Shares in London are becalmed again as we head into the weekend awaiting any military action by the West in Syria. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest views on the markets.
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Shares in Sage (SGE) plummeted nearly a fifth this morning, after the software group revised down its full-year revenue growth guidance from 8 per cent to 7 per cent. First-half organic sales growth of 6.3 per cent marked a slippage from 7.4 per cent a year earlier. This was below management’s expectations, stemming from “inconsistent operational execution”. Software subscription growth slowed to 25.3 per cent from 30.7 per cent during the period. Still, the company says its market opportunity remains unchanged. The Sage Business Cloud has enjoyed ongoing momentum.
Shares in Micro Focus (MCRO) climbed around 12 per cent yesterday afternoon, and 6 per cent this morning, following a Bloomberg report that hedge fund Elliott Management has built a position in the group and intends to push for changes. Unidentified people cited by Bloomberg didn’t disclose the size of Elliott’s holding or the respective changes. This comes after Micro Focus’s shares fell almost 50 per cent on 19 March, when management cut sales guidance for this year – citing “largely one-off” transitional effects of the integration with HPE software, the business it bought for $8.8bn last September. Former chief executive Chris Hsu also resigned.
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) has announced David Schwimmer (of Goldman Sachs, rather than Friends fame) will replace Xavier Rolet as chief executive from August. Most recently Mr Schwimmer was global head of market structure and global head of metals and mining in investment banking.
