Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 15th February 2023

15th February 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks were mostly lower following the choppy performance on Wall St as markets digested the US inflation data and the plethora of Fed commentary that ensued, while participants in the region have turned their attention to the abundance of earnings releases. ASX 200 (-1.1%) was pressured by underperformance in its top-weighted financials sector following results from Australia’s largest bank CBA, which despite posting a record cash profit for H1, was still short of estimates and the Co. flagged a moderation in business loan growth, while there were also comments from RBA Governor Lowe who reiterated the view of further rate hikes to come. Nikkei 225 (-0.5%) was subdued with several of the biggest movers in Tokyo driven by recent earnings results. Hang Seng (-1.3%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.3%) conformed to the downbeat mood with Hong Kong dragged lower by weakness in the property sector, although losses in the mainland were stemmed after the PBoC boosted funds through its Medium-term Lending Facility at an unchanged rate.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA AT) - Co. H1 (AUD) cash profit rose 9% Y/Y to a record 5.15bln (exp. 5.20bln), rev. rose 14.3% Y/Y to 12.9bln, lifts dividend by 20% but noted that it expects business credit growth to moderate in 2023. (AFR) Shares fell 5.7%

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 -0.06% at 4,238, FTSE 100 +0.08% at 7,953, DAX 40 -0.11% at 15,380, CAC 40 +0.07% at 7,213, FTSE MIB +0.22% at 27,498, IBEX 35 +0.69% at 9,273, SMI +0.02% at 11,211.

SECTORS: Telecoms 1.29%, Energy 0.46%, IT 0.22%, Financials 0.14%, Healthcare 0.12%, Materials -0.02%, Utilities -0.02%, Consumer Disc -0.04%, Consumer Stpl -0.07%, Industrials -0.47%

FTSE 100

Barclays (BARC LN) - Co. is reportedly pulling back a large share of its GBP 2.5bln consumer lending operations, according to The Times. Barclays is to stop lending through all retailers except Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) from the end of March, according to Times sources. Sources add that the winding down is due to an outdated technology platform, with lending suspended until it develops a replacement. (Times)

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) - Co. has been awarded a US contract worth some USD 466mln. (Newswires)

IDS (IDS LN) - LockBit sought a GBP 65.7mln ransom from Royal Mail for the return of encrypted data, a figure the Co’s board appears to have refused to pay. (FT)

UK firms - UK PM Sunak is exploring a public sector pay deal that backdates wage offer, according to FT. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Delivery Hero (DHER GY) - "Delivery Hero has decided to repurchase EUR 476.4mln of the convertible bonds due in 2024, which, following partial buybacks in 2022, add up to approximately 62.4% of the outstanding principal amount not held by the Co. The repurchase of the convertible bonds maturing in 2025, representing approximately 33.3% of the outstanding principal value, amounts to EUR 250mln. To fund these buybacks, Delivery Hero will use proceeds from the successful placement of EUR 1bln convertible bonds due in 2030, announced yesterday." (Yahoo Finance)

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) - Co. cut ties with Rene Benko, one of Europe’s most successful property developers, due to concerns regarding his involvement in a corruption investigation, via FT citing sources. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

QIAGEN (QIA GY) - QIAGEN’s tuberculosis blood test QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus gains CE-marking under the new EU IVDR framework. (Newswires)

United Internet (UTDI GY) - Co. announces resolutions to reduce capital by cancelling its own shares and will make a public share buyback offer. (United Internet) Shares seen +4.2%

BROKER MOVES

Brenntag (BNR GY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi

Mercedes-Benz Group (MBG GY) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

MTU Aero Engines (MTX GY) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan Chase

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. is reportedly planning to boost production rates of its two biggest models as it tries to capitalise on resurgent demand for long-haul travel, according to WSJ sources. (WSJ)

Carrefour (CA FP) - Q4 (EUR): Revenue 25bln (exp. 24.4bln). LFL +10.9% (exp. 9.5%). Co. announced a new share buyback programme of EUR 800mln in 2023. Co. raises dividend to 0.56 (prev. 0.52). FY Revenue 90.81bln (prev. 78.65bln Y/Y), FY Recurring operating income 2.38bln (exp. 2.38bln, prev. 2.19bln Y/Y), FY adj. net income 1.21bln (prev. 1.13bln). Capex 1.86bln (prev. 1.56bln). (Newswires)

LVMH (MC FP) - Appoints Pharrell Williams as the head of Louis Vuitton menswear design, following the death of Abloh. (WSJ)

Vinci (DG FP) - Co. affirmed FY23 net guidance of "slightly higher Y/Y", and guides initial FCF between EUR 4.0-4.5bln. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Danone (BN FP) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

Michelin (ML FP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

Teleperformance (TEP FP) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

Vinci (DG FP) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

Vivendi (VIV FP) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA) - New export controls will include - but not be limited to - advanced lithography tools. ASML says it will take several months for governments to implement the new export controls, according to Bloomberg. (Newswires)

Heineken (HEIA NA) - FY22 (EUR): Revenue 28.69bln (exp. 28.22bln). Adj. operating profit 4.50bln (exp. 4.41bln). Organic Revenue +21.2% (exp. +20%). Organic Beer Volume +6.9% (exp. +6.8%). Diluted EPS 4.92 (prev. 3.54 Y/Y). Full year 2023 outlook unchanged, operating profit expected to grow organically mid- to high-single-digit. "We will continue the discipline to price responsibly as per local market conditions, aiming to cover most of the absolute impact of inflation in our cost base. We anticipate an increase in our input costs in the high teens per hectolitre and significantly higher energy costs, particularly in Europe." (Newswires/ Heineken IR)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - Q4 22 (EUR): EBITDA 1.21bln (prev. 1.23bln Y/Y). FY22 Revenue 15.8bln (prev. 15.3bln Y/Y). Capex 4.0bln (guided 4.1bln). 12M revenue trend was in line with expectations: Connectivity -2%, Cloud +54%, IoT +11%, Security +41%. "The year saw positive operating trends with the customer churn rate declining YoY, both on fixed and mobile." (Newswires/Telecom Italia IR)

Travel & Leisure - Airbnb (ABNB) shares rose almost 10% post-earnings, with gross booking value per nights and experiences booked topping forecasts and guidance exceeding expectations.

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Kuehne & Nagel (KNIN SW) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Swiss Prime (SPSN SW) upgraded to Add from Reduce at Baader Helvea

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) reiterated with Underweight at JPMorgan Chase

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.03% at 4,136, NDX +0.71% at 12,590, DJI -0.46% at 34,089, RUT -0.06% at 1,939.

SECTORS: Real Estate -1.04%, Consumer Staples -0.93%, Health -0.6%, Financials -0.54%, Utilities -0.48%, Industrials -0.28%, Energy -0.02%, Communication Services unch., Materials +0.22%, Technology +0.44%, Consumer Discretionary +1.18%.

Airbnb Inc (ABNB) - Q4 2022 (USD): EPS 0.48 (exp. 0.25), Revenue 1.90bln (exp. 1.86bln). Gross booking value USD 13.5bln (exp. 13.58bln). Nights and experiences booked 88.2mln (exp. 90.1mln). Gross booking value per nights and experiences booked USD 152.81 (exp. 151.26). Sees Q1 2023 revenue USD 1.75bln-1.82bln (exp. 1.68bln) Shares rose almost +10% after-market

Ford (F) - Confirmed it has halted production and shipment of F-150 lighting electric truck over potential battery issue. (Newswires)

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - CFO said there is no change in NII guidance. Expects banking revenue to be down 20% in Q1. (Newswires)

15 Feb 2023 - 06:48- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk