Additional European Equity News

BP (BP/LN) - Co. is said to be mulling the sale of minority stakes in two Gulf of Mexico projects, according to Reuters sources. Sources added that BP could sell as much as 50% in each. (Newswires) 

Drax (DRX LN) - Agrees a 20yr JV with Power Minerals Limited, expected to begin operations by end-2026 and the project could generate incremental adj. EBITDA of GBP 5mln post-2027 (Newswires)

H&M (HMB SS) - Q1 (SEK): Sales 55.333bln (exp. 55.859bln). Operating Profit 1.203bln (exp. 1.895bln). Sales in March are expected to increase 1% Y/Y. Co. says gross margin for Q1 was affected by negative external factors, increased markdowns, and investments in the customer offering. Co. says sales and earnings in Q1 were somewhat weaker than planned. Q2 goods sold is expected to be negatively impacted by external factors vs the prior year. (Newswires)

Nestle (NESN SW) - PAI Partners and Bain Capital are said to be among the firms mulling a bid for Nestle's water unit, which could be valued at some EUR 5bln, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Next (NXT LN) - FY24 (GBP): Revenue 6.32bln (exp. 6.31bln). Pretax profit 1.01bln (exp. 1.01bln). Operating profit 1.09bln (prev. 966mln). Co. says upgrading full price sales guidance for H1 to be +6.5% (from +3.5%), resulting in FY net sales being +5.0%. Full price sales in the first eight weeks of the year have been ahead of Co. expectations. (Newswires)

Playtech (PTEC LN) - FY (EUR): Revenue 1.79bln (exp. 1.81bln), adj. net income 223.5mln (exp. 197.6mln), adj. EPS 71.7 (exp 0.64), adj. EBITDA 480.4mln (exp. 465.9mln); notes a good start to trading in 2025, targets adj. EBITDA of EUR 250-300mln, Snaitech disposal on track to complete in Q2 2025. (Newswires)

Sage Group (SGE LN) - CFO Jonathan Howell to step down, Jacqui Cartin has been named his successor. (Newswires) 

Umicore (UMI BB) - Announces mid-term targets: adj. EBITDA between EUR 1.0-1.2bln with a margin of greater than 23%, and ROCE > 15% in 2028; a capex reduction of EUR 1.4bln between 2025-28, cumulative FCF in a EUR 1.0-1.2bln range, revenues of around EUR 1.1bln in 2028. (Newswires)  

Air France-KLM (AF FP) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Arkema (AKE FP) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan Chase

easyjet (EZJ LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Ryanair (RYA LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Sodexo (SW FP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

Sodexo (SW FP) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

27 Mar 2025 - 07:45- EU Research- Source: Newsquawk