the times | Tuesday May 24 2022 43
MarketsBusiness
T
he motor industry
is asking
ministers to give
it a push to electrify
the van market
(Robert Lea writes).
The Society of Motor
Manufacturers and
Traders has called on
the government to
come up with a
“national van plan”,
after research found
that a third of all light
commercial vehicles
now came with a plug-
in variant but that
take-up among van
drivers and fleets this
year was only 5 per
cent. That is a long way
behind the more than
20 per cent of car
drivers who are
making the switch to
electric.
The majority of van
drivers — 57 per cent
in an SMMT poll —
cited fears of the lack
of availability of public
charging infrastructure
as the reason for not
going electric.
Before the opening
of today’s Commercial
Vehicle Show in
Birmingham, the
society said that
decarbonising the
vehicles of builders,
plumbers, cleaners and
the burgeoning home
delivery market was
key to loweringdidn’t seem to mind as the shares
leapt 199p, or 19.3 per cent, to £12.31.
On Aim, the junior market, shares
in Creo Medical closed up 4p, or
4.2 per cent, at 100p even though it
had suffered wider losses in 2021,
after it announced a deal with
Intuitive, a Nasdaq-listed company.
As part of the deal, Creo’s technology
will be adapted for use within
Intuitive’s robotic-assisted surgical
platform. Futura Medical rose 3p, or
10.8 per cent, to 30½p after the
biotechnology company said it had a
five-year licensing agreement with
Cooper Consumer Health, of France,
for the rights to commercialise an
erectile dysfunction treatment.
In contrast, investors failed to shrug
off their concerns about Harland &
Wolff after the shipyard warned that
this year’s revenues may be lower
than previously thought as a result of
higher energy prices, supply chain
issues and the war in Ukraine. The
shares slid 1¾p, or 11.2 per cent, to
close at 13¼p.ALAMY‘Key pillars’ crumble in a
broker’s case for Intertek
Jessica Newman Market report
O
f London’s biggest listed
companies, Intertek had
the most testing time
yesterday as investors
turned away from the
inspection and certification company
after concerns about its profitability
were highlighted by one particularly
bearish broker’s note.
“We do not see the key pillars of
our positive thesis being valid any
more,” Simon LeChipre, an analyst at
Stifel, said as he downgraded the
stock from “buy” to “hold” and
slashed Intertek’s target price by £10
to £55, sending shares in the group to
a two-year low.
While he and his team at Stifel
expect the impact of lockdowns in
China — where Intertek has a
prominent business — to bemanageable at the present level, and
therefore not posing a risk to the
testing company’s full-year guidance,
they reckon the slowdown will lead to
a 1 per cent drop in group revenues
for this year. Additionally, they argue
that deteriorating consumer
confidence will bring more
uncertainties, given that Intertek is
the world’s biggest tester of consumer
goods. The shares closed down 193p,
or 3.9 per cent, at £47.06.
In general, however, the week
started positively for investors and
traders, who brushed off concerns
about economic growth and soaring
inflation and drew confidence from
more optimistic global markets. The
FTSE 100 broke through the 7,500-
point barrer for the first time in more
than two weeks and closed up 123.46
points, or 1.7 per cent, at 7,513.44.
News that China would soon be
lifting its Covid-19 lockdown
restrictions helped commodities
prices and mining and oil stocks.
Anglo American gained 130½p, or3.7 per cent, to £36.54, while BP
advanced 11½p, or 2.8 per cent, to
428¾p and Shell rose 51p, or 2.2 per
cent, to £23.87¾.
Intermediate Capital Group, the
alternative asset manager, gained 66p,
or 4.7 per cent, to £14.62 ahead of
Thursday’s final results, while Royal
Mail, which came under selling
pressure last week, clawed back
another 16½p, or 5.3 per cent, to 332p.
Most of the corporate action was
happening in the mid-caps, helping
the FTSE 250 to rise by 310.23 points,
or 1.6 per cent, to 20,146.18.
Kainos improved after it reported a
29 per cent jump in full-year revenues
to £302.6 million, its twelfth
consecutive year of growth. The
Belfast-based IT group, which was
listed in 2015 at 139p a share, provides
digital services to the public and
private sectors. Pre-tax profits fell to
£46 million, a result of increased
salary costs while recruitment,
training and marketing expenses
returned to normal levels. InvestorsInce hit by multiple challenges
professional servicesP
andemic-related
issues, the war in
Ukraine and a
cyberattack have
been blamed by Ince
Group for a profit
warning that led its
shares to slump to
their lowest level in
more than 18 months.
A “challenging”
final quarter of the
year to the end of
March means that the
law firm expects pre-
tax profits to fall short
of expectations, while
revenues should be
lower at £97 million.
The shares fell 2p, or
8.5 per cent, to 21½p.
The group was hit
by a cyberattack in
March that created
“difficult” operatingconditions, but it does
not believe it will have
a long-term effect on
performance.
The increase in
Covid-19 cases at the
end of last year and
strict lockdowns in
China hit trading, as
well as the war inUkraine and its effect
on global shipping
markets — one of
Ince’s key arenas.
The company said
these factors meant it
was unlikely that its
final audited results
would be published
before September.
Under the rules of
Aim, the junior stock
market, if a company
does not publish its
results within six
months its shares are
suspended. Any
suspension would be
lifted once results are
filed.
Ince Group was
created when Gordon
Dadds took over Ince
& Co, a City shipping
law firm, in 2018.Adrian Biles is chief
executive of Ince
Group, the law firmWall Street report
Stocks from Apple to JP Morgan led
a relief rally after last week’s falls as
New York took its cue from earlier
gains in stock markets worldwide.
The Dow Jones industrial average
rose by 2 per cent, or 618.34 points,
to close at 31,880.24 last night.Company Change
Kainos Upbeat full-year results 19.3%
Moonpig Investors cheer Smartbox UK acquistion 11.2%
Virgin Money UK Extends gains 8.2%
discoverIE Reverses some of Friday’s losses 7%
Auction Technology Rebounds after recent share price weakness 6.3%
Carnival Bank of America trims price target -2.4%
Tui Extends losses for fourth day -2.5%
Vietnam Enterprise Investment Limited Positive sentiment dries up -2.6%
Intertek Stifel downgrades stock from “buy” to “hold” -3.9%
Coats Profit-taking -4.4%
The day’s biggest movers
emissions. The trade
body said that fleet
managers and drivers
were delaying the
transition despite
facing a ban on diesel
and petrol light
commercial vehicles by
2035.
“Overcoming this
reticence is critical,
with many suggesting
they might be
convinced to buy an
electric van sooner if
there was a greater
number of public
charging points,” the
SMMT said. “The
availability of
government incentives
such as reduced tax or
grants towards
purchase would also
steer [drivers] towards
a zero-emission van.”Trade’s plea
to electrify
van market
Exchange rates
Bid Change
Australia $ 1.771
Canada $ 1.607 +0.01
Denmark Kr 8.769 -0.02
Euro ¤ 1.179
Hong Kong $ 9.869 +0.08
Hungary 450.750 -2.53
Indonesia 18448.879 +182.28
Israel Shk 4.199 +0.01
Japan Yen 160.525 +0.93
New Zealand $ 1.945 -0.01
Norway Kr 12.108 -0.05
Poland 5.430 -0.03
Russia 73.552 -3.12
S Africa Rd 19.710 -0.10
Sweden Kr 12.358 -0.05
Switzerland Fr 1.214
Turkey Lira 19.832 +0.02
USA $ 1.257 +0.01
Rates supplied by MorningstarDollar rates
Australia 1.4078-1.4080
Canada 1.2788-1.2789
Denmark 6.9726-6.9731
Euro 0.9371-0.9371
Hong Kong 7.8498-7.8500
Japan 127.91-127.91
Malaysia 4.3870-4.3920
Norway 9.6043-9.6093
Singapore 1.3734-1.3744
Sweden 9.8325-9.8350
Switzerland 0.9663-0.9665Other Sterling
Argentina peso 149.54-149.55
Australia dollar 1.7700-1.7702
Bahrain dinar 0.4705-0.4776
Brazil real 6.0238-6.0276
Euro 1.1779-1.1785
Hong Kong dollar 9.8689-9.8699
India rupee 97.449-97.468
Indonesia rupiah 18397-18408
Kuwait dinar KD 0.3838-0.3861
Malaysia ringgit 5.5187-5.5249
New Zealand dollar 1.9455-1.9459
Singapore dollar 1.7273-1.7276
S Africa rand 19.783-19.793
U A E dirham 4.6146-4.6171Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 1.00 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.75-1.00
Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.59Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.872; 3 mth 0.870. Sell: 1 mth 0.775; 3 mth 0.8001 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 1.0146 0.0000 1.3557 1.8103 0.0000
Eurodollar Deps 0.98-1.23 1.30-1.55 1.55-1.80 1.96-2.21 2.75-2.82Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month
Copenhagen 8.7522-8.8227 8.7661-8.7674 136ds 400ds
Euro 1.1858-1.1764 1.1782-1.1782 13pr 38pr
Montreal 1.6021-1.6111 1.6077-1.6080 3pr 15pr
New York 1.2500-1.2600 1.2572-1.2573 1pr 9pr
Oslo 12.050-12.164 12.077-12.080 25ds 57ds
Stockholm 12.328-12.431 12.361-12.365 109ds 285ds
Tokyo 159.42-160.84 160.81-160.82 18ds 60ds
Zurich 1.2113-1.2224 1.2149-1.2151 20ds 61ds
Premium = pr Discount = dsSterling spot and forward rates
Gold/Precious
London Grain Futures metals (US dollars per ounce)
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
May 340.00Jul unq Nov 332.00
Jan unqMar unq Volume: 842
London Metal Exchange
(Official)
Cash 3mth Dec 22
Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
9499.5-9500.5 9480.0-9485.0 9430.0-9440.0
Lead ($/tonne)
2165.0-2167.0 2163.0-2165.0 2138.0-2143.0
Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3775.0-3777.0 3758.0-3760.0 3345.0-3350.0
Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
2962.0-2963.0 2973.0-2975.0 2855.0-2860.0
Nickel ($/tonne)
26795.0-26800.0 26700.0-26750.0 26955.0-27005.0
Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
34700.0-34800.0 34450.0-34500.0 33505.0-33555.0
European money
deposits %
Currency
1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth
Dollar
0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55
Sterling
1.01 1.36 1.81 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 Friday.
Bullion: Open $1845.77
Close $1850.93-1851.01 High $1865.09
Low $1845.77
AM $1846.30 PM $1834.20
Krugerrand $1831.00-2930.00 (£1456.31-
2330.41)
Platinum $966.00 (£768.32)
Silver $21.79 (£17.33)
Palladium $2014.00 (£1601.86)