UKX FTSE 100 Index

FTSE 100 Rises as Entain, Halma Rally

0848 GMT - The FTSE 100 rises 0.3% to 7793 points as gambling group Entain gains after a trading update and safety equipment company Halma rallies on an acquisition announcement. Entain shares increase 2.4% after it raised its full-year profit forecast. Halma adds 2.2% after saying it has acquired Thermocable for its safety sector fire detection company, Apollo. GSK climbs 0.5% after the drugmaker's fourth-quarter results beat expectations. Vodafone falls 2.9% after the telecoms group reported a slowdown in third-quarter service revenue growth. Anglo American drops 1.5% after estimating that rough diamond sales in the first cycle of 2023 would fall compared to a year ago. Housebuilders decline after Nationwide data showed U.K. house prices fell more than expected in January. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

 
Companies News: 

Vodafone Says It Is on Track to Meet FY 2023 Guidance After 3Q Total Revenue Fell Slightly

Vodafone Group PLC said Wednesday that third-quarter total revenue fell slightly on year and that it is on track to meet its updated fiscal 2023 guidance.

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Entain Raises 2022 Ebitda Guidance After Higher Net Gaming Revenue

Entain PLC on Wednesday raised its earnings guidance for 2022 as it posted an 12% rise in net gaming revenue for the year.

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Severn Trent Names Helen Miles New CFO to Replace James Bowling

Severn Trent PLC said Wednesday that it has appointed Helen Miles as its new chief financial officer after James Bowling decided to retire in July 2023.

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Halma Buys Thermocable for Initial GBP22 Mln

Halma PLC said Wednesday that it has bought Thermocable Ltd. for an initial consideration of 22 million pounds ($27.1 million) on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

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GSK 4Q Sales and Earnings Rose, Driven by Specialty Medicines, Vaccines

GSK PLC on Wednesday posted rising earnings and sales for the fourth quarter, which the company said were boosted by its specialty medicines and vaccines businesses.

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Gaming Realms 2022 Earnings, Revenue Grew; Appoints New CEO, CFO

Gaming Realms PLC said Wednesday that 2022 earnings and revenue grew thanks to growth in licensing and that it has appointed a new chief executive and a chief financial officer

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Restore 2022 Performance in Line With Views; 2023 Started With Positive Momentum

Restore PLC said Wednesday that its performance in 2022 was in line with market expectations and that it entered 2023 with positive momentum as it continued to see substantial growth potential across its organic and acquisition strategies.

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Made Tech 1H Revenue Jumped, Earnings in Line on Organic Growth

Made Tech Group PLC said Wednesday that revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 jumped 76% on strong organic growth and that adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was in line with management's expectations.

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Tialis Essential IT PLC Completion of Acquisition

TIDMTIA

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Orcadian Energy to Raise GBP500,000 via Discounted Share Placing

Orcadian Energy PLC said Wednesday that it is planning to raise 500,000 pounds ($615,850) via a discounted share placing and will use the money toward its work program and for working capital purposes.

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GSK 4Q Sales and Earnings Rose, Driven by Specialty Medicines, Vaccines -- Update

GSK PLC on Wednesday posted rising earnings and sales for the fourth quarter, which the company said were boosted by its specialty medicines and vaccines businesses.

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Keywords Studios Buys 47 Communications LLC to Add Expertise, Scale in US

Keywords Studios PLC said Wednesday that it has bought 47 Communications LLC to add expertise and scale to its marketing and PR offering in the U.S.

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Tandem Group Shares Fall on 2022 Revenue Fall

Shares at Tandem Group PLC fell Wednesday after the company said that 2022 revenue will be down around 35% on the prior year, but still in line with market expectations.

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Virgin Money Flags Good Financial Momentum After Positive 1Q

Virgin Money UK PLC said Wednesday that its first-quarter performance was positive as it posted a rise in customer deposits and net interest margin.

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Pathfinder Minerals Shares Leap on Deal with Acumen Advisory

Shares of Pathfinder Minerals PLC rose as much as 47% on Wednesday after the company said that Acumen Advisory Group LLC has exercised its right to buy IM Minerals Ltd. as previously announced in September.

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FDM Group Sees 2022 Revenue Rise, Performance in Line With Board's Views

FDM Group (Holdings) PLC said Wednesday that it expects 2022 revenue to rise and its financial performance for the year to be in line with the board's expectations.

 
Market Talk: 

Vodafone Facing Twin Threats

0832 GMT - Vodafone is facing the twin perils of an extremely competitive landscape and some deteriorating economic conditions, Interactive Investor's head of markets Richard Hunter says in a market comment. "In an industry where both reliability and availability are a given, the key differentiator is simply price. Yet price hikes in several of the company's markets have become necessary due to inflation and higher energy costs, which is an unwelcome development due to the competitive pricing which is being seen elsewhere. In Europe, for example, eight markets are now working on an inflation-linked pricing model," he says. This has resulted in customer losses, particularly in Germany, which accounts for 29% of group revenue, and the debt pile and 5G costs are also of concern, he says. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)

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Entain Shares Boosted by 2022 Guidance Hike

0837 GMT - Entain shares rise 2.6% at 1,527.5 pence after the gaming company raised its Ebitda guidance for 2022, beating consensus figures, and cited good momentum for the start of 2023. "Given ENT's strong Ebitda outperformance in 2H22, we expect a positive share price reaction and upgrades to consensus FY23e Ebitda despite the recent share price strength," say Citi analysts in a note. The brokerage rates the stock buy and has a price target of 2,000 pence. Shares of the owner of bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral are the second best performer of the FTSE 100 index. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Glencore's 2022 Production Update Unlikely to Change Outlook

0833 GMT - Although Glencore's better production numbers will likely drive some small consensus earnings increases into year end there was little in the release to change outlook as there was a lack of new guidance for 2023, RBC Capital Markets analyst Tyler Broda says in a note. "We continue to see Glencore as providing the best risk/reward on a 6 to 12 month view in the sector, however near-term pressure on coal prices, driven by falling [Japan Korea LNG] gas prices, are likely to weigh in the short term," Broda says. RBC rates the stock outperform and has a 520 pence target price. Shares are up 0.6% at 544.30 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 01, 2023 04:10 ET (09:10 GMT)

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