Με κέρδη έκλεισαν τα περισσότερα ευρωπαϊκά χρηματιστήρια

Ανοδικά κινήθηκαν σήμερα τα περισσότερα ευρωπαϊκά χρηματιστήρια, με τον κλάδο κοινής ωφέλειας να πραγματοποιεί τα μεγαλύτερα κέρδη και αυτόν της τεχνολογίας τις μεγαλύτερες απώλειες.

Οι επενδυτές στα ευρωπαϊκά χρηματιστήρια στάθμισαν θετικά την σταθεροποίηση του πληθωρισμού στην Βρετανία, αλλά και την αποφυγή ύφεσης της ευρωζώνης στο τέταρτο τρίμηνο, ωθώντας σε υψηλότερα επίπεδα τους ευρωπαϊκούς δείκτες.

Ο βρετανικός δείκτης τιμών καταναλωτή διατηρήθηκε απροσδόκητα σταθερός σε ετήσιο ρυθμό 4,0% τον Ιανουάριο, αψηφώντας τις προβλέψεις για άνοδο, όπως έδειξαν τα επίσημα στοιχεία, γεγονός που έδωσε ώθηση στην Τράπεζα της Αγγλίας (BoE).

Οι οικονομολόγοι που συμμετείχαν σε δημοσκόπηση του Reuters είχαν προβλέψει αύξηση στο 4,2%. Ο πληθωρισμός αναμένεται να μειωθεί περαιτέρω τους επόμενους μήνες, ανοίγοντας το δρόμο για την BoE να αρχίσει να μειώνει το κόστος δανεισμού από το υψηλό των 16 ετών. (περισσότερα εδώ)

Η ομοσπονδιακή κυβέρνηση της Γερμανίας θα μειώσει σημαντικά την πρόβλεψή της για την ανάπτυξη της γερμανικής οικονομίας σε μόλις 0,2% σε έκθεση που πρόκειται να δημοσιευθεί την επόμενη εβδομάδα, σύμφωνα με πηγή με γνώση του θέματος.

Σύμφωνα με την πηγή, οι παράγοντες που συνέβαλαν στο μειωμένο ποσοστό -από την πρόβλεψη του Οκτωβρίου για 1,3%- περιλάμβαναν τη χαμηλή ανάπτυξη της παγκόσμιας οικονομίας και μια απόφαση του γερμανικού συνταγματικού δικαστηρίου που άνοιξε τρύπα στον προϋπολογισμό της χώρας. (περισσότερα εδώ)

Οι όροι για την ενσωμάτωση του γεωργικού τομέα της Ουκρανίας στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση θα καθοριστούν κατά τη διάρκεια των διαπραγματεύσεων, δήλωσαν δύο υπουργοί την Τρίτη, διαψεύδοντας ότι το Κίεβο εξετάζει το ενδεχόμενο να επιδιώξει τη χαλάρωση των απαιτήσεων της ΕΕ για την Πράσινη Συμφωνία.

Νωρίτερα την Τρίτη, ανώτερος αξιωματούχος δήλωσε στο Reuters ότι η Ουκρανία θα μπορούσε να εξετάσει το ενδεχόμενο να παραιτηθεί από τις αγροτικές επιδοτήσεις της ΕΕ με αντάλλαγμα τη χαλάρωση των απαιτήσεων της Πράσινης Συμφωνίας κατά τη διάρκεια των ενταξιακών διαπραγματεύσεων που ξεκινούν τον επόμενο μήνα. (περισσότερα εδώ)

Στα κυριότερα μακροοικονομικά νέα:

Στην Βρετανία, ο Δείκτης Τιμών Καταναλωτή για τον μήνα Ιανουάριο υποχώρησε 0,6% έναντι εκτιμήσεων των οικονομολόγων για πτώση 0,3% και αύξησης 0,4% τον προηγούμενο μήνα, ενώ σε ετήσια βάση πραγματοποίησε αύξηση 4% έναντι εκτιμήσεων των οικονομολόγων για αύξηση 4,1% και αύξησης 4% το προηγούμενο έτος.

Στην ευρωζώνη, το ΑΕΠ για το τέταρτο τρίμηνο παρέμεινε στάσιμο (σύμφωνα με τις εκτιμήσεις των οικονομολόγων) και μείωσης 0,1% το προηγούμενο τρίμηνο, ενώ σε ετήσια βάση ενισχύθηκε 0,1% (σύμφωνα με τις εκτιμήσεις των οικονομολόγων) και στασιμότητας το προηγούμενο έτος. Η βιομηχανική παραγωγή για τον μήνα Δεκέμβριο ενισχύθηκε 2,5% έναντι εκτιμήσεων των οικονομολόγων για μείωση 0,2% και αύξησης 0,4% τον προηγούμενο μήνα (αναθεωρημένο από το -0,3%).

