Pearson Gains After Solid 1H, College App Launch
Shares in Pearson rise 1% after the education publisher said it
was on track to hit full-year targets despite lower 1H profit and
launched a new direct-to-consumer app for U.S. college students.
Citigroup says the results were solid and comfortably ahead of
expectations, but some caution in the outlook signals limited
change to full-year consensus forecasts. Citi says the new app is
important because it makes Pearson's products more available to
college students and heralds a new subscription model. "It shows
Pearson's new CEO Andy Bird is willing to be more bold than perhaps
originally anticipated," Citi analysts say.
Companies News:
NatWest Swung to 2Q Pretax Profit, Resumes Dividend, to Launch
GBP750 Mln Share Buyback
NatWest Group PLC on Friday reported a swing to a pretax profit
ahead of market views for the second quarter of 2021 and said that
it intends to launch a significant share buyback program after
resuming its dividend.
---
Cineworld Secures $200 Mln in Loans, Trading Recovering on
Reopening
Cineworld Group PLC said Friday that it has secured $200 million
of incremental loans from a group of existing lenders, and trading
has continued to improve since cinemas reopened in April.
---
Babcock Intl FY 2021 Pretax Loss Widened, Pandemic Still to
Weigh on FY 2022
Babcock International Group PLC said Friday that its fiscal 2021
pretax loss widened after booking higher costs and that fiscal 2022
will be a year of transition.
---
Pearson 1H Pretax Profit Fell; Sees Full-Year on Track
Pearson PLC said Friday that first-half pretax profit fell and
that it is on track to meet its expectations for the full year, as
it launched a new direct-to-consumer app for U.S. college
students.
---
Jupiter Fund Management 1H Pretax Profit Rose, Assets Under
Management Hit Record
Jupiter Fund Management PLC reported on Friday a rise in pretax
profit for the first half of 2021 and said that funds under
management hit a record high in the period.
---
Kerry Group 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose
Kerry Group PLC said Friday that its first-half pretax profit
rose on higher revenue.
---
ConvaTec Says 1H Profit Improved; Raises 2021 Revenue Growth
Guidance
ConvaTec Group PLC said Friday that its first-half profit rose,
and raised its revenue guidance for 2021 but downgraded the margin
outlook due to higher-than-expected cost inflation.
---
Paragon Banking Nine-Month Performance Strong
Paragon Banking Group PLC said Friday that its performance for
the first nine months to June 2021 was strong, adding that it is
confident about the prospects of the group.
---
Minoan Group Raises GBP350,000 via Share Placing
Minoan Group PLC said Friday that it has raised 350,000 pounds
($488,635) via a share placing without saying what it will use the
money for.
---
Pendragon Raises 2021 Guidance as Tight Used Car Market Boosts
Profits
Pendragon PLC on Friday raised its financial guidance for 2021,
as conditions in the used car market are driving exceptional gross
profits per unit.
---
YouGov Says FY 2021 Underlying Revenue, Profit Grew Across All
Divisions
YouGov PLC said Friday that it delivered underlying growth in
both revenue and profit across all divisions and markets in fiscal
2021, and that a buoyant sales pipeline gives it confidence for the
year ahead.
---
AIQ Shares Fall After Warning on Uncertain Future
Shares in AIQ Ltd. fell Friday after the company warned that it
faces an uncertain future, reported a widened pretax loss for the
first half of fiscal 2021 and forecast that full-year revenue will
be lower on year.
---
Anglo African Agriculture Shares Fall on Widened 1H Loss,
Chairman Departure
Shares in Anglo African Agriculture PLC dropped Friday after it
reported a loss for the first half of the fiscal year and said
Nonexecutive Chairman David Lenigas is stepping down.
---
ImmuPharma CEO to Leave; Chairman Named Successor
ImmuPharma PLC said Friday that Chief Executive Dimitri
Dimitriou is stepping down to pursue other external
opportunities.
---
IAG to Ramp Up 3Q Capacity But Still Can't Provide Full-Year
Guidance
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA said Friday that it
was ready to take advantage of a surge in air travel demand in line
with increasing vaccination rates but it remains unable to provide
full-year guidance.
