Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 18th February 2021

The Daily European Equity Opening News is uploaded at 0700GMT/0200EST recapping all of the overnight equity news.

From 0700GMT/02:00EST all equity news will be covered in real-time over the audio and headline feed and the full audio rundown will be at 0715GMT/0115EST.

There will be an additional audio rundown at 0750GMT/0150EST recapping any company news which has hit the wires since 0715GMT/0115EST ahead of the European equity open

European equity coverage will only cover companies in the STOXX 600 or companies of systemic importance to particular sectors.

ASIA-PAC

Asian equity markets traded indecisively as the region took its cue from a similarly uninspiring lead from the US where underperformance in tech clouded over sentiment and with strong data raising some questions regarding large stimulus. ASX 200 (Unch.) lacked firm direction as participants digested a slew of mixed earnings from several blue-chip stocks including Rio Tinto and ANZ Bank, although energy names were pressured and failed to benefit from the continued upside in oil prices after weaker results from Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy. Nikkei 225 (-0.2%) was initially kept afloat but with upside later reversed by recent currency inflows and KOSPI (-0.9%) continued to suffer from concerns related to increased infections post-Lunar New Year. Hang Seng (-1.2%) and Shanghai Comp. (+1.0%) were varied as property names and financials dragged Hong Kong lower, while mainland China was lifted on return from the week-long closure with the PBoC conducting a CNY 200bln 1yr MLF operation and MOFCOM also announced that combined sales of domestic retail and catering enterprises rose 28.7% Y/Y to CNY 821bln during the Spring Festival golden week.

EU CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 -0.6% AT 3703; FTSE 100 -0.5% AT 6714; DAX -1.1% AT 13897; CAC 40 -0.3% AT 5768; IBEX 35 -0.5% AT 8112; FTSE MIB -1.2% AT 23154; SMI -1.0% AT 10799

SECTORS: Energy 0.90%, Utilities 0.37%, Consumer Stpl 0.31%, Telecoms -0.20%, Healthcare -0.40%, Financials -0.63%, Industrials -0.73%, Materials -1.03%, Consumer Disc -1.32%, IT -2.59%

FTSE 100

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Daimler (DAI GY) – FY revenue EUR 154.3bln vs prev. EUR 172.7bln. Group unit sales 2.84mln vs prev. 3.34mln. EBIT EUR 6.6bln vs prev. EUR 4.3bln. Net EUR 4bln vs prev. EUR 2.7bln. FCF EUR 8.3bln vs prev. EUR 1.4bln. EPS EUR 3.39/shr vs prev. EUR 2.22/shr. Co. proposes dividend of EUR 1.35 vs prev. EUR 0.90. Co. says financial results are significantly better than expected amid COVID-19 challenges. Daimler Group expects sales, revenues and EBIT in 2021 to be significantly above the prior-year’s level and intends to spin-off Daimler Truck with majority listing on the stock exchange., expected to be completed before year-end 2021. In addition, it is also Daimler’s intention to rename itself as Mercedes-Benz at the appropriate time. (Daimler)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Co. has halted some production in Mexico until the end of the week due to a contraction in natural gas supply. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

MTU Aero (MTX GY) – FY20 revenue EUR 3.9bln vs exp. EUR 4.04bln, operating profit EUR 416mln vs exp. EUR 505mln, EBIT margin 10.5%. FY21 outlook revenue EUR 4.2-4.6bln vs exp. EUR 4.57bln, EBIT margin 9.5-10.5%. (Newswires) -2.2% in pre-market trade

ThyssenKrupp (TKA GY) – Co. has ended discussions with Liberty Steel regarding the potential sale of ThyssenKrupp’s steel unit, remarking that the sides were far apart in their intentions for the unit. Note, Liberty Steel stated that at this point discussions have only been ‘suspended’ and believe their offer remains the best approach in-spite of reported issues on a sale figure and financing, according to sources. ThyssenKrupp said they will now be developing the unit internally. (FT) -8.8% in pre-market trade

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Q4 revenue EUR 19.75bln vs exp. EUR 18.73bln. Adj. EBIT EUR 1.83bln vs exp. EUR 1.65bln. Year-end order book EUR 373bln vs prev. EUR 471bln. FCF before M&A and customer financing EUR 4.9bln. As the basis for its 2021 guidance, the Co. assumes no further disruptions to the world economy, air traffic, internal operations, and its ability to deliver products and services. Co. targets 2021 commercial aircraft deliveries seen at the same level as in 2020. Co. targets adj. EBIT of EUR 2bln and sees aims for breakeven free cash flow before M&A and customer financing this year. (Newswires/Airbus)

