>>> Eli Lilly reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; lowers FY18 EPS and revenue g

Eli Lilly reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; lowers FY18 EPS and revenue guidance (120.43)
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.33 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $1.33; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $6.44 bln vs the $6.28 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co issues lowered guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $5.55-5.65 from $5.90-6.10, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $5.69 S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY19 revs of $25.1-25.6 bln from $25.3-25.8 bln vs. $25.1 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
    • Guidance lowered primarily due to the anticipated impacts of both the pending acquisition of Loxo Oncology and the negative Phase 3 confirmatory trial for Lartruvo, partially offset by a more favorable underlying business outlook. Revenue growth is still expected to be driven by volume from newer medicines including Trulicity, Taltz, Basaglar, Jardiance, Verzenio, Cyramza and Olumiant. Revenue growth is also expected to benefit from the recent launch of Emgality and the anticipated inclusion of Vitrakvi, and could benefit from the potential approval and launch of other medicines is 2019

Challenges : Renault évoque le scénario d'une sortie progressive de l'Etat

Renault évoque le scénario d'une sortie progressive de l'Etat
EXCLUSIF - « L’Etat est prêt à revoir à la baisse sa participation de 15% dans Renault et à sortir sur le moyen terme », explique-t-on officieusement au sein du constructeur français. Bercy, pour sa part, dément.

Pour pérenniser l'Alliance avec Nissan, " l'Etat est prêt à revoir à la baisse sa participation de 15% dans Renault et à sortir sur le moyen terme ", explique-t-on officieusement au sein du constructeur tricolore (actionnaire de Challenges). Discrètement, " l'Etat a donné des signaux dans ce sens ". But : convaincre la partie japonaise, toujours très réticente à tout approfondissement des liens avec Renault tant que l'Etat français est partie prenante. Contacté, Bercy apporte un " démenti total ", tout en faisant confiance à Jean-Dominique Senard, nouveau président de Renault, " pour renforcer les liens au sein de l'Alliance ".
Même feuille de route à Carlos Ghosn
Le ministre de l'Economie Bruno Le Maire avait donné la même feuille de route à Carlos Ghosn, début 2018, au moment de lui apporter son soutien pour un nouveau mandat à la tête de Renault. Dans l'interview donnée de sa prison aux Echos début février, l'ex-PDG de Renault – qui a démissionné en janvier - évoquait le projet d'une holding contrôlant Renault, Nissan et Mitsubishi Motors, mais sans parler du rôle de l'Etat français. Malgré la chute de Carlos Ghosn, arrêté au Japon en novembre dernier, ce projet reste d'actualité.
L’heure est aujourd’hui à la détente entre Renault et Nissan. Mardi, le conseil d'administration de Nissan a proposé la nomination de Jean-Dominique Senard au poste d'administrateur, en remplacement de Carlos Ghosn, destitué de la présidence du groupe nippon le 22 novembre dernier. Cette désignation ne sera toutefois effective qu'après approbation des actionnaires lors d'une assemblée générale extraordinaire fixée au 8 avril prochain. Nissan a accepté la convocation de cette assemblée générale qui avait été vainement réclamée en décembre par Renault, actionnaire du constructeur japonais à hauteur de 43%.
Rencontre à Amsterdam
Hiroto Saikawa, directeur général de Nissan et « tombeur » de Carlos Ghosn, pensait initialement assurer l'intérim de la présidence de Carlos Ghosn. Mais, face à une sérieuse opposition interne, il a préféré temporiser. Le choix d'un nouveau président du groupe japonais devrait intervenir en juin, une fois rendues les conclusions du comité chargé d'améliorer la gouvernance, avait indiqué Hiroto Saikawa lui-même en janvier. Le dirigeant, âgé de 65 ans, devrait passer ensuite le relais, avait-il ajouté. Le départ d’une personnalité controversée, qui a beaucoup agacé chez Renault où on lui reproche sa brutalité dans l’affaire Carlos Ghosn, devrait fluidifier les relations franco-japonaises. L’homme était d’ailleurs déjà sur la sellette avant la chute de Carlos Ghosn, ce dernier lui reprochant les résultats financiers insuffisants de Nissan.
En attendant et pour ne pas perdre de temps, Jean-Dominique Senard a eu plusieurs entretiens en fin de semaine dernière à Amsterdam avec le directeur général de Nissan. Ils se sont aussi vus tous les trois avec Thierry Bolloré (directeur général de Renault). « Ils ont convenu d'accélérer, d'intensifier les relations et bien sûr évoqué l'avenir à moyen terme de l'Alliance », précise une source proche de l’Alliance.

FT :PayPal backed fintech Raisin raises $114m

PayPal backed fintech Raisin raises $114m
German group plans acquisitions and international expansion

German financial technology group Raisin has raised $114m in new funding from high-profile backers including Index Ventures and PayPal, in one of the largest fundraisings to date in Europe’s emerging “wealth tech” space.

Raisin allows customers to earn higher returns by depositing money with banks in different countries with higher interest rates. A saver in Germany, for example — where interest rates on most savings accounts are close to zero — can deposit cash in an Italian bank offering 1.25 per cent, or dollar- or krone-denominated accounts offering even higher rates.

Tamaz Georgadze, Raisin chief executive, said he wanted to create a “Schengen experience” for banking — comparing it to the EU’s passport-free travel zone.

“We want to break through unnecessary barriers to profitable saving and share the benefits of open markets — with both consumers and banks.”

Raisin has so far brokered more than $11bn in deposits, and last year widened its offering to include ETF investments with fund giant Vanguard.

The company declined to provide further financial details, but the deal is understood to value the seven year-old firm in the high hundreds of millions of dollars. It said the latest cash would be used for “strategic acquisitions” and expansion into new markets.

Raisin is one of a wave of businesses looking to take advantage of new regulations that make it easier to share financial data between different firms. It has partnered with companies such as digital bank N26, allowing it to offer Raisin’s products through its own app, and last week announced a deal making it easier for Santander customers to use the service.

Wednesday’s announcement highlights the growing investor interest in the sector, coming just two days after Goldman Sachs and HSBC invested in British start-up Bud, which builds the types of technology platforms banks use to connect to each other.

WSJ : Fintech Star Needs Better Answers to Accounting Allegations

WSJ _ Fintech Star Needs Better Answers to Accounting Allegations - https://on.wsj.com/2DVDXpl
Germany’s Wirecard says that no criminal conduct has been found so far in a probe sparked by a whistleblower

For a relatively simple business, German payments company Wirecard attracts a lot of questions. Now investors need answers quickly.

The company was fending off allegations Monday of potential criminal misconduct centered around its Singapore operations, which could have inflated revenue in the region. The claims were first reported in the Financial Times.

Wirecard has previously faced questions over its accounting and been targeted by short sellers. But its has grown quickly and—at least until the latest upset—its market value has risen inexorably. Even after losing more than €5 billion ($5.7 billion) in value since the allegations surfaced last Wednesday, it is worth more than €15 billion, roughly the same as Deutsche Bank, one of Europe’s largest lenders.

The company, which runs the mobile-payments app Boon among other businesses, has boosted its growth through acquisitions, which have complicated its accounting. It has done six deals in three years, including the takeover of Citigroup’s prepaid card unit in 2017 and an Indian payments business in 2016.

Wirecard’s latest problems spring from an internal whistleblower, who said last April that members of a finance team in Singapore had falsified documents and backdated commercial agreements, potentially to inflate revenue.

Wirecard called last week’s story “inaccurate, misleading and defamatory”. On Monday, it admitted a full investigation was ongoing, but said no conclusive findings of criminal misconduct had yet emerged. Wirecard CEO Markus Braun said he expected the Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann to formally complete the probe quickly and that there would be no material impact or any revenue restatement as a result.

This would be quite a change from a preliminary report prepared by Rajah & Tann in early May 2018, before it was mandated to perform a full investigation. The preliminary report, a copy of which has been reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, was based on interviews with the whistleblower and a review of documents and email archives of the people involved.

