Additional European Equity News

AJ Bell (AJB LN) – FY23 Trading Update: PBT 87.7mln (prev. 58.4mln Y/Y), Revenue 218.2mln (exp. 215mln). (Newswires)

Balfour Beatty (BBY LN) – FY23 Trading Update: Revenue +5% YY, Order book marginally higher Y/Y. Board remains confident that the Group will achieve our expectations for the FY. (Newswires)

DS Smith (SMDS LN) – CEO Roberts to step down, no later than November 2025. (Newswires)

Frasers (FRAS LN) - H1 (GBP): Revenue 2.77bln (prev. 2.65bln), Retail Revenue 2.68bln (prev. 2.58bln), Group Gross Margin 43% (prev. 42.3%). CEO: "We have delivered a strong performance in the first half of the year, with great momentum as we head into the Christmas trading period." and "... expect further profitable growth for FY25 and beyond.". (Newswires)

Games Workshop (GAW LN) - Trading Update: Confirm trading since the last update in September 2023 and is in-line with expectations. (Newswires)

Inditex (ITX SM)/Burberry (BRBY LN)/Ralph Lauren (RL) – A research report shows that the named brands are at risk of sourcing products which have been made by Uyghurs forced to work in state-imposed labor transfer programs; research is backed by the Sheffield Hallam University and Uyghur rights organizations. (Politico)

Salvatore Ferragamo (SFER IM) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Builds new data centre in Arizona for SEK 870mln

Smart Metering Systems (SMS LN) – KKR has agreed to acquire the company for GBP 9.55/shr in cash (vs GBP 6.80 close on Wednesday). (Newswires)

Sage Group (SGE LN) – Intends to simplify reporting: will move from recurring to total revenue. (Newswires)

SocGen (GLE FP) – Divests SocGen Burkin Faso and Banco SocGen Mozambique. (Newswires)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - Vodafone (VOD LN) and Swisscom (SCMN SW) are reportedly in talks regarding a potential merger between Vodafone Italia and Fastweb, via La Repubblica; which would result in a strong competitor for Telecom Italia. (Newswires)

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) - Could need to hand over cash to keep some of some pension liabilities to win over investor Kretinsky as a do-owner of its Steel unit, via Reuters citing sources. (Reuters) 

UK Housing Names - UK Halifax House Prices MM (Nov) 0.5% (Prev. 1.1%); "The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand. The economic conditions remain uncertain, making it hard to assess the extent to which market activity will be maintained. Other pressures – like inflation, the broader cost of living, overall employment rates and affordability – mean we expect to see downward pressure on house prices into next year.” (Halifax)

Watches of Switzerland (WOSG SW) – H1 (GBP): Revenue 761mln (prev. 765mln), adj. EBITDA 94mln (prev. 104mln), adj. EBIT 73mln (prev. 87mln), EPS 0.198 (prev. 0.272). FY24 guidance maintained; guidance does not reflect any expectation of an improvement in consumer confidence in the remainder of the financial year. To continue to expand the number of showrooms to meet demand. (Newswires)

ABN AMRO (ABN NA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Santander

Epiroc (EPIA SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at DNB Markets

Kering (KER FP) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas 

Smiths Group (SMIN LN) initiated with Buy at Redburn Atlantic 

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) initiated with Hold at Redburn Atlantic 

WPP (WPP LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Oddo

07 Dec 2023 - 07:05- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk