Sports Direct Share News (SPD)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open in positive territory on Wednesday, extending the previous session's gains as worries over the health of the global economy eased. In early company news, Imperial Brands said it expects annual revenue growth towards the upper end of guidance, Sports Direct International said it is considering a GBP61 million takeover of Debenhams, and housebuilder Bellway reported a robust first half.IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 23.81 points higher at 7,220.10 on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index closed up 18.71 points, or 0.3%, at 7,196.29 on Thursday."For now the extreme nervousness that the inverted yield curve brought has died down, but it has by no means disappeared. Weak data is hard to ignore, and this is being weighed up against a more accommodative approach from central banks," said Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group.A weaker pound is also likely to support the FTSE 100 - comprised of a large number of overseas earners - on Wednesday. "The pound was slipping lower ahead of Parliament's indicative votes in the House of Commons this afternoon," noted London Capital Group's Lawler. "Potential scenarios are ranging from the cancellation of Brexit to no deal Brexit," he noted .There is still a possibility that Theresa May will attempt to put her deal back to Parliament for a third meaningful vote after being defeated twice before."In a highly unusual change to normal Commons procedures, MPs will be asked to take part in a paper ballot on a series of "indicative votes" in the hope of establishing what sort of Brexit could command a majority in Parliament.Immediately before the votes, the UK prime minister will address Tory MPs at a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee, where she is expected to seek further support for her agreement with the EU, rejected by 230 votes in January and 149 in March.The agreement, and a political declaration on future EU/UK relations, must be passed by Friday if the UK is to benefit from an automatic delay in the date of Brexit to May 22. If not, it has to April 12 to make new proposals or leave without a deal.No final victor is expected to emerge from Wednesday's votes, but the most popular options will be subject to further debate on Monday to try to whittle the list down.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3174 early Wednesday, lower than USD1.3219 at the London equities close on Thursday.The confidence of employers in the UK's economic prospects have "plunged" amid the continuing Brexit uncertainty, according to a new report.Research by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation suggested that the slump is now affecting decisions over investment and hiring of staff. A survey of 600 employers indicated that many wanted to take on new staff to tackle skills shortages.REC chief executive Neil Carberry said: "A year of falling business investment and weeks of Brexit inertia mean no-one should be surprised that employers' confidence in hiring for their own business is now dropping."In UK company news, Imperial Brands said it remains on track to meet annual expectations, with revenue at the upper end of guidance, amid "significant" growth from its myblu vaping products. Imperial said it remains on track to meet constant currency net revenue growth at, or above, the upper end of its 1% to 4% range, and earnings per share growth within a range of 4% to 8%.The myblu next generation vaping product has been performing well, with increased investment driving brand awareness and resulting in "significant" year-on-year revenue growth. However, there were "some constraints" in the US due to market uncertainty caused by the US Food & Drug Administration.Imperial Brands said it is on track to deliver "modest" revenue growth in Tobacco, with growth weighted to the second half, which should "more than" offset a "slight decline" in the first. AstraZeneca said its Forxiga has been approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Forxiga was approved by the European Commission earlier in March as an adjunct treatment to insulin in adults with type 1 diabetes, and the medicine is under regulatory review in the US for the same indication, with a decision expected in the second half of 2019.Sports Direct International said it is considering a GBP61.4 million takeover offer for Debenhams in its latest attempt to take control of the struggling department store chain. Debenhams shares closed at 2.198 pence on Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of just under GBP27 million, less than half the 5p per share Sports Direct is considering offering. Sports Direct already owns just under a 30% stake in DebenhamsThe offer is conditional on Debenhams "immediately" appointing Mike Ashley as chief executive. Ashley is currently CEO of Sports Direct. "Sports Direct believes that the possible offer would offer fair and full value for Debenhams. It does not believe that Debenhams has the same value if it is (in effect) handed over to Debenhams' existing lender group," Sports Direct said in a statement, though emphasising that it has not yet made a firm offer, and there is no certainty that it will.In an ongoing tussle between the two companies, Sports Direct at the start of the week criticised a lack of engagement from Debenhams as it offered the company GBP100 million for the acquisition of its Danish business, Magasin du Nord, as an opportunity for Debenhams to alleviate its current financial problems.Then, Sports Direct on Tuesday said it was considering making a cash offer for Debenhams. Debenhams at that time responded that any offer from Sports Direct needed provide an offer price, a "clear plan" on how Debenhams' debt will be repaid and must address how the company's immediate funding requirements will be met. Housebuilder Bellway reported robust revenue and profit growth in the first half of its financial year, with current trading strong.Revenue for the half-year to January 31 rose 12% to GBP1.49 billion as pretax profit increased 8.7% to GBP313.9 million. The firm lifted its dividend by 5.0% to 50.4p.Trading since the period end has been strong, the company added, with reservations of 259 per week versus 248 a year ago. The company said that progress on site should enable Bellway to build up to 500 additional new homes this financial year. In addition, "disciplined investment" in new sales outlets should help to capture customer demand. "The board therefore expects Bellway to deliver further growth in completions this year, although the extent of this will depend upon the outcome of the spring selling season," the housebuilder said.Hilton Food Group saw double-digit revenue and profit growth in 2018 and said it should be well-placed to weather Brexit uncertainties.Revenue for the 52 weeks to December 30 rose 22% to GBP1.65 billion as pretax profit climbed 27% to GBP43.3 million. The food packing firm boosted its dividend by 13% to 21.4p.Hilton Food said its operating performance in the first few months of 2019 has been in line with expectations, and the business should be "sufficiently resilient" to withstand Brexit uncertainties whilst minimising disruption. Technical products supplier Diploma said trading has remained "robust" with good underlying growth across all sectors. Underlying revenue for the six months to March 31 is expected to be 5% higher year-on-year, with reported revenue to be up 10% at constant exchange rates, including a 4% contribution from acquisitions. The operating margin is expected in line with a year ago."Diploma's performance in the first half has been robust. Despite the global macroeconomic uncertainties, the group remains on track to deliver good growth and modest margin progression for the full year in line with expectations," said Johnny Thomson, who became chief executove of Diploma last month.In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and Nasdaq Composite closing 0.7% higher.In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.9%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.6%.In Wednesday's economic calendar, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks in Frankfurt at 0800 GMT, while US MBA mortgage applications are at 1100 GMT and Confederation of British Industry Distributive Trades Survey at 1100 GMT. The US trade balance is at 1230 GMT.