Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 28th February 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks declined with heavy pressure seen at month-end following the sell-off on Wall St with global risk sentiment hit by tariff threats and following a slump in NVIDIA shares post-earnings. ASX 200 was pressured with nearly all sectors in the red and the declines led by underperformance in miners and tech. Nikkei 225 slumped from the open and briefly dipped below the 37,000 level with the index down by more than a thousand points amid tech-related selling, while there were mixed data releases from Japan including softer-than-expected Tokyo CPI, a miss on Retail Sales and a slightly narrower-than-feared contraction in Industrial Production. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the broad downbeat mood amid trade-related frictions after US President Trump announced that an additional 10% of tariffs on China is set to take effect on March 4th which is on top of the 10% tariffs the US had previously imposed earlier this month. Nonetheless, the losses in the mainland were somewhat cushioned in early trade ahead of next week’s annual ”Two Sessions” in Beijing, where markets will be hoping for fiscal stimulus.

China - China's Politburo says will implement a more proactive macro policy, expand domestic demand and will stabilise the housing market and stock market.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -1.19% at 22,524, FTSE 100: +0.28% at 8,756, CAC 40: -0.51% at 8,103, Euro Stoxx 50: -1.07% at 5,471, AEX: -0.66% at 926, IBEX 35: -0.61% at 13,251, FTSE MIB: -1.53% at 38,623, SMI: -0.55% at 12,968, PSI: -2.07% at 6,844.

SECTORS: Energy 0.51%, Healthcare 0.20%, Consumer Stpl -0.03%, Telecoms -0.04%, Financials -0.15%, Industrials -0.19%, Utilities -0.40%, Materials -1.13%, Consumer Disc -1.37%, IT -2.41%

FTSE 100

US/UK Trade - US President Trump says they are going to have a deal done on trade with the UK rather quickly; UK PM Starmer tried to convince him not to impose tariffs on the UK. US President Trump says UK PM Starmer is a tough negotiator; US and UK have a special relationship. Meetings with UK's Starmer were tremendously productive. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Schroders (SDR LN) - CEO is to outline cost cuts and a new growth plan amid pressure from its the founding family, on March 6th, according to Reuters citing sources. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

WPP (WPP LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

DAX

Allianz (ALV GY) - Q4 (EUR): Net Income 2.64bln (prev. 2.26bln Y/Y), Revenue 45.9bln (prev. 39.6bln Y/Y). To propose dividend/shr of EUR 15.40, +11.6% Y/Y. Guides initial FY25 Op. 15-17bln. (Newswires)

BASF (BAS GY) - Q4 (EUR): Net Adj. EBIT 554mln (exp. 560mln), Revenue 15.9bln (exp. 15.8bln); cuts dividend to EUR 2.25/shr (prev. EUR 3.40/shr). Guides initial FY24 EBITDA 8-8.4bln (exp. 8.40bln, 2023 result: 7.9bln). Notes that earnings in Petrochemicals division is to be impacted by rising fixed costs connected to startup of Verbund site in China and scheduled turnarounds. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Lanxess (LXS GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

CAC

Saint Gobain (SGO FP) - FY24 (EUR): Sales 46.6bln (exp. 48.7bln), Operating income 5.3bln (exp. 5.6bln), Sales LFL -3.6%; dividend +5% to 2.20/shr for 2024. 2025 outlook: Expects operating margin of more than 11%. CapEx around 4.5% of sales. (Newswires)

Safran (SAF FP) - Boeing (BA) and Safran ask suppliers to evaluate impact of blaze at Pennsylvania plane parts factory, according to Reuters citing sourcesAirbus (AIR FP) said it's too early to confirm the extent of exposure but expects SPS fire impact to be limited. GE Aerospace (GE) it's taking proactive steps to minimize disruption and ensure continued delivery to customers after fire. Safran says it's assessing the situation and seeking alternative sources after SPS Technologies factory fire. Boeing working with SPS to assess and manage impact of fastener factory fire. (Reuters)

Teleperformance (TEP FP) - FY (EUR): Revenue 10.28bln (exp. 10.23bln). Achieves 2024 targets. AI investment in 2025 will be EUR 100mln. 2025: LFL Rev. growth between +2 to +4% unadjusted for contract renewals. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Valeo (FR FP) - Q4 2024 (USD): Sales 5.41bln (exp. 5.30bln); FY: EBITDA 2.86bln (exp. 2.70bln), FCF after one-off restructuring costs 481mln, Op. margin 4.3% (exp. 4.3%). Sees 2025 sales between EUR 21.5-22.5bln and EBITDA 13.5-14.5%. Sees 2025 op. margin 4.5-5.5% and FCF before one-off restructuring costs 700-800mln. Co. says any change in tariffs will have to be compensated by carmakers as auto suppliers cannot absorb alone or even share the burden of tariffs. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Trade - US President Trump says there will be an additional 10% tariff on China; clarifies that there will be a 10+10 tariff on China, so 20%. Not seeing progress on drugs coming into the country. EU: US President Trump criticizes EU VAT taxes and don't like the way the EU is treating our companies; going to have reciprocal tariffs. (Newswires)

ACS (ACS SM) - FY (EUR): Revenue 41.63bln (exp. 40.62bln), EBITDA 2.46bln (exp. 2.39bln). (Newswires)

Amadeus (AMS SM) - FY (EUR): EBITDA 2.33bln (exp. 2.32bln), Adj. EPS 3.00 (exp. 2.85). To carry out buyback programme for treasury shares; max investment will be EUR 1.3bln. (Newswires)

Anima (ANIM IM) - Goldman Sachs held 2.339% (prev. 4.73%) as of Feb 19. (Newswires)

Acciona Energia (ANA SM) - EBITDA 2.45bln, +24% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BPost (BPOST BB) - Q4 (EUR): Adj. EBIT 84mln (exp. 58mln), Net Income -257.2mln. (Newswires)

Fugro (FUR FP) - Q4 (EUR): Revenue 587.5mln (exp. 586mln), EBITDA 119.3mln (exp. 94mln). 2025: Continued on mid-term targets with EBIT margin well within mid-term range of 11-15%. (Newswires)

Ferrovial (FER SM) - FY (EUR): Revenue 9.1bln (exp. 9.47bln), Adj. EBITDA 1.3bln (exp. 1.57bln). 2025: Proposed total scrip dividend and share buyback of max EUR 570mln; buyback program of up to EUR 500mln. (Newswires)

Galp (GALP PL) - To start a EUR 250mln share repurchase on Feb 28. (Newswires)

Melia Hotels (MEL SM) - FY (EUR): Revenue 2.01bln (exp. 2.08bln), Net Profit 162mln. 2025: Expects a mid-single-digit increase of RevPAR in 2025; expects to open min of 20 hotels in 2025. (Newswires)

Nexi (NEXI IM) - FY (EUR): EBITDA 1.86bln (exp. 1.87bln), Revenue 3.51bln (exp. 3.52bln). Proposes dividend of EUR 0.25/shr. 2025: EBITDA margin expansion of atleast 50bps Y/Y. (Newswires)

Naturgy (NTGY SM) - Co. asks shareholders for commitments to participate in tender offer. (Newswires)

Proximus (PROX BB) - Q4 (EUR): Revenue 1.68bln (exp. 1.65bln), Underlying EBITDA 437mln (exp. 438mln). 2025: Sees Y/Y domestic rev. and EBITDA broadly stable. (Newswires)

Puig (PUIG SM) - FY (EUR): Net Profit 530.6mln (exp. 544mln), Net Revenue 4.79bln (exp. 4.77bln). 2025: Sees adj. EBITDA improvement expectation similar to 2024; rev. 6-8% LFL growth. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Clariant (CLN SW) - FY (CHF): Sales 4.15bln (exp. 4.14bln). Outlook 2025: Modest growth and underlying EBITDA margin improvement; confirms outlook. (Newswires)

Holcim (HOLN SW) - FY (CHF): Recurring EBIT 5.04bln, +10.8% Y/Y (local currency) and +6.1% Y/Y (CHF). Proposed CHF 3.10 dividend, +11% Y/Y. Outlook: Mid single digit net sales growth in local currency. FCF above 3.5bln. Spin-off: Makes SEC filing in planned spin-off of North American business. On track to complete by end of H1'25. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.59% at 5,862, NDX -2.75% at 20,551, DJI -0.45% at 43,240, RUT -1.59% at 2,140

SECTORS: Technology -3.79%, Utilities -2.23%, Communication Services -1.83%, Consumer Discretionary -1.78%, Materials -0.69%, Health -0.41%, Industrials -0.37%, Consumer Staples +0.02%, Real Estate +0.39%, Energy +0.48%, Financials +0.57%.

Autodesk (ADSK) - Shares rose over 1% afterhours following the announcement of a restructuring plan. It reported Q4 adj. EPS 2.29 (exp. 2.13), Q4 revenue USD 1.60bln (exp. 1.63bln). It announced a restructuring plan, cutting around 9% of its workforce (1,350 jobs), reducing facilities, and will incur pre-tax charges of between USD 135-150mln, mostly in cash. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 2.14-2.17 (exp. 2.07), and sees Q1 revenue between USD 1.6-1.61bln (exp. 1.6bln); sees FY26 adj. EPS between 9.34-9.67 (exp. 9.26), and sees FY26 revenue between USD 6.895-6.965bln (exp. 6.89bln).

Citigroup (C) - Citigroup mistakenly credited a client’s account with USD 81tln instead of USD 280.00 due to a manual input error, FT reports. The issue was detected and reversed without funds leaving the bank. This incident, along with other near misses, raises concerns over Citi’s ongoing efforts to improve risk management and operational controls.

Dell Technologies (DELL) - Q4 adj. EPS 2.68 (exp. 2.52), Q4 net revenue USD 23.93bln (exp. 24.54bln). Is raising its cash dividend to 2.10/shr, and approved a USD 10bln increase in its share buyback programme. It reported Infrastructure Solutions Group net revenue +22% Y/Y at USD 11.35bln (exp. 11.8bln); Servers and Networking revenue +37% Y/Y, Storage revenue +5.4% Y/Y, Client Solutions Group net revenue +1.4% Y/Y, Consumer revenue -12% Y/Y. Sees Q1 revenue between USD 22.5-23.5bln (exp. 23.55bln), and sees Q1 adj. EPS of 1.65 (exp. 1.76). For the FY26, it sees revenue between USD 101-105bln (exp. 103.04bln), and adj. EPS of 9.30 (exp. 9.24). Dell forecasts USD 15bln in AI server shipments for FY26 (+50% vs USD 9.8bln in FY25); reports suggested that investor concerns persist over the profitability of these products, and accordingly, Dell's shares fell over 1% in extended trading.

HP Inc (HPQ) - Shares fell 3.9% afterhours following results, where it forecast lower-than-expected quarterly profit due to rising component costs and tariffs on Chinese imports. The company plans to cut over 1,000 jobs and reduce reliance on China in its supply chain. Despite current challenges, HP expects the PC market to recover later in the year. It reported Q1 adj. EPS of 0.74 (exp. 0.74), Q1 revenue USD 13.5bln (exp. 13.37bln), Q1 operating margin 7.3% (exp. 7.45%). Q1 Personal systems revenue USD 9.22bln (exp. 9.13bln); Printing revenue USD 4.27bln (exp. 4.26bln). Sees Q2 adj. EPS between 0.75-0.85 (exp. 0.85); sees FY adj. EPS between 3.45-3.75 (exp. 3.59).

Meta Platforms (META) - Meta plans to launch a standalone AI app in Q2, aiming to compete with OpenAI and Alphabet (GOOG), CNBC reports. CEO wants Meta AI to be the top digital assistant, with a potential paid subscription model. The move follows Meta AI’s integration across its apps, as the company intensifies efforts to lead in AI development.

Mosiac (MOS) - Q4 adj. EPS 0.45 (exp. 0.57), Q4 revenue USD 2.82bln (exp. 2.86bln). It expects phosphate and potash to recover in 2025, sees improved margins in Mosaic Fertilizantes unit, and benefits from asset redeployment. Exec said that with the Ma'aden deal closed and the Patos de Minas sale signed, it remains well positioned for improving market conditions. Sees 2025 phosphate production volumes between 7.2-7.6mln tonnes, and sees 2025 potash production volumes of 8.7-9.1mln tonnes.

28 Feb 2025 - 06:59- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk