Coca-Cola HBC beats analyst forecasts, earnings fall at Mondi
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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 11 points lower on Thursday, after closing up 0.59% at 7,385.24 on Wednesday.
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Coca Cola HBC beat analysts' forecasts for first quarter revenues, posting a 4.5% increase to €1.377m (Numis: €1.304m) thanks to strong growth in emerging markets as Russia returned to growth. FX-neutral revenues were up by 5.2% with sales volumes increasing 0.7% excluding calendar effects related to Easter. Volumes in established markets fell 2.2% in comparison with the same quarter of the year before, while those in developing markets dropped 3.6%. In emerging markets on the other hand they rose by 4.0%.
First quarter underlying operating profit at paper and packaging maker Mondi fell 6% to €252m (£211.7m) as strong sales volume growth was more than offset by a significantly lower forestry fair value gain, inflationary cost pressures and lower average selling prices. Underlying operating profit was up 12% to €225 m on the fourth quarter of 2016 as the group benefited from higher sales volumes and prices.
Geotechnical contractor Keller Group said it had sold the freehold of a processing and warehousing facility to CSUK1 Holdings Limited and CSUK1 Investments Limited for £62m in cash.
Newspaper round-up
The UK housing market is continuing to slow down, with falling property sales, “stagnant” buyer demand and general election uncertainty all adding up to one of the most downbeat reports issued by surveyors since the financial crash. In its latest monthly snapshot of the market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said momentum was “continuing to ebb,” with no sign of change in the near future. – Guardian
Dramatic increases in the minimum wage planned by Labour and the Conservatives after the general election will put the jobs of low income workers in danger, a leading tax and spending thinktank has warned. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said accelerating the pace of rises in the minimum wage and the “national living wage” (NLW) for the rest of the decade could price workers out of a job, with young people the worst affected. – Guardian
Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox said it is confident that its proposed £11.7bn merger with Sky will receive approval by the end of 2017. Fox, which is controlled by the Murdoch empire, already owns 39pc of Sky, but is hoping to gain full control. The deal got the green light from the European Commission last month, with the anti-trust watchdog saying the transaction would raise no competition concerns in Europe. - Telegraph
Paris-based investment firm AEW is to float a new UK real estate business on the London Stock Exchange, with plans to raise up to £150m. The company will release a notice of its intention to list its UK Long Lease Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) on Thursday morning, selling shares for £1 each. – Telegraph
Another top shareholder in Akzo Nobel has launched a damning assault on the Dulux paints owner for its refusal to support a €27 billion takeover of the group. In the most excoriating of attacks in a string of increasingly personal criticisms of Akzo Nobel’s chairman and chief executive by leading shareholders, Tweedy, Browne, a US investor, has increased the onslaught over three refusals by the company to bow to a takeover by American arch-rival PPG. – The Times
The only marina in central London is on the market for £435 million. St Katharine Docks, which hosts 80 firms and more than 6,000 workers near Tower Bridge, is the latest valuable property to be put up for sale amid rising demand from Asian investors. Blackstone, the private equity firm, has hired CBRE and GM Real Estate to sell the marina. – The Times
US close
Wall Street waxed and waned on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones dipping but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq inching higher after investors tried to make sense of President Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey amid another rebound for oil prices.
Alongside a rise in the dollar index, the Dow closed down almost 33 points to 20,943.11 due to big falls from Walt Disney and Boeing.
Even though the House of Mouse sketched out better earnings than expected after hours on Tuesday, the stock dropped on concerns about sports broadcasting arm ESPN, where subscriber numbers declined and programming costs climbed to dent profits at the longtime cash cow.
This overshadowed the success of the Beauty and the Beast live action remake, which has become the country's highest-grossing PG-rated movie of all time, and a new theme park in Shanghai that has approached the 10m-visitor mark faster forecast.
Boeing shares were hit as the aeroplane maker temporarily suspended flights of its 737 Max jetliners due to an engine problem that comes not long before its first commercial deliveries are due later this month.