London’s FTSE 100 is doing its best to get back through the psychologically-important 7,000 level as the new trading week kicks off, ticking 4.5 points higher to 6,973 early on with oil producers, pharmaceuticals and tobacco stocks powering the advance in the blue-chip index.
Bookie William Hill’s (WMH) poor run of form continues, the shares marked 3% lower to 170.5p on a mixed trading update in which the gaming giant guides towards full year adjusted operating profit of circa £234m. That is around 15% down on 2017 and in the middle of the prior £225m-to-£245m range, which was downgraded in November due to tightening regulations on fixed-odds betting terminals.
William Hill says its online operations delivered a good underlying performance in 2018 and the US business enjoyed excellent growth, although retail profits reduced amid challenging high street conditions. CEO Philip Bowcock says ‘2018 was a pivotal year for both William Hill and the wider industry. We now have greater clarity around the key challenges and opportunities for our business. In 2019 we will remodel our retail offer while building a digitally-led international business.’
Investors also lack an appetite for Just Eat (JE.), the online delivery platform cheapening 13.2p to 645.2p on the news CEO Peter Plumb, only appointed to the hot seat in the summer of 2017, has already stepped down. Chief Customer Officer Peter Duffy will fill in as interim CEO while Just Eat searches for Plumb’s replacement.
Management upheaval overshadows a positive trading update from Just Eat, now expecting to beat consensus expectations for 2018 sales and underlying EBITDA and upgrading 2019 top line guidance too.
Translation services and technology leader SDL (SDL) is certainly talking investors’ language, guiding towards 2018 sales of between £323m and £325m with full year adjusted EBITA ‘at no less than £28.5m’, implying year-on-year earnings growth of almost 30%.
Video games developer Sumo (SUMO:AIM) fattens up 5.75p to 135.25p on the news results for the year to December will weigh in ‘at least in line with management expectations’. Sumo says a number of contracts were won towards the end of 2018, underpinning forecasts for 2019, while CEO Carl Cavers says his charge is seeing ‘many exciting opportunities to deliver more growth in our core markets’, served by its Sumo Digital and Atomhawk businesses.
Animalcare (ANCR:AIM) slumps 11.3% to 137.5p after warning 2018 EBITDA for its continuing pharmaceuticals business will be flat year-on-year. The animal health products play says sales growth was affected by supply challenges relating to certain third-party manufacturers, while delays to some new product launches and lower demand for large animal antibiotics also impacted performance.
Oil play Genel Energy (GENL) gains 6.2% to trade at 209.5p on the acquisition of stakes in the Chevron-operated Sarta and Qara Dagh blocks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. CEO Murat Özgül is ‘delighted to have been chosen as a partner to Chevron’, insisting these additions to Genel’s portfolio are ‘an important step in our diversification strategy, offering a further opportunity for near-term production and cash-generation.’
Anglo Pacific (APF), the global natural resources royalty company steered by Julian Treger, perks up 4.1% to 151p on news of a strong full year performance for 2018 and excitement surrounding a potential for material uplift from its flagship Kestrel royalty in 2019.
