Check out our new Timeline feature to give you the latest updates on all the stocks you follow. Clickhere to set up your Timeline.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE
Sponsored Content
Don't want ads? Click here
Sponsored Content
Don't want ads? Click here

Pin to quick picksPz Cussons Share News (PZC)

Share Price Information for Pz Cussons (PZC)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 87.20
Bid: 87.10
Ask: 87.20
Change: 0.70 (0.81%)
Spread: 0.10 (0.115%)
Open: 85.30
High: 87.50
Low: 85.30
Prev. Close: 86.50
PZC Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Timelines are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Rebound as teetering Chinese firm stays upright

Wed, 22nd Sep 2021 12:25

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday Wednesday as concerns about Chinese property firm Evergrande's debt pile moderated, with market focus now on a US Federal Reserve rate decision later in the day.

Evergrande agreed a deal with domestic bondholders that should allow the embattled conglomerate to avoid missing one of its interest payments and avoid default, but its deeper debt burden remains.

In a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange, Evergrande's property unit Hengda said it had negotiated a plan to pay interest due on its 2025 bond, worth CNY232 million, about USD35.9 million. Evergrande has admitted facing "tremendous pressure" as it tackles a debt pile of more than USD300 billion, and has warned that it may not be able to meet its liabilities.

In Wednesday's statement, Hengda said investors "who bought and held the bonds" before Wednesday "are entitled to interest paid this time".

The FTSE 100 index was up 82.00 points, or 1.2%, at 7,063.04. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 134.07 points, 0.6%, at 23,744.50. The AIM All-Share index was up 5.12 points, 0.a%, at 1,265.26.

The Cboe UK 100 index was up 1.3% at 702.40. The Cboe 250 was up 0.7%, at 21,524.30. The Cboe Small Companies was 0.6% higher at 15,505.69.

In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was up 1.1% and the DAX 40 index in Frankfurt was up 0.7%.

US stock market also was pointed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.

The Federal Open Market Committee will conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday and announce its decision at 1900 BST. This will be followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 1930 BST.

AJ Bell's Russ Mould commented: "One key event is China's troubled property developer Evergrande striking a deal over a bond repayment, thereby bringing a sense of relief to markets we might not see the business collapse - something that could cause ripples in multiple markets. Evergrande still has plenty of problems to fix including more bond payments later this week, but today's deal would suggest catastrophe is not immediately around the corner.

"We also have the Federal Reserve issuing a policy statement later today and speculation is growing that we won't get the dreaded tapering announcement at this event. That would be a massive relief to investors and could give further support to markets."

In the FTSE 100, Entain was the best performer, up 7.1% at 2,416.00 pence, after the Ladbrokes and Coral betting chains owner provided further details about the takeover approach from Boston, Massachusetts-based Draftkings.

Late Tuesday, Entain had confirmed a report by CNBC that it had received a takeover approach from US sports betting firm DraftKings, but it hadn't provided the price offered.

Entain said on Wednesday that an earlier approach from DraftKings at 2,500 pence per share, which comprised of a combination of DraftKings shares and cash, was rejected. Then, another proposal was received on Sunday by which DraftKings would offer 2,800p per Entain share, consisting of 630p in cash and the balance payable in new DraftKings Class A common shares.

The latest offer represented a premium of 46% to Entain's closing share price on Monday.

In response, Entain said it would "carefully consider" the proposal and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate. Shareholders were urged to take no action.

The DraftKings takeover proposal comes after Entain had rejected an USD11 billion offer from Las Vegas, Nevada-based MGM Resorts International in January, saying it undervalued the company. Entain has a US joint venture with MGM called BetMGM.

DraftKings closed down 7.4% in New York on Tuesday at USD52.77, while MGM ended 1.8% lower at USD40.55. DraftKings was up 0.1% in the New York pre-market on Wednesday, while MGM was up 1.0%.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laura Hoy commented: "We suspect that BetMGM is a big part of the reason DraftKings is interested at all, which may mean it will look to offload other parts of the business like the Ladbrokes and Coral physical betting shops down the line, as Caesars Entertainment has done with William Hill's shops. But MGM will have a hand in negotiating the terms of the deal, which could ultimately put DraftKings off following through.

