LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: DS Smith lifts dividend 24% on strong results

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were seen opening higher on Tuesday following a mostly positive lead from Asia and a positive day in Europe on Monday, as some stability returns to markets after last week's hefty losses.

In early company news, DS Smith hiked its dividend after robust annual results. Online grocer Ocado completed its fundraise. Energy services provider John Wood named its new chief executive.

IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index will open 20.49 points higher at 7,142.30. The index closed up 105.56 points, or 1.5%, at 7,121.81 Monday.

DS Smith raised its dividend after the packaging company posted strong annual results - delivered, it said, against a backdrop of volatile trading.

For the financial year that ended April 30, pretax profit increased 64% to GBP378 million from GBP231 million the year before, on revenue of GBP7.24 billion, up 21% from GBP5.98 billion.

DS Smith declared a total dividend of 15.0 pence, up 24% from 12.1p paid out in financial 2021.

Looking ahead, DS Smith said it has seen good early momentum in the start of its current financial year, despite a more-challenging backdrop.

For financial 2023, DS Smith expects corrugated box volume growth in a range of 2% to 4%. It plans to increase capital expenditure to GBP500 million to invest in "customer-led growth opportunities".

Chief Executive Officer Miles Roberts said: "It has been another year of volatile trading conditions where we have worked through the tail-end of the pandemic and, more recently, the tragic events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"The new financial year has started well, building on the momentum from the previous year. Whilst there remains considerable uncertainty about the overall economic environment, our expectations remain unchanged. Strong customer demand reinforces our confidence to invest in the business, with capital expenditure expected to further increase in the current year."

Ocado said it has successful completed its fundraise, which it had announced after the market close on Monday.

Ocado had said it planned to raise funds to expedite growth plans, amid what it called surging online grocery demand in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The online grocer placed 72.3 million shares at 795 pence each, raising GBP575 million. The placing price was a 9.4% discount to Monday's market close of 877.6p.

The placing was done in conjunction with an offer to retail investors involving 246,405 shares and 150,944 subscription shares taken by members of the senior management team, including CEO Tim Steiner, Ocado said.

John Wood said it has promoted Chief Operating Officer Ken Gilmartin to CEO, effective from July 1, following an "extensive selection process" that considered both internal and external candidates.

Gilmartin joined John Wood as COO in August of last year and will succeed Robin Watson, who announced his intention to retire in April. Watson will step down from the board effective from July 1 but will remain with the company until September 30 in an advisory role to support the transition, John Wood said.

Chair Roy Franklin said: "Ken has brought a wealth of industry experience and excellent strategic and leadership skills to Wood, and I am delighted that he will be our new chief executive officer. He has impressed the board with the impact he has made over the last nine months, where he has brought clarity, structure and focus, and a strong client-centric mindset to the role, and by his drive to lead the development of Wood's future strategy. The board believes he is a great fit for Wood, with the combination of skills and experience to lead the business through its next strategic phase."

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed up 1.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 1.4%.

The economic events calendar on Tuesday has US existing home sales at 1500 BST. Financial markets in New York reopen after being closed for a holiday on Monday.

"Asia markets have picked up where markets in Europe left off, drifting higher, and along with US futures, today's European open looks set to be a positive one, as US markets return later today," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

Focus this week is on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's two days of testimony to lawmakers in Washington, which will be closely monitored for insight into the US central bank's current thinking.

The Fed announced a three-quarter point lift last week, after data showed inflation hit a four-decade high.

Several officials - including at the Fed, Bank of England, Reserve Bank of Australia and European Central Bank - have come out in recent days to flag a further tightening of borrowing costs.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2264 early Tuesday, up from USD1.2246 at the London equities close Monday.

The euro was priced at USD1.0525, unchanged from USD1.0528 Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY135.05 in London, also unmoved from JPY135.03.

Brent oil was quoted at USD114.90 a barrel Tuesday morning, up from USD113.70 late on Monday. Gold stood at USD1,835.02 an ounce, lower against USD1,838.66.

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

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