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Centrica hit three-year high on earnings upgrade
Centrica (CNA) hit new trend highs last week after it raised its full-year earnings forecast.
Robust volumes from its electricity generation and gas production activities drove earnings growth which will see Centrica’s full year adjusted earnings above 30p/share.
The British Gas owner also said that cash generation has been good, and it expects 2022 closing net cash to be above £1 billion.
The trading update accompanied the announcement of Russell O’Brien as chief financial officer. Centrica said O’Brien’s appointment will be effective from March and the current finance chief Kate Ringrose will step down at the end of February after two years in the role.
On the price chart, Centrica’s powerful long-term uptrend is in full swing with prices consolidating after breaking to three-year highs last week.
CNA Daily Candle Chart
QinetiQ wins £80m contract from MoD
Qinetiq (QQ.) has won a 10-year contract with the UK Ministry of Defence worth £80m.
In a statement released alongside its Q3 trading update, Qinetiq said:
“The contract will provide expertise, training and support to accelerate and transform mission data production; this will enable military platforms and personnel, from the UK and its allies, to be better protected in a rapidly changing threat landscape and enhance the performance of our advanced military systems”.
Qinetiq’s trading statement also read well, with order intake remaining strong and revenue year-to-date now at more than £1bn.
Qinetq said it remains on track to deliver a profit and cash performance in line with expectations for full-year 2023.
QQ. Daily Candle Chart
AstraZeneca signs COVID treatment deal with China’s Genertec Meheco
AstraZeneca (AZN) has signed a cooperation agreement with China’s Genertec Meheco for COVID-19 antibody drug Evusheld.
Genertec Meheco is a unit of Shanghai-listed China Meheco Group and will be responsible for import and distribution of Evusheld in mainland China once the drug is approved to enter the Chinese market.
AstraZeneca did not release a statement in relation to the deal, but the market responded positively when the news broke on Friday 13th January.
Since then, AstraZeneca’s share price and the wider market have undergone a pullback from highs.
AZN Daily Candle Chart
Spirent slide after delay in orders
Spirent Communications (SPT) share price took a hit last week following the release of its Q4 trading update…
The update revealed that order growth had slowed in the quarter due to a delay in customer’s investment decisions amid deteriorating global market economic conditions.
“Whilst we expect customers to remain committed to their development projects overall, evidenced by no cancellations, the Group’s performance is now likely to have a heavier than usual weighting to the second half of 2023” read the cautious statement.
This news has damaged short-term sentiment, but our long-term stance on the stock remains unchanged. We believe Spirent is a high-quality play on the growth of the 5G security market.
Full year revenue grew by 5.5% to $607m and Spirent expect to deliver an adjusted operating profit slightly ahead of market consensus, “showing good earnings growth over 2021”.
SPT Daily Candle Chart
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