Coronavirus & commodities carnage knocks FTSE down to 12 month lows

Jamie Gordon
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6
Coronavirus & commodities carnage knocks FTSE down to 12 month lows
With the seemingly unshakeable Coronavirus working its way across Europe, the FTSE was the worst-hit casualty of a hauntingly bad session for global equities. After spending most of the last month behind its peers, the FTSE spent a few days leading the pack (in recovery mode), before blazing a trail in the opposite direction during the Thursday session. The index suffered alongside its Eurozone peers, with early losses turbocharged by the Dow Jones’s 90 point plummet. It did, however, manage the impressive feat of leading the fall of global equities during the day, with the commodity-heavy British market being weighed down by a rough day for oil. After one of the worst weeks in recent memory, we can only hope markets don’t fancy too much more correction on Friday, before we wobble our way back to the corner for some respite and head out into trading again next week.

Speaking on Coronavirus and the calamitous Thursday session, Spreadex Financial Analyst Connor Campbell commented:

“Investors were in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater on Thursday afternoon, as was the rush to ditch equities.”

“Just as Wednesday’s US open helped drag Europe higher, today’s 900-point plunge from the Dow Jones sparked an acceleration in the session’s coronavirus carnage. The Dow is now trading at 26050 – astonishingly, around 3400 points off of where it was exactly one week ago. And that’s not a fat finger typo – three thousand four hundred points!”

“Percentage wise, however, the Dow’s 3.3% decline paled in comparison to the numbers posted by its European peers. The DAX lost 4.2%, sinking to a fresh 4-month-plus low of 12250. The CAC, meanwhile, was down 4.5% and at 5425 for the first time since the end of August 2019.”

“In terms of lows, the FTSE had all its US and Eurozone cousins beat. Unlike the Dow and DAX, the UK index didn’t inexplicably spend much of February touching all-time highs. Already, then, lagging behind, Thursday’s 4.3% plunge has sent the Footsie to 6750, a price last seen 13 months ago.”

“It makes sense – the UK bourse is pregnant with commodity stocks, all of which received an absolute hammering as the session went on. With Brent Crude down 4.3% to its own 13 month nadir, BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSB) sank 4.8% and 4% respectively, while, in the case of Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), the FTSE’s miners shed as much as 6.6%. Elsewhere, travel restrictions and a slowdown in business caused WPP (LON:WPP) to haemorrhage 17%, with airlines easyJet (LON:EZJ) and IAG (LON:IAG) both shedding more than 12% for obvious reasons.”

“This is one of the worst weeks in recent memory – and terrifyingly, it’s not over yet. Friday is a tricky proposition. Will the vultures swoop in, picking over the market’s carcass in search of relative bargains? Or will the sheer momentum of Thursday’s losses turn tomorrow into another bloodbath? One way or the other, it’s hard to see any tangible good news appearing to generate a sustainable rebound.”

JLEN celebrates its ‘significantly oversubscribed’ £57.2m placing

Jamie Gordon
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1
JLEN celebrates its ‘significantly oversubscribed’ £57.2m placing
Diversified renewables asset management company JLEN (LON:JLEN) announced that it had successfully raised £57.2 million in accordance with its placing announced on the 11th of February this year. The company said that following the placing, it would issue a total of 49,701,820 new ordinary shares at the placing price of 115.00p per unit. Announcing the outcome of its placing, the company’s statement read,

“The Placing was significantly oversubscribed and, as a result, applications have been scaled back in line with the terms and conditions of the Placing set out in the Placing Announcement. Any Placing applications at a price below the Issue Price have not been accepted.”

JLEN said that it planned to use the proceeds raised to repay amounts drawn under its revolving credit facility, in order to finance upcoming projects in the bioenergy and flexible generation sectors. It then reiterated its commitment to securing opportunities which would deliver long-term and predictable cash flows, with long-term contracts and stable regulatory frameworks.

Customary placing procedure

Outlining the regulatory procedure of the completion of its placing, JLEN said it had made applications to the FCA for the admission of the new shares to the premium section of the Official List and the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSE), for trading on its main market for listed securities. It is expected the admission will become effective on the 3rd of March, and when issued, the new ordinary shares will be recognised on a par with existing shares in the capital of the company. The only difference, in practice, is that shares issued during the placing will be exempt from the dividend payment the 13th of March, which covers the quarter to the 31st of December. Continuing to set out the details of the placing, JLEN said:

“Immediately following Admission, the Company’s issued share capital will consist of 546,720,025 Ordinary Shares with voting rights. This figure may be used by shareholders in determining the denominator for the calculation by which they will establish if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.”

“The Placing is conditional, among other things, on Admission being effective and the Placing Agreement not being terminated in accordance with its terms.”

JLEN investor notes

Despite the positive reception of its placing, the announcement of its fund raising was met with a 1.06% or 1.25p share price decline, down to 116.26p per share 27/02/20 15:29 GMT – which indicates its placing offered value for money. The headline for any potential JLEN shareholder, though, has always been its dividend yield, which remains attractive at 5.61%.

Talking to the company yesterday, ahead of the conclusion of their placing, they said they were particularly excited about the opportunities offered by anaerobic digestion and bioenergy going forwards.

Brexit talks could stop in June if no further progress is made

Ishen Patel
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1
Brexit talks could stop in June if no further progress is made
Brexit negotiations have taken another turn on Thursday. It seems that the Brexit saga is never ending, and today Michael Gove has had his say. The UK Government said to the EU that it will walk away from trade talks in June, unless a broad outline of a deal is produced. The UK Government have been in lockdown with Brussels over a potential Brexit Withdrawal Deal – and both parties are seemingly unwilling to give any sovereignty to their counterpart. The UK Government also said tat they would not accept any alignment with EU laws, as the EU is demanding. The UK document says: * The UK “will not negotiate any arrangements in which the UK does not have control of its own laws and political life” * The UK’s aim is for a trading relationship with the EU similar to the ones the 27-nation bloc has with Canada, Japan and South Korea * There will be no jurisdiction for EU law or the European Court of Justice in the UK * The UK will rely on World Trade Organisation rules under an arrangement with the EU similar to Australia’s if progress on a comprehensive deal cannot be made * A separate agreement on fisheries is needed, to reflect the fact that “the UK will be an independent coastal state at the end of 2020”. The terms from the EU side stated that the UK could be expected to be under EU rules and regulations following the Brexit Withdrawal process. There was a mention of state subsidies for industry, environmental standards and workers rights. PM Johnson has promised the British people that a Brexit deal will only be agreed where the EU can give some concession, and the final deal favors the British people. Post Brexit talks are heating up, as the French Foreign Minister warned Boris Johnson that the deal could turn into a ‘battle’ last week. Michel Barnier have already said that the EU is prepared to give the UK “super-preferential access” to the EU market of 450 million people – but it seems that a hard Brexit is on the mind of the government. The UK Government will have to realize that not everything can be done on their terms, and that some ground will have to be given if a Brexit Withdrawal deal is to be struck. Michael Gove, added: “Geography is no reason to undermine democracy. We will not be seeking to dynamically align with EU rules on EU terms governed by EU laws and EU institutions.”

Playtech warns shareholders on coronavirus impact following steady annual results

Ishen Patel
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0
Playtech warns shareholders on coronavirus impact following steady annual results
Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC) shares are in red, as the firm issued a warning over its 2020 results. The online gambling firm said that the coronavirus could bruise results for 2020, as profits also fell in 2019. Playtech also released their final results for 2019. Revenues across the yearly period totaled €1.51 billion, seeing a 22% increase year on year against a constant currency basis. Playtech noted that their profit levels were affected by the impairment of intangible assets of the Markets and Alpha cash generating units, amounting to €90.1 million. Looking at current trading, the firm said that B2B gambling revenue was up 5% on a year ago from the first few weeks of 2020. However, its business in Italy initially started strong, but the firm warned that this could be affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The firm said “However, in the last two weeks it has started to see a material impact from changes in normal customer patterns due to COVID-19 which is significantly affecting two of its largest markets. Accordingly, results for 2020 are likely to be below existing market expectations”. Alan Jackson, Chairman of Playtech, commented: “2019 was another important year in the development of Playtech. Management has continued to focus on delivering a transformation of the business which started in 2017, designed to secure long term growth and unlock shareholder value. Our Core B2B Gambling business reported strong growth in 2019. In addition we made further strategic progress by entering newly regulated markets, signing new customers, expanding existing relationships and continuing to innovate with new product launches. Together these are laying the foundations for our future growth. In our B2C Gambling business, Snaitech had a fantastic 2019 and continues to gain market share and reached the number one market share position for online betting and gaming in Italy in H2 2019. The strength of our diversified business model, focus on cash flows and strong balance sheet has allowed Playtech to announce today further shareholder returns with a new €40 million share buyback programme alongside our final dividend. Playtech has taken steps to improve its Corporate Governance with two new non-executive directors appointed in 2019 and I will in due course be announcing my successor as Chairman who will lead the Board during the next phase of Playtech’s exciting future.” Shares in Playtech trade at 284p (-7.33%). 27/2/20 13:15BST.

Bakkavor shares dive 6% as profits drop 44% in 2019

Ishen Patel
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0
Bakkavor shares dive 6% as profits drop 44% in 2019
Bakkavor Group Plc (LON:BAKK) have seen their shares dive, as the firm issued a warning over its profit levels. The FTSE 250 listed company told the market that profits had dropped 44% in 2019, and ongoing issues with the coronavirus are continuing to take a toll on business. The firm said regarding the coronavirus situation – “In China, whilst 2020 started well, the recent Coronavirus outbreak is now having a significant effect on our business. Volumes are significantly down in February and currently there is no clear visibility as to when more normal trading conditions might resume. It is therefore very difficult to assess the financial impact; however, our current view is that Adjusted EBITDA1 before exceptionals and start-up losses for our international business in 2020 could be £6 million to £10 million lower than 2019. Despite this short-term impact, market fundamentals are strong and we remain excited about our prospects in China.” The food firm said that pretax profit in 2019 had fallen from £77.9 million to £43.8 million – a worrying statistic for shareholders to note. Additionally, operating profit also fell 19% to £69.4 million from £85.6 million from one year ago. The firm alluded this fall to higher exceptional costs and start up losses for new sites. Revenues did rise by 1.5% however, from £1.86 billion to £1.89 billion. This was boosted by growth in international business tied in with solid performances in the UK. Bakkavor added that the coronavirus is having a significant impact in China, which could affect future results. Agust Gudmundsson, CEO, said: “This was another solid year for Bakkavor, in which we delivered further growth, increased market share, and strengthened our operations both in the UK and internationally, whilst reporting performance in line with expectations. “In the UK, against difficult market conditions, and with further labour inflation and low consumer confidence, we successfully protected EBITDA margins and held our underlying profitability. We have significantly strengthened our market-leading position in the desserts category and launched a major new meals range for one of our strategic customers which give us confidence going into 2020. “In our International businesses, we continue to develop our operations to take advantage of the long-term potential in both the US and China. Volumes are accelerating across our new sites, the demand for our products is growing and interest in our fresh prepared meal offer is gaining traction particularly with US regional retailers. “More recently, the Coronavirus outbreak is having a significant impact on our business in China and our key priority is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our colleagues through this challenging period. We continue to monitor the situation closely as it develops. “Looking further ahead, we have strong foundations and the skills and expertise in place to deliver on our long-term strategy. We are confident that the strength of our business model, customer strategy and category excellence will enable us to capitalise on further growth opportunities.”

Bakkavor’s mixed few months

In September, the firm gave an update saying that they had made good progress despite regression in its earnings fundamentals. Group revenue growing 1.4% and like-for-like revenue rising 2.0% in a year-on-year comparison of H1, up to £923 million and £977.9 million respectively. Despite this, Adjusted EBITDA pre IFRS 16 contracted 6.5% to £73.5 million and adjusted operating profit narrowed by 11.5%, from £57.3 million, to £50.7 million. Even more notable, Bakkavor operating profits dived 45.8% on-year, from £54.1 million to £29.3 million. Further, the Company’s interim dividend per share remained flat at 2.0p, while their basic EPS contracted by 4.0p and their adjusted EPS narrowed by 1.5p, to 3.0p and 5.9p. Shares in Bakkavor trade at 116p (-6.11%). 27/2/20 13:00BST.