The lawyers said they could “draw strong and irrefutable inferences from the documentary evidence there has been at the very least several accounting irregularities that take the shape of forged agreements”. They recommended further investigation to verify evidence and trace money involved.

Mr. Braun said that the lawyers’ preliminary review didn’t have the benefit of full access to Wirecard’s accounts. He said that the vast majority of a string of transactions in the preliminary report weren’t identified in the company’s accounts as ever having taken place.

Until the lawyers are finished and Wirecard’s regulators and the police have reviewed it all, it is impossible to be sure this will go away. The shares have endured a roller-coaster ride since the allegations surfaced, and that won’t stop until they are fully addressed.

FT : SoftBank Vision Fund offloads entire Nvidia stake

SoftBank Vision Fund offloads entire Nvidia stake
Latest blow for US graphics chipmaker which has faced heavy share-price decline

SoftBank’s Vision Fund has sold its entire stake in Nvidia in the latest blow for the California-based chipmaker, shares in which have nearly halved since the end of September.

SoftBank said on Wednesday the fund had sold the Nvidia shares, which were valued at ¥398bn ($3.63bn) as of December 31. The fund held about 29m shares prior to the divestment in January, making it the fourth-largest investor in the company, according to Bloomberg data.

SoftBank said it had seen a valuation loss of nearly ¥300bn from the investment during the third quarter, although the Japanese conglomerate noted that it had recorded a derivatives gain of almost ¥250bn from investments designed to limit the downside risk of the Nvidia stake. 

The announcement of the fund’s divestment came in SoftBank’s third-quarter earnings report out on Wednesday, which showed the company’s Vision and Delta investment funds together recorded operating income of ¥808.7bn for the period, up from just ¥236.4bn a year ago.

Shares in Nvidia have fallen 48 per cent since late September and in January the Silicon Valley-based graphics chipmaker cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast by half a billion dollars, warning of a slowdown of sales to gamers in China.

>>> What to look at today - 6th of February 2019

Stocks in Asia saw another muted session Wednesday, with trading becalmed by Lunar New Year holidays. The greenback climbed and Australia’s dollar tumbled after the central bank chief signaled a shift to a neutral stance on policy after long flagging prospective tightening at some point.
The Australian moves were a rare bit of action in the region, with bond yields also sinking. Futures indicated little excitement at the start of European and U.S. trading sessions as investors found little to spur new trades from U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Japanese shares ended virtually flat, while those in Sydney eked out a modest increase after the S&P 500 Index posted a fifth day of gains on Tuesday. Oil held losses below $54 a barrel. Treasury yields slipped and the yen edged higher.
US After Hours SNAP +20.5%, ZEN / PLT +10%, SWKS / MCHP +5% are higher, while ARLO -21%, TCS / EA -18%, MTSI -11% are lower following earnings/guidance

Nikkei +0.14% HAng Seng CSI Shanghai Shenzen Closed

Eur$ 1.1386 CNH 6.7701 CNY 6.7422 JPY 109.69 GBP 1.2932 RUB 65.6624 CHF 1.0008 TRY 5.2241 WTI $ 53.47 -0.35%

S&P -0.16% EuroStoxx -0.28% Dax -0.28% SMI -0.25%

Macro :
- May Faces Collision With Pro-Brexit Tories Over Irish Border
- French Telco Carriers Not That Dependent On Huawei: Regulator

