Blue-chip index 25 points lower at 7,666. Frasers shutters Matches. Informa results impress. 10.39am: Eurozone just avoids recession
The Eurozone narrowly avoided slipping into technical recession late last year, as growth in the final quarter remained flat.
As per Eurostat, gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged in the Eurozone over the final three months of the year, following a 0.1% contraction in the previous period.
Eurozone GDP increased by 0.4% over the whole year, Eurostat added, with Denmark penning the largest growth, of 2%, and Ireland seeing the biggest contraction, of -3.4%, in the final quarter.
9.59am: BP ex-boss Bernard Looney repays half of bonus
Ousted BP chief executive Bernard Looney has repaid the oil firm hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of his final annual bonus.
Some £420,000, equating to 50% of Looney’s 2022 bonus, has now been given back, BP said in its annual report on Friday.
Looney resigned last September over several romantic affairs with colleagues, which BP found he had knowingly mislead it about.
BP then formally dismissed Looney in December over “serious misconduct”.
Looney’s replacement, Murray Auchincloss, was paid just over £8 million last year meanwhile, after stepping up in September and being permanently appointed in January.
9.38am: DS Smith soars on news of Mondi takeover
DS Smith shares gained 7% on Friday morning after the packaging firm announced a £5.1 billion takeover by Mondi.
Shares will be priced at 373p each, at a 33p premium for DS Smith investors, under the deal, which will create one of the world’s largest packaging companies.
“The combination is an exciting opportunity to create a pan-European industry leader in paper-based sustainable packaging solutions,” DS Smith told shareholders on Friday.
“[This would be] with complementary geographic footprints, leading customer relationships, a strong balance sheet and cash flow profile, and the potential to deliver substantial benefits to respective shareholders, customers, employees and related stakeholders.”
Mondi would own 54% of the merged business, with DS Smith holding the remaining 46%.
DS Smith climbed 7.3% to 348.90p on the news.
9.20am: Tate & Lyle, Whitworths tie-up could inflate sugar prices – regulator
A proposed tie-up between Tate & Lyle sugar and Whitworths’s owners has drawn scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority over fears prices could surge.
According to the body, competition could be harmed by the plan, which was announced in November would see T&L Sugars buy Tereos UK and Ireland’s packed sugar unit.
Such deal could “lead to a substantial lessening of competition,” the CMA warned, with the duo given five working days to offer remedies and avoid a second-phase of investigation.
“The supply of sugar to grocery retailers in the UK is already highly concentrated,” CMA senior director Sorcha O’Carroll noted, with Primark sister brand British Sugar the third and final player in the market.
“This deal would bring together two of the three players in the UK sugar sector, reducing competition and choice further for people and businesses,” she said.
“It’s now up to TLS and Tereos to find a way to address our competition concern.”
8.56am: The morning so far
FTSE 100-listed information services provider and events company Informa impressed with its annual results today, with statutory profit before tax shooting up from £168.8 million in 2022 to £492.2 million in 2023.
On the back of solid cash flows, the group announced a full-year dividend that was 84% higher year on year, with an additional £550 million dedicated to share buybacks.
Shares duly rallied 1.7% from yesterday’s close.
British retailers presented some mixed company news.
Currys PLC (LSE:CURY) confirmed the sale of its business in Greece and Cyprus for around £156 million to Public Power Corporation, Greece’s largest electric power company.
PPC will purchase Dixons South East Europe, the holding company for the Greek and Cypriot retail business, which trades under the name Kotsovolos.
Sports Direct owner Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS), meanwhile, announced that its subsidiary Matches Fashion has been put into administration mere months after Mike Ashley’s retail business bought the luxury online retailer in December for £52 million.
“Since Frasers Group acquired MATCHES, the business has consistently missed its business plan targets and, notwithstanding support from the group, has continued to make material losses,” Frasers said in a statement.
Both Frasers and Currys shares were sent lower on the news.
DS Smith was a top mover this morning, adding 6.4% after larger rival Mondi confirmed a £5.14 billion bid for the packaging company.
“The combination is an exciting opportunity to create a pan-European industry leader in paper-based sustainable packaging solutions,” the companies said in a joint statement.
The FTSE 100 index was trading 8 points lower at 7,683 at last count.
8.38am: Bitcoin seen above $67,100
Benchmark cryptocurrency bitcoin (BTC) added 0.4% against the US dollar in morning trades, bringing the BTC/USD pair to $67,100 at the time of writing.
It’s still below the $69,000 all-time high penned on Tuesday, but bitcoin bulls appear focused on reclaiming this price point after briefly touching it.
Bitcoin has ripped 59% higher year to date thanks to considerable cash inflows entering the bitcoin exchange-traded fund market.
Back to the London markets, the FTSE 100 is currently trading 14 points lower at 7,677.
8.20am: Currys finalises sale of Greek and Cypriot business
Currys PLC (LSE:CURY) has confirmed the sale of its business in Greece and Cyprus for around £156 million, the electronics retailer said on Friday.
Public Power Corporation, Greece’s largest electric power company, will purchase Dixons South East Europe, the holding company for the Greek and Cypriot retail business, which trades under the name Kotsovolos.
The deal is expected to be completed by April and will see the London-listed retailer receive net cash proceeds of £156 million (€179 million) once additional costs have been accounted for.
Currys’ shares were last seen 0.8% lower at 65p.
8.14am: Informa shares sent higher
Informa PLC (LSE:INF) shares added nearly 2% in opening trades on the back of a strong annual earnings release.
Statutory profit before tax shot up from £168.8 million in 2022 to £492.2 million in 2023, while strong free cash flow meant total dividends for the year of 18p per share were 84% higher year on year.
Shares in the group were last seen swapping for 822.8p.
The wider blue-chip index was sent lower though, with the FTSE 100 dipping 11 points to 7,682.
Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS) dipped 1.6% after announcing that its online fashion subsidiary Matches was put into administration.
7.58am: Mattioli Woods London’s latest take private
Wealth manager Mattioli Woods is set to leave the London Stock Exchange through a £432 million take-private deal with Pollen Street Capital.
The 804p per share offer represents a 34% premium to Thursday’s 600p closing price and a 41% premium on a volume-weighted basis.
It adds to a wave of take privates in the small and mid-cap end of the sock market by private equity firms snapping up perceivably undervalued businesses.
Recommending the offer, Mattioli’s board said the acquisition “provides an attractive offer for Mattioli Woods shareholders to realise an immediate cash value for their investment whilst also presenting an opportunity to accelerate Mattioli Woods’ vision to achieve continued growth across its core pillars of advice, investment and administration”.
It has been a tough twelve months for UK-based fund managers who have been adversely affected recently by a switch by investors away from actively managed funds towards passive investments such as trackers, ETFS and interest-rate focused money market funds.
Figures from sector trade body the Investment Association yesterday showed that £38.1 billion had been withdrawn from active funds over the past year alone.
7.30am: Informa’s divi nearly doubles after rock-solid 2023 earnings
FTSE 100-listed information services provider Informa increased revenues by 30% to £3.2 billion in 2023, with underlying profits of £854 million exceeding the £845 million expected.
Very strong free cash flow meant total dividends for the year of 18p per share were 84% higher year on year, with £550 million returned to shareholders via buybacks.
Informa updated its 2024 guidance, with revenues tipped between £3.45 billion and £3.5 billion, with an adjusted operating profit target of £950 million to £970 million.
“At the heart of our expansion in Open Research is the increasing use of technology and artificial intelligence to drive efficiencies in editorial and production, leading to improving article acceptance rates and reduced processing times,” said the group.
7.17am: Frasers’ Matches goes into administration
Frasers Group subsidiary Matches Fashion has been put into administration mere months after Mike Ashley’s retail business bought the luxury online retailer in December for £52 million.
“Since Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS) acquired MATCHES, the business has consistently missed its business plan targets and, notwithstanding support from the group, has continued to make material losses,” Sports Direct owner Fraser said in a statement.
“Whilst MATCHES’ management team has tried to try to find a way to stabilise the business, it has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts that the group considers to be viable.
In light of this, Frasers has been informed that the directors of MATCHES have taken the decision to put the MATCHES group into administration. Frasers remains committed to the luxury market and its brand partners.”
7.11am: Markets to edge higher
FTSE futures point to the blue-chip index adding a handful of points to 7,704 when markets open today after closing 12 points in the green on Thursday.
Informa will shortly have its results out. Some brokers have the FTSE 100-listed specialist information services provider as a winner in a data-driven/artificial intelligence (AI) world.
Today’s results should give a better insight into progress on that front.
There are no UK macroeconomic announcements to look out for, but this afternoon brings US non-farm payrolls and unemployment data.
Onlookers will be looking for a sign of softening in the US employment market in order to make the case for lowering interest rates sooner rather than later.
