Additional European Equity News

AstraZeneca (AZN) - AstraZeneca appointed Iskra Reic as head of its China operations after her predecessor, Leon Wang, was detained in an investigation related to alleged illegal drug importation. Elsewhere, Imfinzi approved in the US as first and only immunotherapy regimen for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer. (Newswires/AstraZeneca) 

AJ Bell (AJB LN) – FY24 (GBP): Pretax profit 113mln (exp. 113mln), Revenue 269mln (exp. 261mln). (Newswires)

Balfour Beatty (BBY LN) – FY24 trading update: 2024 rev. expected to be around 2% ahead of prior year due to growth in Support Services and Gammon. (Newswires)

China-exposed stocks - Chinese state media warned against blindly pursuing faster growth and signalled more focus on supporting consumption in a flurry of articles ahead of the Central Economic Work Conference, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

DS Smith (SMDS LN) – H1 (GBP): PBT 29mln (prev. 268mln Y/Y), Op. Income 221mln (prev. 365mln Y/Y), Revenue 3.37bln (prev. 3.51bln Y/Y). Says market trends experienced during Q2 of current FY have continued into start of H2. Completion of International Paper (IP) deal exp. to close Q1'25. (Newswires)

Equinor (EQNR NO), Shell (SHEL LN) - Equinor and Shell are set to create the UK's largest independent oil and gas company, jointly owned (50% each). The venture, aimed at securing domestic production and energy supply, expects to produce over 140k barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025. The transaction, subject to approvals, is expected to completed by the end of 2025. Shell upstream boss says no intention to IPO news New North Sea. (Newswires) 

Frasers (FRAS LN) – H1 (GBP): Adj. EPS 51p (prev. 53.7p Y/Y), Revenue 2.54bln (prev. 2.77bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

GSK (GSK LN) - Zhifei China collaboration revised and extended to 2034. Zhifei to purchase Shingrix with potential value of GBP 2.3bln. (Newswires) 

Hochtief (HOT GY) – Meta (META) to invest more than USD 10bln in Louisiana data centre campus. (Newswires)

Ipsos (ISOS FP) - Co. will not submit an offer for the acquisition of Kantar Media. (Newswires) 

Inditex (ITX SM) - Co. temporarily closed Franchise-operated stores in Algeria, does not consider ceasing operations in the country, according to Reuters sources. (Newswires) 

Shell (SHEL) - Shell has announced it will not pursue new offshore wind projects but will continue developing existing ones, FT reports. The company will focus on maximising the value of its current renewable generation assets, citing a more selective approach in response to market conditions. (Newswires)

Safran (SAF FP) – Affirms FY24 guidance, Adj. Rev. EUR 27.1bln (exp. 27.3bln). Guides initial FY25 rev. +10%. Plans EUR 5bln share buyback during 2025-28. (Newswires)

SBB (SBB SS) - Co. has received a letter from funds intending to accelerate Eurobonds issues under the EMTN programme. (Newswires) 

Tullow Oil (TLW LN) - Rahul Dhir will step down as CEO. (Newswires) 

Vodafone (VOD LN) – UK CMA regulator approves GBP 16.5bln merger of Vodafone and Three UK; notes new advances 5G network will bring vastly superior network quality to millions of customers across the country. Merger exp. to formally complete during H1'25. (Newswires)

Watches of Switzerland (WOSG LN) – H1 (GBP): Adj. EBIT 66mln (prev. 73mln Y/Y), Revenue 785mln (prev. 761mln Y/Y). Affirms guidance. (Newswires)

Vistry (VTY LN) – London Legacy Development Corp and Vistry form a JV with a GDV of around GBP 600mln. (Newswires)

Aviva (AV/ LN) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BNP Paribas

Admiral (ADM LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank 

Continental (CON GY) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein

Direct Line (DLG LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

Deliveroo (ROO LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan 

HelloFresh (HFG GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Siemens (SIE GY) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

05 Dec 2024 - 07:04- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk