three decades of experience across retail banking and the positive impact he has made since joining Metro Bank last year mean we have identified an impressive CEO to take Metro Bank into its second decade. I look forward to working with Dan as we deliver the next chapter," said Chair Michael Snyder. Sky News on Tuesday had reported the UK challenger bank was under pressure from the City to make Frumkin's role permanent.
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Pendragon said it has chosen Non-Executive Director Bill Berman to become the automotive retailer's next chief executive. Berman joined Pendragon as a non-executive in April 2019 and since October has been performing the role of interim executive chair. Berman will continue to serve as interim chair while the company seeks to fill the role on a permanent basis. Prior to joining Pendragon, Berman served as president & chief operating officer of AutoNation, the largest automotive retailer in America.
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Consulting services firm RPS reported a sharp fall in profit for 2019 as it also reported the departure of its finance director. Revenue for the year was slightly lower at GBP612.60 million from GBP637.4 million, but pretax profit slumped to GBP4.8 million from GBP41.0 million. The main driver of this was GBP23.4 million taken in exceptional items, of which GBP19.8 million related to a goodwill impairment in its Australia Asia Pacific segment. In line with a previous rebasing announcement, RPS said proposed a final dividend of 2.0p, down from 5.08p a year ago, to take the full-year payout to 4.42p versus 9.88p. "As we enter 2020, trading conditions in our markets are generally satisfactory and we anticipate more stable results from our segments," CEO John Douglas said. "The board remains confident in the medium term outlook for the group and anticipates that the year ahead will be broadly in line with 2019 with growth accelerating in 2021." Separately, RPS said Gary Young has decided to retire from the group after serving as finance director for 20 years. He will step down on April 30, the company's annual general meeting, and be succeeded by RPS's strategy director Judith Cottrell.
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Gamma Communications late Tuesday said its subsidiary Gamma Communications Europe has offered to buy VozTelecom Oigaa360. The Newbury, UK-based communications services provider said the offer values VozTelecom - which is trading on the Mercado Alternativo Bursatil in Spain - at about EUR25.3 million on a fully diluted basis. VozTelecom's net debt as at December 31 was EUR5.2 million, which would imply an enterprise value of EUR30.5 million. AIM-listed Gamma said it will finance the acquisition through its existing cash resources, which at as the end of 2019 stood at GBP53.8 million.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Wesfarmers posted a flat profit for the first half of its financial year as expenses eroded revenue gains. Wesfarmers is an Australian group with interests in retail, chemicals, fertilisers and mining. Its pretax profit for the six months ended December 31 was AUD1.546 billion, about USD1.04 billion, a hair below the previous year's figure of AUD1.548 billion. Revenue rose 6.0% to AUD15.25 billion from AUD14.39 billion, but this failed to feed through to profit as raw materials and inventory expenses rose by 7.4% to AUD9.52 billion, taking total expenses up by 5.9% to AUD13.72 billion from AUD12.96 billion. The company declared an interim dividend of AUD0.75 per share, flat from the year before.
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Democratic election hopeful Mike Bloomberg would sell the financial data and media company he created in the 1980s — which bears his name and made him a multi-billionaire — if elected US president, a top adviser has said. Bloomberg would put Bloomberg LP into a blind trust, and the trustee would then sell the company, adviser Tim O'Brien said. Proceeds from the sale would go to Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable giving arm that funds causes from climate change to public health and grants for American cities. The only restriction Bloomberg would put on the sale is that it not be sold to a foreign buyer or a private equity company, O'Brien said. Bloomberg is currently chief executive of the company.
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Wednesday's Shareholder Meetings
Gooch & Housego
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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