Europe Movers: BP Group, GTT Group, Iveco, Nokia, SAAB, Skanska, Vontobel

Inga Muller
10 Feb, 2025
Frankfurt

European markets retained an upward bias amid rate cut optimism and positive earnings outlook. 

Norway's consumer price accelerated in January, and core inflation stayed above the central bank's target rate.

The DAX index increased by 0.05% to 21,797.35, the CAC-40 index advanced 0.06% to 7,977.86, and the FTSE 100 index rose by 0.48% to 8,742.03.

The yield on 10-year German bonds inched lower to 2.38%, French bonds increased to 3.09%, the UK gilts moved down to 4.47%, and Italian bonds edged lower to 3.46%.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Nokia Oyj jumped 2.2% to €4.76 after the company appointed a new chief executive officer, Justin Hoard, former head of Intel's AI and data center division. 

BP plc jumped 6.8% to 463.0 pence after the activist investor Elliot Investment took a stake in the company. 

GTT Group decreased 4.8% to €137.80 after the naval engineering company announced the resignation of its chief executive, Jean-Baptiste Choimet.

 

Recent Earnings Movers 

Iveco Group NV surged 22% to €14.11, and the Italian truck and bus maker said it is considering spinning off its defense business.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, net revenue declined 4.4% to €4.56 billion from €4.78 billion, net income swung to a profit of €91 million from a loss of €20 million, and earnings per diluted share jumped to 34 cents from a loss of 10 cents a year ago.

Truck sales fell 4.4% to €2.8 billion from €2.9 billion, powertrain sales declined 19.2% to €855 million from €1.06 billion, while bus sales increased 11.4% to €988 million from €887 million a year ago.

Revenue in the company’s defense segment dropped 8.6% to €371 million from €406 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Iveco proposed an annual cash dividend of 33 euro cents per share, payable on April 24 to holders on record as of April 23, and worth €90 million.

The company also intends to repurchase up to 10 million shares for €130 million over the eighteen months starting April 16, as the current authorization program expires in October.

Vontobel Holding AG dropped 0.5% to CHF 65.10 after the Swiss investment management company reported steady growth in profitability for fiscal 2024.

Operating income jumped 9% to CHF 1.42 billion from CHF 1.30 billion, with growth in both private and institutional clients, and profit before tax surged 32% to CHF 354 million from CHF 262.7 million a year ago.

Return on equity increased to 12.3% from 10.5%, net profit jumped 24% to CHF 266 million from CHF 214.7 million, and basic earnings per share rose 23% to CHF 4.76 from CHF 3.86 a year earlier.

The cost-to-income ratio improved to 74.7%, compared to 79.5% a year ago.

By the end of December, Vontobel held CHF 229 billion of assets under management, compared to CHF 206.8 billion in fiscal year 2023.

The company left its dividend unchanged at CHF 3.0 per share.

Skanska AB gained 6% to 255.40 krona after the Swedish construction and development company reported strong growth in the fourth quarter ending in December.

Revenue increased to SEK 50.40 billion from SEK 46.16 billion, profit jumped to SEK 2.33 billion from SEK 1.66 billion, and earnings per diluted share rose to SEK 5.62 from SEK 4.00 a year ago.

Construction and residential development operations improved in the Nordics region, in Europe, and in the U.S.

Commercial property development slowed only in the U.S., where quarterly operating loss shrank to SEK 98 million from a loss of SEK 957 million a year ago.

SAAB AB plunged 6.2% to 213.40 krona despite the Swedish aviation company reporting sales growth in the fourth quarter ending in December, but order bookings declined.

Sales increased 29% to SEK 20.85 billion from SEK 16.12 billion, net income climbed 15% to SEK 1.44 billion from SEK 1.25 billion, and earnings per share jumped 17% to SEK 2.66 from SEK 2.27 a year ago.

For fiscal year 2025, the company estimated organic sales growth between 12% and 16% from a year earlier.

Order bookings in the Aeronautics segment decreased 74%, in Dynamics they were down 41%, in Kockums they fell 75%, and in Surveillance they were flat, while in Combitech order bookings increased 20% in the quarter.

The fourth quarter included one large order, related to the second order for a Maneuver Short Range Air Defense to Lithuania of SEK 1.2 billion.

The company proposed a dividend of SEK 2.0 per share, or SEK 1.60 after the share split, payable on April 17 and October 10 to holders on record as April 14 and October 7, respectively.