(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening lower on Monday amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as fears grow of an imminent invasion.
In early company news, steam management systems provider Spirax-Sarco Engineering made an acquisition. IT services provider Computacenter said it finished 2021 with a strong fourth quarter. Advertising firm M&C Saatchi rejected a sweetened offer from AdvancedAdvT.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 19.03 points lower at 7,475.10. The blue-chip index closed down 90.88 points, 1.2%, at 7,494.13 on Friday.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering said it has agreed to buy Cotopaxi, an energy consulting firm, from Beijing-based Business Intelligence of Oriental Nations Corp. The price is GBP13.3 million, which is GBP12.8 million on a cash and debt free basis and will be funded from cash resources.
Spirax-Sarco explained that Cotopaxi will be integrated within its Steam Specialties business, which serves industrial steam customers.
"The business is an excellent strategic fit for us, as we are both focused on improving the efficiency and sustainability of industrial steam use. The software, platforms and experience they bring, together with the insights derived from over a decade of data analysis, will be a key accelerator for the digitally enabled customer solutions we offer in our Steam Specialties business," said Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Anderson.
Computacenter said it finished 2021 with a strong fourth quarter, which was ahead of its expectations.
The IT services provider estimates that adjusted pretax profit for 2021 was slightly in excess of GBP250 million. Adjusted pretax profit had risen by 37% to GBP200.5 million in 2020.
Computacenter also said it will deliver its "seventeenth year of uninterrupted earnings per share growth" in spite of pressures from a strong pound and product supply shortages.
Total revenue for 2021 grew by 23% including the effects of acquisitions made since the beginning of 2020, and by 27% in constant currency. Revenue had risen by 7.7% in 2020 to GBP5.44 billion from GBP5.05 billion in 2019.
During the year, Computacenter said it experienced the highest growth in Services revenue for the last 20 years, coupled with continued strength from Technology Sourcing product sales which was more broadly based in 2021 than the previous year.
Looking ahead, Computacenter said: "The robustness of the business throughout 2021 and particularly the strength of the fourth quarter gives us encouragement as we enter 2022. Our product order backlog is at an all-time high and considerably larger than a year ago. This is due to two factors, product supply constraint meaning customers are ordering earlier but there is also a significant underlying strength to the market. We are pleased that the stronger Services pipeline we saw a year ago delivered increased revenue and we are hopeful of repeating this performance in 2022."
Petropavlovsk said it has appointed Stanislav Ploshchenko as its new chief financial officer, based in Moscow, with immediate effect.
The Russian gold producer said Ploshchenko has over two decades of experience in finance including CFO positions at major publicly-listed companies. Ploshchenko began his career at lender Commerzbank before joining steel and coal producer Mechel, initially as head of corporate finance and then for seven years as CFO. Since 2016, he has served in several senior posts at East Mining Co, including CFO, acting CEO, and deputy CEO for business efficiency.
Outgoing CFO Danila Kotlyarov will remain with the company until February 28, and thereafter take on an advisory role, in order to ensure a smooth transition, Petropavlovsk added.
AdvancedAdvT said it has improved its takeover offer for M&C Saatchi to include a cash element, but this was rejected by the M&C Saatchi independent directors.
AdvancedAdvt offered 1.633 AdvancedAdvt shares plus 40 pence cash for each M&C Saatchi share. The offer was an alternative to an all-share offer of 2.245 AdvancedAdvt shares for each M&C Saatchi share.
AdvancedAdvt would move its shares to AIM from Main Market as part of M&C Saatchi offer. But following the rejection, AdvancedAdvT said it was "considering its options".
In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite finished flat, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.5%.
The US has ordered the families of its diplomats to leave Ukraine, as rising fears of a Russian invasion pushed Western officials to meet Monday in a bid to coordinate their response and compile a battery of sanctions against Moscow.
The UK on Saturday alleged that it had information that Moscow was "looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv".
Tensions have soared in recent weeks as tens of thousands of Russian troops mass on Ukraine's border, along with an arsenal of tanks, fighting vehicles, artillery and missiles.
London said it had seen evidence that several former Ukrainian politicians had maintained links with Russian intelligence services, and that former MP Yevgen Murayev was being considered as a potential leader.
Some of those in contact with Russian intelligence officers were "currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine", the UK Foreign Office said in a statement, though did not release details of the evidence. A US official called the alleged plot "deeply concerning".
Moscow dismissed the claims as "disinformation", and urged London to "stop spreading nonsense".
The accusations come at the end of a week of intense international diplomacy, which concluded with Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov, Washington and Moscow's top diplomats, agreeing to keep working to ease tensions.
In China, Beijing city officials on Sunday said all two million residents of a neighbourhood where they identified a small cluster of Covid-19 infections will be tested, less than two weeks ahead of the start of the Winter Olympics.
In an effort to thwart the coronavirus, China is sealing the Olympics inside a tightly controlled bubble cocooning thousands of people and stretching nearly 200 kilometres.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3542 early Monday, down from USD1.3550 at the London equities close Friday.
The euro was priced at USD1.1325, down from USD1.1343. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was trading at JPY113.76, unmoved on JPY113.75.
Brent oil was quoted at USD88.40 a barrel on Monday morning, up from USD87.74 late Friday. Gold stood at USD1,838.40 an ounce, higher against USD1,833.20.
The economic events calendar on Monday has PMI readings from Germany, eurozone, the UK and US at 0830 GMT, 0900 GMT, 0930 GMT and 1445 GMT respectively.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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