12.00am: Vodafone higher on reports of UK merger talks
Vodafone PLC and the owner of Three UK have accelerated talks about a deal to combine their British operations, paving the way for the creation of the industry’s mobile phone industry’s biggest player by customer numbers, according to a report on Sky News.
Sky said it has learnt that Vodafone and CK Hutchison are hopeful of striking an agreement by the end of the year to establish a joint venture or other form of business combination.
People close to the talks said the discussions had intensified in recent weeks following a period in which they were thought to have stalled.
CK Hutchison, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate, has been exploring a sale of Three UK for some time, the report said, and has decided that a deal with Vodafone represents its best opportunity to help it play a role in market consolidation, with the latter's chief executive, Nick Read, under pressure from shareholders to revive its flagging share price.
The report said several significant hurdles remained outstanding with the most imposing of these likely to be the regulatory scrutiny that a deal would face both from Ofcom, the telecoms industry regulator, and the Competition and Markets Authority.
Shares in Vodafone were 2.3% higher on the news.
10.43am: SRT Marine Systems rises after upbeat trading statement
Shares in SRT Marine Systems PLC (LSE:SRT) advanced after a positive trading update today from the global provider of maritime surveillance, monitoring and management systems.
The company said during the six months 30 September 2022 revenues were £18.8mln - a 300% increase on the same period last year generating an expected profit before tax of not less than £1.5mln.
Despite continuing production constraints, the transceivers business revenue grew by approximately 20% to £5.2mln while the systems business delivered multiple operational and several revenue milestones, and thus generated approximately £13.6mln of revenue.
Simon Tucker, chief executive officer, said: "These results validate our earlier statements that both our business divisions have recovered and are now performing well, driven by a combination of good quality SRT products and fundamental long term market demand drivers. We look forward to the second half and providing further market updates with our continued progress."
Shares jumped 12% on the announcement.
9.36am: Telecom Plus soars after raising full year guidance
Shares in Telecom Plus PLC (LSE:TEP) soared 17% after Peel Hunt has upped its price target to 2,600p from 1,950p after the group boosted full-year profit guidance after record customer growth during the first half.
The broker has also increased its full year 2023 EPS forecast by 22% and its full year 2024 EPS forecast by 36%, which also incorporates the changes to corporation tax.
“Telecom Plus has a compelling proposition in a very tough consumer environment. This should drive strong profit growth and attractive dividend flow” the broker said adding “The company has a c.3% share of households and so there is plenty of room for the business to be materially larger.”
Earlier, the company which trades as Utility Warehouse and offers bundled services such as energy, broadband and insurance, said net customer additions were 86,004 in the first half, bringing the total customer base to 814,684 as at 30 September.
The group now expects full-year profits to be "materially ahead" of current market expectations.