(Alliance News) - Parsley Box on Thursday revealed plans for a GBP7.0 million equity raise, a day after its shares plunged by a quarter.
The Edinburgh-based meal delivery firm had made no announcement on Wednesday to trigger the sharp fall in its share price. However, before the market open on Thursday, the company announced plans for a GBP5.9 million share placing and an open offer to raise up to GBP1.1 million.
The issue price will be 20 pence. Parsley Box listed in March last year at 200.00p per share, but shares have wilted since, amid lower order numbers and restricted stock availability. Shares closed at 18.00p on Wednesday.
Back in December, Parsley had warned it planned to raise further funding in the first quarter of this year. On Thursday, it said it will use the fresh cash to target new customer acquisition and "develop an online customer journey tailored to our demographic".
Parsley delivers ready meals to the 'baby boomer' generation, born after the World War Two and broadly defined as aged 60 and over. Its London Stock Exchange ticker code is MEAL.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.8% at 7,136.60
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Hang Seng: up 1.3% at 20,890.26
Nikkei 225: closed up 3.9% at 25,690.40
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 1.1% at 7,130.80
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DJIA: closed up 653.61 points, or 2.0%, at 33,286.25
S&P 500: closed up 107.18 points, or 2.6%, at 4,277.88
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 459.99 points, or 3.6%, at 13,255.55
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EUR: unchanged at USD1.1071 (USD1.1070)
GBP: up at USD1.3191 (USD1.3165)
USD: up at JPY115.93 (JPY115.77)
Gold: down at USD1,979.20 per ounce (USD2,000,80)
Oil (Brent): down at USD114.93 a barrel (USD121.55)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's key economic events still to come
1345 CET EU ECB interest rate decision
1430 CET EU press conference with ECB President Christine Lagarde
1100 GMT Ireland consumer price index
0830 EST US CPI
0830 EST US jobless claims
1030 EST US EIA weekly natural gas storage report
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The Ukrainian army said it is slowing down and holding back the Russian offensive two weeks into the conflict. The Ukrainian general staff said in a bulletin that in some operational areas, Russian units had lost their fighting strength and were bringing in reserves. Russian forces were still working on surrounding Kiev and were also beefing up their units around Mykolaiv in Ukraine's south. Attacks were also reported from the eastern cities of Kharkiv and Izyum, as well as from Sumy and Oktyrka in north-eastern Ukraine. The information could not be independently verified.
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The highest level talks between the two sides since the Russian invasion began were due to be held in Turkey on Thursday. Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba "has arrived in Antalya for the talks on Russia ceasing its hostilities and ending its war against Ukraine," Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on Wednesday evening. Kuleba was due to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. On Wednesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky signalled a willingness to compromise as Russian forces continued their advance and the safe routes agreed for the evacuation of civilians were only implemented with partial success. "In any negotiation, my goal is to end the war with Russia. And I am also ready to take certain steps," Zelensky told Germany's Bild newspaper. "Compromises can be made, but they must not be the betrayal of my country," Zelensky said, adding that the other side should likewise be prepared to compromise.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Berenberg raises M&G to 'buy' (hold) - price target 267 (237) pence
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Barclays raises Great Portland to 'overweight' (underweight) - target 700 pence
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Jefferies raises Molten Ventures to 'buy' (hold) - price target 1,000 pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Packaging maker DS Smith said its trading in the third quarter in been in line with expectations, with the momentum seen in the first half carrying into the second. In the period since November 1, the London-based firm said volume growth and packaging price increases have "more than" offset ongoing input cost increases, leading to "good progress" in profitability and cash generation. The company noted continued like-for-like volume growth in its fast-moving consumer goods unit, and expects mid single-digit percentage like-for-like volume growth for the year to April 30. DS Smith said its production in Ukraine and Russia is currently suspended, but said its involvement is a "minority investment" in a Ukrainian business, which serves customers predominantly in Ukraine with "limited" sales in Russia. Chief Executive Miles Roberts said: "Despite the increasing macro-economic and geo-political uncertainty, the outlook for the year remains unchanged by recent events with the second half of the year continuing to show good momentum."