EDF (EDF FP) – FY20 revenue EUR 69.03bln vs exp. EUR 70.551bln, EBITDA EUR 16.17bln vs exp. EUR 15.93bln, net income per group share EUR 650mln vs prev. EUR 5.16bln, net debt EUR 42bln; debt-to-EBITDA ration 2.61x vs target of under 3x. Confirms FY21-22 targets; accelerating renewables area and upgraded 2030 targets (Newswires)

Orange (ORA FP) - Q4 EBITDA EUR 3.18bln vs prev. EUR 3.26bln Y/Y. Revenue EUR 10.9bln vs prev. EUR 10.9bln. EBITDAaL was down slightly, heavily impacted by the decline in roaming and additional costs resulting from the health crisis. Organic cash flow from telecoms activities saw a return to growth at EUR 2.5 billion. Orange will propose a 2020 dividend of EUR 0.70/shr plus EUR 0.20 linked to the French Council of State’s favourable decision with respect to a long-standing tax dispute. There were no significant changes in the asset portfolio in Q4 2020. The Group confirms its objective to generate between EUR 3.5-4bln in Organic Cash Flow in 2023. (Newswires/Orange)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Air France (AF FP) – FY revenue EUR 11.1bln vs exp. EUR 10.9bln, net income EUR -7.1bln vs exp. EUR -6.4bln. Q4 EBITDA EUR 407mln vs exp. EUR 639mln, passenger unit revenue -53.9%, cargo revenue EUR 860mln, +53.9%. EUR 9.8bln in liquidity/credit. Expects a challenging quarter ahead with a larger Q1 loss than in Q4, due to restrictions. Anticipate an additional 6k jobs reduction in the coming years; CFO expects the recapitalisation plan within weeks. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

KERING (KER FP) MAINTAINED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JP MORGAN

PAN EUROPE

BROKER MOVES

ENDESA (ELE SM) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM UNDERPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Q4 net loss CHF 353mln vs exp. loss CHF 529.1mln. Pretax CHF -88mln vs prev. CHF 1.2bln Y/Y, primarily due to major litigation provisions and York impairment. Net revenues CHF 5.221bln vs prev. CHF 6.190bln. FY20 Global Investment Banking (GIB) net revenues up 19% Y/Y; Fixed Income Sales & Trading up 26%, Equity Sales & Trading up 12%, Capital Markets & Advisory up 31%.(Q4 GIB net revenue up 19%, Fixed Income Sales & Trading flat, Equity Sales & Trading up 5%, Capital Markets & Advisory up 63%). Provisions for credit losses CHF 1.1bln vs CHF 324mln Y/Y. CET1 ratio 12.9% vs prev. 13.0% Q/Q. Credit Suisse has seen a strong start to 2021, led by a substantial Y/Y increase in client activity. Our Investment Bank is benefitting from a particularly strong performance in capital markets issuance activity and from a continued good performance across both Fixed Income and Equity Sales & Trading. Co. confirms FY21 share buyback targets and aims for dividend growth of 5% per annum. (Credit Suisse/Newswires)

Nestle (NESN SW) - FY20 Operating Income CHF 12.8bln vs prev. CHF 15.0bln. Revenue CHF 84.3bln vs exp. CHF 84.9bln. Net CHF 12.37bln vs prev. CHF 12.90bln. Organic growth 3.6% vs exp. 3.5%. Demand for at-home consumption trusted brands and products with nutritional benefits was strong. Retail sales posted high single-digit organic growth, reflecting elevated demand for at-home consumption. Sales in out-of-home channels declined significantly. E-commerce sales grew by 48.4%, reaching 12.8% of total Group sales. Free cash flow decreased from CHF 11.9bln, mainly due to the appreciation of the Swiss franc. The Board of Directors at the AGM will propose a dividend of CHF 2.75/shr, an increase of CHF 0.05. (Nestle/Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDANAVIA

BROKER MOVES

SUBSEA 7 (SUBC NO) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT JEFFERIES

TELIA (TELIA SS) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN CHASE

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.03% at 3,931, NDX -0.54% at 13,700, DJI +0.29% at 31,613, RUT -0.74% at 2,256

SECTORS: Energy +1.45%, Consumer Discretionary +0.65%, Communication Services +0.48%, Consumer Staples +0.39%, Health Care +0.36%, Financials +0.36%, Utilities +0.12%, Real Estate +0.08%, Materials -0.13%, Industrials -0.31%, Technology -1.03%

18 Feb 2021 - 06:55- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk