Yahoo Finance Trending tickers: Entain | Persimmon | Disney | Deliveroo
The latest investor updates on stocks that are trending on Thursday
Entain (ENT.L)
The owner of Ladbrokes and Coral bookmakers has said it has set aside £585m ($747.24) in case it is fined over an HMRC investigation into potential bribery at its former Turkish business.
The move is in anticipation of a settlement with UK authorities, who entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the international betting and gaming group earlier this year.
The group said that negotiations with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service had now “progressed to a point where the company believes it is likely to be able to agree a resolution".
Authorities started investigating the firm’s suppliers in 2019, and a year later started to look at the GVC Group, which subsequently rebranded as Entain.
Chairman Barry Gibson said: “We are pleased to be making good progress towards drawing a line under this historical issue, which relates to a business that was sold by a former management team of the group nearly six years ago.
“We have been working closely with the CPS throughout this process, and they have recognised our extensive co-operation.
“Following a complete overhaul of our business model, strategy and culture in the last few years, the Entain of today bears no resemblance to the GVC of yesterday.”
In the half-year to the end of June, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation came in at £499.4m, up from £471m a year before. Group revenues increased 13% year-on-year to £2.3bn. Shares are down 1% at the time of writing.
Persimmon (PSN.L)
Persimmon, one of the UK's largest housebuilders, revealed a 65% fall in half-year profit on Thursday amid lower home completions and higher build cost inflation.
The group had 4,249 new property completions during the period, down from 6,652 in the prior half year, however, profit guidance for the year remained unchanged.
Pre-tax profits dropped from £439.7m to £151m even though average prices rose to £256,445 from £245,597.
Dean Finch, chief executive, said: "Against a backdrop of higher mortgage rates, the removal of Help to Buy and significant market uncertainty, Persimmon has delivered a robust sales rate. We are on track to deliver profit expectations for the year.”
Shares rose as much as 3% in London on the back of the news.
Read more: LIVE: FTSE 100 opens in the green despite pain in UK housing market
As mortgage rates continue to soar, Persimmon has significantly reduced land approvals and placed restrictions on hiring and new site openings.
It reduced headcount by almost 300 in the first half of the year, with further reviews to cut costs by as much as £25m annually.
The housebuilder is also planning to remove certain specifications in homes that are less important to customers, resulting in savings of up to £1,800 per plot.
"New home buyers are clearly exercising greater caution, and frankly who can blame them. This has presented a very challenging backdrop for Persimmon and its peers," Charlie Huggins, manager of the 'Quality Shares Portfolio' at Wealth Club, said.
"Mortgage rates have soared over the past year, and have increased further in recent months. When combined with the limited availability of high loan to value mortgages and the end of the Help to Buy scheme in England, it’s no surprise the housing market has seen a marked slowdown."
Disney (DIS)
Disney shares rose 1.7% in pre-market trading on Thursday as the group's trading update revealed it will raise the prices of its streaming service by more than a quarter.
From October, the US entertainment firm will hike the monthly cost of Disney+ to $13.99 (£11) per month, a 27% increase.
It is also planning to roll out its ad-supported subscription tier internationally, starting at £4.99 in the UK, as chief executive Bob Iger looks to increase profitability.
Traditional TV continued to struggle during the period, with revenues down 7% and profits falling 23%.
Disney+ saw a 7.4% decline in subscribers to 146.1 million, yet The Walt Disney Company reported a 4% rise in revenues to $22.3bn compared to the same period in 2022.
During the same quarter, the parks, experiences, and products division witnessed a 13% surge in revenue, reaching $8.3 billion.
“While Disney has met expectation with its numbers, it is a business that is facing a lot uncertainty. CEO Bob Iger has some big decisions to make to turn the business around as it is impacted by a number of factors," Ben Barringer, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said.
"Disney+ itself is now going through the growing pains stage and is taking a leaf out of Netflix’s playbook to put itself on a path to profitability. As a result, it is increasing prices, potentially exiting markets, reducing content and limiting password sharing. Disney, however, will be impacted more than most by the writers and actors strikes, so it will need to tread the line carefully.
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Deliveroo (ROO.L)
Deliveroo was up more than 3% on the day after it increased its full-year earnings expectations to £80m and said shareholders could receive their first ever dividend later this year.
It said it was in a position to return up to £250m cash to investors in the form of either a special dividend, a tender offer or a share buyback.
The company said it will decide on a method for the capital return by September.
This was despite the food delivery firm seeing order numbers shrink 6% in the latest half-year as consumers continue to suffer from the rising cost-of-living.
Food price inflation boosted the group's gross transaction value (GTV) per order, which jumped by a tenth to £24.20 from £22.10. Demand in the UK proved more robust, with order numbers broadly flat.
“Starting last year, high food price inflation in many markets has put pressure on consumer spending power and impacted demand for food delivery," it said.
CEO Will Shu said Hawaiian food had become the most popular in London, after a surge in demand for Poké bowls. Semi-skimmed milk, bananas and white wine were the most popular grocery orders.
Deliveroo also reported better-than-expected EBITDA of £39m in the first six months, as its margin improved to 1.1% in the period, from 0.2% in the second half of 2022, and a negative margin of 1.5% a year ago.
Shares are up more than 40% year-to-date so far.
Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?
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