Return of patients boosts Smith & Nephew shares
SHARES in Smith & Nephew surged as a rebound in surgical procedures following the pandemic boosted its fortunes.
The FTSE 100 firm, which makes bandages as well as hip and knee replacements, rose 3.4pc, or 43.5p, to 1312p after reporting revenue of £1bn for the three months to April 2, a 3.3pc rise year-on-year.
It enjoyed ‘strong growth’ from its sports medicine and ear, nose and throat businesses and an improved performance in orthopaedics.. Its advanced wound care segment, which includes medical dressings and pain relief gels, also saw revenues rise 8pc as it was boosted by sales in Europe.
Smith & Nephew noted that elective surgeries had recovered at the start of the quarter as hospitals began planning procedures again rather than focusing on treating Covid patients.
Sports medicine joint repair demand rebounded after a hit from fewer events took place during the pandemic.
Boss Deepak Nath hailed the ‘encouraging start’ to the year while the firm left its forecasts for 2022 unchanged.
The FTSE 100 gained 1.1pc, or 83.58 points, to 7509.19 while the FTSE 250 jumped 0.9pc, or 181.85 points, to 20,619.62.
Some of the biggest hitters helped, with HSBC rising 1.6pc, or 7.75p, to 494.05p following strong results from its fellow Asia-focused rival Standard Chartered (up 14.2pc, or 67.9p, at 547.6p).
Lloyds added 1.2pc, or 0.54p, to 46.31p after analysts at Bank of America upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ and upped their target price to 57p from 46p. Lloyds also won price hikes from UBS, RBC and Deutsche Bank.
Mining giant Glencore rose 0.8pc, or 3.75p, to 483.5p after predicting earnings from its trading business would ‘comfortably’ exceed expectations as it cashed in on wild price swings in commodity markets caused by war in Ukraine. That offset a cut to fullyear production targets for copper, cobalt and zinc as it grappled with difficult ground conditions.
Wealth manager St James’s Place slipped 0.3pc, or 3.91p to 1278.5p after recording a drop in funds under management in the first quarter. It was looking after £154bn but this fell to £151bn by the end of March.
Recruiter Hays jumped 3.2pc, or 3.7p, to 121p after unveiling plans for a £75m share buyback, as it said business remained ‘highly cash generative’, and reiterated a commitment to return surplus funds to shareholders.
Pharma giant AstraZeneca received another regulatory boost after a drug was approved for use in the US. Ultomiris treats myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune disorder that stops muscles from working properly. Shares rose 0.5pc, or 50p, to 10,562p. Mexican gold miner Fresnillo received a mixed assessment from analysts, with JP Morgan cutting their target on the stock to 850p from 900p while Jefferies increased theirs to 810p from 790p.
The shares fell 0.5pc, or 4.21p, to 770.4p after it went ex-dividend.
Kitchen fitter Howden Joinery was up 1pc, or 7.4p, to 777.4p after it reported revenues in the four months to April 16 rose nearly 22pc year-on-year as it increased prices. It remained ‘on track’ to hit its full-year outlook.
Schroders reported a rise in assets under management in the three months to the end of March – to £753bn from £732bn. However, the shares dipped 0.9pc, or 26p, to 2842p as the value of its mutual funds fell to £110bn from £116bn at the end of December.
Meanwhile, car dealer Inchcape soared 6.4pc, or 42.50p, to 708.5p after forecasting a 25pc surge in profits for 2022 to at least £300m. It reported revenues of £1.8bn for its first quarter, 13pc higher than the same period a year ago.