46 Saturday January 1 2022 | the times
Business
Need to know
version of its opioid addiction
treatment. The business has been
successfully increasing sales of
Sublocade, its injection for opioid
treatment. It also has invested in a
treatment for cannabis-related
disorders and alcohol misuse drugs.
The boom in mergers and
acquisitions was another big driver of
price gains as private equity firms and
others have swooped on undervalued
British listed companies. Shares in
Meggitt, the British aerospace group
that is the subject of a £6.3 billion
takeover attempt by Parker-Hannifin,
an American rival, have risen by
58 per cent; Playtech, the FTSE 250
gaming software company at the
centre of a takeover battle, has
enjoyed an 83 per cent advance.
Companies that left the top indices
because of takeovers last year
included Wm Morrison, the
supermarkets chain acquired by
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, theDollar rates
Australia 1.3751-1.3759
Canada 1.2646-1.2648
Denmark 6.5336-6.5341
Euro 0.8786-0.8786
Hong Kong 7.7972-7.7978
Japan 115.09-115.10
Malaysia 4.1750-4.1780
Norway 8.8079-8.8209
Singapore 1.3479-1.3484
Sweden 9.0348-9.0412
Switzerland 0.9113-0.9117Other Sterling
Argentina peso 138.99-139.00
Australia dollar 1.8613-1.8615
Bahrain dinar 0.5067-0.5138
Brazil real 7.5472-7.5700
Euro 1.1890-1.1891
Hong Kong dollar 10.552-10.554
India rupee 100.82-100.82
Indonesia rupiah 19235-19235
Kuwait dinar KD 0.4083-0.4107
Malaysia ringgit 5.6450-5.6490
New Zealand dollar 1.9780-1.9784
Singapore dollar 1.8236-1.8256
S Africa rand 21.561-21.573
U A E dirham 4.9662-4.9664Exchange rates
Bid Change
Australia $ 1.863
Canada $ 1.711 -0.02
Denmark Kr 8.858
Euro ¤ 1.191
Hong Kong $ 10.560 +0.03
Hungary 438.974 -1.48
Indonesia 19304.222 +48.02
Israel Shk 4.216 +0.02
Japan Yen 155.971 +0.55
New Zealand $ 1.978
Norway Kr 11.944 +0.06
Poland 5.459 -0.01
Russia 101.592 +0.82
S Africa Rd 21.617 +0.04
Sweden Kr 12.263 +0.05
Switzerland Fr 1.234
Turkey Lira 17.987 +0.41
USA $ 1.354
Rates supplied by MorningstarData as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by Morningstar
or this publicationPRICES
Major indices
New York
Dow Jones 36338.30 (-59.78)
Nasdaq Composite 15644.97 (-96.59)
S&P 500 4766.18 (-12.55)
Tokyo
Nikkei 225 28791.71 n/a
Hong Kong
Hang Seng 23397.67 (+285.66)
Amsterdam
AEX Index 797.93 (-2.32)
Sydney
AO 7779.20 (-64.50)
Frankfurt
DAX 15884.86 n/a
Singapore
Straits 3123.68 (-2.96)
Brussels
BEL20 4310.15 (-4.99)
Paris
CAC-40 7153.03 (-20.20)Zurich
SMI Index 12875.66 n/a
DJ Euro Stoxx 50 4298.41 (-7.66)
London
FTSE 100 7384.54 (-18.47)
FTSE 250 23480.81 (-58.74)
FTSE 350 4228.67 (-10.58)
FTSE Eurotop 100 3561.90 (-8.50)
FTSE All-Shares 4208.02 (-9.68)
FTSE Non Financials 5071.75 (-13.09)
techMARK 100 6980.00 (+1.78)
Bargains n/a
US$ 1.3533 (+0.0037)
Euro 1.1892 (-0.0026)
£:SDR 0.98 (+0.00)
Exchange Index 82.47 (+0.20)
Bank of England official close (4pm)
CPI 114.48 Nov (2015 = 100)
RPI 314.30 Nov (Jan 1987 = 100)
RPIX 290.10 Jun (Jan 1987 = 100)
Morningstar Long Commodity 677.16 (+5.72)
Morningstar Long/Short Commod 4703.45 (+27.75)Our full pricing service
will return in the new year
Go to thetimes.co.uk
for more updates
Winners and
losers from a
post-Covid
rejuvenation
Investors focused last year on companies that
may fuel recovery, Louisa Clarence-Smith writes
T
he year may have been
dominated by uncertainty
around what permanent
changes to economic
activity might be brought
about by the pandemic, but that didn’t
stop big investment bets being made
in 2021. And while the previous year’s
winners centred on sectors that
benefited from people staying at
home, from food delivery to online
stockbroking services, investors have
shifted their focus towards companies
that may hold the resources to drive
the global economic recovery and the
transition to clean energy and
adjusted consumer habits.
None more so than Ashtead, the
tool hire group that traces its roots to
the Surrey village of the same name.
It topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard
as its shares jumped by 75 per cent
last year, according to Refinitiv, the
data provider.
