FTSE 100 Live Thursday
- Wise plans US switch
- Dr Martens unveils new strategy
- Mitie strikes £366m deal
Market update: Dr Martens shares jump, Wizz and Mitie slide
10:15 , Graeme EvansDr Martens turnaround optimism alongside heavy selling of Wizz Air and Mitie today put mid-cap fortunes in focus during a dour session for the FTSE 100 index.
London’s top flight edged 10.67 points higher to 8811.96, reflecting caution ahead of guidance from the European Central Bank on how much further interest rates can fall - should it cut the deposit rate by another quarter point to 2%.
Reckitt Benckiser and Smith & Nephew rose 1%, while Vodafone, Sainsbury’s and WPP led the fallers board after their shares were marked ex-dividend.
Money transfer business Wise dashed hopes it will join the FTSE 100 index by revealing its intention to switch its primary listing to the US.
It will keep a secondary listing in London, having floated in 2021 with a valuation of £9 billion.
The Shoreditch-based group, which today reported a 17% rise in pre-tax profits to £565 million, believes the proposed switch will boost its profile in the marketplace representing its biggest growth opportunity.
The shares jumped 107p to an all-time high of 1190p following the results.
The FTSE 250 index was led by Dr Martens, which surged 19% or 11.15p to trade above 70p for the first time since February.
The rally was triggered by signs of positive momentum in its previously troubled US operation, as well as the detail of chief executive Ije Nwokorie’s new strategy.
He wants to broaden the focus of the group so that it takes full advantage of its shoes, sandals and leather goods offering. His ambition is to establish Dr Martens as the world's most-desired premium footwear brand.
Nwokorie said: “We will give more people more reasons to buy more of our products, whether that’s our iconic boots and shoes, newer product families such as Zebzag and Buzz, or adjacent categories such as sandals, bags and leather goods.”
The former Apple Retail executive forecast a return to profit growth in the current financial year, having recorded a fall to £34.1 million from £97.2 million in today’s results.
In contrast, Wizz Air and Mitie Group fell sharply after posting their annual figures.
The low-cost airline fell 410p to 1264p, reflecting a 62% drop in operating profit after it was disrupted by engine issues that grounded a fifth of its fleet.
It reported record passenger demand but declined to give detailed earnings guidance for this year due to the lack of visibility across its trading seasons.
The shares of facilities manager Mitie surrendered a chunk of their recent gains after it unveiled a £366 million deal to buy testing, inspection and compliance business Marlowe.
Mitie said Marlowe’s 2,800 staff and portfolio of 27,000 clients will boost its existing fire and security business and add new capabilities in water and air hygiene and asbestos services.
The cash and shares offer, which has been backed by the Marlowe board, equates to 466p a share or a 26.5% premium to its target’s AIM share price last night.
The deal was announced alongside annual results, which showed that Mitie increased revenues by 13% to £5.1 billion following a 35% uplift in its total order book to £15.4 billion.
Having suspended its shares buyback programme due to the Marlowe acquisition, FTSE 250-listed Mitie fell 11% or 17.8p to 141.8p.
Dr Martens jumps in FTSE 250, Wizz Air and Mitie slump
08:46 , Graeme EvansDr Martens shares have jumped 14% in response to today’s results, which included plans to give the bootmaker a broader focus as a premium footwear brand.
The drop in annual profit was smaller than expected, while the FTSE 250-listed group forecast a return to growth this year amid positive momentum in the US.
The shares lifted 8.45p to 68.4p, the highest level since February.
The results of Wizz Air sent its shares 24% or 405p lower to 1269p after it reported a 62% drop in operating profits.
CMC Markets also suffered a result-day fall of 31p to 253.5p, while facilities management business Mitie lost 16p to 143.6p on the back of full-year figures and the £366 million cash-and-shares acquisition of Marlowe.
The FTSE 250 index reversed 84.11 points to 21,034.90, which compared with a broadly flat performance by the FTSE 100 index.
The fallers board was led by Vodafone, Sainsbury’s and WPP after their shares began trading without the right to their latest dividend awards.
Wizz Air profit falls despite passenger record
08:32 , Graeme EvansWizz Air has revealed a sharp fall in annual profits as the budget airline grappled with a fifth of its planes being grounded due to engine issues.
The FTSE 250-listed company said it was flying more passengers than ever despite the “significant challenges” it faced.
It reported an operating profit of 167.5 million euros (£141 million) for the year to March, a 62% drop even though revenues edged up 3.8% after it carried a record 63.4 million passengers.
The low-cost airline was forced to ground an average of 44 planes over the year.
Wise set for US listing switch, profits rise
08:10 , Graeme EvansThe £11 billion-valued fintech Wise today announced plans to shift its primary stock market listing from London to a US stock exchange.
The money transfer firm said it intended to maintain a secondary listing in London.
It hopes the proposed move will expand the pool of investors able to invest in Wise and boost liquidity in the shares.
Co-founder and chief executive Kristo Käärmann said: “We believe the addition of a primary US listing with a secondary UK listing would help us drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today.
“Additionally, it would enable more investors to benefit from the value we create and our shares would be more liquid, giving owners more flexibility and opportunity.”
The announcement was made alongside annual results, which showed that reported profit before tax rose by 17% to £565 million. Revenue lifted 15% to £1.2 billion.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman said: “Keeping a presence in London makes sense, but it does little to sugarcoat the fact that yet another London-listed tech firm is looking across the Atlantic for better valuations - a story that’s becoming all too familiar.”
ECB guidance in focus as another rate cut looms
07:42 , Graeme EvansThe European Central is today expected to deliver another quarter point cut in the cost of borrowing by taking its deposit rate down to 2%.
The main focus is likely to be on guidance on what happens next, given that today’s latest move will take monetary policy into the middle of the neutral range.
Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank, said: “The real question is how far below 2% is the ECB willing (and required) to take interest rates?
“We may not get an answer just yet as the ECB will want to keep some optionality.
“At the same time, the very uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical context will significantly widen the confidence intervals around the central bank's updated projections.
“That said, the direction of travel is clear at the moment and that is towards lower interest rates.”
Cobalt firm pulls listing in latest IPO setback
07:34 , Graeme EvansLondon’s IPO market has been dealt a fresh blow after Glencore-backed Cobalt Holdings last night pulled its flotation plans.
The company, which aimed to build a stockpile of the energy transition metal ahead of an expected recovery in prices, was due to begin conditional dealings today.
It pulled the listing last night without providing further information.
Glencore was a cornerstone investor in the float, which had been set to raise $230 million in the London’s market’s biggest new listing of another quiet IPO year.
Mitie unveils £366m Marlowe takeover deal
07:23 , Graeme EvansFacilities services group Mitie today unveiled a deal worth £366 million to buy the London-listed testing, inspection and compliance business Marlowe.
Mitie said Marlowe’s 2,800 staff and portfolio of 27,000 clients will boost its existing fire and security business and add new capabilities in water and air hygiene and asbestos services.
The cash and shares offer, which has been backed by the Marlowe board, equates to 466p a share or a 26.5% premium to Marlowe’s AIM-listed closing share price.
The deal was announced alongside annual results, which showed that FTSE 250-listed Mitie increased revenues by 13% to £5.1 billion after a 35% jump in its total order book to £15.4 billion.
Dr Martens profits slide, unveils new strategy
07:13 , Graeme EvansBootmaker Dr Martens today recorded a steep drop in annual profits but said it expects a return to growth in the current financial year.
The surplus of £34.1 million on an adjusted basis compared with £97.2 million the year before but was ahead of City forecasts of £30.6 million.
Chief executive Ije Nwokorie, who was appointed in January, also unveiled a strategy update.
The former Apple Retail executive said the group had been too focused on boots, meaning it has failed to take full advantage of its shoes, sandals and leather goods offering.
His ambition is to establish Dr. Martens as the world's most-desired premium footwear brand.
Nwokorie said: “We will give more people more reasons to buy more of our products, whether that’s our iconic boots and shoes, newer product families such as Zebzag and Buzz, or adjacent categories such as sandals, bags and leather goods.”
Guidance for the current year points to a return to profit growth, having continued to see a turnaround in fortunes for its American operations.
FTSE 100 set for steady start, Asia stocks mixed
07:01 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index is set to follow Wall Street’s lead from last night by opening broadly unchanged at the opening bell.
The S&P 500 index finished flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite lifted 0.3%.
Asia markets have posted a mixed performance, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.5% and the Hang Seng index up 0.5%.
The FTSE 100 index closed 0.2% higher at 8801.29 yesterday, a performance that lagged the gains seen in Frankfurt and Paris.
Later today, the European Central Bank is expected to announce another quarter point cut in interest rates.