---
Nostrum Oil & Gas Expects 1H Revenue to Exceed $92 Mln
Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC said Friday that it expects revenue
for the first half of the year to exceed that of a year
earlier.
---
Airea Shares Fall Amid Slow Recovery, Concern on Raw-Material
Inflation
Airea PLC shares fell Friday after it said its pretax profit and
sales recovered at a slower pace than expected and cautioned on
raw-material price inflation and supply-chain strains.
---
Tufton Oceanic Assets to Raise up to $12.4 Mln in Tap Issue for
Pipeline
Tufton Oceanic Assets Ltd. said Friday that it will hold a tap
issue of shares, raising up to $12.4 million, to capitalize on an
attractive pipeline of secondhand-vessel opportunities.
---
DaVictus Shares Fall After Being Restored to Trading
Shares in daVictus PLC fell on Friday after the U.K.'s Financial
Conduct Authority lifted the suspension of trading on the London
Stock Exchange's official list.
---
BiVictriX Plans to Raise GBP7.5 Mln in London IPO
BiVictriX PLC, a drug-development company focused on cancer
treatments, on Friday outlined plans to float on London's junior
AIM and said it is seeking to raise 7.5 million pounds ($10.5
million) at a valuation of GBP13.2 million.
Market Talk:
IAG's Capacity Outlook Not as Positive as That of Rival's
0815 GMT - Although International Consolidated Airlines Group's
first-half numbers look to be broadly in line with analyst
forecasts, management's omission of any profit guidance for 2021
sums up the degree of uncertainty still being faced by the airline
industry, Keith Bowman at interactive investor says. The company's
net debt is up and marginally ahead of forecasts, but its capacity
outlook is not as positive as that of rival Air France-KLM, Bowman
says. "While an 80%-plus gain in the share price since late October
2020, and just prior to vaccination development success, should not
be forgotten, a consensus analyst fair price estimate of 237 pence
per share has to date left overall market opinion pointing towards
a 'buy'," he says.
---
Paragon Banking Nine-Month Performance Shows Strong Momentum
0812 GMT - Paragon Banking Group's performance for the third
quarter was strong, boosting its year-to-date performance for the
nine months to June, Shore Capital says. The specialist U.K.
property-and-business lender's performance showed continued new
business momentum, the U.K. investment group says, noting the
better-than-expected impairment result. However, Shore says it
prefers rival OneSavings Bank. Shore has a target price on the
stock of 548 pence. Shares are up 0.2% at 549.00 pence.
---
Intertek 1H Falls Short of Hopes; Shares Fall
0757 GMT - Shares in Intertek Group drop 8% after the testing
and inspection group reported a worse-than-expected first half.
Stockbroker Davy says the results were in line with its forecasts,
but below consensus expectations and towards the bottom end of a
wide forecast range. "There is no H1 dividend increase--we forecast
a 5% increase for the year," Davy says. "Our forecasts are clearly
not moving up on this and consensus may be too high."
---
Aveva's 1Q Was Good but Sheds Little Light on Future
0741 GMT - Aveva's first-quarter update was solid with constant
currency revenue growth of 11% and while it was a good start,
trends over the coming few quarters will be difficult to interpret,
Jefferies says. The engineering and industrial-software company has
had a number of deals slip from the second quarter into the
third--and given the upfront nature of Aveva's revenue recognition,
this makes for tougher comparisons between quarters, making
underlying trends hard to read, the bank says. Aveva's good results
also don't particularly advance or alter the investment case, given
the recent capital markets day event and updated midterm targets,
Jefferies says. The bank retains its buy rating and price target of
4,600 pence. Shares are down 1.3% at 3,857.0 pence.
---
NatWest's 2Q Earnings Focus Set on Share Buyback Plans
0717 GMT - NatWest Group beat market views for most of the key
metrics of its second-quarter results, but eyes will be set on its
capital returns plans, Goodbody says. "Expectations had been
building coming into this release with the stock price performing
well ahead of the numbers, but we think this update will drive it
higher in early trading," the Irish brokerage says on the FTSE 100
listed bank. Shares are currently down 0.6% at 203.70 pence.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
+44-20-7842-931
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 30, 2021 04:54 ET (08:54 GMT)
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