When building materials company CRH said it planned to move its primary listing to the US in March it sparked a market-wide debate over the health of London’s stock exchange. After receiving a positive reception from their shareholders, they’re now planning to formally vote on the plan, saying it’ll open new opportunities for the company.
Here’s the key business news from London this morning:
In The City
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc: The consumer product maker named the president of its health unit, Kris Licht, as new group CEO, filling the opening left by Laxman Narasimhan when he left last year to lead Starbucks Corp.
- The company raised its sales outlook for the full year as consumers continue to absorb higher prices
CRH Plc: The building materials company will seek formal approval from its shareholders for a move to a listing in the United States at an extraordinary general meeting on June 8.
- The company said it received “strong support” from its shareholders during its consultation, and said the listing would “bring increased commercial, operational and acquisition opportunities”
GSK Plc: The pharmaceutical giant’s first quarter adjusted earnings per share beat expectations, boosted by lower taxes and strong sales excluding its pandemic-era medicines.
- The company confirmed its full year guidance and declared a dividend of 14p per share for the quarter
Standard Chartered Plc: The emerging markets-focused lender reported its largest quarterly profit since the first quarter of 2014, as rising interest rates boosted its bottom line.
- The London-headquartered bank reported adjusted pretax profits of $1.71 billion, exceeding a Bloomberg-compiled analyst estimate of $1.5 billion
- Net interest income, a key measure of profitability, increased 13% helped by markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore
In Westminster
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is expected to tell Microsoft Corp. whether it can proceed with its $69 billion takeover of video game-maker Activision Blizzard Inc., maker of the Call of Duty franchise. The decision has “the power to kill several deals and redraw the map of global merger regulation,” writes Bloomberg’s Ed Hammond.
Pragmatic Semiconductor Ltd., a British chip-making startup funded by the CIA’s venture capital firm, says that if the UK government doesn’t come up with a supportive semiconductor strategy, it may shift its operations abroad.
Meanwhile, British patients are turning to private health care as the National Health Service struggles with mass strikes, long waiting lists and budget constraints.
In Case You Missed It
Cigarette maker British American Tobacco Plc agreed to pay $635.2 million to US authorities to resolve investigations into sanctions violations for selling products in North Korea and misleading banks about the source of those sales.
Finally, former Point72 Asset Management trader David Rosen has emerged as one of the biggest winners from the bidding war for London-listed credit card processor Network International Holdings Plc.
Looking Ahead
In what will be one of the busiest mornings this earnings season, we’ll get updates from consumer giants Unilever Plc, pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca Plc and banking bellwether Barclays Plc.
Barclays’ fixed-income traders, who last year generated more than 20% of group revenue, face a tough comparison to the first quarter of 2022, when investors navigated market volatility in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. FICC is expected to have dropped 11% to about £1.5 billion year-on-year, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.
Read more about what to expect from UK banks results.
Still, the result might prove a decent a cushion as net interest income tailwinds from central bank rate hikes subside, says Bloomberg Intelligence. The analysts expect the lender to confirm its “cautious” UK net interest margin guidance of above 3.2% — which underwhelmed investors the previous quarter.
