Sterling Stands to Benefit From Higher Rates

1246 GMT - Sterling stands to benefit as the Bank of England looks set to raise interest rates further, Ebury says. Markets are pricing in more than four additional rate increases, while a peak rate above 6.0%, from 4.5% currently, cannot be ruled out, Ebury strategist Matthew Ryan says in a note. "Our bullish view of sterling rests on this prospect, as well as the resiliency of U.K. domestic demand," he says. "Most signs point to only relatively modest growth in the U.K. this year, though this is far better than previously anticipated, and growth forecasts continue to be revised higher." GBP/USD rises to a near one-week high of 1.2446 and EUR/GBP falls to a five-and-a-half-month low of 0.8632, according to FactSet. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

COMPANIES NEWS:

Unilever CFO Graeme Pitkethly to Step Down End of May 2024

Unilever said Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly intends to retire from the company by the end of May 2024.

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Greencore Swung to 1H Pretax Loss; Launches GBP10 Mln Share Buyback Program

Greencore Group said Tuesday that it swung to a pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2023 after booking higher costs, and that it was launching a new share buyback program.

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Sportech Four-Month Business Met Expectations; Backs Full-Year Outlook

Sportech said Tuesday that business for the first four months of 2023 has been in line with the board's expectations, backing management's full-year outlook.

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Hollywood Bowl Group 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs

Hollywood Bowl Group said Tuesday that it is trading in line with its expectations so far in fiscal 2023 as it posted a fall in pretax profit for the first half on heavier employee and property-related costs.

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Hochschild Mining CEO Ignacio Bustamante to Step Down; COO Eduardo Landin to Replace Him

Hochschild Mining said Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Bustamante will step down on Aug. 26 and that it has appointed Chief Operating Officer Eduardo Landin as the new CEO.

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Softcat 3Q Gross Invoiced Income, Gross Profit, Operating Profit Rose

Softcat said Tuesday that it has delivered further year-on-year growth in gross invoiced income, gross profit and operating profit in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

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Likewise Revenue Growth Continues in Line With Market Expectations

Likewise said Tuesday that its businesses in both residential and commercial flooring have continued to experience revenue growth since its mid-May update, and that it is performing in line with current market expectations.

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STM Group Sees Higher Client Asset Income, Lower New Business in 2023

STM Group on Tuesday said it sees higher income generated from client assets in 2023 offsetting lower new business and non-recurring costs linked to its strategic review.

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SpaceandPeople Swung to 2022 Pretax Loss on Higher Costs; Began 2023 Strongly

SpaceandPeople said Tuesday that it swung to a 2022 pretax loss after booking higher costs, but has started 2023 in a strong position.

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Malvern International Sees Rise in 2023 Junior Division Revenue

Malvern International said Tuesday that it expects to report a rise in 2023 revenue for the junior division, and that English language teaching programs revenue at the end of April was above the 1.1 million pounds ($1.4 million) for the first six months of 2022.

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DWF Group Sees 8% Revenue Growth for FY 2023

DWF Group on Tuesday said it expects to report revenue growth of 8% for fiscal 2023 as it saw an acceleration in growth in the third and fourth quarters.

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XLMedia Sells Some Personal Finance Assets for $1.3 Mln

XLMedia said Tuesday that it has sold some of its personal finance assets for $1.3 million as part of the company's plan to exit noncore activities and focus on the sports and gaming business.

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Woodbois Shares Fall After Announcing Vote on Share Nominal Value Reduction

Shares in Woodbois fell Tuesday after it said it was convening a general meeting to vote on resolutions proposing to reduce the nominal value of ordinary shares as well as to renew and widen the waiver of pre-emption rights so it may meet current exceptional circumstances.

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LendInvest to Sell Buy-to-Let Residential Mortgages for GBP243 Mln

LendInvest on Tuesday said it is selling its buy-to-let residential mortgages to Chetwood Financial for a cash consideration of 243 million pounds ($300.3 million) which includes proceeds from cancelled interest-rate derivatives.

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Celadon Pharmaceuticals Shares Rise on New GBP7 Mln Line of Credit

Celadon Pharmaceuticals shares rose Tuesday after it said it has secured a 7 million pound ($8.6 million), two-year committed line of credit with a U.K.-based investor and current minor shareholder.