Evraz shares crash 7% following 2019 revenue and profit slumps

Ishen Patel
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6
Evraz shares crash 7% following 2019 revenue and profit slumps
Evraz plc (LON:EVR) have seen their shares crash on Thursday, following the announcement of its final results. The steel maker said that full year profits had dropped, as trading was hurt by less “favorable” global steel and commodity markets. 2019 revenues slumped 7.3% to $11.91 billion from $12.84 billion, whilst pretax profit also crashed 72% from $3.2 billion to $902 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation fell also, to $2.6 million from $3.78 billion. Evraz blamed this slump on “lower vanadium and coal product prices as well combined higher expenses”. Looking at their steel division, the firm also saw revenues drop 8.3% year on year, to $8.14 billion. The steel producer added that they will pay a $0.40 interim dividend, which is flat from a year ago. The firm added that this “reflects the Board’s confidence in the Group’s financial position and outlook.” Evraz Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Frolov, commented: “In 2019, global steel and commodity markets were not as favourable as they were in 2018. Steel prices have fallen as a result of excess supply in an environment of limited end-use demand. Global coal and vanadium markets returned to supply-demand equilibrium. Despite the market headwinds, EVRAZ was able to deliver resilient results with EBITDA reaching US$2,601 million and EBITDA margin reached 22% in 2019. Retention of our low-cost and market leadership positions remain very important for EVRAZ. During the reporting period, the efficiency improvement programme delivered an EBITDA effect of US$407 million from customer focus and cost-cutting initiatives. In 2020, EVRAZ will continue to make significant efforts to improve safety and other vitally important areas of sustainable development. The Group has also set ambitious production targets for the year that should help it to reach solid results despite potential market headwinds.” Evraz shareholders will hope that the firm can bounce back from a mixed year for the firm, however with more political certainty and a favorable macroeconomic environment, the firm should remain optimistic. Shares in Evraz trade at 347p (-7.75%). 27/2/20 12:43BST.

National Express announce record 2019 results, and intentions to be carbon neutral

Ishen Patel
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1
National Express announce record 2019 results, and intentions to be carbon neutral
National Express Group PLC (LON:NEX) have seen their shares in red, despite a strong update from the firm. The transport operator said that it has reached record results in 2019, as all businesses have thrived. Looking at the figures, National Express told the market that 2019 revenue was £2.74 billion, which sees a 12% climb year on year. On an even better note, the firm saw pretax profit rise 5.2% higher totaling £187 million. North American businesses proved fruitful for National Express, and on a constant currency basis revenues grew 11% to $1.57 billion. Spanish brand ALSA, also saw a strong performance as revenues rose 12% to €940.6 million. Looking at the UK, revenue also rose modestly by 3.9% to £599.7 million, whilst German revenues also surged 34% to €102.5 million. The firm set a final dividend payout of 11.19 pence per shares, giving the yearly total a sum of 16.35p. Dean Finch, National Express Group Chief Executive said: “National Express has again delivered a record set of results. Revenue and profit are up strongly and free cash performance has beaten our expectations. All businesses have delivered organic growth. I am particularly pleased with North America achieving a 10% margin and significantly increasing the number of customers rating their services five-star. The Group is also carrying significantly more passengers. Major contracts were retained in North America and Spain. We became Morocco’s largest urban bus operator, with new contracts in Rabat and Casablanca more than tripling the size of our operations when fully mobilised. UK coach won its first overseas contract and West Midlands bus is adding routes and growing its accessible transport business. We combined organic growth in every division with continued diversification into complementary markets, such as our major WeDriveU acquisition which has grown revenue by over 30%. Each division has a strong pipeline of new acquisition and contract opportunities to target this year. As industry leaders we are delighted to make major pledges in the shift to zero emission vehicles. National Express will not buy another diesel bus in the UK and lead the transition to zero emission coaches. Our ambition is for our UK bus business to become zero emission by 2030 with UK coach by 2035. We believe these commitments are not only the right thing to do, but will also help strengthen the position of quality public transport in the communities we serve.”

National Express review environmental policy

In a separate update today, National Express also pledged not to buy any more diesel-engine buses in the UK. The firm expressed its intentions to become a carbon neutral firm. National Express want to have a zero emissions UK bus fleet by 2030 and a UK coach fleet by 2035. Notably, the company always wants its first electric coach operations in the UK by 2021, and will be looking to transition to electric coaches in 2021. Dean Finch, National Express Group Chief Executive said: “Bus and Coach travel is already one of the greenest ways to get around, with each bus removing up to 75 cars from the road. National Express has already invested in clean buses and coaches and kept fares low to support a shift from private cars to mass transit. Working through our West Midlands Bus Alliance we have achieved the fastest passenger growth of any major city-region in the country, demonstrating its success. However we understand the imperative to go much further, so we are today setting out an ambition to be the first zero emission transport group in the UK. Our decision to never again buy a diesel bus in the UK coupled with our support in leading the zero emission transition in coach will place our UK operations at the forefront of efforts to tackle climate change and poor air quality. We simply believe this is the right thing to do for our customers, the communities we serve and our stakeholders.”