"There's also a chance DraftKing's bold move could push MGM to make another offer for Entain, though we think this possibility is unlikely considering it would require MGM to substantially increase its former offer."

London-listed midcap gambling firms Rank Group and 888 Holdings were up 1.0% and 8.1% respectively, in a positive read-across.

Flutter Entertainment was up 4.1% after the Paddy Power owner said its legal dispute with the US state of Kentucky has been settled in full.

As part of the settlement, Flutter has agreed to pay USD200 million to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in addition to USD100 million previously forfeited. In return, Kentucky has agreed to cease all further actions with respect to the case.

The case related to the reinstatement of a USD870 million fine by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, first imposed in 2010 against subsidiaries of Stars Group, prior its merger with Flutter last year.

BT was up 0.2%. The telecommunications firm is in the advanced stage of talks to sell its sports broadcasting arm to DAZN, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The FT, citing multiple people with direct knowledge of the talks, said a deal could be struck within weeks.

DAZN is majority-owned by investment firm Access Industries, which also holds a stake in Warner Music.

The newspaper said an agreement for DAZN to buy BT Sport is not certain, however, with a number of factors, include sale price, a sticking point in talks. The sale price could be in the region of hundreds of millions of pounds. Because of a cross-licensing deal, Sky would need to green light DAZN's potential purchase of BT Sport, the FT added.

Kingfisher was the worst performer in the FTSE 100, down 2.0%. The DIY retailer was extending losses from Tuesday amid fears of slower growth in the second half of the year, as consumers spend less time at home. Kingfisher had ended 5.1% lower on Tuesday, following its interim results.

London Stock Exchange Group was down 0.5%. LSEG on Tuesday evening announced the closure of its derivatives segment, CurveGlobal Markets, after it failed to gain enough market share against long-established rivals like Deutsche Boerse and IntercontinentalExchange.

LSEG said CurveGlobal will stop trading at the end of January next year.

It is mostly long-term and medium-term contracts which will be suspended with immediate effect. These include Schatz Futures, Bobl Futures and Long Gilt Futures.

In the FTSE 250, personal care products maker PZ Cussons was the worst performer down 3.5%, but recovered somewhat from early losses, as hygiene habits start to normalise from heightened pandemic levels.

For the financial year ended May 31, revenue was GBP603.3 million, up 2.7% from GBP587.2 million. Pretax profit was GBP63.2 million, more than triple GBP18.3 million a year ago.

PZ Cussons raised its total dividend 5.0% to 6.09p from 5.80p.

It highlighted organic revenue growth of 7.1% in the year, with all geographic regions and the core categories of Hygiene, Baby and Beauty all performing strongly.

However, separately, PZ Cussons said for the first quarter to August 28 revenue declined 9%, driven by its Hygiene business, with Carex soap in the UK experiencing double-digit decline.

Looking ahead, PZ Cussons pointed to inflationary pressures on commodities and freight, with price increases being implemented across its markets in Nigeria and Indonesia.

Assuming no further cost pressures, or global supply or other Covid-related disruption, PZ Cussons expects to deliver financial 2022 adjusted pretax profit within the current range of expectations. It posted adjusted pretax profit of GBP68.6 million in financial 2021, compared to consensus estimates which were in a range between GBP63 million to GBP65 million.

Oxford BioMedica was up 5.5%. The gene and cell therapies company said sales more than doubled in the first half of 2021 thanks to Covid vaccine manufacturing contracts, and it announced an investment from the Serum Institute of India.

The Oxford-based firm made revenue of GBP81.3 million, up from GBP34.0 million in the first half of 2021. That helped it swing to a pretax profit of GBP19.2 million from a loss of GBP6.1 million.

