Aveva swings to FY loss despite 'solid' revenue growth, Wizz Air narrows annual losses
London pre-open
The FTSE 100 was being called to open 15.7 points higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday after closing out the previous session 0.12% lower at 7,598.93.
Stocks to watch
Information technology consultancy Aveva delivered "solid" full-year results on Wednesday, with annual recurring revenues up 10.2% at £768.7m and statutory group revenues up 44.5% year-on-year at £1.18bn.
However, Aveva still reported a full-year pre-tax loss from operations of £6.5m, primarily due to the amortisation of £226.1m in intangible assets - a marked difference when compared to the pre-tax profit of £36.6m recorded in FY21.
Low-cost airline Wizz Air narrowed annual losses to almost break-even as the travel industry bounced back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The FTSE 250-listed company reported a core loss of €19.0m on Wednesday, a marked improvement when compared to the €182.8m loss it reported a year earlier. Planned capacity growth for the first two quarters of the current fiscal year is more than 30% and 40%, respectively.
Newspaper round-up
Chinese fashion behemoth Shein might be the organisation least expected to win applause at an international conference on fashion sustainability, but that's what happened at this week's global fashion summit in Copenhagen. The industry's largest forum for sustainable progress saw the ultra-fast fashion brand praised for making a donation of $15.0m (£12.0m) over three years to a charity working at Kantamanto in Accra, the world's largest secondhand clothing market. - Guardian
More than two-in-five recent buy now, pay later shoppers relied on credit cards or other forms of borrowing to pay off what they owed, the charity Citizens Advice has said. It said the figures showed that shoppers are "piling borrowing on top of borrowing" and underlined the urgent need for BNPL to be regulated. - Guardian
Marks & Spencer will pay its first female chief executive a £750,000 salary for working a four-day week, effectively almost £140,000 more than her male counterpart who will work full-time. Katie Bickerstaffe was announced as the high street stalwart's co-chief executive alongside Stuart Machin in March. - Telegraph
The cost-of-living crisis will be tougher than the pandemic, the boss of Richer Sounds said after its accounts showed it had handed back part of the government support it received during the Covid outbreak. Richer Sounds, the electronics and music retailer majority-owned by its staff, said it had repaid £448,000 of government support last year after its pre-tax profit rose by 52% from £6.48m to £9.89m. It said it had done better than expected, with sales edging up from £211.0m to £213.7m, after it had mobilised its "laptop army" of staff to take online and phone orders while shops were shut. - The Times
The windfall tax on energy companies will damage investors' confidence in Britain, according to Centrica, one of the largest businesses in the sector. The Treasury is to introduce a 25% levy on North Sea oil and gas company profits to raise up to £5.0bn, needed to help to pay for the support it is giving to eight million households to help them with the soaring cost of living. Oil and gas companies have been reporting huge profits on the back of sharply rising prices exacerbated by the embargo on Russian imports. - The Times
US close
US stocks managed a positive finish on Tuesday as investors shrugged off concerns about surging inflation and economic growth, as well as a cut in quarterly margin forecasts by retailer Target.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8% at 33,180.14, while the S&P 500 added 0.95% to 4,160.68 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.94% firmer at 12,175.23.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com