the times | Thursday January 13 2022 49
MarketsBusiness
I
t’s not only the
dinosaurs in Jurassic
World video games
that can be pretty
frightening: new
numbers put out by
their developer
delivered a nasty shock
to investors yesterday
(Alex Ralph writes).
Shares in Frontier
Developments slumped
by more than a quarter
after the games
producer cut its
revenue forecast,
narrowing its guidance
to £100 million to
£120 million for the
year to May. This was
down from a range of
£100 million and
£130 million in
November, which in
turn was a downgrade
from previous
guidance of between
£130 million and
£150 million.
November’s warning
was attributed to a
disappointing
reception for Jurassic
World Evolution 2, a
fantasy safari park
simulator based on the
eponymous dinosaur
film franchise.
However, Frontier said
yesterday that it had
achieved its highest
ever December
revenue last month. It
said that Jurassic
World Evolution 2 hadthe miner said that it had reached its
production target in the final quarter
of 2021. The Ukrainian producer of
iron ore pellets said that gains in the
final quarter of the year meant that
its full-year production of iron ore
pellets was 11.2 million tonnes, the
same as the year before. It said that
its net cash position stood at
$117 million at the end of December,
up significantly from $4 million at the
end of 2020. The update pushed the
shares higher by 14½p, or 4.8 per cent,
to 317¼p.
For Sir Martin Sorrell, S4 Capital is
proving a deft vehicle for vindication
after his acrimonious split from WPP.
The marketing group put on another
18p, or 3.4 per cent, to 548 after it said
that trading in the first 11 months of
the year continued to be in line with
market expectations, with gross profit
growth well ahead of previous
guidance of 40 per cent. S4 also said
that it would be expanding its client
base through the acquisition of 4 Mile
Analytics, a data consultancy.Clinigen takeover wins
heavyweight backing
Jessica Newman Market report
L
eading proxy shareholder
groups are backing the
recommended £1.2 billion
takeover of Clinigen ahead of
a shareholder vote on
Tuesday. ISS has given “qualified
support” for the 883p-per-share cash
offer from Triton Investment
Management, a European private
equity firm, “given the substantial
transaction premium, together with
the certainty of the cash
consideration, the absence of break-
up fee and the board’s ability to
negotiate with third parties”. Glass
Lewis called it an “attractive
opportunity for shareholders to exit
their investment in the company at
both a significant market premium
and a fair value, by and large”.
Shares in Clinigen, one of the largercompanies on Aim, the junior stock
market, trade at a premium to Triton’s
offer price and fell 7p, or 0.8 per cent
to 915p, with Elliott Management,
Clinigen’s largest shareholder, and
other hedge funds believing that the
bid undervalues the drugs provider.
However, some institutional
shareholders and Andrew Leaver, the
founder, have been selling the stock in
recent weeks. That suggests some
believe an improved offer from Triton
or a third-party bid will not emerge.
Overall, optimism around global
recovery lifted the FTSE 100,
London’s premier share index, to a
two-year high as it added 60.35
points, or 0.8 per cent, to 7,551.72
while the FTSE 250 rose 18.98 points,
or 0.1 per cent, to 23,047.16.
There may have been profit
upgrade after profit upgrade
yesterday, but it was miners that gave
the most support to markets. Higher
metals prices lifted Antofagasta by
100½p, or 7.5 per cent, to £14.42½;
BHP advanced 101½p, or 4.5 per cent,to £23.75; and Anglo American rose
125½p, or 3.9 per cent, to £33.64½.
Other top risers were Darktrace,
which extended its gains by a further
21½p, or 5.1 per cent, to 443½p after
upgrading revenue forecasts on
Tuesday; and Games Workshop,
which managed to claw back losses,
after disappointing investors with its
recent update. The shares closed up
590p, or 6.8 per cent, at £92.85.
Housebuilders were in decline as a
mystery seller dumped shares worth
millions of pounds. Taylor Wimpey,
one of the largest housebuilders fell
8¼p, or 4.8 per cent, to 161¾p after
just over £140 million of shares
flooded back on to the market.
Barratt Developments wasn’t far
behind, shedding 24p, or 3.4 per cent,
to 685p as £65.5 million of stock was
sold. The impact rippled across the
wider market: Persimmon slipped
59p, or 2.2 per cent, to £26.21 and
Berkeley Group fell 86p, or 1.9 per
cent, to £45.62.
Shares in Ferrexpo advanced afterTrustpilot has faith in sales rise
retailingA
recently listed
consumer
reviews
business expects to
announce a double-
digit rise in revenues
for 2021 after an
increase in sales.
Trustpilot, which
was floated in London
last year with an offer
price of 265p, said
that total revenues in
the year to the end of
December had
jumped by 29 per cent
to $131 million.
“We are very
encouraged by this
excellent financial
result, with revenue
ahead of
expectations,” Peter
Holten Mühlmann, its
chief executive, said.“Over the past 12
months, we have
continued to make
strong progress
against our strategic
ambitions for
Trustpilot to be the
most-trusted and
most-used global
consumer reviewsplatform.” The
company, founded in
2007, has more than
840 employees with
operations in ten
cities around the
world.
Trustpilot, which
was promoted to the
FTSE 250 share index
in June, hosts reviews
of businesses and
allows people to verify
the trustworthiness of
a company before
they buy a product or
service. It makes
money by charging
businesses a monthly
fee to display its star-
based ratings on their
websites.
