Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca LON:AZN has published a solid set of results for the first quarter this morning, with revenue growth of 15% being recorded. Stripping out the effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, that drops, albeit still to an impressive 11%. Guidance for the full year has been maintained and the company expects to see further acceleration of key metrics as the impact of the COVID pandemic starts to wane.
Barclays
Bumper numbers from Barclays LON:BARC this morning, with record Q1 pre-tax profits being recorded. The key Return on Tangible Equity metric has jumped to 14.7% from just 5.1% a year ago and the improved economic outlook means that the bank has significantly reduced its bad loan expectations. Although there’s still some uncertainty over the outlook, the company still expects to see a meaningful improvement in RoTE for the full year and has a medium term target of in excess of 10% here.
Card Factory
There’s a trading update out from The Card Factory LON:CARD this morning, which notes that since stores in England reopened on April 12th, sales have exceeded expectations. The company is however undertaking a refinancing and although covenant waivers have been obtained, these only run to the end of next month. Further updates have been promised here.
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