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☆ Glencore copper output dips, expects strong trading profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) on Friday reported lower copper, zinc and nickel production in the first quarter but said it expects its trading division to exceed the top end of annual guidance. It now expects full-year marketing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to exceed the top end of its annual range between $2.2 billion and $3.2 billion in 2023. Glencore last month made a $22.5 billion takeover offer for Teck, which was rejected by the Vancouver-based miner's board as exposing its shareholders to thermal coal and energy trading. The bid included a proposed spinning out of thermal and steelmaking coal operations, rebranding the remaining company as GlenTeck. The all-share offer came as Teck's own plan to spin off its metallurgical coal business and focus on copper and zinc nears an April 26 vote.

☆ UK's THG gets buyout proposal from Apollo, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Apollo must announce a firm intention to make an offer by May 15 or walk away, the British company said. Oil services company John Wood Group (WG.L) said on Monday it is engaging with Apollo over a possible 1.66 billion-pound offer, while CVC Capital and Francisco Partners have tabled a 2.1 billion-pound takeover bid for payments provider Network International (NETW.L). Last week, EQT entered talks with veterinary pharma group Dechra (DPH.L) over a 4.63 billion-pound deal. THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, is set to publish full-year results on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8063 pounds)Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Glencore latest offer is for Teck's shareholders to receive 24% of the combined metals group and up to $8.2 billion in cash for those who may not want exposure to thermal coal, which is the most polluting fossil fuel. Teck said its board will review and evaluate the offer, but nevertheless believes it is "largely unchanged" from the original bid. "The revised proposal does not provide an increase in the overall value to be received by Teck shareholders or appear to address material risks previously raised," Teck said in a Tuesday statement. "Getting Teck's Class A shareholders on board is a separate, more substantial challenge," LaFemina added. Reuters on Monday reported that Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle plans to meet with some of Teck's Canadian shareholders in Toronto on Thursday to personally lobby them for support.

☆ Glencore adds cash option to Teck bid in effort to sway shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) proposed introducing a cash component to its $22.5 billion bid for Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) on Tuesday and urged its board to delay an impending vote on a restructuring. Glencore is now proposing that Teck shareholders receive 24% of the combined metals group and up to $8.2 billion in cash for those who may not want exposure to thermal coal, which is the most polluting fossil fuel. Teck, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, had said in its rejection that it did not want to expose its shareholders to thermal coal. "This new bid from Glencore raises the odds of the vote (on proposed restructuring) not going Teck's way." Reuters on Monday reported that Glencore CEO Gary Nagle plans to meet with some of Teck's Canadian shareholders in Toronto on Thursday to personally lobby them for support.

Companies Anglo American PLC FollowApril 4 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish hydrogen and steel producer H2 Green Steel to work on advancing low-carbon steelmaking processes. The miner said the agreement includes studying and trialling the use of iron ore products from its Kumba mines in South Africa and Minas-Rio mine in Brazil as feedstock for H2's direct reduced iron (DRI) production process at its Boden plant in Sweden. DRI steel production is estimated to be significantly less carbon intensive than traditional blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace integrated processes. Anglo American's shares were up 0.4% by 0715 GMT. Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apollo sweetens bid for Britain's Wood Group with $2.1 bln offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies Wood privately rejected fourth offer - ApolloWood Group's shares down 2.2%April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Apollo Management has made what it said was a final offer to buy John Wood Group (WG.L) for 1.66 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) in cash, after the British oilfield services and engineering firm rejected four earlier proposals. The 240 pence per share bid represents a premium of about 55% to Wood's closing share price on Feb. 22, the day before it made Apollo's proposals public. Apollo said Wood Group had privately rejected its previous offer of around 1.64 billion pounds, that the firm had made on March 6. Shares in London-listed Wood Group were down 2.2% at 200 pence at 1516 GMT, much lower than the possible offer price, indicating that investors do not expect the deal to go through. Wood separately said it noted the sweetened possible offer from Apollo for the company, and added it continues to engage with its shareholders.

☆ TenneT awards $25 bln in contracts to build North Sea-to-shore connections
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Tosterling Muhammed Husain | Muhammed Husain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 30 (Reuters) - Dutch state-owned electric grid company TenneT (IPO-TTH.AS) has awarded 11 contracts worth a combined 23 billion euros ($25 billion) to build systems connecting wind farms in the North Sea to shore, it said on Thursday. The contracts are being awarded to consortia led by Hitachi Energy and by General Electric, and caused shares in Petrofac (PFC.L), part of the Hitachi group, to spike as much as 73%. TenneT is spending tens of billions of euros over the next decade to connect North Sea wind farms to the electric grid in Germany and the Netherlands. The other consortium of Hitachi Energy (6501.T) and London-based Petrofac Ltd said it had signed a 13 billion euro agreement for six projects. The Dutch and German governments are in talks for Germany to buy TenneT's German operations in light of the company's massive investment needs, estimated at over 100 billion euros in the coming decade.

☆ UK's WPP buys Obviously to expand social influencer marketing business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - British advertising group WPP (WPP.L) said on Monday it has acquired Obviously, a New York-based social influencer marketing agency, for an undisclosed sum. The deal comes less than a week after WPP agreed to buy Goat, an influencer marketing specialist, which focusses on marketing campaigns that aim to improve customer engagement for brands including Dell, Tesco, Uber and Natura. Obviously's team of nearly 100 people will join WPP subsidiary VMLY&R, a marketing agency with over 13,000 employees, WPP said. WPP said Obviously's proprietary "next-generation" tech platform helps the agency service large-scale complex campaigns for enterprise clients including Google, Ford, Ulta Beauty and Amazon. Obviously was founded by Mae Karwowski and Maxime Domain in 2014 and has operations in San Francisco and Paris.

☆ UK's Domino's expects tech investments to hit 2023 profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Domino's Pizza Group Plc (DOM.L) said on Thursday its profit this year would be impacted by investments in cloud-based technology platforms, sending its shares down more than 8%. The company said it expects underlying core profit this year to be within market expectations, excluding about 9 million pounds ($10.69 million) to be incurred in costs from investments in two new cloud-based IT systems. Brokerage Jefferies, however, said the outlook including investment costs implied a 7% decline from the group's market forecast of 137.6 million pounds for 2023. Domino's reported 2022 underlying core profit of 130.1 million pounds, compared with 136.4 million pounds in the previous year, affected by the technology investments, higher costs and food inflation. Shares of London-listed Domino's, a franchisee of U.S.-based Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ.N), was down 8.2% at 0900 GMT.

REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - British energy regulator Ofgem on Monday lowered its price cap on household energy bills from April, but it will offer little relief to consumers as costs continue to rise. The cap sets a maximum price suppliers can charge consumers for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use, but it has been superseded by a government-backed energy price guarantee (EPG) that limits the maximum costs of energy. "Although wholesale prices have fallen, the price cap has not yet fallen below the planned level of the Energy Price Guarantee. If wholesale prices continue to fall, the price cap could be lowered again in July, potentially reducing bills, the regulator said. British Gas owner Centrica (CNA.L) this month posted record annual profit of 3.3 billion pounds on soaring energy prices and production.

The group said estimated it would spend around $1 billion a year to bring the Woodsmith project in north-east England to production by 2027. The mine has the world's largest known deposit of polyhalite, a multi-nutrient fertiliser. It now expects first production from 2027, reaching around 5 million tonnes per annum by 2030, from a previous estimate of 2024 with output of 10 million tonnes a year in the initial phase. "And then depending on how we shape and develop the markets from there, we will expand it from the 5 million tonnes to the 13 million tonnes," Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad told reporters. ($1 = 0.8293 pounds)Reporting by Clara Denina; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Glencore declares $7.1 bln payout to shareholders after record 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Adjusted EBITDA up 60% to record $34.1 billionMetals and fossil fuels trading profit up 73% to record highLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) announced a payout of $7.1 billion to its investors on Wednesday, including a $1.5 billion share buyback, as strong oil and coal prices helped it post a record 2022 profit. Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 60% to a record $34.1 billion, smashing a previous best of $21.3 billion a year earlier, in line with analysts' estimates. Profit on metals and fossil fuels trading hit a record $6.4 billion in 2022, up 73%, though analysts see a repeat of that performance this year or next as unlikely. "COVID, supply chain disruptions and the power crisis in Asia/Europe has created exceptional opportunities for Marketing," UBS analysts said in a note. Reporting by Clara Denina, Helen Reid, Muhammed Husain; editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Lucky Strike cigarettes are seen during the manufacturing process in the British American Tobacco Cigarette Factory (BAT) in Bayreuth, Germany, April 30, 2014. The company also did not announce a new share buyback programme, as widely anticipated by analysts. BAT (BATS.L) had in February last year announced a buyback worth up to 2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion). The group forecast on Thursday its 2023 revenue would rise 3-5% in constant currency terms, adding growth would be affected by the sale of its businesses in Russia and Belarus. The company's distributor in Russia, SNS Group of Companies, said in March last year BAT was in talks to transfer its Russian business to SNS.