Vistry see record profits across 2019, as revenues also surge

Ishen Patel
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0
Vistry see record profits across 2019, as revenues also surge
Vistry Group PLC (LON:VTY) have given shareholders an impressive set of annual results on Thursday. The home builder noted a record profit level across 2019, as revenues also surged on the back of higher completions and selling prices. Vistry, who are formally known as Bovis Homes noted that pretax profit had totaled £188.2 million – seeing a 12% climb from the £168.1 million figure reported a year ago. Revenue across the period jumped 6.5% to £1.13 billion from £1.06 billion. Notably, total completions also increased by 2.9% to 3,867 units. Looking at the wider property market, Vistry said that the average selling price rose in 2019 from £273,200 to £280,200, which boosted the results posted today. Vistry have said that the first few weeks of 2020 have been fruitful, as underlying sales rate per site per week have jumped 15% year on year. The firms’ order book currently stands at £890 million, which is a slight fall from £960 million recorded a year ago. Vistry declared a final dividend of 41p per share, bringing the total payout to 61.5p – this sees a 7.9% from 57p in 2018. Greg Fitzgerald, Chief Executive commented, “For the last three years, Bovis Homes has focused on putting the customer back at the centre of everything we do. As a result, and thanks to the hard work of our people, I am delighted we have achieved a 5-star HBF customer satisfaction rating. We have also made further operational progress in the year across all business areas resulting in another year of record profits. It is from this position of strength that we completed the transformational acquisition of Linden Homes and Vistry Partnerships to create one of the UK’s leading homebuilders. We are making excellent progress with integration, and I am confident we will deliver the clear and significant benefits from this exciting combination. With heightened uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the general election in December, we saw downward pressure on house prices in the second half of 2019. This was partially mitigated through a combination of the Group’s own build cost saving initiatives and a lack of cost inflation. As a result, we are pleased to have delivered further operating margin progression, reporting an increase of 60 basis points to 17.0%, pre-exceptional items.”

Vistry’s expectations match the results

In January, Vistry remained confident that they could deliver record results despite political uncertainty. The firm told shareholders in January that full year profit before exceptional items is expected to rise above market forecasts of £181.6 million. This is an impressive expectation, and shows growth from 2018 figure of £168.1 million with operating profit before exceptional items at £174.2 million. The company has only recently changed its name following two acquisitions from Galliford Try PLC (LON:GFRD). Looking at 2019 trading figures, the firm said that it had completed 3,867 new homes, 2.9% more than 3,759 in 2018 which would have pleased shareholders. Notably, the average selling price was £279,000, up 2.1% from £273,200 the year before. Shares in Vistry trade at 1,292p (-3.58%). 27/2/20 12:04BST.

British American Tobacco’s profits fall due to litigation and restructuring costs

Ishen Patel
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0
British American Tobacco’s profits fall due to litigation and restructuring costs
British American Tobacco PLC (LON:BATS) have reported falling profits due to litigation charges and restricting costs within their annual results. Shares British American Tobacco trade at 3,264p (+1.40%). 27/2/20 11:37BST. The tobacco multinational said that pretax profit amounted to £7.91 billion, which sees a 5.2% drop from the 2018 figure. On a better note, revenues rose 5.7% to £25.88 billion, however depreciation, amortisation and impairment costs jumped 45% to £1.51 billion, as operating expenses also rose 18% to £7.85 billion. British American added that they faced a £436 million charge on a class action lawsuit in Canada, and other litigation costs occurred. Notable litigation costs included a £236 million charge in the US, a £202 million charge in Russia and a £172 million goodwill impairment in Indonesia. Across 2020, British American have said that they expect adjusted revenue growth to lie within the 3% to 5% ball park, at constant currency. Revenue is likely to be second half weighted, the firm added. Following the positive results, the firm raised its dividend to 210.4p. Jack Bowles, Chief Executive said: “When I became CEO, my commitment was to maximise value growth from combustibles, deliver a step change in New Categories and develop a simpler, stronger, faster, more agile organisation to create a better tomorrow. I am delighted with the progress we have made in all areas. We have delivered value growth from our combustible business and grown our New Categories business, now providing potentially reduced risk products to close to 11 million consumers. In September, we announced a significant restructuring and simplification programme, which is largely complete. This will create the capabilities and resources to continue investing in New Categories and allow us to deliver on our financial commitments. Looking into 2020, we are confident of another year of high single figure adjusted constant currency earnings growth.