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Oxford BioDynamics Shares Fall on Wider 1H Loss, Need for More Cash

Oxford BioDynamics shares fell Tuesday after it said its first-half pretax loss widened on higher costs and it will need to generate more cash for the remainder of the year.

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Empyrean Energy Shares Fall On Share Placement at 22% Discount

Shares in Empyrean Energy fall after the company raised 1.52 million pounds ($1.9 million) in a share placement at a 22% discount.

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Spectra Systems Names Edward Spies as New CFO

Spectra Systems said Tuesday that Edward Spies has been appointed chief financial officer, upon completion of due diligence by its nominated adviser.

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Norcros Names Steve Good as New Chairman

Norcros said Tuesday that it has appointed Steve Good as its new chairman, replacing Acting Chair David McKeith, who will retire at the annual general meeting on July 26.

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Kazatomprom Chairman Neil Longfellow to Step Down

NAC Kazatomprom said Tuesday that Chairman Neil Longfellow will resign on June 21, the date of a shareholder-convened extraordinary general meeting.

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Surface Transforms Names Stephen Easton New COO

Surface Transforms said Tuesday that is has appointed Stephen Easton as the new chief operating officer, effective Sept. 4.

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Tremor International Shares Fall After 1Q Earnings Drop

Shares in Tremor International fell 12% on Tuesday after the company posted a slump in first-quarter earnings due to the weak advertising environment and its integration of Amobee.

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MGC Pharmaceuticals Nonexecutive Chairman Brett Mitchell to Step Down; Stephen Parker Named Interim Chair

MGC Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday that Nonexecutive Chairman Brett Mitchell will step down from the board effective June 1, and that Stephen Parker, currently a nonexecutive director, will replace him as interim nonexecutive chair.

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RHI Magnesita Shares Jump on Cash Offer for 20% Stake

Shares in RHI Magnesita rose 23% on Tuesday after the company said Ignite Luxembourg Holdings is seeking to buy 20% of its share capital, which values the group at around 1.34 billion pounds ($1.66 billion).

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China Nonferrous Gold Executive Director Hui Zhang Resigns; Appoints Zhishuo Feng

China Nonferrous Gold said Tuesday that Executive Director Hui Zhang tendered his resignation and that Zhishuo Feng has been appointed executive director with immediate effect.

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Asda Acquires EG's Estate in UK, Ireland to Boost Convenience Strategy

Asda said Tuesday that it has acquired EG Group's U.K. and Ireland operations for an enterprise value of around 2.27 billion pounds ($2.80 billion) in order to accelerate its convenience growth strategy.

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Trending: Asda Acquires EG Group's Operations in UK, Ireland

0935 GMT- Asda is among the most mentioned companies across news items over the past three hours, according to Factiva data, after the U.K. supermarket chain said it had acquired of EG Group's U.K. and Ireland operations as part of its plans to accelerate the company's convenience growth strategy. The acquisition of RG's estates for an enterprise value of around 2.27 billion pounds ($2.80 billion) will create a group with a combined revenue of almost GBP30 billion and is expected to generate synergies of around GBP100 million over the next three years, Asda said. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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DP Poland 2022 Ebitda Seen Below Previous Views Due to Higher Costs

DP Poland said Tuesday that it expects to report earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for last year below previous expectations due to higher utilities costs, but that sales for the first four months of the new year were up.

MARKET TALK:

Lloyds Banking To Face Challenging Quarters As Interest Rate Tailwinds Pass

1158 GMT - Lloyds Banking Group faces challenges ahead as interest rates seem to have peaked and any boon it was enjoying seems to be in the past, AlphaValue says in a note tweaking its estimates on the back of the British bank's first-quarter results at the start of the month. The brokerage reduced its earnings before interest and taxes forecast by 5% after cutting its net interest income projections by 3%. It upgrades its earnings per share forecasts by 7.4% for 2023 and by 3.9% for 2024 to 6.79 pence for both years. "However, these upgrades were driven by volatile and consequently hard-to-predict non-operating charges (notably related to insurance adjustments)," analyst David Grinsztajn writes. AlphaValue rates the stock reduce. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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GSK Needs Licensing, Bolt-On Deals to Sustain Business

