On the surface, NatWest (NWG) achieved all it could feasibly accomplish for the year. The bank announced a new £800mn share buyback program, profits up more than 34 per cent and a return on tangible equity that topped 12 per cent, with a forecast that this will rise to 14-16 per cent this year. However, the City is not in a forgiving mood at the moment and, as with Barclay’s (BARC), a marginal miss on net interest margin forecasts sent the shares sharply lower on the day.
The main surprise was the new £800m share buyback program for the first half of this year. When combined with total dividends of 29p a share, the bank will have distributed £5.1bn deducted from its capital, or 53p per share of total returns. JH
Read more on NatWest's announcement here
FTSE 350 Review: Bank shares set to make money
Revaluation hits Segro’s bottom line
Warehouse developer Segro (SGRO) reported a 19 per cent increase in net rental income to £522mn last year, leading to an 8.4 per cent increase in its adjusted net profit of £356mn.
However, an 11 per cent decline in the value of its property portfolio meant it recorded a statutory pre-tax loss of almost £2bn, a negative total return of 12.8 per cent. A net spend of £1.3bn on acquisitions and development also meant its net debt ticked up by around £1.5bn to £5.7bn, but chief executive David Sleath said demand for space across Europe “continues to be positive”. The shares rose by 4 per cent. MF
EnQuest delays North Sea drilling
North Sea oil producer EnQuest (ENQ) announced both record free cash flow for 2022 and a change in plans following the government’s decision to hike the energy profits levy (EPL) in November. The company’s share price tumbled 13 per cent on Friday on the update, which also confirmed debt repayment and M&A would be prioritised over a dividend. Free cash flow for 2022 was over $500mn (£419mn), EnQuest said, up from $400mn in 2021.
“The impact of the EPL on cash available for investment has resulted in the Group prioritising quick-payback opportunities at Magnus and deferring spend on Kraken drilling,” the company said. EnQuest has operated under a massive debt pile in recent years, with net debt at the end of 2021 $1.2bn, and it has knocked $500mn off this total in 2022. AH
FTSE 350 Review: Oil and gas set for another peak year
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SolGold interim boss lashes former executives
There’s nothing like a new broom. SolGold (SOLG), the mining hopeful focused on Ecuador, has had more new brooms than most in recent years, but the latest chief executive has quickly gone after his predecessors while also apologising to shareholders for delays in a key merger.
Interim chief executive Scott Caldwell said: "In my assessment, the weakness in the organisation has for too long been a culture of non-performance in the corporate office." The company’s last chief executive lasted less than a year in the top job, while the last CFO was in post for just months last summer.
SolGold is now completing a strategic review after running low on cash last year. It raised new money by selling future sales on to a financing company and also issuing another tranche of shares to Chinese giant Jiangxi Copper, which joins BHP (BHP) and Newcrest Mining (AU:NCM) on the register. AH
FTSE 350 Review: Gold is shining but investment options remain limited
