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European Movers: Enterprise Inns, Henkel, Akzo Nobel
Plus more European stocks making headlines in Wednesday's market
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UK
ENTERPRISE INNS Up GBP1.16 to GBP5.11... Eligible to convert to REIT - Co. says HMRC's response to the COP 10 submission has now been received which confirms that Co. is eligible to convert to REIT status if an internal restructuring of the group is undertaken. Adds is progressing the detailed analysis required to decide whether the Board will recommend to shareholders at an EGM that Co. should elect into the REIT regime. Expects this work to take several months to complete and a further announcement will be made in due course. MarketScope had earlier today noted that Co. would be granted Co. REIT status. In other news, Restaurant Group says LFL sales rose 5% for 18 weeks to 4 May, adding has made a solid start to 2008.
BAT Up GBP0.56 to GBP19.94... 1Q adj dil EPS up 17%, great start to yr - Posts 1Q profit from operations GBP807m, +18%; adjusted diluted EPS 28.44p, +17%; revenue GBP2.541bn, +14%; group volumes from subsidiaries 158bn, +1%. The year has clearly got off to a great start, with profit growth in all regions.
INTERNATIONAL POWER Down GBP0.12 to GBP4.23... Trading in line, issues bond - Co. says performance is in line with our expectations. Remains confident that 2008 will be another year of growth. Is to issue of EUR 500m-EUR 600m euro-denominated 2015 Senior Convertible Bond.
LIBERTY INTL Down GBP0.30 to GBP9.43... 1Q NAV falls 6.57% - Reports 1Q NAV of GBP11.81/sh, -6.57% citing an unsettled UK property market. Notes that UK regional shopping centres have proven defensive with 98.5% occupancy.
FRANCE
LAFARGE Up EUR 5.80 to EUR 120.50... 1Q earnings top expectations - with net income group share up 49% to EUR 150m vs. consensus of EUR 122m; operating income up 48% to EUR 512m and sales up 8% to EUR 4bn. Operating margin came in at 12.8% vs. 9.3% in 2007. Expects another increase in earnings in 2008.
DEXIA Down EUR 0.31 to EUR 17.39... Lehman Brothers downgrades to underweight from equal weight and cuts target to EUR 20.40 from EUR 21.70, as broker sees 1Q08 earnings on 14 May as a catalyst for underperformance. Says Co.'s US bond insurer FSA's coverage on non-prime insured assets is significantly below peers, i.e. there are risks to earnings. Lehman is materially below consensus on FY08 ests. and adds the stock's estimated upside potential stands 8 points below the sector average.
TECHNIP Up EUR 3.61 to EUR 62.36... Rumour of Schlumberger interest does rounds - Market sources say rumour is doing the rounds that US oil services company Schlumberger is interested in Co.
EULER HERMES Down EUR 11.59 to EUR 65.00... 1Q net income -65.6% y/y / Brokers downgrade - Co. last night reported 1Q turnover of EUR 527.1m, up 2.8% y/y; operating profit [ex-capital gains/losses] of EUR 75.9m, down 37.6% y/y; and net consolidated income of EUR 38.4m, down 65.6% y/y. Says the financial markets in early 2008 did not allow the realisation of capital gains. Says that, rated AA- by S&P Ratings, Co. has neither exposure to bank risks nor to subprime. Co. does not currently forecast any improvement of the macroeconomic situation before autumn 2008. In the wake of the results, Cheuvreux downgrades to underperform from outperform with a new EUR 70 target and Landsbanki Kepler downgrades to reduce from buy with a EUR 85 target.
GERMANY
DEUTSCHE BOERSE Up EUR 2.24 to EUR 102.65... Reports 1Q EBITA of EUR 425.8m - up 42% y/y and higher than expected - and says it expects a new record for the year as a whole. On the broker front, UBS cuts target to EUR 112 from EUR 124, reiterating neutral.
HENKEL Up EUR 1.45 to EUR 27.95... Organic growth provides cheer in weak 1Q - Co.'s quarterly EBIT came in at EUR 320m, down 0.9% y/y and a touch lower than expected, on sales down 3.2% at EUR 3.162bn. The strong euro and higher costs weighed. Organic growth, however, showed a 3.3% improvement y/y.
COMMERZBANK Up EUR 0.38 to EUR 23.67... Solid trading profit offsets overall earnings slide - 1Q net earnings fell short of expectations, coming in at EUR 280m. Co. said it will be very hard to reach last year's result this year. Supporting the stock, however, is Co.'s trading profit coming in better than expected.
GPC BIOTECH Up EUR 1.53 to EUR 3.38... Talk of merger with Wilex lifts stock higher.
