Next Share News (NXT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Share opened flat to slightly higher Thursday on a day of local elections in the UK, including for the next mayor of London.

A large number of London-listed blue-chip companies provided earnings or trading updates prior to the stock-market open as the annual general meeting season gets into full swing.

Centrica led FTSE 100 decliners, down 7.1% after announcing a plan to raise around GBP800 million from a share issue. Inmarsat, Rolls-Royce and Sage Group also were being sold after their earnings and trading updates. Better liked updates came from BT Group and RSA Insurance, up 3.3% and 2.4%, respectively.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 6,126.41
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 16,698.16
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 723.75
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Hang Seng: down 0.2% at 20,483.32
Nikkei 225: market closed for holiday
DJIA: closed down 0.6% at 17,651.26
S&P 500: closed down 0.6% at 2,051.12
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GBP: firm at USD1.4497 (USD1.4476)
EUR: flat at USD1.1473 (USD1.1475)

GOLD: soft at USD1,278.50 per ounce (USD1,280.54)
OIL (Brent): up at USD45.55 a barrel (USD44.81)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

holiday Japan Children's Day
holiday Germany, Switzerland and France Ascension Day

09:00 Ireland retail sales
09:30 UK Markit services PMI
10:00 EU Economic Bulletin
12:00 Ireland consumer confidence
12:30 US Challenger job cuts (YoY)
13:30 US initial and continuing jobless claims
13:30 Canada building permits
15:30 US EIA natural gas storage
16:30 US Fed's Bullard speech
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Voters are heading to the polls across the UK in the biggest test of political opinion since the general election a year ago. The bitter battle to be London mayor and the fight for control of the Scottish parliament, have attracted most attention, but 16 million people are eligible to vote in council elections across England - though turnout is expected to be low. The elections mark the first nationwide test for Jeremy Corbyn since he stormed to victory with massive grass-roots support as Labour leader last September.
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Ireland's service sector activity expanded at the weakest pace in fourteen months in April, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 59.8 in April from 62.8 in March, though any reading above 50 indicates expansion.
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Private sector activity in China expanded for the second straight month in April driven by services, while output broadly stagnated at manufacturers. The Caixin composite output index fell to 50.8 in April from 51.3 in March, survey data published by Markit showed. A score above 50 indicates expansion but the latest reading signals a slowdown in growth. The services Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 51.8, down from 52.2 a month ago. This suggested that the pace of service sector expansion remained modest overall and slower than the historical series average.
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Donald Trump is the last Republican standing in the centre-right's presidential contest as his last remaining opponent, Ohio Governor John Kasich, said he is dropping out. Trump's victory in the Indiana primary a day earlier virtually assured the business mogul will be the party's nominee. Kasich had only won his home state of Ohio, but had vowed Tuesday night to remain in the race until Trump actually reached the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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EXANE BNP CUTS CENTRICA TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OUTPERFORM') - TARGET 240 (250) PENCE
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BARCLAYS RAISES BHP BILLITON TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' (UNDERW,) - PRICE TARGET 875 (515) PENCE
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TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE RAISES NEXT TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERPERFORM') - TARGET 5200 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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BT Group reported a rise in pretax profit for its most recently ended financial year, and set out its guidance for the next two years, as it outlined plans to invest around GBP6 billion in broadband and 4G coverage in the UK over the next three years. BT reported a pretax profit of GBP3.03 billion for the year to end-March, up from GBP2.65 billion the year before, as revenue rose to GBP19.04 billion from GBP17.98 billion. BT proposed a full-year dividend of 14.0 pence per share, up 13% from 12.4p the year before. It expects to grow its dividend by more than 10% in each of the next two financial years.
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Satellite business Inmarsat revised down its 2016 guidance for revenue after it amended its cooperation agreement in the US with Ligado Networks and reported a fall in pretax profit for the first quarter of the year. Inmarsat reported a pretax profit of USD58.5 million in the three months to end-March, down from USD96.3 million a year before, on revenue of USD298.6 million, down from USD304.8 million. The company said that the underlying trading environment in 2016 has continued to be tough, and demand weakened in the first quarter. Inmarsat has revised its revenue guidance, excluding revenue from Ligado, for 2016 downwards by USD50 million to USD1.18 billion to USD1.25 billion. All of its other financial guidance remains unchanged, Inmarsat said
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Centrica said it intends to issue a considerable amount of shares to institutional investors to raise funds. The energy company said it plans to issue around 350.0 million shares, which is equal to around 7.0% of its current issued share capital. It will be conducted through a bookbuild process which will determine the price, but Centrica has already hinted it wants to raise at least GBP750.0 million. At Centrica's closing price of 231.10 pence on Wednesday, 350.0 million shares would fetch GBP808.5 million. Centrica said the placing will allow it to complete two acquisitions worth a total of GBP350.0 million and to lower net debt by a further GBP400.0 million, which in turn will reduce the pressure on Centrica's investment-grade credit ratings.
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RSA Insurance Group said it saw good underwriting results in the first quarter, driving up operating profit, as it benefited from benign weather conditions and as underlying results continued to indicate an improving picture. The insurer said insurance market conditions in the first quarter, to the end of March, were broadly unchanged against the same period in 2015. Slow growth in the market and strong competition has driven sharp price-volume trade-offs, the group said, in line with its expectations. Group net written premiums in the quarter were flat year-on-year, reflecting the impact of the disposal of non-core operations RSA has undertaken.
