Europe Movers: Ashmore, Danske Bank, Henkel, Iveco, Legal & General

Inga Muller
07 Feb, 2025
Frankfurt

European markets extended their weekly advance a day after the Bank of England lowered its key lending rate by 25 basis points as widely expected. 

Germany's international trade shrank in 2024 amid weak domestic demand and rising global competition. 

The DAX index increased by 0.08% to 21,919.94, the CAC-40 index declined 0.05% to 8,003.78, and the FTSE 100 index dropped by 0.14% to 8,714.65.

The yield on 10-year German bonds inched lower to 2.36%, French bonds decreased to 3.08%, the UK gilts moved down to 4.47%, and Italian bonds edged lower to 3.43%.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Iveco Group NV soared 17% to €13.56, and the Italian truck and bus maker said it is considering spinning off its defense business.

Henkel AG advanced 1.8% to €84.96 after the German consumer products company said it plans to sell its retailer brand business to an affiliate of First Quality Enterprises. 

L'Oreal SA decreased 4% to €337.90 after the French cosmetics company reported weaker-than-expected fourth quarter sales. 

Sanofi SA declined 0.4% to €103.68, and the French healthcare company announced a €2 billion stock buyback plan.

Danske Bank AS soared 7.3% to DKK 234.30 after the Danish bank reported strong fourth-quarter financial results.

Legal & General Group advanced 3.5% to 247.88 pence after the British life insurance company agreed to sell its U.S. insurance entity for $2.3 billion to Japan's Meiji Yasuda. 

The U.S. entity comprises protection and pension risk transfer businesses.

Ashmore Group plc decreased 0.4% to 168.10 pence after the emerging markets-focused asset manager reported a 33% decrease in half-year profit.

 

Recent Earnings Movers

Maersk A/S gained 6.3% to 11,560 krone after the Danish shipping and logistics company estimated a 4% growth for fiscal year 2025.

Revenue in 2024 increased 8.6% to $55.48 billion from $51.06 billion, profit surged to $6.23 billion from $3.82 billion, and earnings per diluted share rose to $387 from $227 a year ago.

Revenue in the fourth quarter jumped to $14.59 billion from $11.74 billion, profit climbed to $2.11 billion from a net loss of $456 million, and earnings per diluted share rose to $132 from a loss of $27 a year earlier.

Maersk bought back class A and class B shares worth DKK 2.8 billion in the quarter, and the company launched a new stock repurchase plan worth DKK 14.4 billion for a period of twelve months.

The first phase of the stock buyback worth DKK 7.2 billion will run between February 7 and August 6.

The company proposed a dividend of DKK 1.120 per share, payable on March 21.

The shipping company's financial disclosure formats are one of the most shareholder-unfriendly of 4,000 companies reviewed by ticker.com. 

Carlsberg A/S gained 1.7% to 854.00 krone after the Danish brewer reported a 1.9% increase in revenue for fiscal year 2024, despite a weakness in the China market.

Revenue increased to DKK 75.01 billion from DKK 73.58 billion, profit surged to DKK 10.26 billion from a net loss of DKK 39.78 billion, and earnings per share rose to DKK 68.7 compared to a loss of DKK 299.7 a year ago.

In January, the company acquired Britvic plc for £3.3 billion, doubling its soft drinks exposure.

Carlsberg entered into a bottling agreement with PepsiCo for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as of the first quarter of 2026, and the company gained full control of the businesses in India and Nepal.

The company sold its Russian business, Baltika Breweries, for 34 billion rubles.

For fiscal year 2025, Carlsberg estimated organic operating profit growth of 1% to 5%, reflecting uncertainty in both Europe and Asia and the loss of the San Miguel brand.

The company’s board proposed a dividend of DKK 27.0 per share, at the same 2023 rate, for a total of DKK 3.6 billion, which equals a payout ratio of 49%.

TotalEnergies traded up 0.6% to €58.98 after the French oil and gas company reported lower sales for its fourth quarter ending in December, impacted by weaker refining margins and lower crude prices.

Revenue declined to $52.51 billion from $59.24 billion, net income dropped to $4.02 billion from $5.04 billion, and earnings per diluted share fell to $1.70 from $2.09 a year ago.

For fiscal year 2025, the company estimated a 5% increase in energy production, based on hydrocarbon and electricity production growth.

TotalEnergies proposed a 7% increase in the 2024 dividend to €3.22 per share and confirmed $2 billion of share buybacks per quarter in 2025.

The company paid dividends of approximately $7.72 billion in 2024, compared to $7.52 billion a year ago.

AstraZeneca Plc. gained 0.4% to 11,838 pence after the British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company posted higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter ending in December.

Revenue increased to $14.89 billion from $12.02 billion, profit jumped to $1.5 billion from $959 million, and earnings per diluted share rose to 96 cents from 62 cents a year ago.

The company’s best-selling drugs are Tagrisso for lung cancer, Farxiga for chronic kidney disease, and Ultomiris for an atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

AstraZeneca will pay dividends on March 24 and September 8 to shareholders on record as of February 21 and August 8, respectively.

Société Générale surged 2.4% to €35.78 after the French banking group reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter.

Net income increased to €1.27 billion from €612 million a year ago.

For the full year 2024, earnings per share rose to €4.38 from €2.17 a year ago.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, the bank estimated a 3% increase in revenue to €26.8 billion.

The company’s board proposed a cash dividend of €1.09 per share, payable on May 28.

Société Générale will also distribute €2.18 per share, equivalent to €1.74 billion, of which €872 million would be in a share buyback.

ArcelorMittal gained 1.05% to €27.90 after the Luxembourg-based steel manufacturer said its net loss shrank in the fourth quarter ending in December.

Sales increased to $14.71 billion from $14.55 billion, net loss shrank to $390 million from a loss of $2.97 billion, and basic loss per share declined to 51 cents from a loss of $3.57 a year ago.

Looking to fiscal year 2025, the company expects higher demand, and with low inventory levels, especially in Europe, restocking activity is likely to supplement demand improvements.

Ashmore Group Plc. dropped 0.9% to 170 pence after the British investment management company posted weak results for the six months ended in December.

Adjusted net revenue declined 14% to £79.9 million from £93.4 million, profit before taxes slumped 33% to £49.9 million from £74.5 million, and earnings per diluted share fell 37% to 5.4 pence from 8.5 pence, compared to the first half of 2024.

The company left its dividend unchanged at 4.8 pence per share.