The shares closed
down 5¾p, or 2.1 per
cent, to 273p.Revenue is ahead of
predictions, says Peter
Holten MühlmannWall Street report
A promise this week by Jerome
Powell, chairman of the Federal
Reserve, that the central bank will
act to curb inflation continued to
reassure markets, with the Dow
Jones industrial average rising 38.30
points, or 0.1 per cent, to 36,290.32.Company Change
Savills Bumps up profit forecasts 8.0%
Antofagasta Tracks higher metal prices 7.5%
Games Workshop Recovers some losses after Tuesday’s sell-off 6.8%
Dunelm Profit upgrade 5.2%
Darktrace Extends rally after recent upbeat trading update 5.0%
Jupiter Fund Management Downgrades shares to “neutral” rating -4.4%
Smith & Nephew Loses momentum after recent run higher -4.6%
Taylor Wimpey Mystery seller dumps big stake -4.8%
Hill & Smith Holdings Jefferies trims price target -7.0%
TP Icap Positive sentiment evaporates -8.2%
The day’s biggest movers
delivered a “strong
second month of sales”
after its release in
November, and its
existing portfolio of
established titles “all
provided solid
contributions”.
Frontier also cut its
2023 revenue guidance
range to £130 million to
£160 million, from a
range of £160 million to
£180 million, as its
strategy game
Warhammer Age of
Sigmar, planned for
release in 2023, will
now appear later, in its
2024 financial year.
Shares in Frontier,
which hit £34.30 a year
ago, slumped by 448p,
or 25.3 per cent, to
£13.24, their lowest
level since April 2020.Frontier
suffers a
nasty bite
Exchange rates
Bid Change
Australia $ 1.883 -0.01
Canada $ 1.712 -0.01
Denmark Kr 8.917 -0.01
Euro ¤ 1.198
Hong Kong $ 10.666 +0.06
Hungary 426.004 -2.45
Indonesia 19599.792 +138.57
Israel Shk 4.254 +0.01
Japan Yen 157.195 +0.09
New Zealand $ 2.001 -0.01
Norway Kr 11.908 -0.10
Poland 5.427 -0.02
Russia 102.389 +0.91
S Africa Rd 21.030 -0.13
Sweden Kr 12.267 -0.09
Switzerland Fr 1.253 -0.01
Turkey Lira 18.508 -0.33
USA $ 1.369 +0.01
Rates supplied by MorningstarDollar rates
Australia 1.3727-1.3734
Canada 1.2496-1.2497
Denmark 6.5031-6.5036
Euro 0.8740-0.8741
Hong Kong 7.7921-7.7926
Japan 114.58-114.58
Malaysia 4.1840-4.1880
Norway 8.6745-8.6765
Singapore 1.3461-1.3464
Sweden 8.9414-8.9439
Switzerland 0.9135-0.9139Other Sterling
Argentina peso 141.99-141.99
Australia dollar 1.8811-1.8813
Bahrain dinar 0.5130-0.5202
Brazil real 7.5979-7.6020
Euro 1.1970-1.1976
Hong Kong dollar 10.676-10.677
India rupee 101.05-101.05
Indonesia rupiah 19592-19592
Kuwait dinar KD 0.4129-0.4153
Malaysia ringgit 5.7272-5.7327
New Zealand dollar 1.9998-2.0001
Singapore dollar 1.8442-1.8445
S Africa rand 20.983-20.994
U A E dirham 5.0214-5.0242Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.25 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25
Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.59
Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.090; 3 mth 0.180. Sell: 1 mth 0.030; 3 mth 0.0701 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 0.2809 0.0000 0.5041 0.8284 0.0000
Eurodollar Deps 0.04.024 0.05-0.25 0.10-0.30 0.23-0.43 0.54-0.74Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month
Copenhagen 8.9067-8.9333 8.9089-8.9102 67ds 243ds
Euro 1.2006-1.1974 1.1975-1.1974 6pr 20pr
Montreal 1.7078-1.7149 1.7119-1.7122 1ds 3ds
New York 1.3621-1.3701 1.3698-1.3700 1ds 6ds
Oslo 11.877-11.965 11.884-11.887 58pr 187pr
Stockholm 12.249-12.333 12.250-12.253 44ds 168ds
Tokyo 156.87-157.68 156.96-156.99 5ds 21ds
Zurich 1.2506-1.2601 1.2515-1.2516 11ds 37ds
Premium = pr Discount = dsSterling spot and forward rates
Gold/Precious
London Grain Futures metals (US dollars per ounce)
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
Jan 206.00 Mar 215.00 May 216.75
Jul unq Nov 193.50 Volume: 1153
London Metal Exchange
(Official)
Cash 3mth Dec 22
Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
9943.0-9945.0 9930.0-9930.5 9625.0-9635.0
Lead ($/tonne)
2344.0-2344.5 2326.0-2328.0 2213.0-2218.0
Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3581.5-3582.0 3566.0-3568.0 3152.0-3157.0
Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3002.0-3003.0 3012.0-3014.0 2775.0-2780.0
Nickel ($/tonne)
22175.0-22200.0 21970.0-21990.0 21150.0-21200.0
Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
41700.0-41750.0 41370.0-41380.0 40020.0-40070.0
European money
deposits %
Currency
1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth
Dollar
0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55
Sterling
0.28 0.50 0.83 0.81
Euro
0.10 0.15 0.20 0.50Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by
Morningstar or this publicationBecause of a technical issue, the gold fix
prices are from Tuesday.
Bullion: Open $1820.60
Close $1826.47-1826.92 High $1826.62
Low $1814.93
AM $1805.20 PM $1806.80
Krugerrand $1807.00-1905.00 (£1318.98-1390.51)
Platinum $988.00 (£721.17)
Silver $23.19 (£16.93)
Palladium $1937.00 (£1413.87)