☆ Darktrace begins 75 mln pound share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - British cybersecurity firm Darktrace Plc (DARK.L) said on Wednesday it was commencing a buyback plan of up to 35 million shares, amounting to up to 75 million pounds ($92.36 million), which would be completed by Oct. 31. The announcement comes a day after Darktrace's shares slumped after a short-selling fund questioned its financial statements, to which the firm responded that it had full confidence in its accounting practices. ($1 = 0.8120 pounds)Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Irn-bru maker A.G. Barr sees FY profit, revenue beating expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - A.G. Barr (BAG.L) said on Tuesday it expects its full-year revenue and profit to beat market expectations, helped by price hikes and steady demand for its cocktail mixes and beverages. The company raised prices last year to deal with surging costs and launched new products as it benefited from greater at-home consumption of food and drinks that held even after the pandemic and despite pubs and restaurants reopening. The maker of the orange fizzy drink Irn Bru forecast revenue of 315 million pounds ($389 million) for the year ended Jan. 28 and said it expects full-year profit to be slightly ahead of market expectations. Analysts expect the group to report an annual revenue of 302 million pounds and a pretax profit of 42.6 million pounds, according to company-compiled estimates. ($1 = 0.8100 pounds)Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Palliser and some of Capricorn's biggest shareholders had also publicly opposed a planned merger with Israeli gas producer NewMed (NWMDp.TA), with major proxy advisers recommending votes against the merger plan and Capricorn's board. Chairperson Nicoletta Giadrossi, CEO Simon Thomson and three other directors stepped down from the board with immediate effect, Capricorn said on Tuesday. NewMed said in a statement following Capricorn's board shake-up that it saw a significantly smaller chance of finalising the merger. Capricorn postponed the NewMed vote to Feb. 22, while the meeting called by Palliser regarding the directors will go ahead as planned. The NewMed merger plan, announced in September, aims to create an Israel-Egypt focused gas producer, but several shareholders have said the deal undervalues Capricorn.

☆ UK's De La Rue flags 'implicated' activities in India probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The corporate logo of De La Rue is seen at De La Rue Malta at Bulebel Industrial Estate in Zejtun, Malta April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File PhotoJan 20 (Reuters) - Banknote printer De La Rue (DLAR.L) said on Friday it had learnt that activities by the group in India prior to 2016 have been implicated in a probe by a top Indian investigation agency. De La Rue said in a statement the allegations relating to the group had no merit and it was seeking legal advice, but declined to comment further on the nature of the charges. The company confirmed it had supplied security threads for banknotes in India prior to 2016. "The company continues to explore further business opportunities, both in Kenya and for export from Kenya, with a view to restarting production if the economic climate permits," De La Rue said.

SummarySummary Companies Crystal Amber proposes removal of chairman, CEO and CFOProposes appointment of two new directorsShares up 5%Dec 23 (Reuters) - Hurricane Energy's (HUR.L) largest shareholder Crystal Amber Fund (CRSL.L) is calling for the removal of top management at the British company and the appointment of two directors from another firm that the fund says could invest in Hurricane. Activist investor Crystal Amber, which holds 28.9% in the North Sea oil and gas producer, said on Friday it had issued a requisition notice for a shareholder meeting, seeking to remove Hurricane Chairman Philip Wolfe, CEO Antony Maris, and finance chief Richard Chaffe. If the two are appointed, Crystal Amber said it would be supportive of bringing on Albion as an investor in Hurricane to raise funds for the company to spend on drilling programmes. Hurricane said it was reviewing the requisition notice from Crystal Amber and that all participants in its sale process had been requested to submit their bids by Jan. 7. "The Fund has concluded that in the continuing absence of a firm offer that reflects the value of Hurricane, it would be better served under new management," Crystal Amber said in a statement.