Keep an eye on :
- ADP FP : French Senate Votes Against ADP, Lottery Privatization Law: AFP
- ALO FP : France Hits Out at EU’s Expected Veto of Siemens-Alstom Deal
- APAM NA : Aperam Announces Buyback Up to EU100m, Hikes Annual Dividend (1)
- ATL IM : Atlantia Eyes Charles de Gaulle Privatization Opportunity: Sole
- BAYN GY :Baxalta Owes Bayer $155M for Infringing Hemophilia Drug Patent
- BNP FP : BNP 4Q Trading Revenue Slumps 40%; Bank Seeks Further Cost Cuts, *BNP PARIBAS LOWERS 2020 FORECASTS FOR REVENUE, PROFITABILITY
- CARLB DC : Carlsberg Guidance Firm, Buyback Higher Than Expected: Jefferies
- CON SW : Conzzeta Full Year Net Revenue Matches Estimates
- CSGN SW : Credit Suisse Expects 2018 Effective Tax Rate at ~40%
- DSY FP : Dassault Systemes 2018 Non-IFRS EPS EU3.12, Est. EU3.02
- DTE GY : T-Mobile, Sprint Choose N.Y. for Second New Customer Care Center
- DIA SM : DIA Board Seeks Alternative to LetterOne’s Offer: Confidencial
- DHER GY : Delivery Hero Full Year Revenues Beat Estimates
- ECM LN : Electrocomponents Rev. Up 6%; Maintains Stable Gross Margin View
- ENX FP : Fed’s Kaplan Urges No Further Rate Action Until Outlook Clearer
- GLO FP : GL Events Buys Majority Stake in Johannesburg Expo Centre
- GS US : Goldman Is Said to Weigh Shrinking Fixed-Income Trading Unit
- INGA NA : ING Fourth Quarter Underlying Pretax Profit Beats Estimates
- INWI SS : Inwido Fourth Quarter EPS Misses Lowest Estimate
- IRV LN : Interserve Reaches In-Principle Agreement Over Deleveraging Plan
- KESKOB FH : Kesko Full Year Dividend Per Share Misses Estimates
- KORI FP : Korian Sees Faster 2019 Rev. Growth, 2018 Ebitda Margin of 14.3%
- KORI FP : Korian FY18 Margin Beat is Positive Catalyst: Credit Suisse
- MC FP : LVMH Best May Have Passed At This Time, Cut to Hold: Jefferies
- MELE BB : Melexis First Quarter Revenue Forecast Misses Lowest Estimate
- METSO FH : Metso Full Year Dividend Per Share Beats Highest Estimate
- MUV2 GY : Munich Re Raises Dividend to EU9.25; Posts FY Net of EU2.31B
- NEM GY : Nemetschek Full Year Revenue Rises 17%
- NESTE FH : Neste Full Year Dividend Per Share Beats Estimates
- NOBI SS : Nobia Fourth Quarter Net Sales Meet Estimates
- NOKIA FH : Vodafone Removes Huawei From Germany Core Network: Handelsblatt
- NAS NO : Norwegian Air Shuttle January Traffic Rose 13%
- RBI AV : Raiffeisen Retools Risk as Poland Sale Drags Down 4Q Earnings
- RDW LN : Redrow Interim Dividend Per Share 10p
- RPC LN : Apollo Enters MoU With Pension Trustees on RPC Containers Deal
- RWE GY : German Utilities Face Tougher Times, EON, RWE Cut at Jefferies
- SAL IM : Salini Impregilo Wins Czech Highway Order for EU225m
- SVT LN : Severn Trent Sees FY Trading In-Line With Expectations
- SLR SM : Solaria Signs Financing Accord With Natixis for EU125M
- TOBII SS : Tobii Fourth Quarter Operating Loss SEK35 Mln
- TOM2 NA : TomTom Fourth Quarter Revenue 4.3% Above Estimates
- TLGO SM : Deutsche Bahn Signs Accord With Talgo For Up to 100 Trains
- 02D GY : Telefonica/O2 Files Objection To Germany 5G Auction: FAZ
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia, Open Fiber to Start Exploring Network Synergies
- FP FP : Total could announce USD 1.3bn North Sea asset disposal to Albion, First Alpha within days
- UNA NA : Unilever Paid About GBP150M to Buy Graze From Carlyle: FT
- UN01 GY : Uniper to Replace CEO, CFO As Fortum Takes Control
- DG FP : Vinci Full Year Net Income Misses Lowest Estimate
- VOD LN : Telefonica/O2 Files Objection To Germany 5G Auction: FAZ

>>> Eurorpe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 6th of February 2019

