12.40pm: Genuit slides after profits warning
Genuit Group PLC (LSE:GEN) has issued a profit warning as a “consequence of the uncertainty impacting trading in the latter part of Q3.”
In a trading statement for the nine months to 30 September, Genuit said the third quarter did not see the normal seasonal uplift in volumes, with its repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) business most impacted, although areas driven by the need for energy efficiency were trading well.
Trading conditions at the end of the third quarter came against the backdrop of increasing macro-economic and political uncertainty, the provider of sustainable water and ventilation products noted.
READ: Genuit issues profit warning on the back of third quarter uncertainty
As a result, it said, profit for the year is expected to be at the lower end of the market consensus range of between £96.8mln and £109mln.
Shares in the company fell 4.1% to 256p.
11.24am: Scancell Holdings jumps on Genmab (CSE:GEN) tie-up
Shares in Scancell Holdings jumped 24.75 to 16.25p after the cancer immunotherapies developer announced a licensing agreement with biotechnology company Genmab (CSE:GEN).
Copenhagen-based Genmab (CSE:GEN) now has the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise one of Scancell's investigational anti-glycan monoclonal antibody into novel therapeutic products.
Scancell will be eligible for upfront payments, milestone payments of up to $208mln for each product developed and commercialised up to a maximum of $624mln, and "low single digit" royalties for products sold.
11.00: THG rises after reassuring trading update
Shares in THG PLC (LSE:THG) soared 13.8% as the group said it was confident of hitting its full-year targets.
THG said it has made a “positive start” to the fourth quarter “with momentum expected to accelerate as the group enters its peak trading period” adding consumer behaviour “remained stable and consistent” in its health and beauty categories.
Management continued to guide towards full-year underlying profit (EBITDA) of £100mln-£130mln before reclassification of software-as-a-service (SaaS) costs, which are how Ingenuity charges its licences to provide services to clients.
READ: THG keeps targets despite growth slowing in third quarter
9.26am: HSBC shares fall as cocktail of concerns overshadows better than expected profits
HSBC shares fell despite reporting pre-tax profit of $3.15bn for the three months to 30 September, down from $5.4bn last year, but above the $2.45bn consensus of analyst estimates.
However, news of an increase in bad debt provisions and the departure of CFO, the worsening economic outlook in China and the surprise departure of respected CFO, Ewen Stevenson,knocked the shares.
AJ Bell financial analyst, Danni Hewson said: ““Rising interest rates may be good news for banks but it’s all the other stuff which is causing them headaches right now.”
“Concern about the impact of a slowing economy on bad debts and growth in the loan book is being exacerbated at HSBC by the departure of well-respected finance director Ewen Stevenson and the deteriorating situation in China.”
“This explains HSBC serving up a better-than-expected set of third quarter numbers only to have the market effectively tell it to get stuffed.
“Stevenson had a good track record in his previous job helping to rehabilitate NatWest (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland) and shareholders will be disappointed not to have his steady hand at the tiller during the current turmoil.
“Stevenson’s departure may also make HSBC more vulnerable to pressure from its largest shareholder Ping An to break up the bank.”
Shares fell 6% to 446.55p in London.