Avast H1 EBITDA drops, IHG interim profits double
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 09 Aug 2022
(Sharecast News) - London pre-open
The FTSE 100 was being called to open 13.8 points lower ahead of the bell on Tuesday after closing 0.57% higher in the previous session at 7,482.37.
Stocks to watch
Cybersecurity provider Avast said on Tuesday that underlying earnings had dropped in the six months ended 30 June as margins contracted and revenues remained broadly flat year-on-year.
Avast posted a first-half adjusted EBITDA of $249.7m, down from $270.2m at the same time a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA margins fell 4.4 percentage points to 52.9%, and adjusted revenues ticked up by 0.2% to $472.0m.
InterContinental Hotels Group doubled interim profits, reinstated dividends and announced a $500.0m share buyback on Tuesday as travel demand increased amid easing Covid restrictions.
The hotel chain said operating profit for the six months to 30 June rose 101% to $377.0m, while revenue per available room, a key metric, rose 51% but was still 10.5% lower than pre-pandemic 2019. A dividend of 43.9 cents a share was declared.
Newspaper round-up
July could be the "lull before the storm" for retailers and consumers after the heatwave boosted sales of summer clothing, picnic treats and electric fans despite the intensifying cost of living crisis, experts have warned. Figures from the British Retail Consortium revealed a 2.3% sales rise last month compared with a 6.4% rise the year before. The latest BRC-KPMG sales monitor found the sales growth was largely caused by inflation, which is at more than 9%, and masked a larger drop in the number of items sold. - Guardian
The super-rich are paying 13.5% more to rent luxurious central London properties than last summer, research has found, in the latest sign that overseas millionaires and billionaires are flocking back to the capital. The estate agent Savills calculated that over the year to June 2022 the average price of "prime central London" rentals rose by that figure, the highest annual increase in more than 20 years. - Guardian
Norway has drawn up plans to ration electricity exports in a move that has heightened fears of energy shortages in the UK and Europe this winter. The government in Oslo on Monday announced new rules limiting the sale of power to foreign countries as heatwaves threaten Norway's hydroelectric power generation. - Telegraph
IBM has accused a Swiss tech start-up of using a British front company to steal and copy its trade secrets. LzLabs created a "shell company" called Winsopia in 2013 that existed solely for intellectual property infringement, IBM said in claims made in the High Court. - Telegraph
The lure of the new breed of fast-growing online news sites to traditional media players was reinforced yesterday when it emerged that Axios is being bought by Cox Enterprises in a $525.0m deal. Launched five years ago by former executives of Politico, the influential politics website, Axios has built a reputation for scoops and its name went global after a clash with Donald Trump. - The Times
US close
Wall Street stocks were mixed at the end of trading on Monday ahead of a key inflation report scheduled for later in the week.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 09% at 32,832.54, while the S&P 500 lost 0.12% to 4,140.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.1% at 12,644.46.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN