MARKET REPORT: Crowdstrike Fails to Beat Beazley as Profits Soar
Following the largest IT outage ever caused by a faulty software upgrade by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, insurance specialist Beazley expects more business opportunities in cyber risk insurance.
Adrian Cox, CEO of the FTSE 100-listed company, said the CrowdStrike incident was a test of Beazley’s approach to insuring against cyber risk, but he said it had proven highly resilient.
Beazley was the top gainer in the FTSE 100, rising 10.8 percent, or 68.5p, to 705.5p. The company, which manages six Lloyd’s of London syndicates, reported record profits in the first half of the year as insurance premiums rose 6.9 percent.
After a strong first-half performance, Beazley’s boss said the company sees opportunities in cyber risk for the remainder of the year and is confident it can deliver on its full-year guidance for high-single-digit growth.
Adrian Cox, CEO of Beazley, said the CrowdStrike outage had tested Beazley’s approach to insuring cyber risk, but he said it had proven highly resilient
Global markets were volatile as concerns about a U.S. recession waxed and waned. The FTSE 100 index fell 0.3 percent, or 21.91 points, to 8,144.97, and the FTSE 250 lost 0.3 percent, or 67.45 points, to 20,508.58.
Weakness in the heavy commodities sector was a drag, putting pressure on dollar earners.
In oil issuance, BP lost 1.4 percent, or 6p, to 431.25p, following a downgrade by analysts at HSBC from buy to hold.
Gold prices fell further from record highs, causing precious metals miners to retreat.
Endeavour Mining rose 0.1 percent, or 1p, to 1,553p after analysts at Berenberg cut their price target.
Back to today’s results, generics company Hikma Pharmaceuticals rose 8.3 percent, or 152p, to 1,992p after raising its full-year forecast following a 43 percent rise in first-half profits.
Stock Price – TI Fluid
TI Fluid Systems rose sharply as it raised its interim dividend by 4.3 percent and reiterated its full-year guidance.
The car parts maker reported a rise in half-year profit to £61.2m, beating market expectations, even though revenue fell 1.4 per cent on a constant exchange rate basis.
First-half bookings rose 11 percent to £1.29 billion, including £517 million of electric vehicle wins.
Shares rose 13.6 percent, or 15.2p, to 127.2p.
But Spirax Group fell 7.5 percent, or 635p, to 7,900p as the industrial and commercial steam systems maker reported first-half results that missed market expectations. However, the FTSE 100-listed company said it expected a stronger second half.
Outside the big caps, construction company Morgan Sindall rose 7 per cent, or 195p, to 2,970p. Full-year results are expected to be slightly higher than previously expected, following a record first-half performance.
Electronic components maker TT Electronics rose 3.2 percent, or 4.5p, to 143.5p after it increased its interim dividend despite profits and revenue falling in the first half of the year.
Mears Group rose 4 percent, or 13.5p, to 353.5p as the social housing and maintenance services company saw first-half profits rise 44 percent on revenues up 10 percent.
Meanwhile, Bob Holt, the former boss of Mears, has taken a first step towards setting up a new energy group through the money-sharing company Earnz, which he chairs.
The company acquired mechanical engineering services company Cosgrove & Drew and South West Heating Services for a total of £3.11m and announced a placing of new shares to raise £4m to fund the deals and provide additional working capital.
The issued shares were priced at 7.5p each. Earnz shares remained steady at 8.25p.
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