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Spirax-Sarco Engineering's annual profit was sharply higher after an "excellent performance" beat pre-pandemic sales in 2019. In 2021, pretax profit surged 31% to GBP314.5 million from GBP240.1 million, on revenue growth of 13% to GBP1.34 billion from GBP1.19 billion - and was ahead of GBP1.24 billion sales in 2019. The Steam Specialties business - which accounts for 56% of revenue - saw sales rise 9% thanks to increased demand, while Electric Thermal Solutions sales increased 2% year on year. Watson-Marlow sales jumped 27%. Spirax-Sarco declared an annual dividend of 136.0 pence, up 15% from 118.0p in 2020. Chief Executive Nicholas Anderson said: "For 2022 we currently anticipate strong sales growth, driven by record order books and continued global industrial production growth. While adjusted operating profit growth will be reduced by the full-year impact of revenue investments in 2021, we currently anticipate the adjusted operating profit margin in 2022 will still be comfortably above pre-pandemic levels."
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Television broadcaster and content producer ITV has hired the former chief executive of Intercontinental Hotels Group to be its new chair, replacing Peter Bazalgette. Andrew Cosslett will join the ITV board on June 1 and take over as chair from Bazalgette on September 29. Cosslett currently is chair of DIY store chain Kingfisher and previously was chair of Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby in England.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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A day after seeing its merger with smaller peer Stagecoach collapse, National Express reported a narrowed annual loss. In 2021, its pretax loss was cut to GBP84.9 million from GBP444.7 million in 2020. Revenue increased 11% to GBP2.17 billion from GBP1.96 billion. The midcap transport firm recorded GBP123.4 million in free cash flow in 2021 compared to the GBP196.0 million loss in 2020. National Express noted it has a current pipeline of GBP1.5 billion in revenue, and said it plans to reinstate its dividend with a full-year payout in 2022. Turning to the Stagecoach deal, National Express said it is "considering its options and will update the market in due course". On Wednesday, Stagecoach accepted a new cash takeover offer, and the board no longer recommends the all-share merger previously agreed with National Express.
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Construction firm Balfour Beatty said its annual results were ahead of expectations, and it has upped its 2022 share buyback to GBP150 million. For 2021, pretax profit nearly doubled to GBP87 million from GBP48 million in 2020, but revenue slipped 3.8% to GBP8.26 billion from GBP8.59 billion. Underlying profit from operations from earnings-based businesses more than doubled to GBP181 million from GBP75 million, and was ahead of the GBP172 million seen in 2019. Balfour declared an annual dividend of 9.0 pence per share, up from just 1.5p in 2020. Balfour ended 2021 with an order book of GBP16.1 billion, down slightly from GBP16.4 billion at the same point the year prior. Chief Executive Leo Quinn said: "In 2021, despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, we have delivered operating profits ahead of expectations. Balfour Beatty emerges from the last two years with capabilities intact and a higher quality order book. Together these provide the visibility to deliver profitable managed growth and sustainable cash generation."
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Estate agent Purplebricks said Vic Darvey has resigned as chief executive "due to personal circumstances" and will depart at the end of March. Chief Operating Officer Helena Marston will take over as CEO. Davey has been in charge since May 2019, while Marston joined the firm as chief people officer in May 2020, having held senior human resources roles a Virgin Media, Kuwait Energy, Jaguar Land Rover and Vodafone.
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Marine services firm James Fisher reported a narrowed pretax loss of GBP29.0 million in 2021 from GBP52.5 million in 2020, despite a 4.7% decline in revenue to GBP494.1 million from GBP518.2 million. However, underlying operating profit margin shrank to 5.7% from 7.8%. "2021 was a challenging and disappointing year for the group," said CEO Eoghan O'Lionaird. "We experienced ongoing disruption from the global pandemic, our markets did not recover at expected rates, and we underestimated the headwinds faced by some of our businesses."
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said it has agreed to sell its pest control unit to UK private equity firm Cinven for USD2.6 billion. Bayer had announced last year its intention to offload its US-based unit, Environmental Science Professional. "This divestment represents a very attractive purchase price and allows us to focus on our core agricultural business," said Rodrigo Santos, head of Bayer's Crop Science division. Environmental Science Professional offers solutions to control pests, diseases and weeds in non-agricultural areas, including professional pest management, forestry and gardens. The subsidiary has 800 employees and operates in more than 100 countries, with EUR600 million in turnover.
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Thursday's shareholder meetings
Ferguson PLC - GM re moving primary listing to US
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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