Europe Movers: Aixtron, BNP Paribas, Carrefour, Danone, HelloFresh, Mercedes Benz, Sodexo, Standard Chartered, Unilever, WPP

Inga Muller
26 Oct, 2023
Frankfurt

Mercedes-Benz Group AG declined 5.9% to €57.75 after the German luxury automaker forecasted downward pressure on car sales margins after two years of sales gains.

BNP Paribas SA decreased 3.9% to €53.94 after the French bank reported a decline in third-quarter profit on higher expenses.

HelloFresh SE dropped 11.2% to €21.62 after the meal-kit provider reported third-quarter revenue that fell short of some investors' expectations.

Aixtron SE added 0.6% to €28.68 after the chip systems maker reported a slight increase in sales and earnings in the third quarter.

Danone SA increased 2.9% to €56.47 after the yogurt company lifted its full-year outlook.

Carrefour SA jumped 4.4% to €16.31 after the French hypermarket operator reported an increase in third-quarter sales and the company reiterated its full-year outlook.

Sodexo SA advanced 6.5% to €103.70 after the French flight catering and food company said it plans to list its voucher and benefits division, Pluxee, early in 2024.

Unilever plc declined 3% to 3,895.0 pence after the new chief executive officer released a plan to simplify and restructure the business.

WPP Plc declined 2.3% to 675.20 pence after the U.K.-based advertising company trimmed its outlook for the second time in as many quarters.

Standard Chartered Plc dropped 9.9% after the U.K.-based bank reported a sharply lower quarterly profit because of high impairment charges linked to China's property market.

Operating income or revenue increased 6% to $4.4 billion from $4.1 billion and profit attributable to shareholders  swung to a net loss of $35 million from a profit of $964 million a year ago.

Net interest margin in the quarter advanced to 1.67% from 1.43% a year ago but eased 4 basis points from the previous quarter.

The bank's high exposure to the Chinese property market negatively impacted quarterly performance, as the lender provided about $1.1 billion in loans to real estate developers in the last two years.

Standard Chartered said provision for credit losses increased 37% from a year ago to $294 million, including $186 million related to its commercial property sector in China.

The bank also lowered the carrying value of its investment in China Bohai Bank by $697 million, reflecting weak macroeconomic conditions and the bank's cautious outlook.

Despite the current weakness, the bank reiterated its annual outlook in a statement released to investors.

The company guided a full-year 2023 net interest margin of 1.70 basis points, income to increase in the 12%–14% range in constant currency, and a return on tangible equity of 10%.

“We continue to expect 2024 income growth to be in the 8% to 10% range at constant currency, and we remain confident of achieving a greater than 11% return on tangible equity,” said group chief financial officer Andy Halford.