Shares in London are down across the board after a sales warning from Apple related to a slowdown in China due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak raised concerns about the wider effect of the virus on global growth. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest thoughts about the markets.
IC TIP UPDATES:
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) posted full-year results in line with expectations, with total revenue up 6.7 per cent to $4,627m from $4,337m. The company’s Greater China business was bitten by unrest in Hong Kong and the coronavirus, with revenue down 5.6 per cent in the region. But the group secured 98,000 signings for rooms in 2019, with its total pipeline now standing at 283,000. Buy.
Gateley (GTLY) has announced that certain directors and employees intend to sell 4.75m shares at no less than 200p each in a placing. Equivalent to 4.1 per cent of the group’s issued share capital, the placing will be conducted via an accelerated bookbuild and is being undertaken “to satisfy market demand and broaden the institutional investor base of the company”. When Gateley listed on Aim in 2015, the former partners held 70 per cent of the shares and were subject to a five-year lock-in agreement that only allowed them to dispose of up to 10 per cent of their holdings in any 12-month period after the first anniversary of the IPO. A second five-year lock-in period with the same conditions was agreed in October and will come into effect in June. Shares are down 3 per cent. Buy.
Mondi (MNDI) chief financial officer Andrew King will replace outgoing chief executive Peter Oswald on 1 April 2020. Mr Oswald’s departure was announced last month. Buy.
Grainger (GRI) has agreed to forward fund and acquire a 348-home build-to-rent development from Blocwork, a 50:50 joint venture between Network Rail and Bloc Group, for for £56m. Construction is expected to commence in the second half of the year, with the scheme expected to be leased and stabilised by early 2024. It follows the group’s decision to raise £187m last week by issuing new shares. Buy.
KEY STORIES:
As well as publishing its fourth quarter and full-year results today, HSBC (HSBA) is out with one of the largest bank restructurings since the financial crisis. The financial implications of the shake-up are large; though it is expected to yield cumulative cost savings of $4.5bn by the end of 2022, approximately 90 per cent of the $6bn charge to the profit-and-loss statement will fall in the next two years. As such, the share buyback has been suspended until at least 2022, which helps to explain the 5 per cent drop in the share price this morning.
Shares in Amigo Holdings (AMGO) are rising this morning, after the UK’s largest provider of guarantor loans said it has received “indications of interest from several parties”, since the launch of its formal sale process on 27 January. Interested parties have signed non-disclosure agreements and discussions are ongoing, though Amigo reminded investors that there is no certainty an offer will be made.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Green hydrogen specialist ITM Power (ITM) has secured £7.5m in government funding for the next phase of renewable hydrogen project Gigastack. The project is aimed at demonstrating how renewable hydrogen derived from offshore wind can support the UK's 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emission goal.
