the times | Friday March 18 2022 47
MarketsBusiness
H
ennes &
Mauritz is
selling external
fashion brands on its
core brand’s website
for the first time in
Sweden and Germany,
with the intention of
adding more brands
and markets.
Taking on fashion
online marketplaces
such as Zalando, Asos
and Amazon, the
retailer started in
February by expanding
the offering on its
website in the
company’s home
market Sweden.
“Customers are now
able to shop from more
brands in the H&M
Group family, as well
as from a curated
selection of other
fashion brands such as
Lee, Wrangler and
Kangol, among
others,” the company,
which was founded in
1947, said.
“We launched the
concept in Germany in
March. We will
continue to add brands
going forward and
expand the concept to
other markets.”
Some of H&M’s
smaller and newer
independent chains,
such as & Other250 group delighted investors as it
boasted a pre-tax profit of
£69.3 million for 2021, significantly
higher than £4.7 million the year
before. The shares rallied another
30½p, or 4.7 per cent, to 674p.
The online ticketing platform
Trainline was boosted after it said
that improved sales as Covid-19
restrictions eased should mean that
full-year underlying profit will come
in at the top end of guidance. The
shares rose 14¼p, or 7.1 per cent, to
213¾p.
For investors in Helios Towers, it
would be understandable that they
should want to ditch the FTSE 250
mobile phone mast operator. The
group, which reported that losses had
widened last year as a result of higher
costs, admitted that it is likely to
continue to make losses in the near
term as it integrates its newly
acquired assets.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the update
dragged the shares down 15¼p, or
11.2 per cent, to 120p.H&MMixers get extra kick to
soothe profits headache
Jessica Newman Market report
F
evertree was back on
Liberum’s “buy” list as
consumer analysts concluded
that the group’s numbers for
this financial year have been
“appropriately kitchen-sinked”.
Despite reporting a rise in profits
and revenue as well as a £50 million
special dividend, all eyes were on
Fevertree’s surprise profit warning.
The premium mixers group had
trimmed its underlying profit
expectations by £6 million from a
range of £69 million to £72 million to
between £63 million and £66 million
due to the inflationary impact on
costs from the war in Ukraine and
sanctions on Russia.
Liberum was reassured by the
figures as the City broker feels that
Fevertree’s guidance “now appearsachievable” with scope for upgrades.
“Forecasts have been rebased which
should/could be the last downgrade in
our view,” Wayne Brown, an analyst
at Liberum, said. He reckons multi-
year upgrades could be on the cards
as margins continue to recover due to
the return of a full year of on-trade
sales from pubs, bars and restaurants.
He added that if global freight costs
and raw material prices normalise
earlier than expected, it leaves a
significant upside on their numbers.
Fevertree’s shares were up 78p, or
4.4 per cent, to £18.52½.
The FTSE 100 also ended the day
in positive territory after the Bank of
England decided to raise interest rates
by a quarter-point to 0.75 per cent.
Aided by a weaker pound, the index
closed up 93.66 points, or 1.3 per cent,
to 7,385.34, while the more UK-
focused FTSE 250 edged up 70.15
points, or 0.3 per cent, to 20,975.69.
The Bank’s decision prompted
investors to take profits in
housebuilders, which are sensitive tothe prospect of higher mortgage rates
as it could make homes even less
affordable. Persimmon, the largest
developer by stock market value, gave
up 26p, or 1.1 per cent, to £22.76 while
Barratt Developments fell 7p, or 1.2
per cent, to 560½p.
Among the risers, Essentra gained
28½p, or 10 per cent, to 314p before
today’s full-year results. Shell and BP
were up 3.3 per cent and 2 per cent
respectively as oil prices
strengthened.
Diageo’s shares moved up 100p, or
2.8 per cent, to £36.92½ after
JP Morgan upgraded the stock to
“overweight”. Analysts said they
recognised that the spirits maker’s
strong repositioning in the US should
mean it will outperform the wider
spirits market there in coming years.
Even though people have been
spending more time out and about
since lockdown measures eased, and
in turn not landscaping their gardens
or putting down new patios, it was not
enough to hurt Marshalls. The FTSEDrug trial blow for Synairgen
pharmaceuticalsS
ynairgen has
hardly had the
best start to the
year. Shares in the
respiratory drug
discovery group have
tumbled almost 90 per
cent, and lost more
than three quarters of
that value in a single
session last month
after the company
said that its inhaled
SNG001 drug, a
naturally occurring
antiviral protein,
failed in late-stage
trial testing in
patients in hospital
with Covid-19.
But it got worse for
the Aim-listed group
yesterday after it said
that the US National
Institute of Allergyand Infectious
Diseases had halted
patient recruitment in
its phase 2/3 Covid-19
trial, which included
the assessment of
SNG001.
The company,
which was spun off
from the University ofSouthampton, said
the development
comes amid a
“significant shift in
the nature of the
pandemic” that would
necessitate a big
change in the design
of the study.
Richard Marsden,
Synairgen’s chief
executive, said: “We
are actively seeking
inclusion in platform
trials for hospitalised
patients and are
working closely with
the NIH to also find a
suitable trial for
SNG001 in home-
based patients.”
Despite the
optimism, the shares
closed down 4½p, or
16.9 per cent, at 21½p.Synairgen’s inhaled
drug to treat Covid-19
has hit further troubleWall Street report
Indices ended higher as investors
weighed the impact of the Federal
Reserve’s aggressive interest rate
stance and oil prices rose strongly
over shortage concerns. The Dow
Jones industrial average rose 417.66
points, or 1.2 per cent, to 34,480.76.Company Change
OSB Group Reports record profits 14.5%
Essentra Rallied ahead of today’s full-year results 10.0%
Auction Technology Group Extends rally to five days 7.3%
Trainline Impressive trading update 7.3%
FDM Group Investors impressed with full-year results 6.8%
Polymetal Soured sentiment towards Russian companies -5.2%
Wizz Air Holdings Profit-taking -7.1%
Ocado Group Cut growth expectations -8.2%
Helios Towers Losses widened last year -11.2%
Petrovavlovsk Continued volatile trading for Russian-focused companies -14.1%
The day’s biggest movers
Stories and Arket, sell
external brands,
mainly accessories and
shoes.
The H&M chain,
which accounts for the
bulk of the group’s
business, has
previously only offered
beauty products of
external brands.
Even before the
Covid-19 pandemic the
retailer was struggling
to contend with
declining footfall at its
core H&M brand’s
physical stores in the
face of tougher
competition, not least
from online platforms.
It said it had also
introduced a second-
hand offer on its home
website, Sweden.Fashion site
opens door
to brands
Exchange rates
Bid Change
Australia $ 1.781 -0.02
Canada $ 1.663 -0.01
Denmark Kr 8.816 -0.05
Euro ¤ 1.184 -0.01
Hong Kong $ 10.284 +0.04
Hungary 439.892 -1.31
Indonesia 18818.584 +75.54
Israel Shk 4.254 -0.02
Japan Yen 155.838 +0.66
New Zealand $ 1.909 -0.02
Norway Kr 11.556 -0.13
Poland 5.531 -0.04
Russia 134.207 +1.61
S Africa Rd 19.578 -0.08
Sweden Kr 12.366 -0.03
Switzerland Fr 1.230
Turkey Lira 19.342 +0.16
USA $ 1.316 +0.01
Rates supplied by MorningstarDollar rates
Australia 1.3531-1.3532
Canada 1.2635-1.2636
Denmark 6.6905-6.6910
Euro 0.8988-0.8989
Hong Kong 7.8171-7.8174
Japan 118.43-118.43
Malaysia 4.1950-4.1990
Norway 8.7755-8.7805
Singapore 1.3529-1.3533
Sweden 9.3735-9.3760
Switzerland 0.9346-0.9347Other Sterling
Argentina peso 144.20-144.21
Australia dollar 1.7814-1.7816
Bahrain dinar 0.4926-0.4997
Brazil real 6.6254-6.6294
Euro 1.1834-1.1835
Hong Kong dollar 10.292-10.293
India rupee 99.953-99.960
Indonesia rupiah 18832-18832
Kuwait dinar KD 0.3987-0.4011
Malaysia ringgit 5.5046-5.5098
New Zealand dollar 1.9091-1.9094
Singapore dollar 1.7812-1.7815
S Africa rand 19.575-19.587
U A E dirham 4.8183-4.8186Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.75 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25
Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.59Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.294; 3 mth 0.625. Sell: 1 mth 0.170; 3 mth 0.5681 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 0.7859 0.0000 1.0426 1.5305 0.0000
Eurodollar Deps 0.40-0.60 0.63-0.83 0.79-0.99 1.14-1.34 1.64-1.84Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month
Copenhagen 8.8008-8.8945 8.8086-8.8099 100ds 345ds
Euro 1.1950-1.1825 1.1835-1.1834 10pr 34pr
Montreal 1.6582-1.6722 1.6633-1.6635 4ds 9ds
New York 1.3089-1.3210 1.3165-1.3166 2ds 7ds
Oslo 11.527-11.750 11.552-11.555 15pr 25ds
Stockholm 12.333-12.483 12.342-12.345 105ds 348ds
Tokyo 155.47-156.69 155.91-155.93 12ds 42ds
Zurich 1.2291-1.2415 1.2304-1.2306 16ds 54ds
Premium = pr Discount = dsSterling spot and forward rates
Gold/Precious
London Grain Futures metals (US dollars per ounce)
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
Mar 298.00 May 299.00 Jul unq
Nov 251.50 Jan unq Volume: 897
London Metal Exchange
(Official)
Cash 3mth Dec 22
Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
10165.0-10166.0 10167.0-10171.0 10055.0-10065.0
Lead ($/tonne)
2233.0-2235.0 2252.0-2254.0 2182.0-2187.0
Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3804.0-3805.0 3802.0-3804.0 3357.0-3362.0
Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3287.5-3288.0 3315.0-3317.0 3110.0-3115.0
Nickel ($/tonne)
42150.0-42150.0 41945.0-41945.0 41610.0-41610.0
Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
41800.0-41850.0 41800.0-41850.0 41325.0-41375.0
European money
deposits %
Currency
1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth
Dollar
0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55
Sterling
0.79 1.04 1.53 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 Wednesday.
Bullion: Open $1926.11
Close $1941.76-1942.39 High $1949.47
Low $1925.32
AM $1918.75 PM $1913.20
Krugerrand $1922.00-2026.00 (£1459.81-1538.80)
Platinum $1031.00 (£783.07)
Silver $25.34 (£19.24)
Palladium $2515.50 (£1910.59)