Europe Movers: Crest Nicholson, FirstGroup, Mitie Group, RWS Holdings, Saint Gobain, Wizz Air

Bridgette Randall
08 Jun, 2023
Frankfurt

The DAX index increased 0.2% to 15,998.35, the CAC-40 index increased 0.2% to 7,220.64, and the FTSE 100 index inched lower a fraction to 7,623.46. 

The yield on 10-year German Bunds inched higher to 2.46%, French bonds traded higher to 3.01%, the UK gilts edged up to 4.29% and Italian bonds increased to 4.26%.

FirstGroup Plc soared 15.5% to 137.50 pence after the transportation company announced a stock buyback plan of £115 million. 

The company also swung to a pre-tax profit in fiscal 2023 after revenue from continued operations increased to £4.7 billion from £4.6 billion a year ago. 

Total revenue declined to £4.8 billion from £5.6 billion and adjusted attributable profit surged to £82.1 million from £45.9 million a year ago. 

RWS Holdings Plc increased 14.3% to or 259.80 pence after the company launched a stock repurchase plan of up to £50 million. 

In the first-half, revenue increased and profit declined but the company confirmed that the full-year outlook is in line with market expectations. 

Revenue in the first-half ending in March increased to £366.3 million from £357.3 million and reported profit before-tax declined to £28.7 million from £32.9 million and basic earnings per share decreased to 5.4 pence from 6.1 pence a year ago. 

The company increased its interim dividend to 2.40 pence from 2.25 pence a year ago.  

Wizz Air Holdings Plc increased 0.2% to 2,784.0 pence after the deep discount airline said loss shrank in the fiscal 2023 on higher revenue. 

Revenue in the fiscal year 2023 ending in March increased to 3.9 billion from 1.7 billion and reported loss shrank to 535.1 million from 642.5 million and load factor improved to 87.4% from 78.1%. 

The airline forecasted profitability in the fiscal year 2024. 

Crest Nicholson Holdings Plc dropped 8.2% to 229.04 pence after the home builder reported weaker-than-expected revenues in the first-half but swung to a profit from a loss in the corresponding period a year ago. 

Revenue in the first-half ending in April declined to £282.7 million from £364,7 million and swung to a pre-tax profit of £28.4 million from a loss of £52.5 million. 

The company confirmed pre-tax profit in the fiscal year 2023 in-line with market expectation of  £73.7 million. 

Saint Gobain SA increased 1.2% to €56.73 after the French building materials company estimated fiscal 2023 operating margin between 9% and 11%. 

Mitie Group Plc added 0.5% to 96.90 pence after the outsourcing company reported higher revenue but flat after-tax earnings. 

Revenue in the fiscal year 2023 increased to £4.05 billion from £3.99 billion a year ago and the company won a total contract value of £4.3 billion with renewal rate of over 90% and book-to-bill ratio of 105%. 

Net income in the year jumped to 91 million from 31 million and basic earnings per share rose to 6.8 pence from 2.2 pence a year ago. 

The company announced a new £50 million stock repurchase plan in April and the purchase of £25 million in progress.