UK telecoms giant BT (BT.A) has cut its revenue, earnings and free cash flow forecasts for 2017 and 2018 after finding that 'inappropriate' accounting behaviour in its Italian business went far deeper than previously thought. BT's Italian arm has been under investigation, aided by KPMG, sparking a £145m adjustment of the business. But new information sparks a much larger write-down of £530m, while BT cannot rule out further revaluations for prior years. This comes as a massive blow for investors and sparks a 15% sell-off in the share price of the popular income stock to 324.85p, which Shares looked at on Monday (read here).
The news fails to drag on UK stocks, which make marginal early gain on Tuesday despite the recent bounce of sterling versus the dollar. The FTSE 100 index makes single-digit gains to around 7,154, having closed down 0.66% at 7151.18 on Monday.
Britain's largest electricals and mobile phone retailer, Dixons Carphone (DC.), enjoyed a very merry Christmas quarter and the company now says it will beat forecasts for the period. While the group has maintained guidance for the full year, the news comes as a welcome boost after a spate of profit warnings from UK high street operators recently. The stock nudges 0.5% up at 337.6p.
British housebuilder Crest Nicholson (CRST) remains on track to significantly boost the number of homes it builds by the end of the decade as it posts a 27% rise in full-year pretax profit. While not hugely interesting in itself - the share price stays largely flat at 492.4p - the house building sector has come alive after speculation that large investors in peer Bovis (BVS) had been reporting pushing for the company to merge with Berkeley (BKG), the builder of upmarket homes and apartments in London and the South East, gossip that was flat out denied on Monday.
Elsewhere in corporate news, Genel Energy (GENL), one of the main oil producers in Iraqi Kurdistan, expects production to fall by up to 34% this year. The company says it has been unable to invest enough in expanding its oilfields, presumably because of the ongoing conflict in the region, but the market has little sympathy for geo-political problems, marking the stock nearly 9% lower at 75p.
Staying with oil, North Sea-focused oil producer EnQuest (ENQ) has agreed to buy a 25% stake in BP's Magnus oil field and further interests in the Sullom Voe oil terminal and surrounding infrastructure, the company announces on Tuesday. Investor like the news, bidding the share price 4.5% higher to 51.5p.
UK low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) posts first-quarter revenue, cost and passenger numbers in line with expectations but says that forward bookings are ahead of last year. But investors remain concerned about weak sterling, markeing the stock 6.7% lower at £10.04.
Exceptional maiden full year results from automation technology play Blue Prism (PRSM:AIM) - flagged by Shares recently - are surprisingly see the stock shed 5% to 487.5p. Or perhaps not so surprising, given the soaring run since IPO in March 2016.
Very strong results from rules and regs software designer Ideagen (IDEA:AIM) show the company successfully building on its core GRC markets and a return to double-digit organic growth in 2016, going some way to justify Shares confidence in pitching the stock as one of our picks of 2017 (read here). The shares rally close on 3% to 70p.
Soaps and creams maker PZ Cussons (PZC) slumps nearly 7% to 313.5p as half year sales and profits slide.
Electronics manufacturer Laird (LRD), which makes products for iPhones, rallies 7% to 155p as the company confirms underlying profit this year of £50m and importantly, that debts will not break banking covenants. The company is trying to bounce back from a mobile phones-sparked profit warning in October.
Contract delays and FX moves spark a profits warning at petrol stations software supplier Kalibrate Technologies (KLBT:AIM), swiping 33% off the share price to 47.5p.