☆ Shell to buy Danish firm Nature Energy for nearly $2 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) said on Monday it would acquire Danish biogas producer Nature Energy for nearly $2 billion, as it looks to boost its low-carbon business amid growing interest in biogas. Reuters had reported last month Shell was among a number of companies joining a second bidding round to acquire the Denmark-based company. Nature Energy, which operates 12 biogas plants in Denmark and one in France and has others in the pipeline, confirmed the deal in a separate statement. Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK pubs call for beer duty freeze ahead of tough Christmas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Britain's pubs want the government's help in keeping prices of a pint affordable this Christmas, as surging inflation is driving up costs for businesses and hampering consumers' purchasing power. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), in a letter dated Nov. 11 to finance minister Jeremy Hunt, called on the government to bring back a freeze on beer duty in its budget announcement due on Nov. 17. "We need the beer duty freeze reinstated to alleviate at least some of the cost pressure on our pubs and brewers and to avoid undermining the crucial Alcohol Duty reform measures," Chief Executive of BBPA Emma McClarkin said in a statement on Saturday. The industry body warned that failing to introduce the beer duty freeze would take the tax to its highest ever for the sector, adding that a freeze would channel about 360 million pounds ($423.5 million) back into the industry. ($1 = 0.8500 pounds)Reporting by Amna Karimi and Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ British Airways, pilots' union agree pay deal - FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - British Airways is set to avoid a pilots' strike after the airline reached an agreement on the outline of a pay deal with the union, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The IAG (ICAG.L)-owned carrier's agreement with the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) includes a 4% pay rise for this year. "We are pleased to have agreed a pay proposal in principle with BALPA, which will now be put to members with a recommendation from the union," British Airways said in a statement. The carrier had in July agreed to pay deals with the GMB and Unite unions read moreBALPA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Muhammed Husain and Anchal Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's SoftBank agrees to sell stake in THG
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 17 (Reuters) - THG (THG.L) said on Monday a trading arm of Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) has agreed to sell its holding in the British e-commerce group to THG Chief Executive Matthew Moulding and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. SB Northstar, the fourth largest shareholder in THG, will sell its 80.6 million shares, which represent about 6.4% of the British company's capital. THG and SoftBank had agreed to terminate their collaboration in July due to challenging global market conditions. read moreMoulding's purchase will take his direct and indirect holding in THG to 320.9 million shares, about 25% of the group's capital. Shares of London-listed THG were up 12.9% at 45.8 pence at market close.

☆ Synthomer shares plunge on lowered annual profit outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Shares of Synthomer Plc (SYNTS.L) slumped to their lowest in more than a decade after the polymer maker slashed its annual core profit projections on Thursday, hit by destocking of medical gloves and declining demand due to macro challenges. Synthomer has been saddled with a high inventory of medical gloves post the pandemic, with reduced demand. Meanwhile, the deteriorating macroeconomic conditions led to reduced demand in construction and coatings end markets, hurting trading in Europe, it added. Shares of the London-listed company tanked 32% to 94 pence as of 0750 GMT, hitting their lowest level since 2010. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK car output rises in August, soaring costs cast shadow over recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 29 (Reuters) - British car production rose for a fourth straight month in August, compared with a year earlier, although record input costs cast a shadow over the sectors' recovery, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said on Thursday. The industry body warned that almost seven in 10 of its members have expressed concern about future business operations as they fret over rising energy bills. The SMMT welcomed the UK government's decision to cap prices of energy for businesses over the winter but said costs are expected to more than double again next year, with some manufacturers anticipating even steeper increases. Britain said last week it would cap wholesale electricity and gas costs for businesses at less than half the market rate from next month. ($1 = 0.9353 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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