LONDON MARKET OPEN: FTSE 100 Higher Despite Sage And Kingfisher Falls

LONDON (Alliance News) - In busy day for UK company news on Wednesday, Johnson Matthey was the platinum performer, helping to drive London's FTSE 100 higher on a confident outlook, while Sage and Kingfisher languished at the bottom of the blue-chip index.The FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, or 23.57 points, at 6,971.49 in early trade. The FTSE 250 was up 0.2%, or 28.30 points, at 18,394.66 and the AIM All-Share was up 0.3% at 930.18.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 11,832.36, the Cboe UK 250 flat at 16,521.95 with the Cboe UK Small Companies also unchanged, at 11,406.47.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.4% and 0.6% higher respectively. In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended 0.5% higher.In London, Sage sank 5.8% in opening trade as organic revenue was slightly below previous guidance, and it laid out plans to focus on driving driving subscription and recurring revenue over the coming year.Organic revenue for the year ended September 30 was GBP1.82 billion, up 6.8% on last year. Sage in August had guided for organic revenue growth of "around 7%". Recurring revenue was up 6.7% to GBP1.44 billion, of which subscription revenue grew 25% to GBP839 million.On a statutory basis, revenue for the year came in at GBP1.85 billion, up 7.6% from GBP1.72 billion the year before, and pretax profit rose 16% to GBP398 million from GBP342 million. The accounting software provider lifted its dividend to 16.50p, up 7.0% on the 15.42p paid out last year.Looking ahead, Sage said it expects recurring revenue growth of between 8% and 9% for its recently commenced financial year, with software and software related services and processing revenue expected to be flat or decline by mid-single digits, driven by a focus on driving subscription and recurring revenue.Sage also said it is "actively marketing", and intends to dispose of, Sage Payroll Solutions, its US-based payroll outsourcing services business.Kingfisher wasn't far behind among large-cap decliners, down 4.1% and the second worst performer in the FTSE 100 index as it posted a like-for-like sales fall for the third quarter. Total third quarter sales were just 0.2% higher at GBP3.05 billion, up 1.2% at constant currencies but down 1.3% on a like-for-like basis. Within this, UK & Ireland like-for-like sales fell 0.7% and France sales were down 3.4%, but Other International delivered 1.6% growth, lead by a 6.4% rise for Screwfix Germany. Irish broker Davy noted that the group's like-for-like sales decline of 1.3% was worse than its expectation of a 0.8% fall, with consensus having pencilled in a 0.7% drop.Chief Executive Veronique Laury noted that Castorama France remains Kingfisher's "main challenge", with a turnaround plan implemented for this year."We have accelerated our move to an everyday low price strategy and have launched a new marketing campaign to make it visible to our customers, however there is no quick fix," the Kingfisher boss said, adding that the company plans to exit operations in Russia, Spain and Portugal.Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, commented: "Whilst there are some glimmers of hope for Kingfisher's fortunes, the company remains in a difficult place and the update is confirmation of a long road ahead."Helping to offset the falls for Sage and Kingfisher was platinum and specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey, climbing 9.8% as it expects a full-year operating performance towards the top end of guidance. Revenue for the half-year to September 30 grew 10% to GBP7.11 billion, with pretax profit up 19% to GBP244 million. The blue-chip firm raised its interim payout by 7% to 23.25p. Following the strong interim performance, Johnson Matthey said it expects growth in its operating performance at constant rates towards the upper end of previous guidance of mid- to high-single digit growth.SSP Group was down 8.5% despite proposing a special dividend and posting strong annual figures, as Chief Executive Kate Swann decided to step down at the end of May.Swann will be succeeded by Simon Smith, currently chief executive officer for UK & Ireland, who will take up the role on June 1.SSP's revenue for the year to September 30 grew 7.8% to GBP2.56 billion, with like-for-like sales up 2.8%, driven by airplane passengers and "retailing initiatives". Pretax profit shot up 26% to GBP182.9 million from GBP144.8 million.The food and drinks concessions firm proposed a final dividend of 5.4p per share, bringing its full-year dividend to 10.2p, up 26% on last year. In addition, SSP plans a special dividend worth GBP150 million, "underpinning confidence in the business".Indivior was facing another session of losses, down 8.3% as it extended Tuesday's 47% plunge. The stock is currently 75% lower in the year-to-date.Just before the market close on Tuesday, the London-listed firm said the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had vacated the preliminary injunction against Dr Reddy's. The injunction against the Indian pharmaceutical company for the sale of its generic version of Sublingual film, used for the treatment of opioid addiction, was granted in July.On Wednesday, Indivior said its guidance for net revenue of USD990 million to USD1.02 billion and net income of USD230 million to USD255 million "remains valid" unless there is certainty Dr Reddy's product enters the market in 2018. In this case, there would be a risk to the standing guidance."Should generic buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual film enter the market in 2018, the result would most likely be a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) Sublingual Film," said Indivior. The economic calendar on Wednesday has UK public sector net borrowing at 0930 GMT and US durable goods orders at 1330 GMT followed by existing home sales at 1500 GMT.Focus lies on Brussels on Wednesday, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May travels to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for talks ahead of a special EU Brexit summit on Sunday.May is under pressure to make changes to the Northern Irish backstop contained in the Brexit divorce agreement, making it clear how the UK can exit the controversial arrangement. The trip to Brussels, and another potentially tricky session of Prime Minister's Questions, come amid mounting evidence of tensions between May and the Democratic Unionist Party over the Brexit deal.The government caved in to a series of opposition amendments to its budget-enacting Finance Bill in the latest sign that the DUP's MPs would not support May's minority administration.Meanwhile, the European Commission is likely to formally reject Italy's 2019 budget on Wednesday, opening the door to potential punitive action and possible fines.Italy and the commission have been at odds for weeks over Rome's spending plans. In October, the commission rejected Italy's first draft budget, which will run up a deficit of 2.4% of gross domestic product in 2019, according to Rome's projections.Last week, Italy resubmitted its spending plan largely unchanged, while its populist leaders maintained their defiant stance towards Brussels. The EC may issue a separate report that could lead to an excessive deficit procedure, a process that sets fiscal deadlines and targets for member states in breach of eurozone fiscal rules.