British American Tobacco maintain confidence

In November, the firm gave shareholders a confident update in regard to the results that had been released today. In the US, the FTSE 100 listed firm said it delivered good revenue on a constant currency basis, supported by pricing and reduced discounting. BAT continues to expect US industry volumes for 2019 to be down by 5.5%, while for 2020 it expects a drop in the range of 4% to 6%. For the Tobacco Heating Products division, the glo product in Japan held its volume share at 4.9% reborn with the launches of glo Pro and glo Nano in a highly saturated market. Overall, BAT said it expects to report a rise in adjusted operating profit for 2019 in the upper half of its 5% to 7% guidance range. Constant currency for the year is expected to grow in the upper half of its guidance range, between 3% and 5%. Following these expectations and the results today, British American Tobacco can be confident and content with the results produced.

Reckitt Benckiser post annual loss following massive impairment charge

Ishen Patel
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3
Reckitt Benckiser post annual loss following massive impairment charge
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LON:RB) have told the market that they have seen an annual loss across 2019. The firm noted that it faced a massive impairment cost over £5 billion which dampened the firms profits and annual results. The firm noted that they will be investing heavily over the next three years in a three phase program. The emphasis will be on the transformation of digital, and innovation. The CEO of Reckitt commented: “We have started a journey of three phases: first stabilise and perform, then perform and build, and finally, outperform. We will create a strong company which can consistently generate mid-single digit organic revenue growth, 7-9 percent EPS growth and strong cash conversion. We have a clear plan to invest £2 billion in our business over the next 3 years to make this happen. Specifically, in 2020 we will increase investment behind our digital capability, in-market competitiveness and operational resilience, particularly in customer service, as well as innovations, as we align around our new organisation. While we are growing faster than last year – and in some areas, significantly faster – we are targeting a higher level of like-for-like net revenue growth than we achieved in 2019, reflecting some of the uncertainty around the impact of the COVID-19. Our recurring investment of around £200m, combined with a step up in productivity of £1.3 billion over 3 years, builds a more stable and sustainable growth business.” Going back to results, the impairment was made on good will related to a deal with Mead Johnson Nutrition. MJN, a US baby formula maker – notably this deal was concluded in 2017 for an estimated $18 billion. As a result of this massive impairment, Reckitt posed a pretax loss of $2.11 billion across 2019. This will disappoint shareholders, as the firm reported a profit of £2.72 billion in 2018 – which shows the magnitude of the swing. Net revenue rose 2% on a better note for the FTSE 100 listed firm, and totaled £12.85 billion. This slightly beat company consensus of £12.83 billion net revenue. Like for like revenue growth at actual rates was 0.3% and at constant rate 0.8%. Looking at divisional performance, the firm saw Health Revenue rise 0.7% at actual rates, but fell 0.9% at constant rate to £7.82 billion. The Hygiene Home sector revenue jumped 4.1% on actual rates to £5.03 billion, however fell 3.6% at constant rate. The firm declared a final dividend of 101.6 pence per share for the year, which gives a total dividend for 2019 of 174.6p. Notably, this sees a 2.3% rise on the 2018 figure of 170.7p. Commenting on these results, Laxman Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We ended 2019 broadly in line with our expectations for net revenue growth and adjusted operating profit from October, as our Hygiene business delivered another stable performance. Health remained weak from a net revenue perspective, but consumption and market share trends are encouraging. We now look forward to a new decade. I am inspired by our purpose-driven brands that consumers love and have seen in action the benefit they bring to our communities. I have met customers around the world, and terrific talent in various parts of the organisation, who act as owner entrepreneurs. While the recent years have been difficult, I believe strongly in our ability to restore performance credibility, and over time, outperform, while making a positive impact on the world. I know that my leadership team and the broader organisation is inspired and ready to take on the work to make this happen. RB operates in strong, structural growth categories and has an outstanding collection of trusted, market leading brands. When combined with an organisation structure that leverages both its category focus with its investment in capabilities at scale, RB is positioned well for faster growth and significant value creation as we look towards the new decade.”

Reckitt Benckiser reduce full year outlook

In October, the rissued a warning to shareholders when they reduced their full year outlook. The consumer goods company reduced its full year 2019 like-for-like sales growth target to 0-2% from the previous reduction issued in July. The owner of Nurofen and Dettol added that it expects full year 2019 adjusted operating margins to experience a “modest” decline. Shares in the Reckitt Benckiser trade at 6,245p (+2.39%). 27/2/20 11:29BST.
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