Separately, Oxford BioMedica announced that vaccine manufacturing giant the Serum Institute of India has agreed to make a strategic investment of GBP50.0 million. The Serum Institute will buy 3.4 million newly issued shares for 1,478p each, equal to Tuesday's closing price, giving it a 3.9% stake.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3640 at midday on Wednesday, little changed from USD1.3643 at the London equities close on Tuesday.

The euro was priced at USD1.1730, up from USD1.1714. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.53, higher against JPY109.26.

Brent was quoted at USD75.35 a barrel Wednesday at midday, up sharply from USD73.84 late Tuesday. Gold stood at USD1,775.85 an ounce, down from USD1,781.03.

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

More News
11 Feb 2025 10:45

SMALL-CAP WINNERS & LOSERS: PZ Cussons ups outlook; S&U falls

(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Tuesday.

Read more
11 Feb 2025 09:40

PZ Cussons back in profit, and on track, as sales rise in core markets

(Alliance News) - Shares in PZ Cussons PLC jumped on Tuesday after the maker of Carex raised its outlook for full-year operating profit.

Read more
11 Feb 2025 07:53

PZ Cussons swings to first-half profit, shares rally

(Sharecast News) - PZ Cussons rallied on Tuesday after the Imperial Leather maker said it had returned to profit in the first half and remains on track to meet full-year expectations.

Read more
11 Feb 2025 07:46

LONDON BRIEFING: BP profit declines and says to "fundamentally reset"

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open a touch lower on Tuesday, before central bankers move into focus, with both the Bank of England's Andrew Bailey and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due to speak.

Read more
4 Feb 2025 14:22

UK earnings, trading statements calendar - next 7 days

Read more
5 Dec 2024 07:59

LONDON BRIEFING: Vodafone-Three deal green lit; Shell and Equinor team

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open slightly lower on Thursday, despite US stocks spiking to record highs overnight.

Read more
4 Dec 2024 18:15

TOP NEWS: Retail pair and under-pressure Vistry booted out of FTSE 100

(Alliance News) - Frasers Group PLC has been relegated from the FTSE 100 index in its latest quarterly shuffle alongside two constituent peers, housebuilder Vistry Group PLC and variety goods retailer B&M European Value Retail SA.

Read more
27 Nov 2024 14:25

UK dividends calendar - next 7 days

Read more
27 Nov 2024 11:09

Oxford Nanopore teams up with UK Biobank on epigenetic dataset

(Alliance News) - Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC on Wednesday said it is collaborating with UK Biobank for an "epigenetic dataset targeting the causes of cancer, dementia, complex disease".

Read more
27 Nov 2024 09:52

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Jefferies cuts boohoo; Coca-Cola HBC raised

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Wednesday morning and on Tuesday:

Read more
27 Nov 2024 09:49

TOP NEWS: Vistry set for FTSE 100 exit after profit warnings

(Alliance News) - Vistry Group PLC is set to be demoted from the FTSE 100, with retailers Frasers Group PLC and B&M European Value Retail SA leaving with it, after a pair of warnings rocked investor confidence in the housebuilder.

Read more
27 Nov 2024 08:11

CORRECT: easyJet profit up; Just Eat Takeaway eyes London exit

(Correcting time of US data releases.)

Read more
27 Nov 2024 07:54

LONDON BRIEFING: easyJet profit up; Just Eat Takeaway eyes London exit

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to nudge a touch higher on Wednesday, recovering some lost ground after declining on Tuesday amid the threat of tariffs from incoming US president Donald Trump.

Read more
27 Nov 2024 06:55

LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: FTSE 100 to tread water before US data

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to tread water on Wednesday, amid a hangover from a US tariff threat which sent equities lower on Tuesday,

Read more
21 Nov 2024 11:40

PZ Cussons shares rise as trades in line with expectations

(Alliance News) - PZ Cussons PLC on Thursday hailed favourable trends as revenue is expected to grow comfortably.

Read more

Track Your Investments

Register for FREE

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.