Η γερμανική κυβέρνηση προέβη στην έκδοση ομολόγου τριακονταετούς διάρκειας με κουπόνι 2,53% έναντι 2,47% της αντίστοιχης προηγούμενης έκδοσης.

Η βρετανική κυβέρνηση προέβη στην έκδοση ομολόγου δεκαετούς διάρκειας με κουπόνι 4,132% έναντι 3,973% της αντίστοιχης προηγούμενης έκδοσης.

Ο δείκτης Stoxx 600 έκλεισε στις 485,50 μονάδες με άνοδο 0,56%.

Στην Φρανκφούρτη ο δείκτης DAX έκλεισε στις 16.946,39 μονάδες με άνοδο 0,39%, με το σήμα να μετατρέπεται από neutral σε buy, και με την στήριξη να βρίσκεται στις 16.790 μονάδες.

Μεγαλύτερη άνοδος

Μεγαλύτερη πτώση

Στο Λονδίνο ο δείκτης FTSE 100 έκλεισε στις 7.569,34 μονάδες με άνοδο 0,76%, με το σήμα να διατηρείται σε strong sell, με την αντίσταση να βρίσκεται στις 7.733 μονάδες και την στήριξη στις 7.448 μονάδες.

Μεγαλύτερη άνοδος

Μεγαλύτερη πτώση

Στο Παρίσι ο δείκτης CAC 40 έκλεισε στις 7.677,97 μονάδες με άνοδο 0,69%, με το σήμα να παραμένει σε strong buy, και με την στήριξη να βρίσκεται στις 7.587 μονάδες.

Μεγαλύτερη άνοδος

Μεγαλύτερη πτώση

Recommendations

Generali: Berenberg is positive on the stock with a Buy rating. The target price remains set at EUR 24.40.

Thyssenkrupp: Berenberg analyst James Carmichael maintains his Buy rating on the stock. The target price remains set at EUR 22.

Norma Group: Berenberg is positive on the stock with a Buy rating. The target price is still set at EUR 22.

Siltronic: UBS reiterate its Sell rating. The target price is lowered from EUR 78 to EUR 74.

Prosiebensat.1 Media: JP Morgan’s research confirms his advice and maintains his neutral opinion on the stock. The target price is still set at EUR 9.20.

Rolls-Royce: Already positive, the research from Jefferies and its analyst Chloe Lemarie still consider the stock as a Buy opportunity. The target price has been raised to GBX 390 from GBX 310.

Airbus: Already positive, the research from Jefferies and its analyst Chloe Lemarie still consider the stock as a Buy opportunity. The target price is unchanged and still at EUR 170.

UBS: Kian Abouhossein from JP Morgan retains his positive opinion on the stock with a Buy rating. The target price is still set at CHF 31.

Εταιρικά νέα

Bloomsbury Publishing said it expects to report revenue and profit materially ahead of its previously upgraded expectations after booking a strong performance at the end of the year.

The London-listed publisher said revenue for the year ending Feb. 29 is expected to be significantly ahead of market estimates of 291.4 million pounds ($366.9 million). This compares with GBP264.1 million a year prior, and expectations provided in early December of GBP274.2 million. Adjusted pretax profit is expected to be ahead of a company-compiled market consensus of GBP37.2 million, up from GBP31.1 million a year prior and expectations given in late 2023 of GBP32.9 million.

The company said its consumer division delivered exceptional growth, in part due to popularity of Fantasy genre novels and the publication on Jan. 30 of the Sarah J. Maas novel “House of Flame and Shadow.” “I am overjoyed to report an exceptionally strong period of trading, principally driven by the increasing demand for fantasy fiction… [Sarah J. Maas] books have a huge audience which continues to grow backed by major Bloomsbury promotional campaigns, driving strong word of mouth recommendation, particularly through TikTok and Instagram channels,” Chief Executive Nigel Newton said.

Severn Trent backed its outlook for fiscal 2024 after performing in line with expectations in the year to date. The U.K. water utility company said Wednesday that it continues to guide to at least 50 million pounds ($63 million) in outcome delivery incentives rewards. These incentives, called ODIs, provide the company with rewards for achieving performance targets, and are set by the U.K. water regulator. The FTSE 100-listed water supply and waste-water treatment specialist will release its annual results for the year ended March 31 on May 22.

Ahold Delhaize reported a 44% fall in fourth-quarter net profit after it booked higher costs, missing market forecasts. The Dutch grocer said Wednesday that net profit for the quarter fell to 451 million euros ($483 million) compared with EUR809 million for the comparable period a year earlier and expectations of EUR550 million, according to a consensus forecast provided by the company and based on the estimates of 16 analysts. Net sales slipped to EUR23.02 billion from EUR23.36 billion. Within this, U.S. sales fell 1.5% at constant exchange rates to EUR13.815 billion while Europe sales increased 7.5% to EUR9.21 billion. The operating margin fell 2.1 percentage points to 2.9%, while the underlying operating margin slipped to 4.3%. Ahold targeted an underlying operating margin of around 4.0% for the year ahead. The board declared a dividend of EUR1.10 for the year.

Heineken said net profit fell by more than expected after higher pricing hit its volumes and warned that economic and geopolitical volatility could hurt its performance this year. The Dutch brewer said net profit was 2.30 billion euros ($2.46 billion) in 2023 compared with EUR2.68 billion a year earlier and expectations of EUR2.50 billion, according to a consensus forecast provided by the company and based on the estimates of 22 brokers.

Consolidated beer volumes–which includes Heineken and more than 300 other brands such as Amstel, Red Stripe, Sol or Desperados–decreased 4.7% organically, worse than market expectations of a 4.3% decline. Volumes of the Heineken brand grew by 2.5%. “After a strong 2022, 2023 proved to be challenging. Strong pricing to offset very high input and energy cost inflation and volatile macro-economic conditions in some key markets affected our volume momentum,” it said Wednesday.

Revenue for the year rose 4.9% to EUR36.375 billion. Net revenue before exceptional items and amortization, or BEIA, grew organically by 5.5% to EUR30.31 billion from EUR34.64 billion in 2022, slightly beating market expectations of EUR30.28 billion. Adjusted operating profit slipped to EUR4.44 billion from EUR4.50 billion, missing expectations of EUR4.46 billion, while the adjusted operating margin shrank to 14.7% from 15.7% a year ago. Organic consolidated operating profit grew by 1.7%, beating analysts’ expectations of flat growth. The board declared an unchanged dividend payout of EUR1.73 a share.

Looking ahead, Heineken expects adjusted operating profit to grow organically in the range of a low- to high-single-digit percentage, reflecting volatility in geopolitical and economic conditions, it said. The company expects adjusted net profit organic growth to be lower than adjusted operating profit organic growth, it said. “We remain cautious about the global economic and geopolitical outlook. Our focus going forward will be on revenue growth, balanced between volume and value, by continuing to invest behind our brands, innovations, commercial capabilities and route-to-consumer to deliver long-term sustained value creation,” Chief Executive Officer Dolf van den Brink said.

Thyssenkrupp lowered its sales and net profit targets for the current fiscal year on falling demand, higher costs and impairment losses after swinging to a net loss in its first quarter.

The German industrial company said Wednesday that it now expects to post a break-even net profit for this fiscal year compared with a previous forecast in the low-to-mid triple digit millions. It expects sales at the same level as the previous year after initially targeting a slight increase.

Thyssenkrupp blamed falling sales volume in its steel and materials businesses, higher energy and raw material costs and a challenging macroeconomic environment. The primary reason for the profit target cut comes from impairment losses, the company said. “In a difficult market environment characterized by geopolitical and trade conflicts, Thyssenkrupp anticipates that macroeconomic development in the current fiscal year will be challenging overall,” the company said. “Moreover, the company expects further volatile price levels on sales and procurement markets, e.g., for raw materials and energy.”

For the quarter ended December, Thyssenkrupp posted a net loss of 314 million euros ($336.2 million) compared with a gain of EUR75 million the previous year. The company cited impairment losses of around EUR200 million due to “technical effects,” it said.

First-quarter sales fell to EUR8.18 billion from EUR9.02 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Revenue trailed Visible Alpha consensus of EUR8.63 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to EUR238 million from EUR485 million and compared with analysts’ forecast of EUR294.8 million, according to Visible Alpha. Order intake fell 13% to EUR7.97 billion, Thyssenkrupp said. Earnings before interest and taxes swung to a loss of EUR185 million from a gain of EUR246 million the year prior. EBIT margin was negative 2.3%, Thyssenkrupp said. The company said it still expects to hit targets for free cash flow and adjusted EBIT.

Bertrandt reported higher earnings and sales in its first quarter, benefiting from higher research-and-development spending in its customer industries.

