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(Alliance News) - Accounting software firm Sage on Wednesday said it has made a strong start to its new financial year, with organic revenue growth of 5% in the three months to the end of December.
Revenue totalled GBP458 million in the financial first quarter, up from GBP435 million a year before. Sage highlighted that recurring revenue grew by 8%, bolstered by a 21% rise in revenue from Sage Business Cloud to GBP280 million.
The FTSE 100 company reaffirmed its annual guidance.
"Sage has made a strong start to the year, accelerating growth in line with expectations," said Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Howell. "Sage Business Cloud has performed particularly well, driven by continued growth in both cloud native and cloud connected solutions, as we execute on our strategy to be the trusted network for small and mid-sized businesses."
Sage shares were down 0.3% early Wednesday. They are up 25% over the past 12 months.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 1.3% at 7,467.98
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Hang Seng: up 0.2% at 24,289.90
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.4% at 27,011.33
Financial markets in Sydney closed for Australia Day.
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DJIA: closed down 66.77 points, or 0.2%, at 34,297.73
S&P 500: closed down 1.2% at 4,356.45
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 2.3% at 13,539.30
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EUR: up at USD1.1295 (USD1.1279)
GBP: up at USD1.3504 (USD1.3491)
USD: flat at JPY113.94 (JPY113.92)
Gold: up at USD1,847.44 per ounce (USD1,846.58)
Oil (Brent): up at USD88.32 a barrel (USD87.57)
(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
0700 EST US MBA weekly mortgage applications survey
0830 EST US goods trade balance
1000 EST US new residential sales
1030 EST US EIA weekly petroleum status report
1400 EST US Federal Reserve interest rate decision
1430 EST US press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to face further questions over a police investigation into 'partygate', as No 10 braces for the submission of a report into possible lockdown breaches. A Downing Street source said that Sue Gray had not, as of Tuesday evening, handed in her findings about alleged coronavirus rule-breaking parties held at the top of the UK government. The senior civil servant's inquiry had been expected to be finalised this week, with reports suggesting it could be published to coincide with Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, or possibly on Thursday. It comes as police launched their own probe into multiple events in No 10 after being passed information from the Gray inquiry. The prime minister's official spokesman signalled that Johnson would be willing to speak to those at Scotland Yard investigating the alleged breaches of coronavirus rules over the past two years.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Berenberg cuts abrdn to 'hold' ('buy') - target 260 (285) pence
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Goldman Sachs raises B&M Value Retail to 'neutral' (sell) - price target 610 (580) pence
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JPMorgan raises Intertek to 'overweight' (neutral) - price target 6,400 pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo said it put in a "creditable" performance in 2021, with silver production marginally short of guidance, but gold production exceeding expectations. For 2021, Fresnillo delivered attributable silver production of 53.1 million ounces, which was below guidance of 53.5 million to 59.5 million ounces. The company said output was below guidance due to lower grades and less ore at the Saucito and Fresnillo mines. Fresnillo reported 2021 gold production of 751,200 ounces, down 2.4% on 2020 but ahead of guidance of 675,000 to 725,000 ounces of gold. It attributed the lower gold production to lower ore grades at Cienega and at San Julian Veins. Looking ahead, Fresnillo forecasts 50.5 million to 56.5 million ounces attributable silver - including Silverstream - in 2022. Fresnillo also guided for 600,000 to 650,000 ounces attributable gold production in 2022. Both are down on 2021. Fresnillo said the 2022 guidance issued is in light of the ongoing and new operational challenges caused by the virus pandemic and its resulting effects on workforce availability, as well as the implementation of the new labour laws that limit use of contractors.
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Investment manager M&G said it is partnering with digital investment firm Moneyfarm to provide direct investment services to UK consumers. M&G Wealth, its UK wealth management arm, will use Moneyfarm technology to create a new direct digital service tailored to meet a range of customer risk appetites and profiles through a collection of multi-asset model portfolios, backed by a selection of actively-managed and passive funds. Moneyfarm will deliver the operating models, including dedicated "squads" to support the technology platform and customer relationship management, together with custody and trading services, M&G explained. M&G will invest for a minority stake in MFM Holding, and the two companies will explore opportunities to partner in other European wealth markets as well.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Contracts-for-difference trading provider CMC Markets said it delivered a sustained performance across both leveraged and non-leveraged operations in the third quarter. For the three months to December 31, CMC said client money and assets under administration in leveraged and non-leveraged businesses were close to record highs. Monthly active client numbers across both leveraged and non-leveraged businesses remained at similar levels to those in the first half. CMC Markets said it was confident in achieving full-year net operating income of GBP250 million to GBP280 million.
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The UK Competition & Markets Authority has served an initial enforcement order in relation to the planned merger between National Express and Stagecoach. Noting the announcement, Stagecoach said the CMA indicated that the purpose of the order is to maintain the businesses in their current shape whilst it commences its review of the merger. As such, the order will delay completion of the proposed sale of the marketing, retail and customer service activities of Stagecoach's inter-city coach businesses to ComfortDelGro Corp beyond February 28. Stagecoach said that both its board and that of National Express continue to believe the Stagecoach inter-city coach business sale represents a "comprehensive solution" to any competition concerns that might arise from their overlapping coach operations.
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Gambling software firm Playtech said its board continues to recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the takeover offer from Australia's Aristocrat Leisure. "Whilst Playtech has made significant strategic and operational progress and is in a strong position for the future, Aristocrat's proposal provides an attractive opportunity for shareholders to accelerate the delivery of Playtech's longer-term value," the company said. Playtech was responding to a report by Sky News late Tuesday that the company is considering a break-up of the business if a group of Asian-based shareholders block the takeover by Aristocrat. A shareholder vote on the deal is scheduled for Wednesday next week.
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European budget carrier Wizz Air warned that it expects demand in January, February and March to be hurt by travel uncertainty caused by the Omicron variant of Covid-19. As a result, it expects its operating loss for the fourth quarter of financial 2022 to be "slightly higher" than the EUR213.6 million loss in the third quarter. "Despite the short-term headwinds, we are cautiously optimistic for a continued recovery into Spring and near-full utilisation from Summer onwards," Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said. For the third-quarter, which ended on December 31, Wizz reported revenue of EUR408.4 million, up from EUR149.9 million a year before, as passengers carried more than tripled to 7.8 million.
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Wednesday's shareholder meetings
AJ Bell PLC - AGM
JPMorgan Elect PLC - AGM
Lowland Investment Co - AGM
Renew Holdings PLC - AGM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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