(Alliance News) - Shopping centre owner Hammerson on Friday said it cut its pretax loss to GBP408.0 million in 2021 from GBP1.74 billion in 2020, in a year of "fundamental change".
The narrowed loss was aided by a GBP457.5 million revaluation loss on its managed properties, which had been GBP1.44 billion in 2020. Hammerson also recorded a GBP171.3 million loss from joint ventures in 2021, compared to a whopping GBP880.2 million loss in 2020.
Gross rental income fell to GBP241.6 million from GBP286.9 million.
It declared a final dividend of 0.2 pence, unchanged from the year before.
"Since the beginning of 2021, we have made fundamental changes in our business, realigning our portfolio with GBP623 million of disposals, significantly strengthening the balance sheet, re-setting our organisation and putting in place a clear strategy for value creation focused on our prime urban estates," Chief Executive Rita-Rose Gagne said.
She added: "We own flagship destinations around which we can curate and reshape entire neighbourhoods and city centre spaces. Our new strategy recognises the unique position that Hammerson has in urban locations and the opportunities to leverage our experience and capabilities to create appealing destinations, serving occupiers, customers and communities."
Hammerson's shopping centres include the Bullring in Birmingham, Brent Cross in London, and Cabot Circus in Bristol.
Hammerson shares were up 1.5% early Friday, while the broader FTSE 250 index was down 0.3%.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 1.0% at 7,160.35
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Hang Seng: down 2.5% at 21,896.32
Nikkei 225: closed down 2.2% at 25,985.47
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.6% at 7,110.80
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DJIA: closed down 96.69 points, 0.3%, at 33,794.66
S&P 500: closed down 0.5% at 4,363.49
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 1.6% at 13,537.94
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EUR: down at USD1.1010 (USD1.1047)
GBP: down at USD1.3319 (USD1.3341)
USD: down at JPY115.42 (JPY115.63)
Gold: up at USD1,935.50 per ounce (USD1,928.05)
Oil (Brent): down at USD110.72 a barrel (USD113.62)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's key economic events still to come
1100 CET EU retail trade
0900 GMT UK SMMT registration figures
0930 GMT UK construction purchasing managers' index
1100 GMT Ireland live register
1100 GMT Ireland gross domestic product
1100 GMT Ireland balance of payments
0830 EST US monthly jobs report
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Russian forces seized control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant on Friday after a battle with Ukrainian troops that caused a fire and fears of a catastrophic accident. The Ukrainian nuclear regulator said that the fire had been extinguished and no radiation leak had been detected, with site staff still able to work at the Zaporizhzhia site. "The Zaporizhzhia NPP site has been seized by the military forces of the Russian Federation," the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said, in a statement. "The fire was extinguished by the Ukrainian State Emergency Service units. Information on the dead and injured is absent." Earlier, fighting had erupted between Russian invasion forces pushing towards the city of Zaporizhzhia and Ukrainian defenders, causing a blaze at the plant and global alarm. The power station is located in southern Ukraine on the Dnipro river and produces a fifth of Ukraine's electricity. Any fire in a nuclear plant revives memories of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, also in Ukraine, which left hundreds dead and spread radioactive contamination west across Europe.
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China avoided making any comments on the war in Ukraine at an annual press conference on Friday ahead of its National People's Congress. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was not mentioned at the press conference. Spokesman Zhang Yesui spoke about topics including China's zero-Covid strategy and the country's deliveries of vaccines across the world. He also spoke on relations with the US, which he said should be based on "mutual respect". Zhang warned the US against undermining mutual trust and cooperation. Instead of talking about the war in Ukraine, the spokesman responded to a question from a Russian reporter on the current tensions between China and Lithuania. Beijing downgraded its relations with the Baltic state after it allowed Taiwan to open a representative office under its own name in its capital city of Vilnius.
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UK retail footfall inched closer to pre-virus levels in February, figures on Friday showed, despite storms battering towns and cities up and down the country. According to the latest British Retail Consortium-Sensormatic IQ monitor, retail footfall declined 15% on a two-year basis in February. The decline eased from a 17% fall in January. On high streets alone, footfall was 19% below pre-virus levels in February. High street footfall was 22% lower on two years earlier in January. In retail parks, footfall was down 10% from two years earlier, narrowing a touch from 11% in January. Shopping centre footfall was 35% below pre-Covid levels in February, improving from 37% in January.
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Sales of new cars in the UK remain down by a quarter on pre-pandemic levels as the global shortage of computer chips limits supply. The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders said preliminary figures show the number of new cars registered in February was around 15% higher than the same month last year when showrooms were closed due to coronavirus lockdowns. But the total was around a quarter below February 2020, before the virus crisis affected new car sales. Registrations continue to be restricted by the global shortage of computer chips, which is limiting supply.
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The number of job adverts has increased, with thousands of new postings in recent weeks, research suggests. There were about 1.82 million job adverts in the last week of February, up by 8.6% from the previous week and by 41.5% from a month earlier, said the Recruitment & Employment Confederation. Its study found 224,000 new job postings in the last week of February, the highest since early December. The biggest weekly growth in adverts was for fitness instructors, travelling salespeople and furniture makers.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Barclays cuts ITV to 'equal weight' (overweight) - price target 95 (160) pence
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JPMorgan cuts Polymetal to 'neutral' (overweight)
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JPMorgan raises Assura to 'overweight' (neutral)
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Outsourcing and energy services firm Mitie Group said it is aware the UK competition regulator is looking into the firm's involvement in the procurement process run by the UK government for the contracts to supply certain services at Heathrow and Derwentside Immigration Removal Centres in the UK. Mitie noted it withdrew from the Derwentside IRC tender process, without submitting a bid, but remains "engaged" in the Heathrow IRC tender process. It stepped aside from Derwentside due to the Home Office's "lotting conditions", which prevents a single bidder from winning both contracts. "Mitie strongly condemns anti-competitive practices and is co-operating fully with the CMA and the investigation. Mitie is confident that it has no case to answer and will be fully exonerated," the company said.
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Morgan Advanced Materials swung back to profit in 2021 despite a "challenging" year. For 2021, pretax profit was GBP104.3 million, compared to the GBP1.8 million loss in 2020, on revenue that grew 4.4% to GBP950.5 million from GBP910.7 million. Morgan Advanced declared a total annual shareholder payout of 9.1 pence, up from 5.5p in 2020. Chief Executive Pete Raby said: "In spite of the challenges, we have made good progress as a business, with further implementation of our strategy and progress against our long-term goals. This resulted in strong growth and saw margins at their highest point in more than 20 years."
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discoverIE Group said it has completed the sale of its electronic component distribution business, Acal BFi, to H2 Equity Partners. The GBP50.0 million deal was first announced in early November. It also noted the sale of Vertec SA to its management team, which was announced in October, completed in January. discoverIE said the proceeds will be used to reduce its debt and to fund design and manufacturing initiatives.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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US online search firm Google has stopped selling online advertisements in Russia amid Moscow's attack on Ukraine. "In light of the extraordinary circumstances, we're pausing Google ads in Russia," the company, part of Alphabet, said in a statement. "The situation is evolving quickly, and we will continue to share updates when appropriate." It had earlier banned Russian state-funded media from buying or selling ads through its technology, and switched off real-time traffic information services for Ukraine in its Google Maps navigation software, which it said was a move to protect the Ukrainian public decided in consultation with the country's authorities. Meanwhile, vacation rental company Airbnb has stopped its activities in Russia and Belarus, Chief Executive Brian Chesky wrote on Twitter.
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Friday's shareholder meetings
Asia Strategic Holdings Ltd - AGM
Challenger Energy Group PLC - EGM re equity raise
JPMorgan Russian Securities PLC - AGM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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