Kingfisher Share News (KGF)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are set to open slightly lower on Thursday, ahead of UK retail sales data at 0930 BST, as several large UK companies reported lower results.In early UK company news, United Utilities reported a decline in annual profit due to higher expenses, first-quarter sales at Kingfisher dipped due to weather conditions which affected footfall, and Mediclinic International swung to a loss from a profit for its recently ended financial yearIG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 6.91 points lower at 7,781.50 on Thursday. The FTSE 100 index closed down 1.3% at 7,788.44 on Wednesday.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3358 early Thursday, higher than USD1.3349 at the London equities close on Wednesday.FTSE 100-listed private hospital group Mediclinic International sunk to a pretax loss of GBP479 million from a profit of GBP307.0 million for the year to the end of March, on revenue that rose by 4.0% to GBP2.87 billion from GBP2.74 billion.The swing to loss was due to impairment charges on Hirslanden properties of GBP84.0 million and intangible assets of GBP560.0 million, and the accelerated amortisation of GBP23.0 million related to the rebranding of Al Noor hospitals.Mediclinic International will keep a flat dividend of 7.90 pence per share. In addition, Chief Executive Officer Danie Meintjes will step down from his role, to be replaced by Ronnie van der Merwe.Fellow FTSE 100 constituent United Utilities Group saw profit decline by 2.4% to GBP432.1 million for the year ended March 31 from GBP442.4 million, on revenue that crept up 1.9% to GBP1.74 billion from GBP1.70 billion.The profit decline was due to a GBP40.0 million increase in net finance costs as well as higher fair value losses on derivative instruments, despite a rise in operating profit.FTSE 100-listed DIY retailer Kingfisher reported for the first quarter of its financial year a 1.2% decline in sales at GBP2.82 billion, with dips in the UK & Ireland, France and Russia.Particularly in the UK & Ireland, sales were impacted by severe winter weather which reduced footfall. Despite this, Kingfisher said it was still on-track to deliver Stage Three of its transformation plan.In the FTSE 250, telecommunications company TalkTalk Telecom Group also swung to a loss, of GBP73 million for the year to the end of March from a profit of GBP70 million the year before, on declining revenue of GBP1.71 billion from GBP1.78 billion. As a result, TalkTalk has cut its dividend to 4.00 pence per share from 10.29p.In addition, TalkTalk has proposed to sell off its direct B2B business to The Daisy Group for GBP175 million, which is expected to hit the group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the 2019 financial year by GBP15.0 million. However the deal will strengthen TalkTalk's balance sheet.UK inflation continued to slow, reaching a 13-month low in April, driven by lower air fares, adding doubts to the timing of the next interest rate hike by the Bank of England.Consumer prices climbed 2.4% year-on-year in April, slightly slower than the 2.5% increase seen in March, the Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday."As UK inflation continues to slip from its peaks at the beginning of this year, falling to a one year low of 2.4% in April, sending the pound to its lowest level this year against the US dollar, attention now turns back to the health of the UK consumer, with the latest retail sales numbers for April later this morning," says Analyst Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.The economic events calendar on Thursday has US initial jobless claims at 1330 BST. In addition, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is scheduled to speak at the 2018 Bank of England Markets Forum at 0900 BST. In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.3% and Nasdaq Composite closing 0.6% higher.The Federal Reserve continues to project two more rate hikes are on the way this year with three more on the way for 2019, according to the minutes of the most recent policy-making meeting.There was no interest rate hike at the May meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, but policy makers debated the threat of inflation and acknowledged trade-related uncertainties.In addition, the US Commerce Department on Wednesday launched an investigation into whether automobile imports pose a threat to national security, a move which could lead to tariffs on foreign-made cars."There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry," US Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement."The Fed touching on trade concerns did little to spook anyone. Instead, Trump single handily put trade risk firmly back on the table, as he lined up the next target of his America First policy. Before trade issues with China are even close to being resolved, Trump launching an investigation into the US automobile industry, similar to that of the Steel & Aluminium industry, is understandably unnerving the markets," says Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group.In Asia on Thursday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.1%.