Land Securities Share News (LAND)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Tuesday, rebounding from losses on Monday, with investors hopeful that the US and China can ultimately agree a trade deal.In company news, Vodafone - as widely expected - cut its annual dividend as the mobile network operator swung to an annual loss, DCC raised its own annual payout as the company said it is going from strength to strength, and Jupiter Fund Management appointed a high-profile new CFO. IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open up 17.52 points at 7,181.20. The blue-chip index closed down 39.61 points, or 0.6%, at 7,163.68 on Monday.Vodafone Group met guidance for its recent financial year, it said, though it has swung to a loss and slashed its dividend.Vodafone's loss from continuing operations for the 12 months to March 31 was EUR4.11 billion, after a EUR4.76 billion profit the year before.During the year, Vodafone booked a loss on the sale of Vodafone India, as well as EUR3.50 billion in impairments as announced back in November.Vodafone's revenue slipped 6.2% to EUR43.67 billion, with the company adopting the IFRS 15 accounting standard compared to IFRS 18 previously. Vodafone swung to a total loss of EUR7.64 billion from a profit of EUR2.79 billion the year prior. From continuing operations, the loss was EUR4.11 billion from a EUR4.76 billion profit. Vodafone has rebased its dividend, returning a final dividend of 4.16 euro cents, taking the year's total to 9.00 cents, down 40%. In its prior year, Vodafone paid 15.07 cents, and consensus had been for a cut to 15 cents. Vodafone also announced it will launch 5G services in the UK on July 3, with the services being available in seven cities to start.Irish distribution company DCC said it saw an "excellent performance" for the financial year, with growth across all divisions. For the year ended March 31, revenue came in at GBP15.22, up 16% from GBP13.12 last year, while adjusted operating profit was GBP460.5 million, up 21% from GBP383.4 the year before. Company-compiled consensus had anticipated operating profit of GBP451.8 million.DCC declared a final dividend of 93.37 pence, bringing the total payout to 138.35p, up 12% from 122.98p last year. The company expects financial 2020 to see more profit growth and development.Chief Executive Donal Murphy said: "It has been another active year from a development perspective and we have committed approximately GBP370 million to acquisitions during the period. Each of the new acquisitions announced today are good examples of our divisional strategies in action. DCC LPG's acquisition of Pacific Coast Energy, our first material bolt-on in the US LPG market, will strengthen our position in the north-west of the US, helping to build further scale in that region. Similarly, DCC Technology's acquisition of both Comm-Tec and Amacom significantly enhances our business in Continental Europe and will strengthen our relationships with suppliers and customers in the region."Property company Land Securities said financial 2019 was a challenging year against a backdrop of political uncertainty and well-documented difficulties in the UK retail sector. For the year ended March 31, the company's pretax loss widened to GBP123 million from a GBP43 million loss the year before. However, adjusted pretax profit was up 8.9% to GBP442 million from GBP406 million last year, reflecting the benefit of income from completed developments, high occupancy, and the effect of refinancing bonds in the previous financial year. Land Securities said its net asset value as at March 31 was 1,341 pence per share down from 1,404p the same time last year. The company raised its dividend 3.1% to 45.55p from 44.20p last year.CEO Robert Noel said: "We have seen a noticeable shift to quality space by occupiers in the capital and the vacancy rate has fallen. Development starts have increased during the year but a good proportion of all new supply is already pre-let. We see positive market conditions for our quality product and have a growing pipeline of development opportunities. The demonstrable quality of our placemaking, spaces and services and our heightened approach to customer experience is central to our ambition and future success."We see no near-term improvement in retail market conditions, with CVA activity set to continue. Rental values are likely to decline further in shopping centres and retail parks, though we expect continued rental growth in outlets and select leisure destinations. Consumers will continue to be attracted to destinations that provide a broad range of brands and experiences."Midcap asset manager Jupiter Fund Management said it has appointed Wayne Mepham as its new chief financial officer, and he will assume the role in September. Mepham joins Jupiter from blue-chip peer Schroders, where he is currently global head of finance. Jupiter Fund Management said Mepham replaces Charlotte Jones, who will join insurer RSA Insurance Group in July. The US is in a "very strong position" in trade negotiations with China and there is still a chance to complete a deal, US President Donald Trump said Monday.Trump spoke after China announced a retaliatory increase of up to 25% in tariffs on USD60 billion worth of US imports starting June 1 as an ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies widened, rattling financial markets around the world.China said the increase would affect products already included in initial tariffs of 5% to 25%. The State Council's Customs Tariffs Commission did not make clear, however, which tariffs will be increased by how much, but nearly 2,500 US products will be hit by the 25% tariff.The increased duties are a reaction to US unilateralism and trade protectionism, the Beijing authorities said.Trump said the US is in a better position than China to withstand economic pressure from trade tensions, and added that he still has leverage in the form of tariffs on another USD325 billion worth of goods.In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 1.4%. Markets in Hong Kong reopened after being closed for a public holiday on Monday."Despite the heavy falls in Asia we have seen a pullback from the lows, after President Trump kept open the prospect of some form of deal in the next 'three to four weeks', when speaking at a White House event, as well as saying that he was prepared to meet President Xi. This pullback from the lows is likely to see European markets open slightly higher this morning, but it is unlikely to change the prospect of further volatility in the days ahead," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 down 2.4% and Nasdaq Composite ending 3.4% lower.The economic events calendar on Tuesday has UK unemployment data at 0930 BST and eurozone industrial production figures at 1000 BST.The pound was quoted at USD1.2958 early Tuesday, flat against USD1.2960 at the London equities close Monday.UK Prime Minister Theresa May is under renewed pressure to abandon Brexit talks with Labour amid warnings she risks losing the "loyal middle" of the Tory Party if she gives ground on a customs union.Some 13 former ministers, together with the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, have written to the prime minister urging her not to concede Labour's key demand, The Times reported.Their intervention comes as May prepared to brief senior ministers on the state of the talks - which began in April - at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet in Downing Street on Tuesday.