1149 GMT - Sales of GSK's respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Arexvy are expected to peak at $4 billion and could surpass consensus, Jefferies analysts say in a note. This drug, together with singles jab Shingrix and HIV treatments, is expected to contribute to consensus-beating revenue and earnings per share, the analysts add. In general, the British pharma giant offers robust double-digit EPS growth until 2028, which is going to be marked by HIV patent expiries and saturation of the U.S. market for Shingrix, the analysts say. However, the company still needs further in-licensing or bolt-on deals to sustain the business after that, they add. (cecilia.butini@wsj.com)

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Greencore Investors Will Be Pleased With Retained Guidance

1111 GMT - Greencore's 1H adjusted EBIT of GBP3.6 million was lower on year, but ahead of analysts' expectations, Shore Capital's Clive Black and Darren Shirley say in a note. The convenience-food manufacturer wants to be more profitable and productive with a base to yield sustainable earnings and cash-flow growth, having worked hard to mitigate and offset rising costs, the analysts say. Shore's current 2H pretax profit expectations are GBP48 million and GBP50 million for the year, in line with management guidance. "We believe that investors will also be pleased and relieved to see the retained guidance, looking thereafter to the shape and magnitude of ongoing earnings," the analysts say. Shore Capital has Greencore as a house stock. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

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Intermediate Capital's Resilience Foretells Recovery

1007 GMT - The resilience of Intermediate Capital Group's business model signals its future recovery, Credit Suisse says in a note. The asset manager offers resilient Fund Management Company earnings in the near-term and has potential for strong earnings and assets under management growth in the future as market conditions improve, analysts Haley Tam and Elvis Anoma-Amoabeng write. "Longer term, ICP's diversified asset base and investment track record should enable it to benefit from a recovery in fundraising and transaction activity, with significant upside potential as it grows fund sizes in both established and new product areas," they add. Credit Suisse rates the stock outperform and has a price target at 1,660 pence. Shares, which are up 19% year to date, trade at 1,369 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Hollywood Bowl's Impressive 1H Reaffirms Prospects

0945 GMT - Hollywood Bowl Group's first-half results were impressive with record sales on continued customer demand, leaving it well-placed to continue executing, Berenberg says in a note after the bowling operator posted 3.5% like-for-like revenue growth and said trading continues to be aligned with management's expectations. "With its market-leading position in the U.K. and growth opportunities in Canada, the continued cash flow generation of the business, the success of its refurbishment and new center opening strategy, our confidence in the company's future prospects are further reaffirmed by this set of results," analysts Jack Cummings and Matthew Chadwick write. Berenberg lifts its target price to 370 pence and keeps its buy rating on the stock. Shares edge up 0.2% at 260.5 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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DWF Group's Better 2H Shows Value on Offer

0944 GMT - DWF Group's improving second half shows the value it has to offer, Berenberg says in a note. The provider of legal and business services said it sees more than 8% revenue growth in fiscal 2023 as its third and fourth quarters saw double-digit growth. "Given the strength of this update in a period of relative macroeconomic weakness, we believe the resilience of DWF and its growth strategy will become increasingly clear to the market," the German bank's analysts write, adding that current valuation implies a dramatic rerating opportunity over the coming periods which will reward shareholders in time. Berenberg rates the stock buy. Shares, which are down 20% year to date, rise 3.2% at 64 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Hollywood Bowl's Canada Performance Makes 1H Shine

0935 GMT - Hollywood Bowl Group scored a strike with its strong Canada performance, AJ Bell says after the bowling operator's first-half results, which included a strong contribution from its recent acquisitions in the country. "There is a genuine bowling culture in Canada which may well be receptive to Hollywood Bowl's approach of reviving tired and grimy bowling alleys and giving them a bit of shine," investment director Russ Mould writes in a market comment. The approach continues to serve it in the U.K. as well and the dividend hike is a genuine display of faith in the company's prospects and suggests resilient demand for ten-pin bowling, Mould adds. Shares edge up 0.2% at 260.5 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Hunting's New Order Underpins Robust International Outlook

0934 GMT - Hunting's record single order shows the growing importance of its international business, Jefferies analysts Mark Wilson and Jamie Franklin write in a research note. "Today's update builds on the company's previous commentary of an overall robust outlook across U.S. and international [businesses]," the analysts say. In addition, the energy-services group should have less acute working capital demands with this new order, given the contract spans three years, they add. Jefferies keeps a buy rating on the stock. Shares are up 17.4% at 236.50 pence. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 30, 2023 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)

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