Polymetal expecting improved gold quality, Tritax Big Box open offer oversubscribed
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 32 points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.32% at 7,071.18 on Friday.
Stocks to watch
Polymetal International expects to improve the quantity of gold it extracts from its mines and its environmental credentials as directors gave the green light to immediately begin construction of a second pressure oxidation plant in Russia. The POX-2 project, which will be constructed next door to the current POX facility in the city of Amursk, was approved on the basis of the recently completed feasibility study and a $431m capital expenditure funded entirely from operating cash flows.
Tritax Big Box REIT said its open offer to raise £250m was oversubscribed as investors piled in to support the company's purchase of an 87% stake in db Symmetry. Tritax partner Godfrey Palmer said the acquisition provided Tritax with access to a large portfolio of “attractive and high quality development opportunities over the longer term that we...believe can be delivered at a yield on cost significantly higher than is currently available in the investment market from acquisitions of built and let or pre-let forward funded assets”.
Acacia Mining released its results for 2018 on Monday, reporting revenue of $664m - a 12% fall from 2017, with a higher average realised gold price offset by a lower sales base. The FTSE 250 firm said its EBITDA also fell 12% in the 2018 calendar year to $226m, which it put down to the lower revenue, partly offset by a $45m gain on the sale of a non-core royalty, with adjusted EBITDA standing at $183m - 41% lower than 2017, excluding the sale of the non-core royalty.
Newspaper round-up
Theresa May opened the door last night to a soft Brexit by engaging with Jeremy Corbyn on a customs union in a move that puts her at risk of losing the support of members of her cabinet. In a letter to the Labour leader, the prime minister suggested that their parties hold further talks on the issue of a permanent customs union in an attempt to win support from Labour MPs for her Brexit plan. - The Times
Philip Hammond must find an extra £5bn in this year’s Whitehall spending review to reverse planned cuts and meet his claim of ending austerity, a leading thinktank has revealed. The Institute for Fiscal Studies told the chancellor that funds pledged in last year’s budget to boost NHS spending, defence and international aid failed to safeguard local councils and some of the worst-hit government departments from further shortfalls. - Guardian
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has pulled out of a bid for collapsed café chain Patisserie Valerie after just two days, accusing its administrators of not providing enough access to its finances. Chris Wootton, the company’s deputy finance chief, wrote to the KPMG partner handling the administration yesterday to say it was withdrawing a bid of more than £15m after failing to gain “access to a data room, any financial information or meetings with management”. - Telegraph
US close
Wall Street indices finished in a mixed state on the last day of the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 0.25% at 25,106.33.
At the same time, the S&P 500 was up 0.07% at close of business on Friday, settling at 2,707.88, and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.12% to 6,913.13.