ITALY
ITALCEMENTI Down EUR 0.05 to EUR 13.79... Posts 1Q net profit of EUR 81.3m - Co. has reported 1Q net profit of EUR 81.3m while says that revenues fell 4.5% to EUR 1.3bn. The cement maker added that it expected 2008 op results in line with 2007.
BANCA GENERALI Down EUR 0.12 to EUR 5.52... Reports 1Q net loss of EUR 700,000 compared to a net profit of EUR 4.7m for the same quarter a year ago.
LOTTOMATICA Down EUR 0.09 to EUR 20.50... Posts 1Q net profit of EUR 55m, up 22% y/y - Co. has disclosed 1Q net profit before minorities at EUR 55m, up 22% y/y while sales increased 3% to EUR 449m. The lottery operator has confirmed 2008-2010 guidance.
PIAGGIO Down EUR 0.04 to EUR 1.56... Posts 1Q net income of EUR 3.2m - Co. has disclosed 1Q revenues of EUR 363.9m [vs cons of EUR 369m]; EBITDA of EUR 35.1m [vs cons of EUR 39m] and EBIT at EUR 13.1m [vs cons of EUR 17m]. Says that net income came in at EUR 3.2m [vs cons of EUR 5.9m].
NETHERLANDS
AKZO NOBEL Down EUR 1.09 to EUR 51.87... 1Q net income down due to ICI charge - Co. reports 1Q sales from continuing operations before incidentals of EUR 3.5bn, in line with expectations. Net income comes in at EUR 136m, lower than the expected EUR 184m and down 4% y/y as Co. was hit by a EUR 151m charge related to the ICI integration. EBIT is at EUR 257m vs an expected EUR 264m. EBITDA is at EUR 398m vs an expected EUR 417m. Outlook for 2008 is flat vs 2007.
AEGON Up EUR 0.09 to EUR 10.40... Financial turmoil hits 1Q net profit - Co. reports 1Q net profit of EUR 153, below consensus of EUR 437m and down from EUR 707m y/y due to recent financial turmoils and weaker US dollar. The weaker US dollar and GB Pound vs the Euro led to a decline in the Value of New Business by 12% to EUR 186m. KBC downgrades to accumulate from buy and cuts target to EUR 12.50 from EUR 15.
NORDICS
NOKIAN RENKAAT Up EUR 3.86 to EUR 31.00... 1Q ahead of expectations - keeps outlook - 1Q sales comes in at EUR 246m vs EUR 238m seen in a Reuters poll, operating profit at EUR 54.4m vs EUR 48m est. Co. repeats that it sees strong sales growth, with improved profits in 2008. Reiterates guidance of a 7% cost increase for raw material costs. Reiterates that it sees its average tyre prices increasing in 2008.
LUNDBECK Up DKK8.25 to DKK128.50... 1Q EBIT above forecast - maintains outlook - Co. reports sales of DKK2.9bn vs a Reuters poll of DKK2.7bn and EBIT of DKK924m vs DKK699m. For FY08 keeps sales forecast of DKK11bn-DKK11.5bn and EBIT of DKK2.8bn-DKK2.9bn.
SECURITAS Up SEK3.00 to SEK83.00... Loomis to be listed in December - Co. reports sales of SEK15.7bn vs a Reuters forecast of SEK15.6bn, and PTP of SEK669m vs SEK667m. For 2008, says organic sales growth could slowdown if wage inflation in Europe stays high. In addition, the Loomis unit will be listed in December 2008, and is on track to reach a minimal EBIT margin of 8% by 2010. The shares seemingly gain on the news that there will be no further delays to listing of the unit.
SPAIN
ENAGAS Down EUR 0.16 to EUR 19.46... Sees 2008 EBITDA +7.5% / 1Q results in line - Co. presents its strategic plan update. Aims to invest EUR 4.5bn in 2008-12. For 2008, sees EBITDA up 7.5% vs 2007, net profit up 8.5%, and capex of EUR 750m. Aims for recurring EBITDA margin to reach 80% in 2012 vs 76% in 2007. Says will maintain dividend payout ratio if 60%. Co. says 1Q08 net profit rose 15.2% y/y to EUR 64.8m with operating profit up 10.8% to EUR 110m. Says operating cash flow rose 8.4% to EUR 158.9m. Numbers are in line with consensus forecasts. Adds investment was EUR 156.9m vs EUR 78.8m y/y.
SWITZERLAND
SWISSCOM Down CHF9.50 to CHF359.50... Shares drop after 1Q results - Co.'s 1Q net profit comes in shy of forecast at CHF428m on quarterly sales of CHF2.93bn. Co. confirms its 2008 outlook. The 1Q numbers include Fastweb's results, which contributed CHF618m to net revenue and CHF179m to EBITDA. WestLB lowers price target to CHF430 from CHF440, keeps at add. Says Co. today presented 1Q results which on a group level came in a bit below its expectations.
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