Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 bounces back, up 42 points
- Lloyds flat despite strong first quarter profits
- Flutter Entertainment gains on strong US trading
RS slips 4% as CFO quits after relationship with colleague
Shares in RS Group (LON:RS1R) slipped around 4% after it announced that David Egan has resigned as Chief Financial Officer and will leave the business with immediate effect.
Egan left the business after disclosing a "personal relationship with a colleague," in which he said there "have been some shortcomings of judgment on my part and my actions have fallen short of the high standards expected of RS leadership."
Rona Fairhead, Chair, said: "Following a thorough review, the board has accepted David's resignation and in stepping down he recognises the importance of leaders setting and abiding by exemplary standards."
Jane Titchener will take over as Interim CFO until a permanent replacement CFO is appointed.
RS said there is no change to profit expectations from that reported in the recent trading update published in April.
FTSE 100 bounces, Flutter rises on strong trading
The FTSE 100 bounced back strongly on Wednesday after heavy losses yesterday as investors digest another slew of trading updates and await the latest monetary policy call in the US after the London market closes.
At 8.15am London’s lead index stood at 7,818.22, up 45.19 points, or 0.58% while the FTSE 250 rallied to 19,359.05, up 44.82 points, or 0.23%.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) reported first quarter results with the backdrop of renewed nervousness in the US banking sector after a number of regional banks came under pressure despite the rescue deal for First Republic Bank.
But the high street lender beat City expectations reporting a 46% increase in first quarter profit as net income jumped continuing to benefit from the higher interest environment.
The FTSE 100-listed bank said net income climbed 15% to £4.7bn in the three months to March 31 from £4.03bn a year prior while statutory pre-tax profit jumped to £2.26bn from £1.54bn. Analysts had forecast profit of £1.95bn.
Charlie Nunn, Group Chief Executive said: “The group has delivered a solid financial performance in the first quarter of 2023, with strong net income and capital generation, alongside resilient observed asset quality.”
Richard Hunter at interactive investor, commented “Lloyds has brought down the curtain on the quarterly banking reporting season with another show of strength, as it breezed past expectations on virtually all measures."
Gary Greenwood at Shore Capital said the results “show better than expected earnings driven with beats in most line items other than net interest income.”
He noted a small deposit outflow during the period, mirroring that seen by NatWest (LON:NWG) last week, “but this is nothing to be concerned about, in our view.”
He thinks with guidance left unchanged there may only be “a slight nudge up to full year forecasts.”
Shares fell 0.9%.
Shares in Flutter Entertainment rose 1.8% after a “very strong performance” in the US drove a 46% increase in first quarter revenue.
The owner of FanDuel, Paddy Power and Betfair said total revenue rose to £2.4bn with Sports revenue up 53% to £1.5bn and Gaming revenue up 35% to £916mln.
The FTSE 100-listed firm pointed out the average monthly players of 12.3mln were up 30%.
But shares in Haleon PLC (LON:HLN) slipped 3.4% as the company said profits grew more slowly in the first quarter of 2023 amid higher costs and unhelpful currency swings.
The Voltarol and Centrum manufacturer remained confident of its organic sales guidance for the full year, towards the upper end of its 4-6% range, as revenue grew 9.9% in the first three months of the year.
Total sales were up 13.7% to £3bn for the quarter, mostly from price rises at 7.1% and volume/mix at 2.8%.
The FTSE 100-listed company grew adjusted operating profit 9.5% to £691mln or 3.3% at constant currency rates, down from 13.8% and 5.9% respectively for the whole of last year.