The German car-engineering company reported on Wednesday that net profit in the quarter ended Dec. 31 increased to 7.9 million euros ($8.5 million) from EUR6.2 million in the same period a year before. Earnings before interest and taxes rose by 17% to EUR13.5 million with a margin increase to 4.4% from 4.1%. Revenue increased by 10% to EUR308.4 million due to more project awards and a strong increase in headcount, the company said. Bertrandt reported revenue growth across all three of its segments, with the physical engineering division showing the strongest increase at 20% to EUR64.5 million in revenue, it said. The company confirmed its guidance for the year, continuing to expect revenue to grow by between EUR70 million and EUR110 million and an EBIT margin between 5% and 7%.

ABN AMRO Bank has set out its mid-term return on equity target and launched a 500 million euro ($535.4 million) share buyback as it reported fourth-quarter profit that beat market forecasts. The Dutch lender–which is partly owned by the Dutch state–guided for a return on tangible equity of 9%-10% for 2026, compared with its previous 10% target by 2024. It has also targeted a fully-loaded Basel IV common equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.5% by year-end 2026. The Amsterdam-listed company posted a net profit of EUR545 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with EUR354 million a year earlier and a company-compiled consensus of EUR397 million.

Capgemini is raising its dividend after posting higher profit and revenue for last year.

The French consulting and technology group said Wednesday that annual net profit had increased 7% to 1.66 billion euros ($1.78 billion). Operating profit rose to EUR2.99 billion from EUR2.87 billion in 2022, generating a 13.3% margin.

The company said it would recommend a dividend of EUR3.40 per share at its May 16 shareholders’ meeting, above the EUR3.25 per share it proposed last year. The group also said it would propose renewing Aiman Ezzat’s term of office as director for four years and confirm him as chief executive after the meeting. Capgemini posted revenue of EUR22.52 billion for the year, up 4.4% at constant currency. In the fourth quarter, the group recorded a 0.2% constant-currency contraction in sales to EUR5.62 billion. Organic free cash flow in 2023 climbed to EUR1.96 billion from EUR1.85 billion. The group had targeted annual constant-currency revenue growth of 4% to 7%, an operating margin between 13% and 13.2% and organic free cash flow of roughly EUR1.8 billion. For 2024, Capgemini expects constant-currency revenue growth of up to 3%, an operating margin between 13.3% and 13.6% and organic free cash flow of about EUR1.9 billion.

ProSiebenSat.1 Media said its adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter exceeded its guidance thanks to a positive performance and one-off effects.

The German media company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter rose to 335 million euros ($358.7 million) compared with EUR303 million in the same period of 2022, according to preliminary figures released late Tuesday. The company had previously guided for a slightly higher adjusted Ebitda.

ProSiebenSat.1 said various small nonrecurring earnings effects, as well as a positive business development, contributed to the rise in adjusted Ebitda, but it didn’t elaborate further. Revenue for the quarter amounted to EUR1.28 billion, an increase of 1% over the same period a year before.

For 2024, ProSiebenSat.1 specified it expects adjusted Ebitda of around EUR575 million, plus or minus EUR50 million, which compares with EUR578 million in 2023. It had previously forecast and adjusted Ebitda at the prior year’s level as a result of rising programming investments. The company said its assumption that this year’s revenue will increase slightly and that it will deliver consistent cost management remains unchanged.

Coca-Cola HBC AG said net profit rose but missed market expectations and warned that it expects current backdrop to remain challenging. The bottler for Coca-Cola Co.–listed in both London and Athens–reported a net profit of 636.5 million euros ($681.6 million) for 2023, compared with EUR415.4 million in 2022 and expectations of EUR712.6 million, according to a consensus forecast provided by the company and based on the estimates of 14 brokers.

The Switzerland-based group said its comparable earnings before interest and taxes–or operating profit, its preferred metric–came in at EUR1.08 billion, beating market expectations of EUR1.035 billion and prior year’s EUR831.0 million. Volumes organically grew 1.7% to 2.835 billion unit cases led to net sales revenue increase to EUR10.18 billion, up from EUR9.20 billion the previous year. Consensus anticipated 2.82 billion unit cases and EUR10.25 billion in net sales revenue. Organic revenue grew 17%, ahead of consensus at 16.1% and in line with the company’s mid-teen growth guidance. The board has declared a dividend payout of EUR0.93 a share, compared with EUR0.78 a share a year ago.

Looking ahead, the company expects 2024 organic revenue at group level to grow within its medium-term target range of 6% to 7%, while organic EBIT is expected to grow 3% to 9%. The company added that cost-of-goods-sold per unit case should increase from low to mid-single digits due the combined effect of inflation and foreign exchange headwind, which is estimated to have a EUR30 million-EUR50 million negative impact on comparable EBIT. “While we expect the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment to remain challenging, we remain confident that we will continue to make progress against our medium-term growth targets,” the company added.