Proactive Investors - 7.55am: Currys lifts profit guidance due to strong UK showing
Currys PLC (LON:CURY) has upped its profit guidance for the year after a better than expected performance in the UK & Ireland.
The electrical retailer now expects full year adjusted pre-tax profit between £110-120mln (up from £104mln before) with UK & Ireland full year adjusted EBIT expected to increase more than 40% year-on-year.
"UK&I trading has been better than expectations, especially in the final two months of the year," Currys said.
"Improved profits driven by continued gross margin improvements and management focus on cost efficiencies," the company added.
Not such good news in its International business where full year adjusted EBIT is expected to be "materially lower than last year driven by Nordics."
The Nordics trading environment "remains challenging, but under new management we have made progress on margins and costs," Currys said.
Net debt at the year-end is see at the bottom end of previous guidance at around £100mln (previously guided to £100mln to £150mln).
BAT names finance chief as new CEO as Bowles steps down
British American Tobacco PLC (LON:BATS) has named Tadeu Marroco as Chief Executive succeeding Jack Bowles who is stepping down from the board today.
Tadeu joined BAT in 1992 and was appointed to the board in 2019 as group finance Director.
Javed Iqbal will become interim FD while the search for a new finance head continues.
Bowles, who also joined the board in 2019, has led the maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes through its transformation strategy to focus growth on new categories such as vape and e-cigarettes.
"Having been at the centre of the formulation of this strategy, I am convinced that this is the right strategic path for BAT," Marroco said in a statement.
WANDisco mulls $30mln fund raising
WANdisco PLC (LON:WAND) is mulling a number of funding options as it works towards the resumption of trading in its shares as the UK and US software group continues to deal with a Financial Conduct Authority probe into its accounting practices.
The group plans to launch a $30mln fund raise towards the end of June to build balance sheet strength in order “to take advantage of the significant opportunities ahead.”
The Company said it will commence a consultative process with investors to assess the potential for the proposals “balancing all the different priorities and risks.”
At April 30, WANDisco said it had a net cash balance of $8.1mln with no debt facilities and believes this provides the company with sufficient working capital until the middle of July 2023.
The fund raising will form part of the group’s turnaround plan alongside cost reductions and working capital improvements.
“WANdisco's business growth needs to be underpinned by a resilient balance sheet and the proposed fundraise will enable it to build balance sheet strength to take advantage of the significant opportunities available to it,” the company said in a statement.
Any resumption in trading in group’s shares is unlikely until after the fund raising.
John Wood Group says Apollo does not intend to make a bid
John Wood Group will not be taken over, at least for now, after Apollo Global Management confirmed it did not intend making a bid for the company.
The private equity firm had made a series of proposals to buy John Wood, the latest valuing the FTSE 250-listed group at 240p per share.
But after engaging with Apollo and grating it access to due diligence materials no offer has been forthcoming.
John Wood said it remains confident in its strategic direction and long term prospects and believes that, following a transformative year in 2022, including new executive leadership and a new strategy, Wood is well placed to deliver substantial value for shareholders.
“Our medium-term targets set out in November 2022 are to deliver adjusted EBITDA growth at mid to high single digit CAGR, with momentum building over time, and to return to positive free cash flow in 2024,” the company said in a statement.
“Furthermore, as set out in the Q1 trading update on 11 May 2023, there is good momentum across all business units which has continued since the end of Q1, with expectations for the full year unchanged.”
FTSE 100 set to make a bright start
Good morning. The FTSE 100 is expected to make a bright start to the week despite ongoing nervousness about the debt ceiling discussions in the US.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index up by around 20 points.
Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said: “Sentiment hasn’t been helped by the political theatre around the US debt ceiling which has dominated the discourse in the media, and where discussions have been pushed into this week.”
“While the risks around this are well-rehearsed it could be argued that the risks appear somewhat overstated given how regularly we’ve seen this scenario play out over the last few years on a regular “rinse and repeat” basis before a late compromise is sealed.”
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mostly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average flat, the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%.
In Asia on Monday, markets made ground. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo advanced 0.7%, in China, the Shanghai Composite was slightly higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.2%.
Back in London and the early focus will be updates from Diploma (LON:DPLM), Cerillion and Currys.