Amended: Vodafone Group Sees Q1 Performance In Line

(Amended: Revenues in billion, not million as incorrectly reported earlier)

Telecommunications service provider Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) on Monday said it sees Q1 performance in line with expectations, citing continued growth in both Europe and Africa.

Group Service Revenue grew 2.5 percent, to 9.51 billion euros during the quarter, versus 9.39 billion euros last year. Service Revenue in Germany declined by 0.50 percent, attributed largely to the impact of the new Telecommunications Act. Europe Growth was supported by the growth acceleration in the U.K.

Total revenue increased to 11.3 billion euros from 11.1 billion euros in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

The company also said that it was on track to deliver on the earlier guidance for fiscal 2023, with Adjusted EBITDAaL, a non-GAAP measure expected to be between 15.0 – 15.5 billion euros. Adjusted Free Cash Flow expected is expected to be approximately 5.3 billion euros.

Shares of Vodafone Group closed Friday’s trading at $15.66, up 0.24 or 1.56 percent from the previous close.

Gold Inches Higher As Dollar Dips

Gold prices edged higher on Monday as the dollar dipped slightly ahead of a busy week of U.S. tech earnings and the Fed meeting.

Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,734.27 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,731.90.

Bond yields were little changed after sliding on Friday as weak data added to worries about the global economy.

Investors are pinning hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely slow the pace of interest-rate increases after front-loading policy with a second straight 75-bps rate hike on Wednesday.

With oil and other commodity prices falling from recent highs, there are hopes that some of the upward pressure on headline inflation figures would ease in the coming months.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that a recession is not inevitable.

Ahead of a slew of U.S. data due this week, Yellen said that there was the risk of a recession, but a downturn was not inevitable.

This week’s data will cover sales of new homes, consumer confidence, incomes, spending, inflation, and overall output.

BayWa AG Preliminary H1 EBIT Rises

BayWa AG (BYWG) said, according to preliminary figures, it expects earnings before
interest and tax, or EBIT of 328.5 million euros for the first half of 2022 compared to 144.6 million euros, prior year.

Looking forward, the Board of Management now expects EBIT of 400 million euros to 450 million euros for the full year. In its planning to date, the Board of Management of BayWa AG had forecast a significant year-on-year increase in EBIT (10% to 20%) for 2022 as a whole.

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Pre-market Movers: ILAG, USEA, TSLX, EVTL, ITHX…

The following are some of the stocks making big moves in Monday’s pre-market trading (as of 07.30 A.M. ET).

In the Green

Intelligent Living Application Group Inc. (ILAG) is up over 43% at $3.22
Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (TSLX) is up over 19% at $22.24
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (EVTL) is up over 13% at $5.65
ITHAX Acquisition Corp. (ITHX) is up over 12% at $15.76
MingZhu Logistics Holdings Limited (YGMZ) is up over 12% at $2.50
ESS Tech, Inc. (GWH) is up over 11% at $3.49
LumiraDx Limited (LMDX) is up over 11% at $2.63
Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NRGV) is up over 10% at $7.88
Offerpad Solutions Inc. (OPAD) is up over 10% at $2.42
Otonomy, Inc. (OTIC) is up over 9% at $2.35
G1 Therapeutics, Inc. (GTHX) is up over 8% at $8.18

In the Red

United Maritime Corporation (USEA) is down over 25% at $4.51
Kalera Public Limited Company (KAL) is down over 9% at $4.50
Enochian Biosciences, Inc. (ENOB) is down over 7% at $2.01

Oil Prices Take Breather After Three-day Losing Streak

Oil prices rose on Monday after three days of losses on worries that interest-rate hikes would slash global fuel demand.

Brent crude futures for October delivery rose 0.8 percent to $99.18 per barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 0.9 percent at $95.56.

The recovery came as investors balanced supply fears with expectations around inflation and interest-rate hikes.

With oil and other commodity prices falling from recent highs, investors are pinning hopes that some of the upward pressure on headline inflation figures would ease in the coming months.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to slow the pace of interest-rate increases after delivering a second straight 75-bps rate hike on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, China’s new COVID-19 cases eased to the lowest tally in more than a week, as Macau ramped up testing and Hong Kong introduced a new online health declaration system that will go live on a trial basis starting Thursday.

Analysts expect Libya’s oil output to remain volatile as tensions are still high.

Centene To Sell Continental European Businesses To France’s Vivalto Santé

Healthcare company Centene Corp. (CNC) announced Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Spanish and Central European businesses to Vivalto Santé, a private hospital company in France. The financial terms of the deal were not announced.

The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year, is subject to regulatory approvals in Spain and Slovakia and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

The sale is expected to be neutral to Centene’s adjusted earnings per share in the 12-month period post-closing.

The selling businesses include Ribera Salud, a healthcare provider in Spain; Torrejón Salud (Torrejón), a public-private partnership in the Community of Madrid which is operated by Ribera Salud; and Pro Diagnostics Group, a subsidiary of Ribera Salud, which owns clinics providing radiology and other services in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The move is part of Centene’s previously announced review of strategic alternatives for its international portfolio.

Centene said it intends to use the majority of the net proceeds from the sale to repurchase stock and the balance to reduce debt.

In the deal, Barclays is serving as financial advisor to Centene, and Garrigues and Havel Partners are serving as its legal counsel.

For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com