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Barclays said it has sold around 12% of its holding in Barclays Africa through the share placing announced late Wednesday, raising around GBP603.0 million in the process. The lender said it has sold 103.6 million Barclays Africa shares at ZAR126 per share through an accelerated bookbuild, raising gross sale proceeds of around ZAR13.05 billion, or GBP603.0 million. Following the sale, Barclays will hold 424.7 million shares in Barclays Africa, or a 50.1% stake. The bank previously had announced its intention to reduce its holding in its African banking subsidiary.
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Sub-prime lender Provident Financial said it made a good start to the year across its divisions, with good growth in its Vanquis credit-card arm and in its consumer credit unit. The group said receivables for Vanquis grew 13% year-on-year in the first quarter to the end of March, with profit slightly ahead of expectations thanks to robust margins and lower funding costs. Provident said it expects another good performance for the full year in 2016, with trading in line or ahead of internal expectations thus far and credit quality sound across the business.
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Old Mutual said its majority-owned South African banking subsidiary Nedbank Group reiterated guidance for 2016, as it saw funds under management rise in its Old Mutual Wealth business. Old Mutual Wealth's funds under management rose 3% since the start of 2016 to GBP107.1 billion, it said, from GBP104.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015. It saw strong net client cash flows of GBP1.8 billion in the quarter, up 80% compared to the first quarter of 2015, whilst gross sales rose by 17% to GBP5.4 billion from GBP4.6 billion a year before.
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Wm Morrison Supermarkets reported a fall in total sales but growth in like-for-like sales in the first quarter of its financial year, as it warned it expects continued deflation in the UK grocery market. The supermarket chain said total sales excluding fuel in the 13 weeks ended May fell by 1.8% year-on-year, while falling by 0.9% including fuel. On a like-for-like basis, sales excluding fuel grew by 0.7% and by 1.2% including fuel.
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Rolls-Royce Holdings said trading in the first few months of 2016 has been in line with its expectations and its outlook for the full year is unchanged. The jet engine maker said profit, before any financing charges, will be significantly weighted to the second half, in line with previous guidance. The outlook for the second half, Rolls-Royce said, reflects increased large-engine deliveries, good underlying growth in aftermarket revenue and incremental benefits from its restructuring programme.
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Smith & Nephew said overall revenue has grown during the first quarter of 2016 with the majority of its divisions reporting a rise in the period, and said its full year targets remain unchanged. The medical devices business said overall revenue in the first quarter of the year rose 3.0% to USD1.13 billion from USD1.10 billion a year earlier, with that revenue rising 4.0% on an underlying basis.
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The Sage Group said it has agreed to buy a 20.7% stake in software firm Fairsail for GBP10 million, as it reported a fall in pretax profit for its first half. Sage reported a pretax profit of GBP142.1 million for the half year to end-March, down from GBP177.6 million, as a rise in revenue to GBP746.6 million from GBP717.3 million was offset by GBP31 million in one-off costs related to the company's business transformation strategy, it said.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Derwent London said it has seen strong letting activity in the first quarter, and noted it had seen "little evidence of any slowdown" in occupier demand for its middle market rental products in the run up to the UK vote on EU membership in June. The property company said it has let or pre-let 185,000 square feet of space in the year to date, securing GBP13.2 million per annum of rental income. Derwent said this included the pre-letting of 29,500 square feet to credit card service company Capital One Financial at White Collar Factory in central London. Lettings in the first quarter were on average 6.1% ahead of the estimated market rental value in December 2015, Derwent said.
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Millennium & Copthorne Hotels said pretax profit in the first quarter of 2016 slipped, as hotels revenue declined on weak performances from major hotels and it warned that the trading outlook remains uncertain. The hotel company said its pretax profit in the three months ended March 31 slipped to GBP18 million from GBP19 million in the first quarter of 2015 due to a fall in hotels revenue to GBP165 million from GBP170 million.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Publisher Trinity Mirror is set to close its daily newspaper 'New Day' just nine weeks after it was launched, the BBC reported. The tabloid newspaper was launched in February, with hopes to sell about 200,000 copies a day, but sales are reported to have fallen to about 40,000, according to the BBC. Reports suggest that the New Day's final edition will be on Friday, with a statement from Trinity Mirror due later Thursday, the BBC said.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Twenty-First Century Fox revealed a profit for its third quarter that gained ground from last year. The company said its bottom line came in at USD907 million, or USD0.47 per share. This was higher than USD888 million, or USD0.42 per share, in last year's third quarter. The company said revenue for the quarter rose 5.7% to USD7.23 billion. This was up from USD6.84 billion last year.
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Electric car maker Tesla Motors reported a first-quarter loss that widened from last year, hurt largely by higher operating costs which offset an increase in revenues. Loss for the quarter were narrower than what Wall Street expected, while revenues came in line with estimates. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla reported first-quarter loss of USD282.3 million or USD2.13 per share, wider than last year's loss of USD154.2 million or USD1.22 per share. Tesla's revenue for the quarter improved to USD1.15 billion from USD939.9 million last year. Tesla said it delivered 14,810 vehicles in the first quarter.
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Provident Financial
Millenium & Copthorne Hotels
Howden Joinery Group
Inmarsat
Rolls-Royce Holdings
GlaxoSmithKline
GKN
Costain Group
Trinity Mirror
IMI
Gulfsands Petroleum
Empresaria Group
Rightmove
Reckitt Benckiser Group
Real Estate Investors
Personal Group Holdings
Spirent Communications
Ladbrokes
Johnson Service Group
Morgan Sindall Group
Sanne Group
Kaz Minerals
CPP Group (re Schroder IM resolutions)
Vectura Group & SkyePharma (re merger)
Kingspan Group
Robinson Real Estate Investors
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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