>>> Up
* Alstria Office Upgraded to Buy at Kempen & Co; PT 15 Euros
* BP Upgraded to Buy at DZ Bank; PT 6.10 Pounds
* Carrefour Upgraded to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 20.50 Euros
* Essity Upgraded to Hold at Berenberg
* Inwit Upgraded to Buy at Intermonte; PT 9.60 Euros
* National Grid Upgraded to Outperform at RBC; PT 9.50 Pounds
* Paddy Power Upgraded to Hold at HSBC; Price Target 63.50 Pounds

>>> Down
* Bonduelle Downgraded to Sell at Midcap Partners; PT 27 Euros
* Catena Downgraded to Neutral at Kempen & Co; PT 245 Kronor
* EON Downgraded to Underperform at Jefferies
* Epiroc Downgraded to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 95 Kronor
* Generali Downgraded to Neutral at UBS
* Lacroix Downgraded to Hold at Portzamparc; Price Target 22 Euros
* LVMH Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies; Price Target 300 Euros
* Nordic Semiconductor Cut to Sell at SEB Equities; PT 25 Kroner
* Royal Mail Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 2.35 Pounds
* RWE Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies
* Stabilus Downgraded to Neutral at MainFirst; PT 54 Euros
* TLG Immobilien Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 28.50 Euros
* TLG Immobilien Downgraded to Neutral at Kempen & Co; PT 27 Euros
* TUI Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 13.20 Pounds
* WDP Downgraded to Neutral at Kempen & Co; PT 125 Euros

>>> Initiation
* Continental Reinstated Equal-weight at Barclays; PT 155 Euros
* Faurecia Reinstated at Barclays With Overweight; PT 55 Euros
* Genfit Rated New Buy at B Riley FBR, Inc.; PT 46 Euros
* Global Ports Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 4.75 Pounds
* Michelin Reinstated at Barclays With Overweight; PT 120 Euros
* Pharmasimple Rated New Buy at Midcap Partners; PT 16.30 Euros
* Thomas Cook Rated New Neutral at MainFirst; PT 35 Pence
* Valeo Reinstated at Barclays With Underweight; PT 25 Euros

>>> Call

>>> US After Hours Summary: SNAP +20.5%, ZEN / PLT +10%, SWKS / MCHP +5


After Hours Summary: SNAP +20.5%, ZEN / PLT +10%, SWKS / MCHP +5% are higher, while ARLO -21%, TCS / EA -18%, MTSI -11% are lower following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: SNAP +20.5%, ZEN +9.7%, PLT +9.5%, VIAV +7.4%, PAYC +5.9%, SWKS +4.8%, MCHP +4.5%, VRTX +2.1%, HCLP +1.6% (light volume; also establishes record date for proposed conversion from a Delaware limited partnership to a Delaware corporation), VOYA +1.5%, DIS +0.5%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: AMRS +3.3% (after surging 70%+ higher today), I +2.8% (after seeing late move higher), SPOT +1.9% (ahead of earnings tomorrow before the open), QRVO +1.7% (following SWKS results), TWTR +1.4% (following SNAP results), RIO +1.4% / CLF +1.2% (higher after Vale declared force majeure on a number of related iron ore and pellets sales contracts as a result of the temporary suspension of the Brucutu mine production)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ARLO -21%, TCS -17.7%, EA -17.6%, MTSI -11.1%, USNA -8.4% (light volume), SFLY -7% (also undertaking strategic review as co has been approached about an acquisition; CEO to step down in August), NANO -5%, TENB -4.2%, MYGN -4.1%, DOX -2.7% (light volume), APC -2.6%, DATA -2.6%, SAVE -2.2%, GNW -1.9%, MXL -1.5% (light volume), CERN -0.7%,

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: AGLE -6.3% (announces proposed public offering of $50.0 mln of shares of its common stock), PDD -5.2% (proposes follow-on public offerings of ~37 mln ADS by co and 14,815,000 ADS by selling shareholders), VNDA -4.2% (ticking lower - files complaint against the FDA for 'requiring unnecessary studies that would result in the death of dozens of dogs without legal authority'), ATVI -2.9% / TTWO -0.5% (following EA results)