0721 GMT - HSBC is among the winners at the top of FTSE 100 index at market open in London after the bank posted a sharp rise in its first-quarter profit on higher interest income. "A messy, but good set of figures," says Citi analyst Andrew Coombs in a note, pointing to the absence of IFRS 17 and one-off gains in consensus, which make direct comparison difficult. On an underlying basis Citi would expect low single-digit upgrades to consensus earnings per share for 2024 and beyond, he adds. The confirmation of up to $2 billion in buybacks is encouraging though the outlook appears conservative, Coombs says. Shares climb 4% at 596.7 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)
COMPANIES NEWS:
Ashtead Starts Buyback of Up to $500 Mln
Ashtead Group said Tuesday that it has started a share buyback program of up to $500 million.
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BP 1Q Underlying Replacement Cost Profit Rose on Quarter, Exceeding Expectations
BP on Tuesday reported a rise in first-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, beating expectations, and declared an additional $1.75 billion share buyback.
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Superdry in Talks Over Fundraise Worth Up to 20% of Issued Share Capital
Superdry said Tuesday that it is in positive discussions with certain institutional and other investors over a proposed equity fundraising of up to 20% of its issued share capital.
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Mitie Buys R H Irving Industrials for $23.9 Mln
Mitie Group said Tuesday that it has acquired the security services specialist R H Irving Industrials for a total consideration of 19.1 million pounds ($23.9 million).
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Restaurant Group Says Performance in First Four Months of Year Was Encouraging
Restaurant Group said Tuesday that its performance for the first four months of 2023 continued to be very encouraging and that its medium-term margin accretion and deleveraging plans are tracking ahead of management's expectations.
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Carr's Group 1H Profit Fell on Lower Volumes, Contract Timings; Revenue Rose
Carr's Group said Tuesday that first-half profit slipped on lower volumes and contract timings, though revenue rose.
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Kitwave Sees FY 2023 Performance Ahead of Market Views After Strong 1H
Kitwave Group said Tuesday that its fiscal 2023 performance is expected to be slightly ahead of market expectations following robust trading across all of its divisions during the first half of the year.
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Facilities By ADF 2022 Pretax Profit Rose On Strong 4Q; Sees 2023 Results In Line
Facilities By ADF said Tuesday that its pretax profit rose in 2022 as revenue grew 13% on a strong fourth quarter, and that it expects to meet full-year market expectations.
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Sylvania Platinum Launches Share Buyback of Up to $10 Mln
Sylvania Platinum Ltd. said Tuesday that it was launching a share buyback of up to $10 million so as to reduce the company's share capital.
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Permanent TSB Group Backs 2023 Guidance After 1Q Volumes, Income Rose
Permanent TSB Group Holdings said Tuesday that its guidance for 2023 remained in line with its previous outlook as it posted a rise new lending volumes and transactional banking for its first quarter.
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Ferrexpo CEO Jim North to Step Down
Ferrexpo said Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer Jim North intends to step down at the end of June to pursue other opportunities, and that Chair Lucio Genovese will act as executive chair on an interim basis.
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Longboat Energy Shares Double on JV Agreement With Japex
Longboat Energy shares more than doubled on Tuesday after it said it has agreed to form a joint venture with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., in return for a cash investment of up to $50 million.
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Made Tech Shares Fall as FY 2023 Performance Seen Below Market Views
Shares in Made Tech Group fell Tuesday after the company warned that revenue for fiscal 2023 will be below expectations as several clients have moved the start date of work packages into fiscal 2024.
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Kanabo 2022 Pretax Loss Widened on Higher Costs, But Revenue Jumped
Kanabo Group said Tuesday that its pretax loss widened in 2022 due to rising expenses, but that revenue rose on the acquisition of GP Service.
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Smoove's 3Q Transactions, Remortgages Fell But FY 2023 Revenue Rose
Smoove said Tuesday that although its transactional and remortgage instructions fell in the third quarter of its fiscal 2023 following the U.K. government's September "minibudget," they recovered significantly in the fourth quarter, and that full-year revenue rose around 7%.
MARKET TALK:
BP's 1Q Beat Expectations But Share Buyback Rate Slows
0657 GMT - BP posted strong first-quarter results, though it has slowed the share buyback run rate, RBC Capital Markets says. The British energy giant's adjusted net income came in at $4.96 billion compared to market consensus of $4.3 billion, but share buybacks of $1.75 billion missed RBC's expectations of $2.5 billion, analysts say in a research note. "Looking forward, with the Macondo [Deepwater Horizon] payment due in the second quarter, as well as BP guiding to higher maintenance in the upstream, lower refining and tighter differentials, it suggests that free cash flow momentum is likely to be weaker from here, although this could improve later in the year," the Canadian bank says. RBC retains its outperform rating and 650-pence price target on the stock. Shares closed Friday at 534.4 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-02-23 0356ET
