Stocks Hold Steady
The FTSE 100 remained stable at 7,932 points after reaching a 12-month peak last Friday. Kingfisher PLC, the company behind B&Q and Screwfix, encountered difficulties in the previous fiscal year due to sluggish retail spending, resulting in a decline in revenues and earnings. Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC saw a 0.9% drop in its shares following Elliott Investment Management’s call for greater transparency regarding the valuation of its private investments, notably SpaceX. Bitcoin experienced a surge against the US dollar over the weekend but failed to maintain momentum, slipping by approximately 0.3%. Wise PLC announced the appointment of Emmanuel Thomassin, former CFO of Delivery Hero, as its new CFO.
Kingfisher Earnings Plummet
Kingfisher PLC, the parent company of popular home improvement retailers B&Q and Screwfix, faced significant challenges in the past financial year. Total sales decreased by 1.8% year-over-year, with like-for-like sales down by 3.1%. The company reported a 22.3% decline in statutory pre-tax profit to £475 million (or a 25% decrease to £568 million on an adjusted basis). Despite these setbacks, Kingfisher maintained its yearly dividend at 12.4% and announced a £300 million share buyback program. Looking ahead, the company anticipates an adjusted pre-tax profit ranging from £490 million to £550 million, with projected free cash flow between £350 million and £410 million.
Scottish Mortgage in Focus
Elliott Investment Management’s recent actions shed light on Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s future. The activist investor is advocating for increased share buybacks to address the stock’s discount and the divestment of certain private investments, including SpaceX. Concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency in Scottish Mortgage’s private investments, which have grown relative to listed stocks, potentially impacting the share price. Notable unlisted investments include companies like TikTok’s parent ByteDance, US fintech firm Stripe, and Swedish EV battery developer Northvolt. Nabeel Bhanji, a partner at Elliott, expressed support for Scottish Mortgage’s £1 billion buyback initiative, the largest in a UK closed-end fund, and looks forward to ongoing engagement.
Bitcoin Off After Sunday Surge
Bitcoin’s recent performance against the US dollar has been volatile. While the cryptocurrency surged on Sunday, it failed to sustain momentum, experiencing a slight dip of around 0.3% today. Despite short-term fluctuations, Bitcoin has maintained a strong year-to-date performance, with the BTC/USD pair showing over 58% growth.
