The Morning Call - Restaurant group up 10% as it reports FY pretax profit in line with expectations

Highlights of the Day

Asian Markets

Asian shares were mixed as investors weighed Wall Street’s latest gains on strong earnings reports against the latest oil production cut, which dragged down crude prices and commodity shares.

U.S. Markets

U.S. shares scaled record peaks after strong earnings reports from retailers, outpacing European shares which were little changed, while oil prices plunged after top crude producers extended output cuts for a shorter period than expected.

Today's News

Intertek’s revenues rose to £883.5m in the first four months to the year – up 14.2% at actual rates and 1.8% at constant rates – and the group said it was on track to deliver its 2017 targets. The group said the increase in revenues was driven by solid organic growth of 0.9% and a good performance of the acquisitions made in attractive growth and margin sectors. Chief executive Andre Lacroix said:”We are on track to deliver our 2017 targets of solid organic revenue growth at constant rates, with moderate margin expansion and strong cash conversion.

The Restaurant Group said its like-for-like sales in the 20 weeks to 21st May 2017 declined 1.8%, with total sales down 1.5%, but the company continues to see its FY pretax profit outcome in line with market views. Chairman Debbie Hewitt said 2017 was a transitional year.”We continue to address the competitiveness of our Leisure businesses and are focused on achieving a sustainable volume-led turnaround,” she said in a statement for the company’s AGM.

Spire Healthcare Group said overall group trading during the period 1st January to 25th May was in line with expectations, and reiterated its FY 2017 guidance as set out in January and March. “The recovery plan for Spire St Anthony’s hospital remains on track with a return to profit expected during the 2017 financial year,” said Spire in a statement. Its new Manchester hospital opened for business in January and was performing satisfactorily, while Spire’s new Nottingham hospital opened for business on schedule at the end of April.

Informa, the international exhibitions, events, business intelligence and academic publishing group, saw continued improvement in its operating performance in the first four months of 2017 and reconfirmed full year expectations. In a trading update issued ahead of the annual general meeting today, group chief executive Stephen A. Carter said: “We continue to make good progress in 2017, benefiting from our strengthened operating capabilities, increased scale and international breadth. We remain on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth in revenue, earnings and cashflow.”

Amazon, in its third decade of business, dominates the world of online shopping. But an actual bricks and mortar Amazon store? That’s still as rare as an A-list celebrity sighting. The company opened its seventh US bookshop in New York, drawing a steady stream of selfie-snapping gawkers, tourists and loyal shoppers who revelled in the novelty experience of shopping in person.

Costco Wholesale rose after the company reported fiscal third quarter earnings above expectations and sales slightly below forecast. Costco said it earned $700 million, or $1.59 a share, in the quarter, compared with $545 million, or $1.24 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to 8% to $28.22 billion, from $26.15 billion last year. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Costco to report adjusted earnings of $1.30 a share on sales of $28.6 billion. The company said its comparable-store sales rose 5% in the quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a rise of 4%. Shares ended the regular session up 1%.

Oil prices extended losses after tumbling in the previous session when OPEC and allied producers extended output cuts but disappointed investors betting on longer or larger supply curbs.

Gold edged lower as the dollar steadied due to weakness in commodity currencies after an extension of output curbs by OPEC and other producing nations left investors hoping for bigger cuts disappointed.

Companies Reporting this week

Day	Companies
Today:	Volvere

Early Market Movements

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7,519.6	+1.8	+0.0%
UK 250	19,995.6	+28	+0.1%
GER 30	12,601.8	-19.9	-0.2%
FRA 40	5,325.4	-11.8	-0.2%
U.S. 30	21,082.95	+70.53	+0.3%
U.S. 500	2,415.1	+10.7	+0.4%
OIL (BRENT)	51.21	-0.25	-0.5%
GOLD	1,258.42	+2.75	+0.2%

UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Restaurant	349.25	+31.85	+10%
Informa	670.5	+20	+3.1%
Randgold Resources	7205	+110	+1.6%
Petrofac	412.4	-18.4	-4.3%
Experian	1609	-37	-2.2%
Intertek	4243	-71	-1.6%

Latest Broker Views

Company	Broker	Recommendation	Price	Target
Experian	Deutsche Bank	Sell	1,646.00	1,460.00
GlaxoSmithKline	Berenberg	Buy	1,618.00	1,885.00
Petrofac	Credit Suisse	Neutral	430.65	425.00
Wizz Air Holdings	Barclays Capital	Overweight	2,204.00	2,240.00

Forthcoming Economic Data

Time/Date	Previous	Forecast	Outcome
9:00am: G7 Meetings	–	–	–
12:30pm: U.S. Core Durable Goods Orders m/m	0.0%	0.4%	–
12:30pm: U.S. Prelim GDP q/q	0.7%	0.9%	–