The company, which derives about
80 per cent of its revenue from its
American business, has been lifted by
a shortage of tools, while at the same
time the return of live events and
the restart of construction
projects boosted demand for
heavy-duty equipment. It
reported a record first-half
performance, with revenue of
$3.9 billion for the six months
to the end of October, up
18 per cent on the same
period in 2020.
Glencore, the mining
and commodities group,
also had a great year as
economies opened up. It
mines for copper, zinc
and cobalt, which will be
needed for the shift
away from petrol
engines towards electric
power. It has pledged
to run down its
coalmines and is
forecast to be
among the biggest
dividend-growers
next year. The
shares rose by 64 per cent.
People are still shopping
more online, with such sales
accounting for 30 per cent of
all UK retail activity in
November, up from 19 per cent
just before the first national
lockdown in February 2020.
That has made Royal Mail a
sought-after stock on the
FTSE 100, with its shares rising
by 59 per cent during the year.
Parcel revenues have
exceeded those from letters
for the first time thanks to the
ecommerce boom. In November theprivatised national postal operator
reported its best spring and summer
profits on record and announced
bumper payouts to shareholders.
The rise in ecommerce also lifted
shares in Segro, the warehouse
developer, which gained 51 per cent as
a shortage of distribution centres
combined with stronger demand led
to higher rents.
Companies that demonstrated they
were acting on online strategies
performed well. Shares in Future, the
specialist publisher behind consumer
magazines including Country Life and
which bought Mozo, the Australian
price comparison website, last year,
rose by 120 per cent.
Another beneficiary of people
spending more time online was
Auction Technology Group, the
FTSE 250 operator of online auctions,
which was listed in February. Its
shares increased by 86 per cent,
giving it a valuation of £1.8 billion.
Watches of Switzerland was a
standout retailer, making it to the top
of the mid-cap leaderboard with its
shares rising by 158 per cent to more
than five times the 2019 offer price
when the company was floated.
Luxury groups have been judged by
some investors to be a safer bet
amid rising inflation, with Rolex
buyers less likely to walk away
from an item for which they
have waited for months if the
price goes up.
The pandemic has
shone a light on Croda
International, the East
Yorkshire-based group
that creates and makes
the lipids that help the
Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-
19 vaccine to reach the
right cells in the body.
The FTSE 100 company,
which is divesting its
non-core performance
technologies and industrial
businesses, has raised
guidance for lipid systems
sales for this year to
$200 million from the
$125 million anticipated
previously, with a similar
level expected next year. Its
shares have risen 54 per cent.
Another top-performing
healthcare company was
Indivior, the FTSE 250 drugs
maker, shares of which gained
135 per cent. The company is on
the road to recovery two years
after it was charged with engaging
in an “illicit nationwide scheme to
increase prescriptions” of an earlierCommodities
ICIS pricing (London 7.30pm)Crude Oils ($/barrel FOB)
Brent Physical 78.79 +0.35
BFOE(Feb) 79.32 +0.09
BFOE(Mar) 79.63 +0.30
WTI(Feb) 76.99 +0.43
WTI(Mar) 76.61 +0.43Products ($/MT)
Spot CIF NW Europe (prompt delivery)
Premium Unld 716.00 717.00 +7.00
Gasoil EEC 672.25 674.25 +5.50
3.5 Fuel Oil 421.00 423.00 +2.00
Naphtha 726.00 728.00 +7.00ICE Futures
Gas Oil
Jan 667.00-666.00 Apr 662.25-653.00
Feb 666.00-665.50 May 666.00-651.00
Mar 663.25-662.25 Volume: 556760
Brent (9.00pm)
Mar 77.93-77.89 Jun 76.57-76.00Apr 77.51-77.47 July 78.00-75.60
May 77.07-76.59 Volume: 1490666
LIFFE
Cocoa
Mar 1703-1700 May 1700-1711
May 1725-1722 Jul 1704-1690
Jul 1725-1706 Sep 1739-1711
Sep 1739-1711
Dec 1736-1711
Mar 1720-1695 Volume: 54980
RobustaCoffee
Jan 2500-2450 Nov 2280-2273
May 2310-2304 Jan 2270-2169
Jul 2298-2250
Sep 2273-2165 Volume: 2641
White Sugar (FOB)
Reuters Oct 490.70-475.50
Dec 487.70-483.50
Mar 496.90-495.60 Mar 488.50-478.50
May 493.50-491.90 May 478.70-474.40
Aug 489.30-488.80 Volume: 51045
London Grain Futures
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
Jan 206.00 Mar 223.15 May 224.50
Jul unq Nov 196.50 Volume: 599Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.25 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.59Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth -0.100; 3 mth -0.001. Sell: 1 mth -0.500; 3 mth -0.1201 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 0.1843 0.2271 0.2515 0.4893 0.8324
Eurodollar Deps 0.04 - 0.24 0.05 - 0.25 0.08 - 028 0.21 - 0.41 0.44 - 0.64February 22
Boris Johnson unveils
plan to end restrictions
in EnglandApril 12
Jerome Powell says
US economy was
“about to start
growing much
more quickly”Banking on the
recovery
yyyccaaayyyweweweiE l d2021Jan AprFTSE 100Darktrace, which is led by Poppy
Gustafsson, right, rose 24 per cent
but fashion retailer Boohoo and
Ocado faced an uphill struggleLeaders