(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Thursday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
ITV said its annual results were ahead of expectations, driven by revenue growth in the second half of the year. For 2019, pretax profit fell 6.5% to GBP530 million from GBP567 million in 2018 as operating costs increased 6.1% to GBP2.77 billion from GBP2.61 billion. The broadcaster reported a 3.2% rise in total group revenue to GBP3.89 billion from GBP3.77 billion in 2018. Broadcast total revenue was down 1.9% year-on-year to GBP2.06 billion as total advertising revenue slipped by 1.7% to GBP1.77 billion but was guided to fall 2%. ITV proposed a final dividend of 5.4 pence a share, taking the total payout to 8p, unchanged from 2018. Looking ahead, ITV expects advertising revenue to be up 2% in the first quarter of 2020, though early indications suggest it will be down 10% in April. The broadcaster noted that it has seen travel advertising deferments relating to the coronavirus outbreak.
----------
Aviva reported a rise in operating profit in 2019, ahead of consensus, but saw its underwriting profit slip, as the insurer looks ahead under a new corporate structure. Aviva posted a statutory pretax profit of GBP3.93 billion for 2019, more than double the GBP1.65 billion reported the year prior. This was helped by a GBP40.58 billion investment income, after a GBP10.91 billion loss in 2018. Aviva is paying a final dividend of 21.40 pence per share. This takes the 2019 total to 30.90p, 3% higher than a year before. The 2019 results are Maurice Tulloch's first as chief executive, and the first results after "simplifying" the company in late 2019.
----------
David Stevens is to retire as chief executive of Admiral Group, the motor insurer said, as it reported a "record" annual profit. Stevens, a co-founder of Admiral in 1991, has been CEO since May 2016. Admiral has decided to replace him with Milena Mondini de Focatiis, the current head of Admiral's UK & European Insurance business. She will assume the role of CEO after the transition period. Turning to 2019 financial results, Admiral posted a pretax profit for the year of GBP522.6 million, which it said is a record. This is 10% higher than 2018, and meets guidance given by Admiral in February of between GBP510 million and GBP540 million of pretax profit. Insurance premium revenue increased by 5.8% to GBP2.20 billion, with Admiral's net insurance premium revenue up 5.6% to GBP709.4 million. Outgoing CEO Stevens said it was the first time pretax profit has topped GBP500 million, saying it was "another freight train year" for the company.
----------
Schroders held its annual dividend steady as profit dropped amid challenging market conditions, but the value of managed assets beat consensus expectations. For 2019, the asset and wealth management group reported a 4% drop in pretax profit to GBP624.6 million from GBP649.9 million the year before, on revenue that declined by 2.4% to GBP2.54 billion from GBP2.63 billion. Pretax profit before exceptional items was down 8% at GBP701.2 million from GBP761.2 million in 2018, but remained above consensus expectations of a 10% drop to GBP684.5 million. The group declared a final dividend of 79.0 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 114.0p, in-line with the prior year. Looking ahead, Schroders said that despite recent market weakness, the group remains well placed to generate growth over the long term. In the short-term, however, the coronavirus has created considerable uncertainty in economies and markets.
----------
Melrose Industries said annual profit performance comfortably beat internal expectations. The turnaround specialist also said it is considering a sale of the Air Management operations of Nortek. Melrose delivered a pretax profit of GBP106 million for 2019, swinging from a pretax loss of GBP542 million the year before. On an adjusted basis, pretax profit was 32% higher at GBP889 million. Birmingham-based Melrose delivered revenue of GBP10.97 billion in the year, up 35%. The company is paying a final dividend of 3.4 pence per share, giving a total for the year of 5.1p, up 11% on 2018's payout. Melrose, looking to 2020, expects another year of progress in each business. It is too early to quantify the impact of coronavirus, the company said, and it remains focused on "what we can control".
----------
The global airline industry could lose up to USD113 billion in revenue this year due to the impact of the new coronavirus, an industry body warned, as the epidemic spreads rapidly worldwide. "The turn of events as a result of COVID-19 is almost without precedent," said Alexandre de Juniac, head of the International Air Transport Association, following a meeting in Singapore. "In little over two months, the industry's prospects in much of the world have taken a dramatic turn for the worse."
----------
John Lewis Partnership embarked on a strategic review following a third consecutive year of falling profit. John Lewis's profit before bonuses, tax, exceptional items, and accounting changes for the 52 weeks to January 25 was down 23% to GBP123 million, though the statutory figure rose 25% to GBP146 million. The company's revenue was 1.6% lower at GBP10.15 billion. John Lewis is paying a bonus to staff of 2%, compared to 3% last year, totalling GBP30.9 million, which is 31% lower than the amount of cash returned to staff in its previous financial year. The strategic review, White said, will be completed by the autumn. It will look at how the core retail business can be improved and also look at new operations outside of retail.
----------
MARKETS
----------
London shares were sharply lower with the threat of the coronavirus becoming prevalent as more companies warn over its affect on earnings. Oil was down as the OPEC meeting in Austria gets underway. US stock market futures were pointed to a sharply lower open after the state of California on Wednesday declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus spread.
----------
FTSE 100: down 1.7% at 6,697.40
FTSE 250: down 1.9% at 19,375.21
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.7% at 879.80
GBP: up at USD1.2920 (USD1.2812)
EUR: firm at USD1.1166 (USD1.1141)
GOLD: flat at USD1,644.80 per ounce (USD1,643.40)
OIL (Brent): down at USD50.55 a barrel (USD52.17)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
The latest eurozone construction purchasing managers' index signalled the fastest expansion in activity for a year, IHS Markit said. The PMI rose to 52.5 in February, up from 51.9 in January. Any reading over 50 indicates expansion, and one below contraction. By country, Germany's construction PMI rose to 55.8 from 54.9, with homebuilding the best performing category.
----------
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are meeting in Vienna on Thursday to try to overcome their divisions on how to react to the fall in oil prices in the wake of the novel coronavirus epidemic. The group already had to contend with abundant supply on global markets weighing on prices but the spread of COVID-19 across the world has sent them plunging. The European benchmark of Brent sank to under USD50 on Sunday, a level not reached since July 2017. The effects of the virus on global demand - particularly in worst-hit China - has blown a hole through the group's attempt to support prices at its last meeting in December by agreeing on production cuts. The only option for OPEC - and its allies in the OPEC plus grouping who will be joining meetings on Friday - would appear to be another round of production cuts.
----------
California declared a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus Wednesday as a cruise ship was held off the coast over fears of a new outbreak. The measures came as the death toll in the US hit 11, including the first fatality in California, and lawmakers in Congress agreed to provide more than USD8 billion to fight the rapidly spreading disease. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the emergency measures as he reported the death of an elderly person who had taken a cruise to Mexico. "The State of California is deploying every level of government to help identify cases and slow the spread of this coronavirus," Newsom told reporters.
----------
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
ITV (ITV)