Additional European Equity News

Adidas (ADS GY) - Appoints John Miller as North American head. (Newswires)

B&M (BME LN) – Q3 (GBP): Revenue 1.65bln, +5.0% Y/Y. UK LFL revenue growth 1.2%. “Excellent general merchandise volume performance delivered strong sales participation and high sell-through, exiting the quarter with a clean Group inventory position flat Y/Y.”. Will declare a special dividend of GBP 0.20/shr to be paid on 9th February. CEO: “performance across the Golden Quarter has been pleasing, with strong operational execution across the three businesses”. Reiterate FY guidance. (Newswires)

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Plans US expansion despite blood thinner drug setback, via Reuters. (Reuters) 

Dassault Aviation (AM FP) - Entry into force of the final tranche of 18 rafale for Indonesia. (Newswires)  

Centamin (CEY LN) – Announces encouraging maiden EDX drill results. (Newswires)

Hays (HAYS LN) - Issues Q2 Trading Update/Profit Warning: Total new fees -10% Y/Y. CEO: market conditions became increasingly challenging, incl. a clear December slowdown, as such H1 Operating Profit expected at 60mln "despite ongoing actions to reduce costs", adds "It is too early to say if December's weakness reflects a sustained market slowdown or some placement deferrals, however, we expect near-term market conditions to remain challenging. Consequently, we accelerated our cost reduction and efficiency programmes, while focusing on increased operational performance and rigour." (Newswires) 

KBC (KBC BB) - To call additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities it is issued in 2019. (Newswires) 

Grifols (GRF SM) – Gotham City Research writes “Should our estimate of the Grifols’ true leverage be correct, GRF will face notably higher financing costs. Consequently, we believe shares are uninvestable, likely zero.”. Says Co. manipulates reported debt/EBITDA to reduce reported leverage to 6x, believed to be closer to 10-13x. Co. and Scranton Enterprises fully consolidate BPC + Haema onto their financial statements, “treatment is materially deceptive and incorrect”. Click here for the full report. (Gotham City Research)

Games Workshop (GAW LN) - H1 (GBP): EPS 2.17 (prev. 2.02 Y/Y), Pretax 95.2mln (prev. 83.6mln Y/Y), Revenue 248mln (prev. 227mln Y/Y); CFO to step down effective Jan 2025. (Newswires) 

GSK (GSK LN) - Acquires respiratory biopharma firm Aiolos Bio for up to USD 1.4bln. (Newswires) 

Poste Italiane (PST IM)/Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - Postal service has reportedly communicated to F2i its interest in purchase a stake for the purpose of investing in TIM's landline grid, vi Corriere della Sera citing sources. (Newswires)

SIG (SHI LN) - FY23 (GBP): Sales -2% Y/Y, Revenue 2.76bln. (Newswires) 

Siemens (SIE GY) - Co. and AWS joins forces to democratise generative AI in software development. (Newswires) 

Unite Group (UTG LN) - Strong demand with record reservations and stable property values. Guidance maintained for 2023 adj. EPS at upper end of 43-44p range. Net of amounts recognised under claims, group expects to incur an additional GBP 69mln provision in H2'23. (Newswires) 

Wartsila (WRT1V FH) – Secures a 12yr agreement extension with Pakistan’s IPP. (Newswires)

YouGov (YOU LN) – Concludes the acquisition of GFK’s CPS. (Newswires)

BBVA (BBVA SM) downgraded to Reduce from Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux

Bellway (BWY LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Liberum Capital

Berkely (BKG LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Liberum Capital

Barratt Developments (BDEV LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Liberum Capital

BP (BP/ LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Redburn Atlantic

Crest Nicholson (CRST LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Liberum Capital

MTU Aero (MTX GY) reiterated with Equal Weight at Barclays 

Nordic Semiconductor (NOD NO) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Arctic Securities

Persimmon (PSN LN) reiterated with Equal Weight at Barclays

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jyske Bank  

Redrow (RDW LN) reiterated with Overweight at Barclays 

Redrow (RDW LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Liberum Capital

Safran (SAF FP) reiterated with Overweight at Barclays 

Siemens (SIE GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

Vistry (VTY LN) reiterated with Underweight at Barclays 

Zalando (ZAL GY) initiated with Buy at Bankhaus Metzler

09 Jan 2024 - 07:15- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk