(Alliance News) - Tensions in the Middle East sharply escalated ahead of the London open on Tuesday; meanwhile blue chip firm Intertek received an increased indicative proposal from EQT Fund Management.
Most recently, Denmark's freight titan Maersk announced that one of its ships, US-flagged Alliance Fairfax, has successfully sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under US escort. South Korea, meanwhile, said it will "review its position" on joining US operations in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged Seoul to take part following an apparent Iranian attack on one of its ships.
"Yesterday, the US announced it would escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz — calling it a humanitarian operation (!). Iran warned it would retaliate, and reports suggest the US went ahead regardless. Iran then struck ships and key oil infrastructure in Fujairah, UAE — notably a terminal that allows exports bypassing the Strait. Unsurprisingly, oil prices spiked," Swissquote Senior Analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 5.6 points, 0.1%, at 10,358.33
GBP: lower at USD1.3521 (USD1.3626 at previous London equities close)
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BROKER RATINGS
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Bank of America raises BT to 'buy' (neutral) - price target 282 (213) pence
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JPMorgan starts Genus with 'overweight' - price target 3,200 pence
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Goldman Sachs cuts Ryanair price target to 28 (30) EUR - 'neutral'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Intertek receives an increased indicative proposal for a potential takeover from ETQ Fund Management. The indicative proposal for the London-based assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company is for GBP58.00 per Intertek share, 7.4% higher than an offer for GBP54.00 per share that Intertek had rejected in April. Under UK takeover rules, EQT has until May 14 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or confirm that it does not intend to proceed.
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Melrose Industries appoints Ross McCluskey as chief financial officer, with Matthew Gregory stepping down. The Birmingham, England-based aerospace firm named McCluskey to take over the role in late February.
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Vodafone announces the acquisition of all of UK mobile operator VodafoneThree in a buyout of joint venture partner CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holding Ltd. The Berkshire, England-based telecommunications provider will pay GBP4.3 billion in cash to cancel the shares in the joint venture held by CK Hutchison. VodafoneThree is currently 51% owned by Vodafone, with Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison holding the remaining 49%, which Vodafone is set to acquire. Vodafone says the agreement implies an enterprise value for VodafoneThree of GBP13.85 billion, including debt. The deal is expected to increase Vodafone's pro forma net debt to adjusted earnings by 0.4 times. VodafoneThree, according to Vodafone, is the UK's largest mobile operator, "and one of the fastest growing broadband providers".
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HSBC says pretax profit fell 1.1% to USD9.38 billion in the first quarter ended March 31 from USD9.48 billion a year earlier. "The decrease reflected higher expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges," the Asia-focused, London-based universal bank explains. Change in expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges surged 49% to USD1.30 billion from USD876 million. Diluted earnings per share rose 2.6% to USD0.40 from USD0.39. The bank maintained its dividend for the first quarter at USD0.10 per share. Net interest income rose 7.7% to USD8.95 billion from USD8.30 billion, while net fee income jumped 12% to USD3.72 billion from USD3.32 billion. HSBC's common equity tier one ratio reduced to 14.0% from 14.7%, although the bank intends to continue to keep it within the medium term target range of 14.0% to 14.5%. To reflect an improved interest rate outlook, HSBC now expects banking net interest income to reach around USD46 billion in full-year 2026, up from prior guidance of at least USD45 billion. It also says it is on track to deliver USD1.5 billion of annualised cost savings by the end of June, six months earlier than planned.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Wizz Air says it carried 6.6 million passengers in April, up 22% from 5.4 million for the same month in 2025. Capacity increased 23% to 7.5 million from 6.1 million seats. The rolling 12-month average for capacity increased 12% to 78.3 million from 70.2 million seats, while the passenger count increases 11% to 70.9 million from 63.9 million. "In response to erroneous comments carried by the media, Wizz Air's CEO Jozsef Varadi reaffirmed the company's financial stability," the company adds. "He noted that the airline maintains strong liquidity and is well hedged, having secured approximately 70% of its summer jet fuel needs at around USD720/MT."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Ryanair also reports its April traffic statistics, with passenger count increasing 5% to 19.3 million from 18.3 million. The rolling 12-month figure increases 4% to 209.3 million from 201.3 million.
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Auction Technology appoints Duncan Painter as its new chief executive officer, with immediate effect. It says outgoing CEO John-Paul Savant will provide transitional support through the handover period, which ends on May 20. Painter was most recently CEO of Omnicom Commerce, after serving in the same role at Ascential from 2011 until early 2024.
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RWS Holdings announces its agreement in principle to acquire UK-based intellectual property and brand management platform Obviously. Both companies are in advanced and exclusive discussions to finalise and enter into definitive, legally binding transaction documents, RWS says. The Maidenhead, England-based language services and artificial intelligence solutions provider expects the deal to expand its total addressable market by around GBP2 billion via expansions into trademark and brand protection solutions, and strengthen its Protect division's ability to capture a greater share of its existing addressable market. Also, offering Obviously's platform to existing and potential clients should "create significant revenue opportunities" across the Protect and Transform segments. "The acquisition, if completed, will position RWS as a provider of an innovative end-to-end brand lifecycle technology solution, from creation and localisation to protection, strengthening RWS's value proposition as a unified 'Global Brand Guardianship' platform for large enterprise clients," RWS says.
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Anheuser-Busch InBev reports a 12% rise in normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to USD5.44 billion for the first quarter that ended March 31 from USD4.86 billion a year earlier. The Leuven, Belgium-based brewer says revenue grew by 12% to USD15.27 billion from USD13.63 billion, thanks to improved beer volumes, which rose 0.9% to 118.48 million hectolitres from 117.38 million, with record high first-quarter volumes in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa and Peru. Looking ahead, AB Inbev expects Ebitda to grow in line with its medium-term outlook of between 4% and 8%. "The outlook for FY26 reflects our current assessment of inflation and other macroeconomic conditions," it notes.
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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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